Medieval Days Out in England
A day spent exploring the medieval history of England can be both an enjoyable and educational experience, as we found out earlier this week. The late August bank holiday saw us heading up to the Pensthorpe Nature Reserve near Fakenham in moncler outlet uk Norfolk, where their three day long Medieval moncler outlet woodbury Spectacular moncler coats outlet was in full swing. Our party was mixed in age two adults, one senior citizen, plus two boys of eleven and three. With an age range spanning almost sixty five years, pleasing everyone might have been considered a challenge. Thankfully, I can safely say that every one of us had a fantastic day out.
moncler sale Pensthorpe is the ideal setting for an authentic medieval experience. It is secluded and beautiful and if it was not for the many visitors that head for the reserve during this rather special event, you could almost feel as though you really had stepped back in time. Upon our arrival, we were just in time to see the ‘Viking’ invasion a reenactment of a Viking longboat appearing at the edge of a tiny village of tents. ‘Vikings’ clad in traditional dress tore into the village, taking the folk by surprise a battle started up, women and children were screaming and a young girl was ‘kidnapped’.
cheap moncler coats My three year old son, who is currently obsessed with all things ‘knight’, was absolutely terrified. He had been anticipating this day with great enthusiasm, but his inability to separate fantasy from reality got the better of him. ‘They’re going to kill me!’ he cried. For any parents of young children, it is worth mentioning that his fear didn’t last very long. Once he realised that the ‘knights’ at Pensthorpe were not about to wield their trusty swords and were actually quite nice folk who let him get his hands on all their stuff (encouraged it, even), he had a complete turnaround.
moncler outlet sale Learning About Armour and WeaponsOne of the key interests of the day for all moncler coats sale of us was the chance to learn about all the displayed armour and moncler outlet ny weapons. Both of my sons even the youngest were thrilled at the chance to handle swords, spears, daggers and shields. Of course, all moncler outlet location were blunt, though very heavy they are used for real battle reenactments. My oldest son asked a lot of intelligent questions about the weaponry, and was rewarded with some very lengthy and detailed answers from friendly enthusiasts who certainly knew their stuff. The entire Spectacular was like a moncler outlet real life history lesson.
There was a whole range of armour moncler jackets on sale and weaponry on display, ranging from early Viking times onwards. Visitors were encouraged to feel the moncler coats cheap heavy weight of the chainmail lifting it just once left us moncler jackets for women all with an insight into just what it must have been like to have to battle with it on. My eleven year old had to discount moncler jackets go one step further than the rest of us he actually asked if he could try it on. His wish was granted, and he was enthusiastically moncler jackets canada dressed from head to toe in medieval costume, before suitable weaponry was chosen. The picture is on the right it is a little dark, but moncler coats for cheap none the less presents a young knight in rather oversized protection!
Making chainmail was a painstakingly lengthy process. Each tiny section was put together separately every single ring was inter connected by four more rings, and was thus known as the four in one weave. We were informed it would have taken one person moncler coats for women about a week to produce one finished piece, moncler coats for men and that they would have spent that time doing moncler outlet mall nothing else. When you consider how many tiny pieces of metal make up one piece of chainmail, it moncler jacket outlet was indeed moncler coats an arduous task.
There were many helmets available to try on, and both of Official Moncler Outlet the children enjoyed this. Most were too big for my little one, but he didn’t really care!
Attempts at Shooting Crossbow and ArcheryA highlight for the children was the chance to shoot crossbows. We had to pay extra for this 1 per four arrows. Once you get the hang of it, it doesn’t moncler jackets men take long to shoot four arrows; thus, we spent about 8 on this activity. It was nice that even my three year old was allowed to try his luck his Dad helped him moncler outlet online store and together they shot down an illustrated knight target and a tin can! My older son shot like a pro and loved it I think he might have spent all day doing this if he could!
The Crossbow Shooting was set up in a small stall to the edge of the main arena, where several events were held throughout the day. The Archery tent was also to be found here, as well as many other stalls selling children’s wooden shields and swords; medieval costumes, ceramics, jewellery and more professional weaponry for the adult enthusiast (some up to several hundred pounds a piece).
cheap moncler jackets My son really enjoyed the archery and now wants a quality bow and arrow.
moncler sale outlet Nine Men’s MorrisPensthorpe’s Medieval Spectacular was about more than battling knights. It portrayed the medieval way womens moncler jackets of life, and one of the most fun activities (weapons aside) was the chance to take ‘Sir Richard’ up on his challenge to beat him at ‘Nine Men’s Morris’.
Nine cheap moncler jackets outlet Men’s Morris is one of the oldest board games it was popular during Roman times, but it is thought that it could have been played even earlier. It is actually a very enjoyable and challenging game, played on a moncler jackets outlet wooden board. The aim is to move one’s pieces around to achieve ‘three in a row’ the board is empty to begin with, and both players slot their pieces in anywhere they choose. Of course, you have to remember to block your opponent’s lines (in that respect, it is a little like Connect 4, albeit on a flat board). However, if you do manage to make a line of three, the game is not over instead, you get to take off any moncler jackets outlet online of your opponent’s pieces.
When all pieces are on the board, they are simply moved to a consecutive spot until a line of three is made. Each time, cheap moncler jackets wholesale the successful player takes away another of their opponent’s pieces. The first player to lose all their pieces is out of the game, and the other player is the winner.
My older son absolutely loved this game. He was really up for the challenge, and played ‘Sir Richard’ several times. ‘Sir Richard’ had an authentic medieval coin, and said that he would give the coin to my son if he beat him. My son didn’t manage this, despite trying very hard. I asked ‘Sir Richard’ if anyone had beat him at all throughout the day he said they had not.
moncler outlet online cheap moncler coats for women I was so impressed moncler chicago by Nine Men’s Morris (sometimes known as Merrelles) that I could see a place for it in today’s toy market. It is a strategic and skillfull game. ‘Sir Richard’ informed me that it is actually still in production today I Googled it when I returned home and found a lovely example on Amazon.
moncler outlet store Catching the WitchDuring moncler jackets cheap the medieval period, witches were commonly feared and hunted down. The fate of a captured witch was never positive and a fair trial was commonly denied. ‘Magic’ was seen as evil, and anyone accused of being a witch faced death.
cheap moncler sale At Pensthorpe’s Medieval Spectacular, it stands to reason that nobody died. However, there was a dramatic reenactment of a witch hunt, as huge swarms of villagers hunted down the ‘accused’. She was brought back to waiting crowds on the back of a wooden cart, amidst much cruel jeering. Her punishment for her heinous crime was death by hanging the noose was ready and waiting.
cheap moncler This witch managed to escape death. After being forced to admit that she was, indeed, guilty of witchcraft, she was allowed to hold onto her life only if she named the other ‘witches’ in her circle. With the noose taunting https://www.newmoncleroutlet.com her, she did so.
monlcer down jackets The Alchemist Experiments were held at certain times throughout the day
The Fortune Teller, asking onlookers whether they would like to know if they will marry
moncler outlet Coin Stamping this is a demonstration but children do get to do it themselves
Coin Striking, Fortune Telling and MoreThere were several other demonstrations and exhibits at the Medieval Spectacular, other the than ones mentioned so far. Most of these I haven’t gone into great depth over, mainly because we didn’t spend as much time on them. No particular reason for this, other than that the children mostly favoured the other activities. After all, we are talking about boys here, and boys tend to like the blood and battle side of things.
moncler mens jackets But should you have an interest in moncler jackets kids medieval cheap moncler jackets cooking, for instance, then you could see it in action and learn all about it. Thus, there was a tent dedicated to authentic moncler jackets toronto medieval products used for cleaning oneself (handmade soap) and natural substances used for minor ailments. The discount moncler outlet women in charge of this moncler outlet kids were very knowledgeable, thus providing a very interesting and informal history lesson. This was contained within the ‘living history’ area, a short path which was well worth the stroll.
Also, at the far end of the path was a little gate through which a woman sat outside a wooden hut attracting ‘villagers’ with her fortune telling skills. Whether or not marriage was on the cards was the main focus of interest, whenever I was listening. You can see her picture to the right. Also within this small compound was a man demonstrating how he produced a fire and used it for various tasks such as boiling water and cooking. My son was slightly obsessed with this, and was allowed to help by adding extra moncler jackets mens twigs and leaves.
buy moncler jackets The Alchemist (who sought the exilir of life and the Philosopher’s Stone) was a rather formidable character who was very solemn and sparse with words. His many ‘useful’ ingredients included rocks and crystals, unlabelled ‘potions’ and even dead mice and frogs. Experiments were conducted at 12pm Discount Moncler Coats and 3pm, a fact he eerily repeated each time we tried to talk to him.
Medieval coin striking was enjoyed by both the children we did have to pay a further 1 each for this but it was a nice moncler outlet online souvenir to moncler outlets uk take home. The children hammered their own stamps onto the coins, even my little one, for whom the hammer was rather over sized.
The Barber Surgeon was surely worth a visit here one could discover various medical solutions from long ago, such as tooth extraction minus anthaesetic!
cheap moncler outlet There was also entertainment throughout the day in the main arena this included falconry, music and dancing. Then, of course, there was the grand, final tournament.
The Final TournamentThe big finale of the Medieval Spectacular was the Tournament. We were all looking forward to this. By now, the late afternoon was warm and sunny, and we sat down on the grass with a moncler coats for kids half pint of local ale newmoncleroutlet.com from the nearby stall. moncler jacket online The knights, head to toe in traditional costume and sporting swords and shields, paraded around the ring as they were introduced.