Entertainment and Games of Middle Ages

Sometimes when we imagine the Middle Ages and the Dark Ages, we imagine cloudy days, soggy castles, slaving peasants, and prisons. The people of the Middle Ages, however, cherished gatherings, festivities, feasts, contests, and sports. Like us, they enjoyed having a good time.

Festivals, fairs, and feasts

There were many festivals celebrated during the Middle Ages, but there were no vacations or days off for people to enjoy. These days, they would celebrate holidays with fairs, carnivals, and feasts. The majority of these days fell on holy days, such as Christmas, Easter, and different saints’ days, in the Christian calendar.

The nearby villagers would join together and have a large festival on these days. There would be a lot of dancing, eating, and drinking. Many of the customs they observed originated in the unique cultures of each country in Europe.

Hunting

The nobles’ preferred sporting activity was hunting. A hunt may be organised by several nobles on the property of the local baron. While their trained dogs searched for the prey, they would ride horseback. Even noblewomen enjoyed going on hunts. When hunting, they would employ trained raptors like hawks.

Music

The Middle Ages had a vast range of musical styles. On feast days, there were bands in several towns. They played a variety of instruments, such as pipes, drums, fiddles, harps, bagpipes, and even a device known as a hurdy-gurdy.

Troubadours

The troubadour was one of the most well-liked entertainment genres. Men who performed music and sang songs with passionate lyrics about knights and heroes were known as troubadours. Many troubadours played for kings and queens and achieved considerable fame.

Games

The Middle Ages were a time when many different games were played. Chess was a game that the nobles enjoyed playing. In the ninth century, chess was brought from Persia to Europe. Other games included card games, dice games, checkers, horse races, and blind man’s bluff.

Sports

At festivals and other gatherings, there were a lot of sports competitions. These included wrestling, jousting, throwing hammers, and archery. They participated in early forms of golf, cricket, bowling and football (soccer) in some regions.

Interesting information about mediaeval entertainment

In mediaeval churches, monks frequently sang. Without using any instruments, they would chant in a single note. Plainsong was the term for this kind of singing.

An helper known as a jongleur might occasionally work with a troubadour. The jongleur frequently used juggling and acrobatics in his performances.

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table were subjects of some of the most well-liked tales.

Mummers were people who dressed up and went unnoticed at festivals.

Gameball was the name of the ancient football. Other than the fact that there were two teams, two goals, and one ball, there were no rules.

May Day served as a festival day to welcome summer. Huge bonfires would be lit, and people would dance around maypoles. Some towns would name one girl the May Queen.