Entertainment 
The medieval calendar was dotted with feast days and
holidays. It was the only time when people could stop work and have some fun.
These were often connected with religious festivals such as Saints day and
Christmas. The end of the harvest and weddings also called for great
celebrations. In the villages these might be marked by outdoor feasts and
dances. Merchants came from all over the world to buy and sell their goods. They
were entertained by people and activities such as:
1) Music was played by minstrels. Minstrels also sang while people ate to
entertain them. They also performed tricks with their
trained bears, monkeys, and dogs that danced.
2) Jugglers and acrobats would perform their acts when
traveling from castle to castle. They juggled with knives and apples etc.
3) Fools or Jesters had to make people laugh with their
humorous poems, comic dances, and tales.
4) Mummers were local people in costume that danced and
performed plays in exchange for food, drink or even money. It was considered
unlucky to send them away.
5) Tournaments
took place in the courtyard. Armies on horse back battled each other until only
one knight was standing.
6) Jousting was
on horseback, it involved 2 Knights with a shield and lance each. Whoever fell off
their horse first had to fight on foot, the winner was rewarded; this was also a
way to stay fit.
7) Wealthy
people played chess and card games.
8) Hunting and
falconry was another favorite pastime of the lord.
FALCONRY
Falconry was the training of falcons or hawks to capture or hunt wild game or
fowl. Falconry is also known as hawking and was introduced into parts of Europe
by the Romans. After the Norman Conquest of England in the 9th century,
falconry became popular with nobility and the kinds of birds a person carried on
his wrist showed his rank. For example a king carried a gyrfalcon, an earl
carried a peregrine, a priest carried a sparrow hawk, a servant carried a
Kestrel, and a serf carried a goshawk.
The falconer had to wear a heavy gauntlet for the left (Hawk) hand.. He also
wore a protective face mask. When the falconers were not hunting the falcons
would fly around. At night falcons were kept in Mews tethered to block so they
would not fly away.
This site is part of the ThinkQuest Jr. 2001 competition.