Ale was made with grain, mainly barley. The barley was “malted”, that is, left to germinate or start growing in water. The grain was then roasted slowly to stop the seed from growing further. This malt was crushed and boiled in water. After the liquid had cooled, yeast was added. [...]

Filed under: Medieval | No Comments »

Open fires provided the means to cook food as well as a source of heat for most people. Peasants and less wealthy people cooked on the fire in the centre of their houses. There was little ventilation and there were no chimneys, so it could get very smoky inside. Food was also [...]

Filed under: Medieval | No Comments »

…that a paillasse is a thin mattress filled with straw or sawdust and was commonly used in the middle ages.
…that a garderobe was a medieval toilet. Usually nothing more than a hole in the outer wall of the castle which dropped into a cess pit or moat. It is also claimed to be [...]

Filed under: Medieval | No Comments »

1320 – 1346
The black death ravages China and the Middle East
1347
The black death reaches the Crimea, including Kaffa
October 1347
The black death enters the port of Messina, Sicily, via trade ships from the east
Fall/Winter 1347
Sicily is overwhelmed
January 1348
The black death enters France through the port of Marseilles; northern Italy is struck down
February 1348
Population of Avignon, France, [...]

Filed under: Medieval | No Comments »

Many medieval people believed in the existence of supernatural beings. One story of how the plague spread told of a beautiful witch called the Plague or Pest Maiden. The maiden was “born” as a blue flame from the mouth of a dying patient. She carried a red scarf and flew from house [...]

Filed under: Medieval | No Comments »

Knights were men of the sword. Their iron blades were heated, cooled and hammered many times before they became steel. Their blades were often damacened, that is inlaid with gold and silver designs. The knight held the sword by the hilt which was protected by two guards called quillions. The pommel, [...]

Filed under: Medieval | No Comments »

By the 13th century, a knight’s armour had changed in many ways. Most knights had mail mittens at the end of the sleeves of their hauberk. Theses were split along the palms so that the hands could be freed without taking off the rest of the armour. Helmets called flat-topped helms became [...]

Filed under: Medieval | No Comments »

The invention of the stirrup enabled horse-soldiers or knights to wear heavy armour and, at the same time, to control their horses in battle. By the 11th century, knights were almost completely covered in mail armour. Mail was made of small interlocking steel rings so that each ring had four others linked through [...]

Filed under: Medieval | No Comments »

This is a topic that I’ve skimmed over before but will go into more detail now.
Although knighting had been a simple affair during the early Middle Ages, the ceremony gradually became more and more complicated. By the end of the Middle Ages, it was performed in the grounds before some great castle amid great [...]

Filed under: Medieval | No Comments »

At about the age of 14 if the page had made satisfactory progress he became a squire and, if he belonged to, or served in, a wealthy family, he put on silver spurs as a sign of his new status. As a squire, he had the right to carry a shield emblazoned with armorial [...]

Filed under: Medieval | No Comments »