Medieval Living

Well it sure has been a while since I posted – school started and life got very busy! Anyway . . . So I’ve talked about Medieval structures – mainly castles and timber-frame houses, but what about pavilions? One of the first Medieval structures I ever made was single pole, spoke and hub, pavilion. It was 11 feet square and the walls were 7 feet high. Center post was 12 feet high, so there was plenty of ceiling height. I did a fair amount of research before building it, reviewing numerous sites and many pictures from Medieval texts. One site that has an extensive amount of information and references is The History of Tents. Information covers from the 1st Century to the 18th Century. A good place to start researching that Medieval pavilion you want to build!

Here is an area that I’ve not talked much about – blacksmithing. Initially, most of what I found was rather contemporary in nature; however, I did find a very interesting and informative site with significant content about how to create various items. Anvilfire’s iAnvil pages contain some wonderfully detailed instructions on how to create: hinges, door knockers, various tools, and various types of ornamentations (twists, braids, spirals, vines and much more). While there is still alot of contemporary references, many of the projects and techniques are applicable to Medieval era metalworking.

I was certain that there must be more information on Medieval era lathes . . . and here is a website that is probably the most imformative I have seen yet. Historic Games has a section of their site devoted to woodturning. Included in their site are bow lathes, spring-pole lathes, continuous motion lathes, ancient lathes (Egyptian, Indian, Roman), and turning tools. There is also a webpage of related tools, such as a bow-operated drill, button maker’s drill, and pewtersmith’s lathe. Their discussion of Medieval games is also worth reading!

The previous article included some very detailed and informative articles on the mechanics of timberframing. This next website provides some wonderful background for the use of timberframing in England and Wales. The History and Construction of Medieval Timber-Framed Houses in England and Wales contains just that – the history of Medieval timberframing. Included among the very informative text are a glossary and photo gallery. Cruck construction and box frame construction are discussed, along with the use of wattle and daub to infill the spaces between timbers. A very nice bibliography and links section lists print sources for more detailed information on the topic of timberframing. I look forward to seeing if the references in the bibliography are available at my local bookstore – hope so!

Anyone interested in constructing Medieval buildings would benefit by looking at this. While the site is contemporary in much of its discussions, the concepts are surely based on centuries of timberframing experience. The National Center for Preservation Technology and Training out of Natchitoches, Louisiana, has some very good resoures on its site. Of particular interest were some pdf files of TIMBER FRAMING: Journal of the Timber Framers Guild. Some of the articles include how to raise the structure - modern techniques to be sure, but useful for anyone wanting to lift timbers into place and so on. Another deals with using geometry to properly calculate the angles needed to join various roof members together. Complicated but very worth looking at! A third article deals with various types of joinery. Although the focus is on early-American structures, the joinery would be very similary to that found in Medieval structures. The diagrams in the text are extremely well done, and the discussions accompanying each are very well written. In general, some excellent materials for anyone contemplating building a timberframed structure. I hope you find these articles useful and worth reading!

Now this is something that I find very interesting and appealing – the Medieval village. Camlann Medieval Village is a non-profit educational organization which provides a wide variety of activities, from Medieval artisans to dinner theatres and banquets. They also have a library and research center that houses a nice collection of texts, both primary and secondary. Schools are invited to do field trips to the site.

One of their web pages gives a very concise statement of why it is important to learn about Medieval history:
“Not only colorful and fascinating, the accomplishments of the middle ages are the bedrock foundations of western society. Our language, values, customs, religions, governments, legal systems, calendars, astronomy, mathematics, tools, music, literature, art, fashions, architecture, even our personalities, are deeply rooted in European and Middle Eastern traditions in those formative times.”

Camlann Medieval Village

From their site, I gather that although historical accuracy is of concern, Camlann Medieval Village is also entertaining, as witnessed by the many plays and dramatizations performed there. Having fun while learning – what a novel idea!!! I think some of my students will be reminding me of that statement later this year . . . like right before I give them an exam! At any rate, visit the Camlann Medieval Village site . . . and if you find yourself in Washington state, stop by their facilities there and pay them a visit. (And send me a report of what you did there – would love to hear about it!!!)

I admit I had not heard of this group before. I happened upon their website while researching for living history groups. This particular group, Regia Anglorum, is a serious Medieval history organization – emphasis on authenticity! With a focus on the period from 950AD to 1066AD, Regia Anglorum takes a hard-nose approach to Medieval reenactment. If it isn’t documentable, it isn’t allowed. Period.

Now while I enjoy the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), I realized that the “anachronism” part allows for drifts from historical accuracy. An encampment item might look like a wooden chest, but inside one will find a Coleman ice chest. Practical, yes; authentic, no! Such a contrivance would not be allowed with Regia Anglorum.

Wychurst - Regia Anglorum's longhall

One of the items of interest was the construction of a late Anglo-Saxon period manor house. Within a one acre ditch-and-bank enclosure is a historically accurate longhall. Measuring some 20 meters by 10 meters by 10 meters high, this construction project spanned 6 to 7 years in site develpment and erection of the timbers and trusses. Using primarily dovetail joinery to hold it together, the structure is made from locally grown oak trees. I am going to borrow a picture from their site – I hope they don’t mind.

Anyway – a very cool site – lots of pictures and informative articles and links.

All right – enough dreaming about building a Medieval castle! Let’s do somethine more practical – Medieval Martial Arts!!! As a member of the Society for Creative Anacrhonism (SCA), I have had the opportunity to participate in both rapier fighting and archery. I’ve enjoyed it and look forward to more. However, there’s a great deal more to the military fighting styles of the Medieval era.

The Associate for Renaissance Martial Arts is a non-profit organization which specializes in all of the martial arts of the Middle Ages. Although I didn’t see where they came out and openly criticized the SCA, I get the general feeling that they consider themselves more serious about their studies of Medieval fighting. Here is a quote from their website . . . “The ARMA is not concerned with exclusively knightly tournaments sports or later gentlemanly “duels of honor”, but with the whole panoply of personal fighting skills of the period from roughly 950-1700.” Yeah, I think that’s a slam against the SCA. But that’s ok – I’ve often been frustrated by the rules of engagement in rapier fighting – unrealistic limitations on techniques and strategies that were obviously in use during Medieval times. For instance, in William Wilson’s “Art of Defence: An Introduction to the Use of the Rapier,” he shows a variety of techniques – simple things like striking your opponent with the pommel of the sword, disarming your opponent, and a variety of grappling techniques. None of those will ever happen in the SCA – just not safe enough.

Regardless of all that, the ARMA website lists a genuine plethora of articles, references, study materials, training tips, and research. Want to play with real swords? Then check out this site!

Before one could really contemplate building a Medieval castle, spending some time learning about Medieval castles in general would be an important first step. If your plan is to copy an existing castle, then of course you would study that castle. But if you were wanting to make a unique structure, then learning about the details of castle design and construction is a must. A good place to start is Medieval-Castles.com. This site has alot of basic information on castles, their history, construction, life within the castle walls, and castle defenses, among many other topics. Many good photos as well! Soooo . . . if you’re planning on building your own fortress to defend against the dark forces of modern times, visit this very nicely done website.

How funny – take a few minutes to go to www.ehow.com and read this rather tongue-in-cheek article on how to contruct a castle. I’ve been looking for some serious articles on the subject, but keep running into these less-then-serious ones.