Medieval Living

I recently read an article by Melissa Snell of About.com:Medieval History. She recounted a story of her first and only visit to a Renaissance fair. Of particular note was a few paragraphs she wrote about a woman and her sheep. I would like to copy that portion of her story here – please note, this is her writing, not mine, and she deserves all credit due.

“The sheep belonged to a woman who spun wool by hand. She would shear wool from the creature as she needed it, also by hand, and after it was spun she would dye it by hand. Using only the materials available in medieval times, she had achieved an extraordinary variety of warm, rich colors. She would then use the wool to knit clothing of authentic medieval style.

I watched her nimble fingers working swiftly and competently as she chatted with visitors and the sheep blithely cropped the grass nearby. She did marvelous work, and she did it from start to finish the way it had been done five hundred years ago. I suddenly understood what it must have been like to live in medieval times. I knew my understanding was limited to this tiny aspect of daily life, but nevertheless I did understand.

This, I realized, was living history.”

Melissa goes on to discuss the wonders of living history and all of its various forms. If you are interested in reading the entirety of her article, it’s here at “The Middle Ages in Our Century”

That’s were Medieval Living would eventually like to be . . . with people like this woman and her sheep, not just actors or first person re-creationists. Imagine a village where every task is done with the tools and skills available at that time. What a wonderful way to embrass history and to understand people’s daily lives.

Join us in this endeavor, even if only by sharing enthusiastically the vision of Medieval Living. Of course, if there are other things you could bring to the table, I would LOVE to hear from you.

Scott
Medieval Living

Please don’t misunderstand me . . . modern technology is great! There are some applications of modern devices which save lives and help people be more efficient in their businesses and classrooms. The very fact that I am using a computer, the internet, social networking and so on to share with others about Medieval Living is wonderful . . . I don’t know how we managed before these inventions.

However . . . some of these wonderful devices also suck the life right out of us. In particular, the cell phone, iPod-style devices, and gaming consoles have reduced us to a bunch of unimaginative, lazy zombies. Kids in particular are affected by these marvels of modern technology. Teachers in the public schools are in a constant battle with cell phones and iPods . . . and if the teacher takes the device away from the student, then the parents threaten to sue the teacher and the school. Yet, when the student has their “technology” with them, they tune out the classroom lesson and their grades begin to plummet . . . and again, the school and teacher are threatened by the parent, this time because their little “darling” is failing school.

I love the cellphone commercial on the television where superheroes have been called in to save a family from their daughter’s “texting” problem. The superheros bring in the cell phone representative, who solves the problem by offering a “package” that will keep the family’s phone bill in control. I think alot of us have a different solution to the problem . . . take the kid’s cellphone away! Problem solved!

Again, I’m not anti-technology. It’s like anything else . . . there is a time and a place, and all things in moderation. My son’s friend mentioned once about how much time he spent playing a particular online game. “I could have learned a new language instead of playing this game,” he said.

I think that’s a big part of our purpose here at Medieval Living. Now I don’t expect people to throw away contemporary living for the hard life of a Medieval commoner. But I do think that when people learn to make things by hand (rather then by computerized machines) that they begin to realize how much work and effort goes into making something. Maybe they will never make weaving or pottery their life’s work, but once they learn the basics of a particular skill, they will appreciate fabric and stoneware alot more.

And of course, we always need to look at technology for what it is . . . a way of making life easier or of solving a problem. I’m in the process of building a lesson using the Medieval trebuchet. At some point in history, the trebuchet was a contemporary piece of technology, with innovative ideas and the application of science and math. That’s exactly our purpose for looking at the trebuchet . . . to teach a little history, a little math, a little science . . and to have a little fun. When we get to the timber framing projects, it will be the same idea . . . learning math, science and history, plus the added benefit of learning about a construction method that has regained some interest in modern construction.

Am i against modern technology? No, of course not. But I do think that as a culture, we have lost the ability to make things for ourselves, to be more self-reliant. We buy junk at WalMart and other places – use it for a short while and then throw it away because we don’t know how to repair it. Perhaps if we learned to make some things ourselves, we would have better quality products that we can maintain for ourselves.

So how about it? Want your homeschoolers to learn to become more self-reliant? Then let’s explore some historical arts and crafts. Call me or send me an email, write a snail mail letter (don’t get many of those these days!), or come knock on my door. We’ll leave our cellphones and iPods at home (or at least turned off and tucked away), and put our hands and our brains to good use by making something or doing some activity that freshens our imaginations, encourages a healthy lifestyle, and removes the “zombie” glaze from our eyes!!!

Well, it’s August, and I said in July that this is when I would get back to blogging and developing programs for Medieval Living. So . . .here I am.
I enjoyed a recent article in the Rio Rancho Observer about David Andrews. David is a 52-year-old author from Rio Rancho who recently published a book about 18th century Scotland. According to the article, Catching the Stone “is about men who are willing to die for their integrity, their honor, and their way of life. It is about the evil men do and the good which they’re capable of doing. And it is about men who value their heritage as a living thing they only wish to see passed on to others when they go.” What a wonderful story line – especially for us here at Medieval Living, as we are very much interested in promoting the spirit of chivalry and civility in our world.

I plan on heading down to the local Barnes and Noble and picking up a copy – the online price is under $20, so the in-store price shouldn’t be too much more. I will post a book review after I’ve given it a read.

So . . . tomorrow I will begin scheduling some activities for Medieval Living – looks like my schedule will force most classes to be held in the first part of the week, as I’m obligated during Thursday and Friday. What am I obligated with? Well, I’ve been moonlighting over at The Saint James Tea Room, working in the kitchen doing a varity of things – mostly baking, which I seem to have a natural knack for. What I enjoy most about the “tea room” is . . well, actually there are several things . . . the concept for the “tea room” is to recreate a sense of civility, to create an environment where people can eat in a relaxed, peaceful, and elegant manner. I like that! They also are extremely supportive of homeschool students – in fact, many of the servers are from homeschool families. It is a great place for them to develop some employment skills and to learn how to interact with people in a professional setting. I like that too! It’s very refreshing to have a business that is truly intersted in social responsibility while at the same time providing a wonderful dining experience for the community. Actually, it’s a four-star dining experience – I would encourage any of my readers to contact the Saint James Tea Room and make a reservation for a wonderful meal.

In my last post I mentioned the work of Frances and Joseph Gies, who have written several books regarding life in Medieval times. I also found an online resource that might be of interest to homeschool families. Also in Cambridgeshire is the village of Grantchester. Professor Frans ven Liere of Calvin College of Grand Rapids Michigan, has taken Grantchester and used it as a backdrop for a quick study in the manorial system during the 12th and 13th centuries. While not very detailed, Grantchester Medieval Village does give an overview of the role of the manor, the church, and the fields as they pertain to life in the Medieval era.
There is also a link to the modern day Grantchester, which includes a digital version of the British A to Z road map – I had not seen this yet, so for me, its a great find.
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A few days ago, I was writing to a homeschool parent, and I mentioned that one of our future goals here at Medieval Living is to create a Medieval living village. While not set in stone, we are focusing on 13th and 14th centuruy England for our inspiration.
Now anyone who has spent a little time in England would know that there are any number of villages to use as a model. One village of particular note is Elton. Elton is in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, west of the A1 near Peterborough. Now I know a little about this village, as I lived not far from there while serving as a historian for the US Air Force at nearby RAF Mildenhall. Actually, I live on the east side of the A1 in Yaxley – another village with an ancient past. But Elton has a well documented and researched past, due to some excellent records from nearby Ramsey Abbey. Also, it has been the subject of much scholarly research by Frances and Joseph Gies, who wrote the book Life in a Medieval Village, which is an account of the village of Elton. (The authors have also written several other Medieval era texts, most recently Daily Life in Medieval Times.)
Elton has existed for nearly 1000 years, having undergone numerous changes over the years. As technology changed, so did the village. The Romans certainly left their mark on the area even before the village was settled, as the nearby A1 highway is founded on one of great Roman roads built during the Roman occupation somewhere around 300 to 400 AD. By the time of the 13th century, the manor had become central to village life. This was an era of population growth and prosperity (at least for the lord of the manor).
So will we model our village after Elton? It certainly would be a good starting place, considering the descriptive information available. But we still have a long way to go before we make an firm decisions . . . after all, we’re still going through the initial growing pains of chainmail weaving and pennywhistle classes.

Each fall here in Albuquerque, one of the local farms near the Rio Grande creates a maze in one of their corn fields. It’s always a popular attraction – people seem to enjoy being perplexed by the puzzle – kids scream and giggle, teens hold hands and try to find a “secluded” spot, parents search frantically for missing kids, and old folks either meander joyfully along the pathway or scoff at having agreed to participate in such foolishness! It’s a well known fact that mazes have been around for a few years . . . generation after generation have enjoyed solving them. I remember as a child, the story of the Minotaur living in the Cretan Labyrinth. The purpose of the labyrinth was to contain the Minotaur so that it would not pose any threat in the world. Later in the story, Theseus, the son of Poseidon, dispatches the Minotaur. But the use of the word “labyrinth” always puzzled me, as I thought it was somehow different then a “maze”.

I found an excellent site that deals with that very subject . . . entitled “Labyrinthos“, the site serves as a labyrinth and maze resource center . . . never knew there was such a thing! Anyway, it seems that the difference between a maze and a labyrinth is that, “to qualify as a maze, a design must have choices in the pathway,” while “labyrinths have one pathway that leads inexorably from the entrance to the goal, albeit often by the most complex and winding of routes.” So, now I know the difference.
I think making a maze or a labyrinth would be a fun summer project for the homeschool groups – maybe just use stones or some other “marker” to delineate the path. Maybe we could hold a competition between groups of students to see who can devise the most complicated maze. Then make the other teams walk through the maze to see who can solve them the fastest. Sounds fun!

While I was digging around the internet on my previous post, Medieval Fishing, I took a closer look at the online source of the original research. Now this is a little more academic then I tend to get on my posts, but for those who are interested and don’t know about this, I found that the ArchSearch website has volumes 1 through 50 of Medieval Archaeology available online in PDF format. Funded by the Society for Medieval Archaeological, there are additional documents, such as Medieval Britain and Ireland (from 1956 to 2006) also in PDF format.

Like I said, this stuff isn’t found on my usual reading list, but for anyone doing some serious research, the sources may be of value.

It’s supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow . . . if there’s enough to cancel school, I’ll spend part of the day researching some new blogs, as well as working on the monk’s benches for my daughter, my newest nine-men morris board, and the rigid heddle for my tapestry loom. I won’t lie . . . hope it snows like Hell!

When I was a historian with the U.S. Air Force at RAF Alconbury, England, my family lived in a large village to the north of the base. My children were enrolled in the village C of E school, which was actually a very decent school inspite of some cultural differences. One of the things I enjoyed most about the school’s approach to learning was its hands-on curriculum. One of the many activities that my children were able to participate in was a week long stay at the Jorvik Viking Center in York. During their stay, which involved tours of the museum and dig, they learned about daily Viking life and had the opportunity to experience it – living and working in a mock-up of a Viking village! Very cool! I also had the chance to visit the museum and dig – worth visiting if you find yourself in York, England.

Not far from the Jorvik facility, a new “find” was being explored . . . a 14/15th century timber framed house, complete with a courtyard, great hall, “great chamber” and more – Barley Hall. Unfortunately for me, the refurbishment of this building, which had been hid behind an office building facade, would not be complete until several years after my return to the states. I hope some day that I can visit again. Here is a description of the struture, “borrowed” from the Barley Hall website:

The building has now been lovingly restored to its original splendour with stunning high ceilings, beautiful exposed timber frames, and possibly the only horn window in England. It has been decorated to replicate what it would have looked like as the Snawsell home around 1483 and boasts a magnificent Great Hall. Visitors to Barley Hall can make themselves at home and sit on the chairs and handle the objects and experience what it would have been like to live in Medieval England.

Oh my – as we develop our plans here at Medieval Living for a living history museum, I can picture having such a building in which to hold classes and perhaps allow students to experience a little of Medieval life.

My daughter, Melissa, and her family are planning a trip to England this summer – I have put Barley Hall on their “must see” list – and expect brochures, photos, notes and sketches!!! Wish I could sneak into one of her suitcases!

One of the goals we have for Medieval Living is to create a living village for students to visit and learn about crafts and trades common to the Medieval era. Well just yesterday I came upon an interesting website – while not a physical Medieval living village, it still has some very interesting eduational applications! Referred to as the “Yalding Project“, it is a large scale lesson on life in Medieval England during the 14th century. Yalding sounds like the typical Medieval village, with church, a bridge, manor houses and courts, hop farms and more. Some 29 lessons are available, along with supporting documents, lesson guides and reference works. I hope to spend more time reading through this very interesting set of lessons – anyone interested in teaching Medieval history, whether high school, college, home school or otherwise, should find this site interesting and beneficial!!!

Oh so very nice! Stumbled upon this very nice collection of Medieval documents at The John Rylands University Library of the University of Manchester. Apparently they have been working diligently to digitize their entire collection – some 5,500 images! Now it appears that you need to download a client viewer, and you need a user name and password to view; however, the page linked above includes these for visitors – thank you! I will spend more time reviewing this site – but dinner is served so best not to upset the cook!