Medieval Living

We will begin Game Night on Thursday, January 7, 2010! It will be held at the Cottonwood Barnes and Noble bookstore starting at 7:00pm in the coffee shop. It just so happens that the Westside Chess Club also meets at that time, so anyone interested in joining in a casual game of chess will have some avid players ready and willing to accept the challenge. I will have some Nine Men Morris boards available for those who want to learn and play this Medieval era game! In following weeks, we will be adding more games. Hope to see you there!!!

I should have posted this sooner, so that others might benefit from some very nice Medieval Christmas recipes! Sorry, was busy in the workshop making very Medieval looking trestle table for my daughter’s house . . . putting the finishing touches on tonight so that it will be ready for Christmas dinner tomorrow!
Anyway . . . Christmas Feasts from Godecookery - an excellent article with nearly 100 recipes for the Christmas table. Chykonys in Bruette (chicken stewed in ale sauce), Venyson in Broth (venison ribs in wine), Hattes (small meat-filled pastries shaped like Medieval hats), and Potus Ypocras (wine mulled with honey and spices) are just a few of them. Looking for something special to prepare for the holidays? This might just be the answer! Enjoy!
Oh, now I don’t get any kickback from this . . . but Godecookery also has several excellent cookbooks. . . just visit their bookshop.

Just a quick note to all of my readers . . . I hope you have a great holiday season! As the new year begins, I hope that this endeavor will have great success and grow to reach thousands of homeschool students and their families, as well as others who might find my topics and activities of interest. I hope that next week, I will be able to post some specific date/time/location on “Game Night” – if I ever get finished in the workshop with all of the other projects I am doing, maybe I will have some Nine Men Morris boards available for everyone’s usage.
Please take a few moments to make a comment or two about my blog and our activities. You can always send an email – scott@medieval-living.com – if you don’t feel comfortable leaving comments on blogs.
Again, have a wonderful holiday season – I wish that everyone have a safe and joyful new year.

Scott
Medieval Living

Well just a quick note – the website is finally getting some organization – stop by and take a look!!! I hope to have all of the “pages” loaded before Christmas.”

A nice article from the folks at Spurlock Museum of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign . . . Castles, Catapaults, and Coat of Arms. Here is a quote from the article: “Last week, the Spurlock Museum transported fourteen young campers back in time to the Middle Ages during the Club Invention day camp “Castles, Catapults, and Coats of Arms.” The campers, ranging in age from nine to eleven years old, spent three days at the Spurlock Museum building cardboard castles, learning about the everyday lives of apprentices in Medieval Europe as they made pipe-cleaner chain mail, and defending the Museum by constructing drawbridges and catapults from string, popsicles sticks, and rubber bands. Their studies also included sculpting clay gargoyles, learning how people in the Middle Ages used water wheels to lift weight, and investigating Medieval armor in the galleries.”
Great ideas for homeschoolers! Beginning in 2010, look for some similar activities happening under the direction of Medieval Living in the Albuquerque area.

Being a teacher, I often deal with myriad disabilities of my students. There are countless books, articles, and “data” available on disabilities, but the question I find interesting is “how have disabilities been dealt with over the centuries?” And then the obvious question . . . specifically, how were disabilities dealt with in Medieval times? I found a very enlightening blog that deals with this very topic: Medieval Cripples, Crazies and Imbeciles . . . and a Service Dog? The author, being hearing impared himself, is working on a PhD on the subject of Medieval disabilities. Although the blog seems inactive at the moment, I thought it had interesting information for anyone interested in the topic.

There are some very nice, short videos available online related to Medieval living. One of those videos describes the defensive features of castles using video of existing castles throughout Europe. Other topics include: The Knights Templar, The Nobility, Shipyards of Portugal, The Crusades, Castle Walls, and Exploring the Renaissance. Part of the How Stuff Works website, these are some very nicely done (although of minimal duration) videos of interest to Medieval ere enthusiasts. Hope you enjoy!

During my morning browse of the internet, I came upon the website for another Medieval village/community themed organization. This just adds more support to the notion that people are interested in Medieval life and that they will support Medieval villages and educational organizations. The site I found is for a Medieval hsitory theme park, with an emphasis on sustainability of the environment. The Realms of Legend appears to be in the formative stages, as witnessed by the in-development stages of their website. ( I have no room to talk . . .my website is still quite lacking in substance!) The organization is located in Scio, Ohio – close to my home stomping grounds! As the region just across the state line and north of Pittsburgh is the site of the largest SCA encampment (something like 12,000 in attendance) in existance, I would speculate that there is substantial interest in Medieval history among residents there. I wish The Realms of Legend great success!

As I was describing in my previous post, I used to make chainmail inspired jewelry – back when the economy was a little better, I actually used to sell a few of these things each month! Anyway – here are a few pics of the types of things one can make with a pile of jump rings and a little imagination!

This is a Japanese chainmail inspired necklace that I made – sterling silver rings with a black onyx pendant.

One of the features of Medieval times was the use of chainmail armor. Its one of those curious developments, created during a time when military battles were almost exclusively hand-to-hand, and so the need for good armor was essential. I started playing around making chainmail back oh . . . ten years or more. Made quite a few different items, from simple coifs to the more complicated hauberk and even a pair of gloves or two. I even played with some less-than-Medieval chainmail jewelry. Probably one of the best know sources for information and materials related to Medieval chainmail would be The Ring Lord out of Saskatoon, Canada. He has been providing chainmail enthusiasts with supplies and tutorials since the mid 90′s. If you have any interest in how to build chainmail armor or anything else, he’s a wonderful resource.
In January this year, I will be offering some classes (primarily for homeschool kiddos, but don’t mind teaching others) on basic chainmail techniques and materials. If you’re interesed, and if you’re in the general Albuquerque area, let me know! The picture is a chainmail coif, made of 12 gauge galvanized steel wire formed into 3/8″ rings. The pattern is the traditional European 4 in 1. The dashing young model is #1 son.