Medieval Day arrived at Sydenham High School with a gaggle of very excited Year 7s gathered outside the Longton Hall. Little known to them, when they took their seats, they were creating their medieval destiny as they were sat in 4 household groups from the Tudors and Beauforts on the Lancastrian side of the hall to the Staffords and Nevilles – the Yorkists on the other side.  A lot of fun was had when different people were selected to be Lords, Ladies, servants and priests and they all got to dress up in their role.

There was then an arranged marriage between Lord Tudor and Lady Margaret Beaufort, overseen by Edgar the Priest (a distant cousin of the Archbishop of Canterbury!) and medieval marriages and hierarchy were discussed. The wedding banquet was something to behold as servants traipsed in carrying roast goose and other meats, fine wines, spices and cheese all served on gold and silver tableware. At the end of the feast the food was going to be thrown away when the presenter stepped in and asked about giving the scraps of bread that made up the Lords plate to the poor. Did you know that the term ‘upper crust’ comes from the fact that rich people in medieval England ate the top of the bread and the burnt bottom bit was given to the poor! The pupils were in teams in their households and for each question they answered correctly they got 5 points – they were asked how different the diets of the rich and poor were and answered very well.

After the banquet the pupils were split into Guilds – these were organisations in Medieval Towns which made skilled products and traded in them. The presenters noted how knowledgeable our pupils were about guilds! The woodworkers guild made a box, the leather workers an apron and the apothecaries some medicine. These were then judged by the Guild Master!

Sadly the Black Death then hit England and wiped out 1 in 3 people and, with a new marriage in the House of York, the War of the Roses began. The children were fascinated by the Medieval Armour and also learnt about the gruesome treatments used in medicine and surgery at the time, including amputation, blood letting and trepanning (drilling holes in the skull).

Year 7 had a fabulous time consolidating their learning of Medieval life.

– Mrs O’Neill