Category Archives: Holidays

Happy Medieval New Year!

Posted on January 1, 2014 by Ruth

The medieval calendar was based on the Roman tradition of the Julian calendar. The Julian calendar used 12 lunar months to track one solar year, with irregular days spread out to keep it as even as possible. Medieval calendars tended … Continue reading →

Posted in Holidays | Tagged | 2 Comments

Special days after Christmas

Posted on December 28, 2013 by Ruth

Medieval people generally believed that feasts were the way to honor saints, and the week after Christmas was particularly thick with saints to honor. That’s one reason that Christmas seemed like a feast that just went on and on. St. … Continue reading →

Posted in Holidays, Medieval cycle of life | Leave a comment

Putting “Christ” back in Christmas, 13th cent.

Posted on December 26, 2013 by Ruth

Christmas was always a somewhat troubling holiday for really devout believers. It was a holiday for feasting and getting drunk, and many of the games veered quickly into lewdness (surely Blind Man’s Buff and Pin the Tail on the Donkey … Continue reading →

Posted in Holidays | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Christmas drama

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Ruth

The castle Hall at Christmas always had some theater productions. Traveling players may have been engaged to put on shows (Christmas was a time when any and all jongleurs and singers could count on picking up work if they didn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Holidays | Tagged | Leave a comment

Medieval Christmas games

Posted on December 22, 2013 by Ruth

After a feast, when the food scraps and dishes were cleared away, it was time for games and dancing. Here’s where we have to admit that medieval games were a bit lame. It’s much nicer to explain that while we … Continue reading →

Posted in Holidays | Tagged | Leave a comment

Christmas in a castle

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Ruth

As you remember from the castle series, there were no true castles in Charlemagne’s time. As soon as you’re in a stone castle with a keep, maybe a round tower, and a gatehouse, the year is at least 1100 and … Continue reading →

Posted in Castles, Food, Holidays | Tagged | Leave a comment

Christmas with Charlemagne

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Ruth

When Pope Gregory first sent Latin missionaries to the outer northern wilds of Europe, he instructed them to make it easy for converts. If they were used to gathering on a hilltop somewhere on a certain day, find a saint’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Holidays | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

May Day and Robin Hood

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Ruth

May 1 is mostly behind us, but still worth covering from the Middle Ages. May Day was a true folk holiday celebrating spring. It had nothing to do with the church, which generally opposed May Day games on prudential “they’ll … Continue reading →

Posted in Holidays, Literature | Tagged | Leave a comment

Medieval Easter

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Ruth

On Saturday night before Easter, with all fires extinguished at the church, the priest started a new fire and the villagers came to light lamps and candles to take the holy flame home. Medieval Easter began very early at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Holidays | Leave a comment

Re-enacting the death of Jesus: medieval Good Friday

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Ruth

Medieval churches tried to dramatize the death of Jesus; their idea of re-enactment was liturgical, symbolic, and heavily loaded with music. In Biblical dramas staged publicly during the summer, an actor might play the role of Jesus, tied and faux-nailed … Continue reading →

Posted in Holidays | Tagged | Leave a comment