Medieval Food

• Although most people bought spices from their local market, those spices had often travelled miles, from the Middle East and Asia. Some crusaders to the Holy Land brought back spices with them, trying to replicate food they had tried whilst en route to Jerusalem.
• From common spices such as cinnamon, to exotic and expensive flavourings like nutmeg and saffron, there were spices to suit every purse and palate in the Middle Ages, an era when the flavour of food was appreciated and extremely important.
• spices were often passed around during a meal, rather than being added during the cooking process. This meant that each person could tailor his or her dish to their own particular needs and tastes.

Medieval Castles

• Not all Dungeons were underground. Many were in a Tower, which was easier to guard.
• The Tower of London and the Bastille in Paris were two of the best-known and most feared medieval dungeons.
• Some prisoners were held for a few days or weeks until their trial, others were condemned to the dungeon until they died.
• The keep in a medieval castle was a square structure, designed to be the strongest part of the building and the one to which its inhabitants could retreat to in the event of an attack.

Vikings

• Most Vikings and their families lived in small villages in southern Scandinavia or on isolated farmsteads in the north.
• Vikings who were Freeman were composed of fishermen, shipwrights, metal workers, carpenters, craftsmen and farm workers.
• Vikings are best known for the reputation as fierce warriors who pillaged, burned and enslaved villages all over Europe.

Knights

• For centuries the chivalric knight stood above all others on the battlefield. Yet, in just a few short years, they were virtually erased from the battlefield.
• The Western image of armored knights on horse in the Age of Chivalry evolved from two primary Eastern influences, the Byzantines and the Persians.
• Western Europeans such as the Franks adopted the Byzantine cataphract methods which later became the basis for the renowned armored knights of medieval fame.

Where do you go when you're sick? An apothecary�s shop!

• An apothecary�s shop was full of various cures, most of which he prepared himself.
• He was usually a trusted member of the medieval community, but at times, apothecaries were accused of practising magic or witchcraft.
• Ideally, the apothecary would also have access to a garden, where he could grow the herbs and plants he needed, behind his shop.
• A Surgeon or Barber Surgeon carried out surgeries such as caesarean births, bone setting, dentistry, the removal of bladder stones and even cateract procedures. However, many of these procedures resulted in the death of the patient, either on the operating table, or as a result of a later infection or complication from the operation.
• The use of anaesthetics was restricted to those who could pay for it, many people had to suffer the pain of an operation with only a plank of wood to bite on
• People didn't believe in washing their hands yet! That's great idea didn't come along for some time. Bathing was an annual event for most.