Medieval Living

Well it certainly took longer than I had originally thought it would, but here it is – my little inkle loom! It is constructed from oak boards and dowels, measuring 16 inches long, 8 inches tall, and 6 inches wide. The loom will produce a usable “inkle” that is 6 feet long and 2 inches wide. I’ve placed on the Merchants Guild auction site but have included some pictures below.
I would appreciate anyone who might want to link the auction site to their blog or website! The linke for the auction is “http://www.merchants-guild.com/auctions/1012889.html” . I will donate all proceeds for the auction to my non-profit organization, Medieval Living.

Thank you in advance for your bids and support!!!

Medieval Living started as a way for me to share with others my love for the Medieval era. My family, for the most part, also has this interest. Over the past month, my daughter and son-in-law have begun putting together plans for a not-for-profit educational organization focusing on the history of Medieval England. I was invited to join in the effort – and somehow came out being listed as president on the incorporation papers – hmmm. Anyway – we are still in the organizational phase, but Medieval Living is moving from a hobbist’s blog to an actual nonprofit business. Our hope is to create a viable educational forum, which will include such things as classrooms and a living village. As I am an educator by profession, I intend to develop courses that will meet educational standards and fit into school curriculum. We envision supporting both local schools as well as those families who home school their children. When will this all come together? Good question! Our business plan will have to answer that question and many more. . . as I said, we are just in the formative stage, so much is to be determined. For now, the blog will remain much as it is, but the accompanying website will undergo some signicant changes as things develop. Wish us luck on this endeavor!!!

I will be visiting family in my home state of Ohio for the next week or so . . . so there won’t be any more posts to medieval-livng.com – but when I get back, I will jump back into it with both feet!!!

Almost anywhere you go in the world, you will find all sorts of gardens. This was likely very true in Medieval days as well. Typically, gardens were of two main groups – utilitarian and pleasure. A wonderful article from Gallow Glass describes in great detail all of the “ins” and “outs” of Medieval gardening. This article, aptly titled Medieval and Renaissance Gardens, is complete with vocabulary discussion, quotes from Medieval period gardeners, and a very nice bibliography and list of references. I thought it was very interesting that the Medieval gardener was aware of solar heating techniques for improving the growing season of fruit trees! I think we often fail to give the Medieval peoples enough credit for all of their advancements in technology.
The authers of this article also include discussions on different elements of gardens: raised and sunken beds, enclosures, walkways, seats, water features and more. When I was visiting England during the late 80’s, I was always impressed with the wonderful gardens at various castles and cathedrals and such. I do wish I had spent more time examining the construction of the gardens in addition to enjoying their beauty and detail. Perhaps I will get back there again some day soon. Until then, I will enjoy such articles as the one noted above.
Cheers!

Ah, romance and love . . . what wonderful things . . . um anyway. In Medieval times, the marriage of two people was really alot like it is today. Why? Well largely because many of the wedding customs we have today have their roots in Medieval times. As early as 1076, a priest was required to bless a couple – somewhere in the 16th century, it became mandatory for a priest to officiate the ceremony. Much of the meaning to gemstones came to us from Medieval times, as brides were often adorned with a variety of jewels. Of course there is alot more to it, and if your interested, you might want to visit Medieval-Weddings.net With the popularity of Medieval-style weddings these days, this is a topic of much interest.