Watch outlandish animals, fight with sausages, drink from a wine fountain, attack a knight with a rake, play Saint Cosma, visit a “glorious house”, gossip at the fountain and other ways to have fun available to city dwellers in the Middle Ages.
Fifty-two regular Sundays, each week for the celebration of the main Christian holidays - Easter, Christmas and Pentecost, other obligatory holidays - Epiphany, Baptism, Meeting, Palm Sunday, Ascension, Trinity, Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, Day of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Transfiguration, Exaltation Cross, Day of the Holy Family, Day of the Immaculate Conception, Day of St. Joseph, Day of Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Day of All Saints, plus the days of various saints - patrons of the city, craft workshops and so on, days of their commemoration and days of various events connected with them, as well as the entrances of rulers, bishops and other important persons - in total, the medieval townspeople spent about a third of the year in idleness. How could this time be killed?
Go to church and listen to the preacher
Festive services were performed with great pomp with the participation of the best choral singers. Already from the 9th-10th centuries, the festive mass becomes like an allegorical performance thanks to the dramatization of the Old Testament, Gospel or hagiographic history. Such performances lasted until about the 13th century, when they were replaced by city theater performances.
Miniature by Jean Fouquet from the Book of Hours by Etienne Chevalier. XV century
On the holiday, women tried to dress up: they went not only to the divine service, but also "to the people" - to look at others and show themselves. Everyone in the church had their own place, which was determined by their position in society. On Sundays and holidays it was forbidden to work, and after Mass the parishioners wanted to have fun: dancing and singing often took place right in the churchyard, although the clergy at least declaratively condemned such a pastime.
Sometimes a preacher would visit the city, and then, if he did not speak in the courtyard of the temple, the burghers built a platform for him, where the guest could pray with those present, and then deliver an accusatory sermon.
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Medieval theatrical performances were mainly responsible for the spiritual entertainment of the townspeople and explained the Holy Scriptures in one form or another in the folk language. Miracles were based on the apocryphal gospels, hagiography, and knightly novels. In England, miracles were usually erected by members of craft guilds in honor of their patrons. In France, they were popular among the members of puis - urban associations for joint pious activities, playing music and poetry competitions. The plot of the mystery, as a rule, was the passion of Christ, the expectation of the Savior, the lives of the saints. Initially, the mysteries were part of the church service, then they began to be played out in the courtyard or in the churchyard, and later moved to the city squares. At the same time, they were not played by professional actors, but by clergy and members of the pui.
The wild people dance. Miniature from the Chronicles by Jean Froissard. 1470-1472 years
Moralize is a cross between religious and comic theater. In allegorical form, they showed the struggle between good and evil in the world and in man. The outcome of this struggle was the salvation or death of the soul.
The performances were announced in advance, posters were hung on the city gates, and during the performance the city was carefully guarded, "so that no unknown people would enter the mentioned city on this day," as it is written in one of the documents of 1390, kept in the archives of the city hall in Tours …
With all the conventions of the productions, what was happening on the stage for the audience completely merged with reality, and tragic events coexisted with comic scenes. Spectators were often involved in the action as participants in the events.
You could have fun without preaching. For example, to gawk at wandering artists. From about the XIV century in France, troupes of professional actors have been formed - "The Brotherhood of Passions", "Carefree Guys" and the like. Wandering actors - histrions, spielmans, jugglers - tried to surprise and amuse the audience with all kinds of techniques. "Teaching the troubadour Guiraud de Calançon to the juggler" (he lived at the beginning of the 13th century) contains a whole list of skills necessary for an actor:
“… [He] has to play different instruments; twirl balls on two knives, throwing them from one edge to another; show puppets; jump over four rings; get yourself an attached red beard and appropriate costume to dress up and scare fools; train the dog to stand on its hind legs; know the art of the leader of the apes; to excite the audience's laughter with a funny depiction of human weaknesses; run and jump on a rope stretched from one tower to another, making sure that it does not yield …"
Listen to music or poetry
Instrumental music was predominantly the occupation of jugglers and minstrels, singing, dancing and performing to the sounds of their instruments. In addition to various wind instruments (trumpets, horns, flutes, Pan flutes, bagpipes), over time, the harp and varieties of bowed instruments also entered the musical life - the ancestors of the future violin: crotta, rebab, viela, or fidel.
Miniature from "History" by Guiron le Courtois. 1380-1390 years
Moving from place to place, jugglers performed at festivals in courtyards, at castles, in city squares. Despite persecution from the church, jugglers and minstrels managed to get the opportunity to participate in spiritual performances in the 12th and 13th centuries.
In the south of France, lyric poets were called troubadours, in the north - trouvers, in Germany - minnesingers. The lyrics of the minnesingers were the property of the nobility, and chivalrous poetry and the love songs of the troubadours had a great influence on it. Later, the art of versification in German cities was taken over by the Meistersingers, for whom poetry became a special science.
Like artisans, poets-townspeople made up whole societies, like guilds. In Ypres, Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent and Bruges, celebrations were held for the workshop of the so-called rhetoric - artisans and merchants who took care of poetry. Each workshop had its own coat of arms and motto in the form of a charade, as well as a special hierarchical structure: dean, standard bearer, jester and other members of the “bureau of elders”. The city authorities financed a rhetoric competition in the field of poetry and acting, according to the results of which they awarded several prizes: for literary success, for the best cue of a jester, for the richest suit, for the most luxurious entrance to the city.
To dance
Dance is a favorite pastime of all strata of medieval society, no holiday was complete without dancing. Jugglers made the technique more complicated by adding acrobatic elements, but the townspeople liked to move themselves, and not just look at the professionals. The church was usually against such entertainment, and the city government was not at all times good at dancing. However, later the authorities began to give permission for dancing in the halls of city halls, and from the end of the 14th century, so-called dance houses began to appear. Usually the dance house was located next to the town hall and church or opposite them. Loud music and laughter disturbed the pious mood of the parishioners and ministers of the temple, causing their displeasure and endless complaints.
The spirit of love. Miniature from "The Novel of the Rose". 1420-30s
In Bavarian Nordlingen, the dance house was located in a three-story building. During the fairs, the ground floor was connected by passages with the nearby butchers' shops and the pub, and visitors could shuttle between the establishments. Where the dance houses occupied several floors, the halls on the upper floor were usually reserved for burghers of noble birth, while the lower ones were at the disposal of ordinary citizens. In some cities, such a house, among other things, housed a hotel, and in Munich and Regensburg, prisoners were even held in the basement of the city's "dance house".
In addition, there were dance houses intended exclusively for ordinary citizens: a roof was built on four pillars over a wooden deck, slightly raised above the ground. On them were musicians, and around them danced in a circle of men and women. If the nobility preferred measured and ceremonial processional dances, and dances with hoops, swords and other objects symbolizing handicraft products prevailed at guild festivals, improvisation dances and round dances, which the church called rude and shameless, were widespread among the urban people.
Go to the fair
Every week, small city markets were at the services of the townspeople, but fairs were held quite rarely - once or several times a year: on Christmas, Easter, or on the day of the local saint - the patron saint of the city or patrons of trade and craft workshops.
Fair. Thumbnail to Aristotle's Politics. XV century
For example, the fair in Saint-Denis at the walls of Paris took place once a year, but it lasted a whole month. At this time, all trade in Paris ceased and moved to Saint-Denis. Residents were eager to go there not only for shopping, but also to gaze at strange things from distant countries, to performances of jugglers, acrobats and trained bears, to listen to stories told by merchants who had visited overseas countries. The spectacle was so popular that Charlemagne gave his managers a special order "to make sure that our people do the work that they are required to do by law, and not waste time hanging out in markets and fairs."
The fairs attracted a lot of all kinds of rabble, so there were often fights and riots. That is why for a long time they were allowed to be held only in cities where there was a bishop or ruler who could maintain order and resolve disputes that arose between the participants of the fair. In medieval England, there were even special courts with a simplified procedure, which ensured a speedy resolution of cases. They called themselves "courts of dusty feet" (court of piepowder, pie poudre or pepowder) - in 1471 the English Parliament decreed that all persons associated with fairs have the right to demand just such a court for themselves.
Take part in the carnival
Carnival is inseparable from fasting: it was the last multi-day celebration, preceding a long time of abstinence, and it was accompanied by feasts, masquerades, processions and amusing fights over cheeses and sausages. Carnival is the kingdom of gluttony, chaos and the glorification of everything bodily. Masks and mummers, half-beast, half-people and kings of jesters, the ship of fools and the election of the donkey pope - all church and secular rituals were translated into the language of buffoonery, and symbols of power were subjected to public ridicule. The entire church service and sacred texts were turned inside out. The main events of the carnival took place in the church, although since the 13th century they tried to prohibit these obscenities by official interdicts.
Medieval carnival in Visby
In a letter from the theological faculty in Paris, sent to the bishops of France in 1445, the carnival is described very colorfully:
“You can see priests and clerics wearing masks and monstrous disguises during the service. They dance in a choir, disguised as women, pimps and minstrels. They sing obscene songs. They eat sausages at the corners of the altar, while the priest celebrates mass. They play dice there. They incense with stinking smoke from the soles of old shoes. They jump, run around the church, without hesitation. And then they drive around the city in dirty carts and carts, causing laughter from their companions and associates, making obscene gestures and uttering shameful and dirty words."
During the carnival, everything that was forbidden on ordinary days was allowed, the hierarchy was violated, the usual norms were turned upside down - but as soon as the holiday ended, life returned to its normal course.
Greet a guest or ruler
The ceremonial entries of emperors, kings, princes, legates and other masters into the cities under their control were always burdened with a multi-level symbolic meaning: they reminded of the nature of power, celebrated victory, and asserted political dominion over remote territories. They happened quite often: in the Middle Ages and even in Modern times, royal courts were nomadic - in order to retain power, kings had to constantly move from place to place.
Miniature from a German chronicle. 1383 year
The ceremony consisted of several acts, each of which was strictly regulated. It all began with a greeting from the ruler, often far outside the city; then followed by the reception of the crowned person at the city walls, the handing over of the keys, the opening of the city gates, the deputation of the nobility and clergy. From the gates, the cortege moved along the main streets of the city, which were sprinkled with fresh flowers and green branches. Finally, in the central city square, bulls and game were roasted and barrels of wine were rolled out for all residents of the city. In 1490, a fountain of good and evil was installed in Vienne at the time of Charles VIII's entrance, which gushed with red wine on one side and white on the other. Such treats were intended to embody the image of a fabulous land of abundance, which the sovereign had to show to his subjects at least once.
A performance was arranged for the guest. In 1453, a whole performance was staged in Reggio: the patron saint of the city, Saint Prospero, floated in the air with many angels who asked him for the keys to the city, so that they could then be handed over to the duke under hymns in his honor. When the procession reached the main square, Saint Peter flew down to them from the church and put a wreath on the duke's head.
In the Germanic lands, the sovereign often entered the city surrounded by criminals sentenced to exile, and they did not just move in retinue, but held on to the edge of the patron's clothing, harness, saddle or stirrup of his horse - so they could return to the city. So, in 1442, King Frederick III ordered 11 people to be taken with him to Zurich, and in 1473 to Basel - 37. True, the city authorities could expel the criminal again as soon as the ruler left the city.
View knightly tournament
The tournament was a real celebration of the demonstration of military valor and knightly honor. Anyone wanted, if not to take part in it, then at least to see how the noble youth gains fame and prey for themselves. Initially, the whole action resembled a mixture of a fair and a real battle: participants converged wall to wall, some were seriously injured or even died, and a motley crowd gathered around, which, in addition to knights, their squires, foot soldiers and servants, also consisted of blacksmiths, salesmen, changed and onlookers.
Miniature from the Zurich songbook "Manes Codex". XIV century
Under the influence of knightly romances, the tournaments gradually became more organized, the participants began to use special weapons, the knights converged for a one-on-one duel, and the lists were surrounded by a fence. Stands were built for the spectators, and each of them had its own "queen", and the prize for the best tournament fighter was traditionally awarded by women. In 1364, Francesco Petrarca described the atmosphere during the Venetian Jostra (from the Italian word giostre - "duel"):
“There is no vacant place below … a huge square, the very temple [of St. Mark], towers, roofs, porticos, windows are not only full, but overflowing and filled: an incredible crowd of people hides the face of the earth, and a joyful, large population of the city, spilling around through the streets, further increases the fun."
In the end, tournaments turned into expensive and sophisticated court entertainment, accompanying various kinds of festivities on the occasion of a ruler's wedding, coronation, peace or union - together with festive masses, processions, dinners and balls, for the most part not intended for ordinary citizens.
The townspeople responded to this with a parody "knightly tournament" (it was often held during the big carnival on Maslenitsa), in which the entire knightly ritual was turned upside down. A man who imitated a knight went to a duel with a basket-helmet on his head, sitting on an old nag or barrel, and threatened the enemy with a rake or something from kitchen utensils instead of a spear. After the end of the event, everyone immediately went to celebrate it with a merry feast.
Take part in sports
The burghers had every opportunity to exercise and compete in the possession of real weapons. For training, archery societies and fencing schools were organized, which existed in Flemish, North Italian, English, French and German cities, as well as in Krakow, Kiev and Novgorod. Associations of archers and fencers had their own charters and resembled workshops. The preparation was carried out in different directions, but for competitions in each city a certain type of single combat was chosen. For example, in Spanish cities, preference was given to fights with the use of edged weapons and horse bullfighting, in southern England and Novgorod - fist fighting, in German and Flemish cities - fencing and wrestling.
In Italy, the games and competitions of the inhabitants of the city-republics resembled exercises. In Pavia, for example, the townspeople were divided into two groups, they were given wooden weapons, and protective helmets were put on their heads. Prizes were awarded to the winners. In river cities, battles could be arranged for the symbolic capture of the bridge. The image of a seething crowd fighting on such a bridge is a favorite subject of engravings of that era: in the foreground, gondoliers pick up those who have fallen into the water, and numerous fans crowd in the windows and on the roofs of the surrounding houses.
In England, a popular form of recreation for young men was the ball game. Everyone took part, but there were almost no rules. A ball stuffed with bran or straw could be kicked and dribbled, rolled and carried in hands. The goal of the competition was to get the ball over a certain line. In cities, such crowded battles were fraught with great dangers, and it is no coincidence that restrictions were introduced quite early in London, Nuremberg, Paris and other places, with the help of which the authorities sought to moderate the ardor of the players.
Play
For those who disliked street fun, there was home entertainment. For example, blind man's buff and "The Frog in the Middle". The rules of the last game are as follows: the person sat in the center, and the others teased and beat him. The task was to catch one of the players without leaving the circle, and then he became a "frog".
Miniature from the treatise by Alfonso the Wise. 1283 year
There were also quiet games: according to the rules of some it was necessary to answer the question of the presenters without concealment, others - to tell a story. In addition, they played in "Saint Cosmas": one of the participants took on the role of a saint, and the others kneeled in front of him in turn. The presenter had to make the kneeling player laugh in any way, and then he would perform some task.
Already in the Middle Ages, checkers, chess, dice and even cards were popular. Chess was the fun of the nobility, and chessboards made of wood or metal were considered a luxury item and were often a true work of art.
The rules of playing cards were different: for example, one of the participants took out a card from the deck, all those present put money on it. If after that three or four cards of the same suit were taken out of the deck in a row, then the player who took out the first card received the entire amount bet on it.
But the most popular game was dice. Representatives of all social categories indulged in this game - in huts, castles, taverns and even monasteries - and lost money, clothes, horses and dwellings. Many people complained that they lost everything they owned in this game. In addition, there were often cases of fraud, especially because of fake bones: some had a magnetized surface, others had the same facet reproduced twice, and in others one side was made heavier by the impurity of lead. As a result, numerous feuds arose, sometimes escalating even into private wars.
Go to the bathhouse and have a good drink
Most medieval towns had city baths. In Paris at the end of the XIII century there were 26 baths, half a century later in Nuremberg - 12, in Erfurt - 10, in Vienna - 29, in Wroclaw - 12. A visit to the bath was not limited to hygienic procedures, rather it was a place for entertainment, pleasure and secular communication. After bathing, visitors participated in receptions and dinners, played ball, chess, dice, drank and danced.
In German cities, wine merchants rolled out wine barrels into the streets to the baths, placed stools around, took out mugs and gave everyone who wanted to taste wine. A drinking party was immediately drawn up on the street, so the city councils were forced to prohibit this custom. An exception was made only for a few days a year, for example St. Martin's Day, when it was customary to open young wine. But on the other hand, these days people stood, sat and lay in the streets and drank wine.
Despite the prohibitions on the part of the authorities and churchmen, some of the bathhouses and adjacent taverns acquired the character of a brothel: not only food and drink were available to the townspeople, but also massage and services of prostitutes, who were often called "bathhouse attendants".
In general, though prostitution was condemned by the church, it was considered an inevitable phenomenon. "Houses for women" or "glorious houses" belonged to noble families, merchants, royal officials and even bishops and abbots, and the most prestigious of them were often located near the magistrate or courthouse. In the High Middle Ages, visiting a brothel by unmarried men was not considered shameful, but rather a sign of health and well-being.
View execution
The execution place could be located in front of the city, on the other side of the moat, it could be on the square or even in front of the victim's house, but the execution was invariably a public action. The place and time of the execution, as well as the path of the criminal, were known in advance to all the townspeople. The spectators were summoned by the heralds. The optimal time was considered to be noon, and the authorities often arranged executions on market day in order to achieve the maximum gathering of people, although not on religious holidays.
Miniature from the Chronicles by Jean Froissard. No later than 1483
The crowd gathered around the criminal gradually, as the procession advanced through the city. The whole ritual of punishment of the guilty person was designed for the audience, the slow theatrical performance involved the participation of others in the ceremony. In some cases, the offender was given the right to a duel with the executioner and people could contribute to his release. This happened in Saint-Quentin in 1403, when during the struggle the executioner fell to the ground and a crowd of townspeople demanded from the royal provost to release the winner. The spectators monitored the exact execution of the ritual and could demand a reconsideration of the case if something went wrong.
Relax by the city fountain
Not all townspeople could afford to have a separate garden or pond built behind the house: many lived in rooms, closets and outbuildings rented. Water for the household was taken from a public well or fountain located in the square, usually not far from the church. In the Late Middle Ages, such fountains served not only as a decoration and a source of drinking water, but also as a meeting place and a walk for the townspeople.
Jean de Courcy is dreaming of nature, sleeping by the fountain. Miniature from the poem "The Way of Valor". XV century
Prepared by Anna Puzyreva (Arzamas Academy)