Updated Dec 20, 2024
This kit was created to assist you in completing the Fantasy Adventure program. Included are facts, profiles, crafts, games, puzzles, recipes and information that can be copied and distributed to the participants working on this kit.
This kit was created to assist you or your group in completing the Fantasy Adventures patch program. Kits are written specifically to meet the requirements of the program and help individuals earn the associated patch. All of the information has been researched for you and compiled into one place. Included are facts, crafts, games, recipes and other educational information. These materials can be reproduced and distributed to the individuals completing the program. Any other use of this program and materials contained in them is in direct violation of copyright laws.
It probably doesn’t surprise you to know that the rich, the noble, and the royal had massive banquets almost every evening. Tables would be heaping with food of all sorts as the guests feasted and the entertainers danced, juggled, or joked. But what might surprise you is that the exalted would have no vegetables and almost no fruit on the tables. Food that grew in or out of the ground was considered “commoner’s food,” while gamey meats and exotic spices were only for the rich.
The saying, “a meal fit for a king,” is still sometimes used in today’s society to describe a great and delicious meal, but what kind of meal was fit for a king in the Middle Ages? King Richard II of England sometimes gave feasts for as many as 10,000 people at once. One of these required 140 hogs, 14 oxen, 12 calves, 12 boars, and 3 tons of salted venison.
Around 700 C.E. (Common Era) an important invention reached Europe that changed the Middle Ages forever. The invention was the stirrup for a saddle. Without it knights in their heavy armor and their cumbersome lances couldn’t have rode on horseback without falling off. But with the extra support mounted warriors gained more control of their steeds allowing them to easily maneuver their horses and carry heavier armor and weapons.
Have you ever wondered who invented the piggy bank? It wasn’t a person, but rather the evolution of language which did. “Pygg,” a middle English term, refers to a type of clay that was used in Medieval times to make jars or pots for people to keep coins in. These were called “pygg pots.” By the 18th century these jars came to be known as a “pig bank” or “piggy bank.
Have you ever wondered how a person knew what time it was back when there were no clocks? Well, back in the early Middle Ages, the Europeans broke up their days into seven hours of equal length. A bell would ring in the church, signalling the seven times of prayer: Ladus (at 3 am or dawn), Prime (around 6 am), Tierce (around 9 am), Sext (at midday), None (around 3 pm), Vespers (around 6 pm or after dinner), and Compline (around 9 pm or before bed). It was only in the late 1300s that mechanical clocks were installed in towers of churches and town halls.
Did you know that in Medieval England, animals could be put on trial for committing crimes? They could! Records show that farm animals were tried for injuring or killing people. Also, a few mice were taken to court for stealing part of the collective harvest.
The medieval ages are actually recorded in the histories of time as the Middle Ages, which started around 400 C.E. and lasted till 1400 C.E. (common era). The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire and precedes the Early Modern Era. When people hear “medieval ages,” most immediately begin to picture commanding kings and beautiful queens, courageous knights and fair princesses. Although these concepts do have roots in the Middle Ages, they are not always historically accurate.
The Middle Ages is broken into three parts:
In this booklet we are going to take a look the High and Late Middle Ages around England while mostly ignoring the crumbling of the Roman Empire.
The medieval age is one of the most exciting and romanticized ages, but not everything was wonderful. Life was hard for most people. For the kings, queens, and noble families, life was extravagant and filled with feasts and tournaments. For the commoners, life was filled with hard work and threats.
Each day, a peasant would wake up at the break of dawn; in the summer, this meant that their day would start at 3:00 AM! His wife would prepare breakfast, which was usually porridge or bread and water. He would leave his (typically) thatched-roofed, one-room house for the noble’s castle or manor. There, he worked the land, tilling, plowing, reaping, sowing, thatching, threshing, hedging, or any other manual work the noble needed to be done. During harvest times, his wife would accompany him and help out with these tasks, but most days, she spent her time preparing the daily meals, feeding and tending to the small animals, such as chickens, weaving and mending clothes, making preserves for food, collecting berries and herbs, taking care of the garden, and raising children.
At dusk, the peasant man would return to his home and eat supper, which could consist of eggs, poultry, and vegetables such as turnips and cabbage. After supper, there was a small amount of time for leisure activities before his wife tucked the kids in, and they climbed into bed for the night. The family would wake up during the night to pray and socialize before going to bed again until morning. The next day, they would repeat their daily routine.
The Early Middle Age is known as the Dark Age because arts almost ceased to exist and barbarians roamed the land.
The Royalty and the exalted lived a comfortable life, but a life not without its own share of problems. The king had to oversee his kingdom and keep an eye on his greedy nobles at all times. He was always at risk of being attacked by barbarians outside his castle walls or power-hungry relatives from the inside. The daily life of a king and his queen would start at dawn. They would get dressed, go to mass, and make their prayers. The king would then leave to eat breakfast, possibly with some knights and lords of the realm, while the queen was assisted into her dress by her ladies-in-waiting. The queen would join her husband in breaking her fast.
After the meal, the king would meet with his lords and nobles and discuss matters of business related to his land, such as estate crops, harvests, supplies, and various financial means. He would then listen to any complaints or disputes the nobles had and try to solve them. A good portion of his day was dedicated to having political discussions and making decisions. For an hour or two before midmorning prayers and dinner, the king would spend some time practicing with weapons. The Middle Ages were dangerous times, and even a king needed to be prepared for an
attack.
In the afternoon, the king might possibly go on a hunt or some other leisure activity, but he mostly continued to deal with matters of the realms. He would go for evening prayers and then have a grand feast in his hall with neighbouring nobles and knights. After supper, he would watch entertainers, such as jugglers, acrobats, or jesters, listen to music, and dance. Whenever he was tired, he would go to bed.
The queen had her own business. She would gather with other noble ladies and discuss tournaments, betrothals, marriages, poetry and courtly love. She would be expected to know the goings-on of the castle and be able to step into the role of the king if he was absent. She would also take care of and oversee the education of young girls entrusted to her care. Sometimes, nobles would send their daughters to learn grace and poise from the queen. She would have mid-morning prayers and dinner with her lady nobles or her husband and then spend the afternoon doing housewifely duties. Any extra time the queen had, she would spend on embroidery and practising her dancing skills. For supper, she would gather with the king and the nobles in the hall and watch the entertainment. She would have to wait until her husband said it was time for bed before she was allowed to retire for the evening.
The Medieval Age is actually a part of the Middle Ages which started around 400 C.E. and lasted till 1400 C.E.
The life of a noble was very similar to the life of the royalty, except everything was done on a slightly smaller scale. The only difference is that the noble Lord would have to make reports and supervise the land he was in charge of and the peasants or serfs working on it. The noble woman also had more responsibilities including looking after some financial matters and settling disputes between peasants while her lord was away.
In the Middle Ages, battles and wars were fought very often; thus, a knight’s life centred around fighting for his Lord and the King. A knight would wake up at dawn like everyone else and make their prayers. They would eat breakfast, then practice and hone their weapon skill at the quintain, an object mounted on a post or attached to a movable crossbar mounted on a post. If the target was attached to a movable post, the knight would hit the object, causing the object to quickly spin around. The knight had to strike and move away fast, or he would get hit by the object as it came around. After weapon practice, the knights would talk amongst themselves and increase their knowledge of siege warfare, strategy, and weapons. They would have mid-morning prayers and then eat dinner before going out and increasing their skills in horsemanship. If their lord went out, they were expected to go with him and keep him safe. The knights would then join their lord in the castle or manor and share the evening feast and entertainment before bedtime prayers.
As the Middle Ages wore on and culture became more refined, the knights had to understand and follow the Knights's Code of Chivalry and courtly love. In the evenings, they might spend their time learning how to dance.
The following list is a simplified version of the Knights's Code of Chivalry as described in the Song of Roland.
To fear God and maintain His Church
To serve the liege lord in valour and faith
To protect the weak and defenceless
To give help to widows and orphans
To refrain from the wanton giving of offence
To live by honour and for glory
To despise pecuniary reward
To fight for the welfare of all
To obey those placed in authority
To guard the honour of fellow knights
To avoid unfairness, meanness and deceit
To keep faith
At all times to speak the truth
To persevere to the end in any enterprise begun
To respect the honour of women
Never to refuse a challenge from an equal
Never to turn the back upon a foe
The king would start his day at dawn by going to mass to make their prayers and then having breakfast. He would spend most of his day in meetings, practicing weaponry, hunting, going to evening prayers and then having a grand feast.
Most of the time, princesses around the age of seven lived away from home. A princess needed to be cultured, polite, and know what went on in her man’s home. So, more often than not, the princess would be betrothed to a prince, and she would grow up in the same home as him. The head woman of the household would raise the princess and teach her how to dance, sing, embroider, and perform household duties. In some cases, the princess was allowed to grow up at home, and then, when she came of age, she was married to a suitable lord or prince of her father’s choosing.
A princess’s daily life was very similar to that of the queens, except more time would be spent learning and less teaching others. A princess would also engage in courtly love with the knights in the evening, which meant that the knights would sing songs of love to her and wear her ribbon in tournaments. A knight could not marry a princess, but it was considered romantic to proclaim your love and prove it in many ways, even though you knew it could never be.
A peasant man would wake up at 3:00 AM, eat breakfast, leave for the noble’s castle or manor to work until dusk, eat supper, have a small amount of leisure time, and then go to bed. A peasant woman would make breakfast for her husband, accompany her husband to work during harvest time or take care of the house, children, and small animals before making supper and then tucking the kids into bed.
The medieval age is popularly used in fantasy settings rather than historical contexts. The fantasy genre loves to romanticize various aspects of the medieval age, with tales of knights slaying dragons, the legend of King Author and his knights of the round table, and fair maidens taming the beautiful unicorn. Imagination runs wild throughout the fantasy setting, with each tale different from the last. However, there are some common elements that run through most fantasy stories: magic, monsters, and extraordinary creatures.
In medieval fantasies, magic can be considered a great or bad thing, a power for good or evil. Magic could be used to help cure the sick or raise an army of undead. It all depends on the wielder of the magic. Monsters, on the other hand, are generally considered a force of evil. Monsters are creatures of all shapes and sizes that go out of their way to attack kindly folk and wreak havoc on the world. On the other hand, extraordinary creatures are generally considered gentle and willing to aid a person in need. Goblins, dragons, griffins, giants, skeletons, and vampires are all considered monsters and unicorns, mermaids, and fairies are extraordinary creatures. But not everyone follows this definition; that’s what is so great about fantasy. Some people create stories with good dragons and evil mermaids, sympathetic vampires and rude unicorns. To give fantasy one definition is impossible.
Here are some creatures, both monster and extraordinary, to help with the Fantasy Story craft shown later in this booklet.
A woman with the upper torso of a human while her waist and down is a long fish-like tail. Mermaids like collecting shells and often lounge on rocks to sun themselves.
A giant lizard that walks on four legs has two leathery wings and has a long tail. It has claws, teeth and spits fire for defence.
A short humanoid creature that has big pointed ears. Its skin tone is either green or grey in colour. They normally carry short spears or clubs that serve as weapons. They are nocturnal creatures and don’t care for the light.
They are very shy creatures that prefer to stay away from humans altogether. They range across many places and live where ever their hooves take them. Unicorns look like white horses with long horns in the middle of their forehead. They have magic which they use to heal and purify as well as to hide.
A magically enchanted skeleton that is animated to “life” to guard something or fight. They have no flesh left on their bones and carry various weapons. Some wear armour from their previous life.
A mythological creature that looks to be a cross between an eagle and a lion. Griffins are huge animals and can easily lift a horse. They have an eagle head, neck, wings, and talons, while their hind legs and tail are that of a lion.
A tiny humanoid with bug-like transparent wings. They normally wear clothes made out of natural substances such as leaves and flower petals. Most fairies house in mushrooms. They have an abundant amount of magic that they use to defend themselves and help things grow. Fairies are fun-loving, kind creatures that interact with all life in a friendly manner.
The Middle Ages was a very violent time period and the need for a strong, defensive home caused many kings, queens, and some lords to build castles. The designs and development of castles changed as time progressed along with the weapons and machines that people used to defend it. Listed below are some parts of a castle along with a brief description of what each part was used for.
|
Parts Of A Castle |
Part Description |
|
Drawbridge |
A drawbridge was a wooden platform with one side hinged to the castle wall so it could be pulled up by ropes or chains in case the castle was under attack. The drawbridge prevented or hindered enemies from getting into the castle. |
|
Portcullis |
A portcullis is a heavy metal grate door that is suspended from the gatehouse. It is made to be dropped quickly in times of attack to block enemies from entering the castle. |
|
Gatehouse |
The gatehouse was a fortified structure built to defend the gateway to a castle. |
|
Moat |
Kings built moats for one very practical reason: to stop their enemies from digging underground and undermining the castle. Some moats were filled with water, and some with wooden stakes to stop enemies from crossing. |
|
Battlement |
Battlements are ramparts built around the top of a castle with regular gaps for firing arrows. |
|
Rampart |
To allow defenders to access the battlements, the king would have a walkway built right up against the outer wall of the castle. This is called a rampart. |
|
Keep |
The castle keep is the structure inside the castle walls that is the most protected. This is usually where the royal family resided. Castle keeps were originally all square in shape, but then became rounded to reduce the risk of enemies attacking the vulnerable corners. |
|
Courtyard |
A courtyard is an open area within the castle walls. |
|
Dungeon |
The castle dungeon was a place usually built below the main level of the castle and was used to hold prisoners and sometimes torture them. |
Every fantasy castle needs a secret passageway, and the castles in the Medieval Ages were no exception. Some kings had secret passageways constructed that would lead them safely out of the castle in case they needed to flee for their lives. Others made tunnels that allowed inhabitants to leave into a forest to hunt or gather supplies while the castle was under siege. Sometimes, kings were so paranoid that they had secret passages built where guards could hide and watch them at all times. Castles had secret passageways into secret chambers, secret stairs, and even into secret dungeons, libraries, or places of worship.
A neat fact about medieval castle stairs is that they were designed with defence in mind. Stairwells that curved up to towers were often very narrow and curved in a clockwise direction so that attackers were at a disadvantage. Most enemies carried their swords in their right hands, which put their weapon hands against the interior curve of the wall. This made it very difficult for them to swing their swords. Defenders, on the other hand, had their sword hands on the outside wall, which gave them more room to swing. Another secret about stairs is that they were built with uneven steps. Inhabitants of the castle would get used to the different stair heights and could navigate them quickly, but attackers could easily misstep and slow their allies down, making them more vulnerable to attacks from the defenders.
As a third-generation Scouter, Pauline is a writer passionate about giving back to the Guiding and Scouting programs. She grew up making beaver buggies with the boys, selling popcorn as a Cub and practicing outdoor skills with the Scouts. Instead of moving on to Ventures, she became an assistant leader for Cubs, also known as a Kim. Pauline is proud to pass on her Scouting knowledge to an international audience.
