Entertainment and Games in Middle Ages

Entertainment and Games in Middle Ages

Sometimes, when we imagine the Middle Ages, we see gloomy days, soggy castles, enslaved peasants, and prisons. But the Middle Ages were also a time of great festivals, gatherings, feasts, games, and sports for the people. They enjoyed having fun, just like the rest of us.

Entertainment and Games in Middle Ages

Fairs, Festivals, and Feasts

The Middle Ages had a lack of vacation time and days off, but a great deal of festivals that people took time off to celebrate. To commemorate these days, they would host feasts, carnivals, and fairs. The majority of these dates were holy days in the Christian calendar, like Christmas, Easter, and other saints’ days.
The nearby people would join together on these days and have a huge celebration. There would be an abundance of food, beverages, entertainment, sports, and dancing. Numerous customs they observed originated from their regional cultures and varied across Europe.

Hunting

The favorite sporting event for the nobility was hunting. Several nobles may gather together for a hunt on the local baron’s land. They would ride horses while their trained dogs would hunt down the prey. Even noblewomen liked to hunt. They would use trained birds of prey, like hawks, when hunting.

Music

There was a wide variety of music during the Middle Ages. Many towns had a band that played on feast days. They used a number of different instruments including pipes, drums, fiddles, harps, bagpipes, and even something called a hurdy-gurdy.

Troubadours

One of the most popular forms of entertainment was the troubadour. Troubadours were men who traveled from town to town singing and playing music that told romantic stories about knights and heroes. Many troubadours became quite famous and performed before kings and queens.

Games

People of the Middle Ages enjoyed a variety of games. One popular game among the nobility was chess. Chess came to Europe from Persia in the 9th century. Other games included gambling with dice, blind man’s bluff, checkers, horse races, and playing cards.

Sports

There were many athletic events at festivals and other occasions. These included archery, jousting, hammer-throwing, and wrestling. In some areas they played early versions of football (soccer), cricket, bowling, or golf.

Facts about Entertainment in the Middle Ages

• Monks often sung in Medieval churches. They would chant in a single key without any instruments. This type of singing was called plainsong.
• Sometimes a troubadour would have an assistant called a jongleur. The jongleur would often add in acrobatics and juggling to the show.
• Some of the most popular stories told were about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
• People who dressed up and disguised themselves at festivals were called mummers.
• The medieval version of football was called gameball. There were no rules other than there were two teams, two goals, and one ball.
• May Day was a festival day to celebrate the arrival of summer. People would dance around maypoles and light huge bonfires. Some towns would crown one girl the Queen of the May.

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