Lord And Lady Of The Castle
The Lord and lady of the castle lived a very privileged life. They were surrounded by a host of servants who carried out their commands.
The Lord
The Lord of the castle was the most important person in the surrounding area. The Lord would ensure that rents would be paid and that his knights remained loyal and ready to defend his lands. The estate stewards carried out most of these tasks on behalf of the Lord. He issued orders to bailiffs who were responsible for collecting rents and fines. The Lord also acted as a judge settling local disputes and handing out punishments and fines to those who broke the law or disobeyed his laws. The Lord hosted banquets (feasts)in the great hall to entertain his guests (other lords or the king). The Lords and nobles ate well. Most meals contained meat and a variety of vegtables. At banquets there was a great choice of food especially for those who sat at the top of the table with the Lord and lady of the castle. Exotic meals such as swan and peacock could be served. The bad smell of meat which may have been stored and salted for quite a while was disguised by adding spices to the meat. Occasionally food was even dyed to make its apperience more appetising .Other guests sat long tables. The more important people sat closer to the top of the table with the less important closer to the bottom of the hall. Only those at the top of the table get their food served on platters. The other guests used large slabs of stale bread called trenchers instead of plates. Hunting was one of the most popular pasttime of the lord. It was also a way of providing food for the castle. He hunted deer/wild boar and foxes on horseback. Sometimes hunting was done on foot or birds of pray such as eagles/falcons or hawks.
The Lady
The life of a Lady could be quite tough. She rarely married out of love but more often as a pact between her father or a noughbouring lord. marriges were sometimes arranged between children; girls could get married at the age of 14. The lady was in charge of the domestic duties. However when the lord was away she was in charge of the castle. She ensured that there was enough in the storeroom to last to last a number of months. She oversaw the salting of food, which was necessary for its preservation. The lady of the castle was also resposible for the upbringing of children. The children of the castle did not necessarily belong to the lord and lady of the castle. It was common practice in the middle ages for nobles to send their children from the age of 7 upwards to another family to be thought. This was called fosterage. Ladies in waiting helped the lady in these duties. Ladies rarely went hunting on horseback. However, they often took part in hawking, a less strenuous form of hunting. Falcons and other birds of prey were specially trained to fly from a nobles wrist and to kill and bring back other birds or small animals like rabbits. In her spare time the lady of the castle would play instruments or games such as chess or do embroidery. Noble women wore long silk dresses. It was also fashionable for them to wear strange looking headdresses which completly covered their hair.
BY NATHAN CURRY AND DARA JOHN LAWLOR
BY NATHAN CURRY AND DARA JOHN LAWLOR
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What medieval Ladies looked like wearing their varied headdresses.
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A Medieval lord and his wife.
