Archive for May, 2014

At Pearson’s Renaissance Shoppe, it’s no secret that we are big fans of medieval style. In fact, we love the medieval period – the history, the cultures, the art! We find the whole period endlessly fascinating. Sometime we wonder, “Wouldn’t it be great to live in an actual medieval castle?” Well, you actually can! Of course, it costs quite a pretty penny. Here are some castles currently up for sale:

• In Scotland, the famous Dornoch Castle is on the market. Once used to house local prisoners and featuring actual dungeons, this beautiful castle is directly opposite the medieval Dornoch Cathedral. Rumor has it the castle is haunted, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from a medieval castle with dungeons. Read more and check out some great pictures here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2540605/Yours-2-25-million-Haunted-castle-dungeons-housed-local-prisoners.html
• Over in Italy, the 12^th century Castello Izzalini is up for grabs. The beautifully preserved castle comes with a church built in 1576, secret passages, and a rich history of cruel tyrants, feuding emperors, and rich nobility. It has since been converted into a 15-apartment living space, complete with hardwood flooring, Italian ceramics, and wi-fi. All of this can be yours for the low, low price of €5,800,000, or $8,008,060. Learn more about its history here: http://www.medievalists.net/2014/02/18/medieval-castle-hamlet-sale-italy-castello-izzalini/
• If you want all the aesthetics of a medieval castle but all the conveniences of modern times, perhaps this castle-style mansion in Staten Island is more your style. For $3,499,000, you can own this 12,000-square-foot mansion built to look like a classic medieval castle. Any takers? http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/04/28/staten_islands_insane_35m_medieval_castle_awaits_its_prince.php

If you collect medieval costumes, you may have noticed that many of them do not lend themselves to what we now know as sports. Can you imagine trying to play soccer in our Archeress dress? Or having a round of golf in our Bowman Tunic? It seems like medieval costumes were not meant for the types of sports we play today. It may surprise you to learn that people during the medieval ages did play sports.

Many sports during the medieval period were aimed at young men with the intention of strengthening their fighting skills. One of the big tournaments during the medieval period was the joust. We’ve all seen movies where knights participate in jousts, and these depictions are certainly true to life. Another sport typically associated with the medieval period is archery. Archery wasn’t so much popular as it was required by law to be practiced by men in the lower class – due to its prevalence in battle, archery laws were passed to prepare young men for potential battles.

Other than these two battle-oriented sports, there were sports that resembled those of today. There was a game called colf, which was a forerunner of golf, gameball, an early version of football, and hurling or shinty, precursors to today’s hockey.