Medieval Feasts - Life in Medieval Days

Just as in modern times, the people of medieval days loved to get together with friends, listen to music, enjoy each other's company and eat a delicious meal. The medieval feast was a fun affair involving singing, dancing, talking and carousing!

The feast, often associated tournaments and faires, was often the highlight of medieval social life. For a people surrounded by religious commands, sometimes extremely isolated from the next village, and guided by the needs of the seasons, this was a welcome break to the routine. They could get together with nearby villagers, share the news, trade off on new recipes, and enjoy life.

Often the villagers would bring their own hand made instruments to play for others to dance to. Storytellers would recite stories and poetry. There would be jugglers and puppeteers.

For the more noble families, formal dinners were held in great halls. The sponsoring nobles would sit at the head table often in individual chairs. Long wooden benches lined the other tables. If the family was wealthy, tapestries would cover the walls for both decoration and draft protection.

Most floors in these days were bare dirt. To help keep the room clean and fragrant, the floor was usually covered with a layer of fresh straw. That way at the end of the party, the straw along with stray bones, scraps, and the like could be swept away as one.

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