MediEVIL+Entertainment

//**Medieval Entertainment**// 

As society became more advanced throughout the High Middle ages the wealthy and poor alike enjoyed entertainment, a time to get away from the stress of daily life. The main sources of entertainment for all classes was the viewing of tournaments and performances in theater and music. Entertainment varied between social class levels although most people enjoyed many of the same forms of enjoyment.  __Table of Contents__ -Feasts and Holidays -Games ->Board Games and Card Games ->Sports -Tournaments -Music/Arts ->Instruments

**Feasts and Holidays ** All the holidays celebrated in the Middle Ages were religious and based upon the seasonal calendar. Feasts often had to be held during harvest seasons in order to insure they would be able to provide enough food to hold one. all feasts were planned very carefully, spring june and july were times to work hard on the farm to ensure there was enough food for fall and winter feasts. Major holidays were Saints Day, Easter and Christmas. The wealthy would hold feasts in their homes that had jesters and dancing and juggling. Unlike the richer members of society, the poor would often take part in the wealthy’s extravagant feasts by serving food. An event which increased the popularity of feasts was the Crusades, which sparked a new interest to have manners and exotic feasts bursting with color and flavor. On the Crusades members of Medieval society learned much more about foreign cultures and customs. The Crusades also expanded the amount of food preparations that were put into a feast. A feast consisted of about 3-6 courses, which consisted of game, fish, fruit and vegetables.

**Games** __Board Games and Card Games__: Simple board games, as well as games played with dice and cards became a popular part of daily life in the middle ages. Playing cards became easily available as printing techniques became more advanced, and they became a common source of entertainment. Carved dice as well as coins were used in gambling between Medieval men. Simple board games such as chess were enjoyed by all classes of society. Members of royalty often played with expensive chess sets made of brass or ivory, whereas sets used in taverns and homes were made of common, cheaper materials. Backgammon and “Merrils” were two other popular games played by all members of society. __Sports__: Sports were a common source of entertainment in the Middle Ages, especially for common folk. Villages often challenged each other in game involving balls that was similar to modern day soccer. People also participated in games that are similar to our versions of tennis, bowling and croquet. Another popular sport was wrestling, which was a common event within the common folk in the village square or at fairs and festivals. Wrestling didn’t require any specific training and there were often valuable prizes, such as livestock were often available. Many other competition took place throughout the Middle Ages, such as running races, archery and javelin.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Tournaments** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Throughout the high middle ages war games celebrated as festivals called tournaments became available to nobles and peasants alike. By being available to a range of social classes tournaments, as a form of entertainment broke boundaries between social classes as people united to cheer for mutual favorites. Tournaments first became popular around the year 1100, when there was no active warfare in Medieval society and Knights who were not participating in the Crusades were restless, so tournaments provided entertainment for both them as well as the spectators. The goal of a tournament was for a knight to capture, not kill his apponent. The loser would pay a tribute to the knight who defeated him, which made tournaments more appealing since they could provide a source of income.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Music/Arts** ====Music and theater became a large part of daily life in the Middle Ages. Singing and use of instruments, such as organs and bells were often used in churches but became part of secular life as well with singing and instrumentation performances became popular public events. In addition, dramas began being performed, first in churches and eventually in market places and more public areas. These dramas were often based on Biblical stories and were performed in costumes and accompanied by instruments.====



<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">__Instruments__: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Since the Middle Ages, not many instruments survived over the years, but many are showed in manuscripts and in stained glass with angles. the instruments and musicians in the paintings can help tell what time period they were in. in the early middle ages many travelers played instruments but it soon grew popular with amateurs and by the late middle ages many simple people were playing,making bands and performing at festivals.as time went on the organ (the most popular church instrument) evolved and because of the stop an organist could now control the pipes. Then, by the 14th century stringed instruments came into play. The clavichord was one of the first, and later came the harpsichord which produced a sound like a harp but it was played like a keyboard. Some other examples of string instruments in medieval times are a lyre called the rotta, a triangular shaped harp, a fiddle that the viola and cello evolved from, and the medieval guitar or the citole or mandore. Some medieval woodwind instruments are the flute and the panpipe which both relate to the flute and piccolo. The bagpipe further developed throughout the Middle Ages and was an instrument which was played and appreciated by many. An early brass instrument of medieval times was the horn, which were mostly used in war or battle to command the members of the army.

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bibliography ** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Arts & Entertainment.” learner.org. Annenberg Foundation, 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. < <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://www.learner.org/__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">‌interactives/‌middleages/‌artsentr.html>. Johnston, Ruth A. “Medieval Games and Sports.” World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. < <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com.blmproxy.minlib.net/__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">‌Search/‌Display/‌1692879?terms=medieval%20chess&webSiteCode=SLN_HANC&returnToPage=%2fSearch%2fDisplay%2f1692879%3fterms%3dmedieval+chess&token=76CF1E3AF4BCADC53AE7BD87A4FEFA5A&casError=False>. “Medieval Musical Instruments.” World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. < <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com.blmproxy.minlib.net/__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">‌Search/‌Display/‌1700447?terms=middle+ages+entertainment>. “Medieval Feast.” Medieval Life and Times. Medieval Life and Times, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. < <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">‌medieval-food/‌medieval-feast.htm>. Nimocks, Aaron. “Medieval Entertainment.” Medieval Period. SiteAlicious Inc, 2006-2011. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. < <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://www.medieval-period.com/__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">‌medievalentertainment.html>. Sailsbury, Joyce E. “Medieval Festivals and Holidays.” World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. < <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com.blmproxy.minlib.net/__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">‌Search/‌Display/‌1689706?terms=medieval%20celebrations%20and%20feasts&webSiteCode=SLN_HANC&returnToPage=%2fSearch%2fDisplay%2f1689706%3fterms%3dmedieval+celebrations+and+feasts&token=623E9C6E9AB40FF422FFADC685FCD04D&casError=False>.

**Sources for Images** Fig. 1: http://www.fortaleza.es/images/cena1.jpg Fig. 2: http://files.chesscomfiles.com/images_users/tiny_mce/Benju13/71409_medieval_chess.jpg Fig. 3: http://www.medievalists.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Tournament_bavarian_engraving.png Fig. 4: http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/mummers.jpg Fig. 5: http://www.bagpipejourney.com/images/bagpipe_parts.jpg