1.1. Castles: Since the power and security of a lord depended upon his ability to defend himself, fief owners began to build sturdy castles. Castles were designed to withstand a siege and to mount a defense. At first castles were made of wood. But they were too easy to burn down. By 1100 CE, castles were built of stone. Thick walls surrounded a castle. Inside these thick walls, there were many buildings. At the first sign of trouble, the commoners rushed to get inside the castle walls before the gates closed and shut them out.
1.2. . Location: Castles were usually built on top of a hill, if one was handy. That way, the lookout guards could more easily spot attackers approaching.
1.3. The Moat: A moat was built around many of the castles. This was a deep ditch surrounding the castle walls, filled with water. A bridge was built to cross the moat. The bridge was raised during an attack. The moat was loaded with traps and sharp spikes in case someone tried to swim across
1.4. The Drawbridge: The drawbridge was the bridge built across the moat. This bridge could be raised and lowered for added protection from intruders.
1.5. The Keep: One of the largest spaces behind the thick walls was the keep. The keep was a storage area topped by a huge square tower with slotted windows for castle archers to use. The keep stored food, wine, and grain in case of siege.
1.6. The Barracks: Other buildings made up the barracks. the barracks were the homes of the knights and their families
1.7. The Chapel: The chapel was build either inside the lord's home or as a separate building. The chapel was a place to hold religious services.
1.8. The Great Hall: The Great Hall was a passageway that connected the lord's home to the keep
1.9. The Gatehouse: The gatehouse was a building used by the guards at the gates. The portcullis was the grating of iron bars at the gateway.
2. Medieval Recreation
2.1. Medieval society indulged in a number of games and recreation, when the often harsh daily life permitted a break. Chess was widely popular and often a source of gambling entertainment; both in the traditional format and in a simpler version played with dice. Dice were easy to carry and were played in all ranks of society, even among the clergy.
2.2. Some games played during the Middle Ages, including bowling, prisoner's base, blind man's bluff (also called hoodman's blind), and simple "horseplay" are still played today.
2.3. Checkers were a popular pastime, as was backgammon. Children wrestled, swam, fished and played a game that was a cross between tennis and handball. Medieval knights would incorporate training in recreation, performing gymnastics and running foot races. Spectators in the Middle Ages were often drawn to cockfights and bullbaiting.
2.4. The preferred recreation for most adults was drinking in the local tavern. At harvest time, villagers would bob for apples and go on hunts in the surrounding forests, if the castle lord permitted. Hawks were trained to hunt game birds and every medieval castle had a falconer, assigned to train young birds for this sport.
2.5. Medieval Christmas games included "King of the Bean," where a small bean would be baked inside bread or cake, and the one who found it in their portion would be crowned king of the holiday feast
3. Health Issues and the plague
3.1. In the 14th century (the 1300's), a horrible disease struck Asia, Africa, and Europe. The people called this illness the Black Death. The disease started in Asia in the 1340's. It quickly spread to Africa, and throughout Europe.
3.2. Infected people first broke out with red ring shaped marks with dark center spots on their arms and necks. They would run high fevers. They became even more ill, and then they died
3.3. . At first, people locked their doors trying to protect themselves. They carried flowers to ward off the smell of the dead and dying. The skies were filled with ashes as people burned houses filled with the dead. Villages filled with the dead were burned down, to contain and kill the disease.
3.4. . Outbreaks of the disease seemed to come in cycles. Just as people thought it was over, a new rash of illness would hit the towns, and from the towns move to the villages. People did not know that infected rats carried the disease. They thought it was a punishment from God for being wicked. They believed if you were bad, you would get the plague and die.
3.5. The towns were hit the hardest. There was no sanitation in the towns. People threw their garage out on the street. To a rat, coming off a ship docked at port, the towns must have seemed like heaven. Medieval knowledge of health, hygiene, and medical practices was very limited. Commoners and nobles alike took infrequent baths. The peasants slept and worked in the same clothes for days and even weeks at a time without washing themselves or their clothes.
3.6. Outbreaks of the plague continued for two hundred years. The cause of the plague was not discovered until the 20th century (1900's.) Today, this disease is called the bubonic plague. We have a vaccine for the plague should an outbreak ever happen again. We're lucky. The people in the Middle Ages did not have vaccines to protect themselves from many diseases as we do today.
4. Knights
4.1. Page: At age seven, a nobleman's son began training for knighthood. During this first step of training, boys were called pages.
4.2. . As a page, a boy learned how to fight, how to use weapons, and how to ride a horse into battle. He learned manners from the nobleman's wife.
4.3. Squire: At age 15, a page could become a squire. Each squire was assigned to a knight. A knight could have several squires. The squire assisted the knight to whom he was assigned. Squires continued to learn how to fight and how to behave.
4.4. . Knights: Once a squire proved himself in battle, and his knight felt he was ready, he could become a knight himself. Squires were knighted in elaborate ceremonies.
4.5. . As a page, a boy learned how to fight, how to use weapons, and how to ride a horse into battle. He learned manners from the nobleman's wife.
