Slide 6: Castle
Your machine has dropped you about 30 miles from your goal of London but it will have to do – what do you expect from such a new technology? You’ve landed in a field just outside of Lincoln castle north of London but at least it’s still in England. Outside the village walls you see a bunch of tents – maybe there is some kind of event and people are visiting? You look out into the village and see chimneys smoking indicating something cooking. That plus the soft sun tells you it must be morning. The warm weather and green grass tells you it must be summer. You slowly build up the courage to go on but as you are about to set out something shiny on the ground catches your eye.
Slide 7: Helmet
You look down and see a knight’s helmet in quite good condition. It is sitting on top of a log and looks quite inviting. You think about taking it but something stops you – “Why would this be sitting here like this?” you think to yourself. This looks incredibly expensive and nobody would just leave it behind. It looks nearly brand new. Was the owner killed? Is it some kind of trophy showing victory or worse a warning to outsiders? You push those thoughts aside and think maybe it would make a good disguise so you put it on and head into town.
Slide 9: Market (day)
You approach the center of town and find they are having their annual wool festival. You wander up and down the street inspecting the various store fronts. You see a surprising range of goods for sale – this town must have a great attraction to bring in all these people. As you pass by one wool merchant you overhear an interesting conversation. <press play now>
Question 1: What do you think about the conversation you just heard?
Slide 10: Stocks
There’s no question you are in a very different world now. As you continue on you notice a man being forcefully led by two armed guards to a platform in the middle of the street. You hear the man next to you whisper “I hope that criminal gets what he deserves. How dare he try that so near our glorious cathedral? Surely God will punish him!” You look up at the platform and you see the stocks – wood planks used to hold people in place. You suddenly feel very uneasy. You’ve heard of people being punished very severely for crimes in the medieval period. But, they’re not going to… no… they wouldn’t… not here, in public… and with all these little children around…? Oh my gosh… they are! <click play now>
Question: What do you think the punishment was? Why do you think they did this as a punishment?
Slide 11: Cooking Monks
You wipe the speckles of blood of your face and turn away from the gruesome display you have just witnessed. You continue on down the street. You come upon a group of monks preparing food for the travelers. Monks were often front and center with visitors. The more they offered the more people would donate to their church. While most monks lived lives of poverty the churches they worked for often became very, very rich. Still, even if they were poor the monks commanded great respect. They represented God on Earth and the people did not want to upset them. You stop in to talk to one asking him about what you just witnessed. “Can you believe they did that?” you ask the monk. “Of course” he replies, if we don’t punish sinners God will not look upon our town favorably. Plus, we need to save that man’s soul. If he can’t resist sin we will do whatever we can to stop him. While you are here traveler why don’t you have a meal with us?” You realize you are quite hungry despite your situation and agree.
You decide to get a closer look at what they are cooking.
Slide 12: Pottage
All of a sudden what once smelled like roast pig now smells like rotting fish.
Your stomach – already churning from what you’d just witnessed – now turns completely in knots and you fight back the urge to throw up.
Slide 13: Woodcarver
As the day goes on into the late afternoon most of the shopkeepers close their shops. You ask one what there is to do in town that you might have missed. He replies “well, of course you’ve seen the cathedral already so not too much else to do.” You might want to visit the inn – sometimes a minstrel will pass through and share some stories for a few pence.” Of course, you haven’t seen the cathedral – except from a distance so you decide that is where you will go next.
Slide 14: Cathedral (outer)
The cathedral is located just beyond the market. It absolutely towers above all the other buildings around – even the castle itself. You’ve never seen anything quite like it even in the modern world. Every stone is perfectly cut and rounded and must have been done by hand. There are arches and carved pillars everywhere. Standing here in front of this building you get a feeling of the greatness of God. You suddenly feel very insignificant in the sight of this unbelievable structure. You can only imagine what a medieval peasant who lived in a small hut in a tiny village must have thought seeing it for the first time.
Slide 15: Cathedral Door
You approach the front door of the Cathedral and are amazed at its size and shape. It looks like an arch… mostly, but it comes to a point at the top – a “pointed arch” if you will. There are pillars all around and they are perfectly cut and rounded. It is clear that it took years – decades maybe just to carve out this entry way. You were intrigued before but now you can’t wait to step inside. You reach forward and push open the door.
Slide 16: Cathedral Interior
The view inside is just as stunning as the one outside – maybe even more. You look up and see a ceiling that seems to go on into the sky forever. You begin to hear the faint sound of voices singing. You don’t know what the words mean since they are sung in Latin but the chant is undeniably beautiful and you are enticed to go further. Your eye is drawn to the giant stained glass windows at the opposite side of the building. You slowly make your way toward it to get a closer look.
Question: What do you think the song said?
Slide 17: Stained Glass
The last rays of sunlight beaming through leave you breathless and wishing you’d come earlier to see it in its full glory. You can just imagine how the window would look fully lit and how it would cast a soft light over the entire cathedral. You see images of angels, saints and even Christ himself. These windows were a way to teach people about the Bible since most at the time couldn’t read. You find yourself amazed once again. How did they do it? How could they make a piece of glass so large? And how could they make the wall strong enough to hold the massive stone ceiling when so much of it was glass? Seeing this you begin to understand why these cathedrals were so important to the people. You spend a couple hours just taking in the majesty of the building.
Question: Why were the Cathedrals so important to people? In what ways did they represent God?
Slide 18: Cathedral (outer, night)
You have spent the last two hours just taking in the glory of the cathedral. You step out of the cathedral into the darkened streets. Night has fallen and all is calm. You decide to find a nice quiet place to sleep. The streets are eerily quiet and it would be wise to find a welcoming Inn to spend the night.
Slide 19: Town (night)
As you head down the now empty streets a sense of worry overcomes you. You suddenly feel very out of place and very alone. However, as you approach the dim light of the Inn’s lanterns you realize you are not alone. The last thing you hear before blacking out is the “whoosh” of a wooden club as it rips through the air and crashes into your skull.
Slide 20: Castle Room (torch)
You awaken in a dark room. You can’t see much except a stone wall light by a torch. You assume you’re in the castle and thankfully it doesn’t feel like the dungeon. You feel very confused and aren’t quite sure what is going on. You try to stand up but quickly fall back down and go back to sleep.
Slide 21: Castle Room (table)
As you wake up in the morning you are greeted by a young woman who appears to be a servant. Good morning sir, I’ve brought you some breakfast. You look at the plate and see a piece of bread, some grapes and a piece of some type of meat – lamb you think. It certainly looks more appetizing than the pottage you saw yesterday. You dig in and quickly finish off the meal. You realize the servant is still standing there and you think maybe she is waiting for a tip. You reach for your wallet, stupidly not realizing your money would mean nothing to her anyway, but find your pockets empty. You’ve been robbed! The servant notices the panic in your face. “Sir my Lord will be here to greet you shortly. He asks that you wait here for him for your own safety.” She exits the room. You wait for the Lord of the manor to return.
Slide 22: Castle Interior
You step out of your room and into a hall unlike any you’ve ever seen. A very finely dressed man comes in and greets you “Good day traveler I am the Lord of this manor, you surely look better than when my men found you last night.” “What happened?” you ask. My guards picked you up to bring you into my dungeon thinking you were passed out from too much ale. They found a great wound on your head and realized you were attacked. That happens around here whenever we have a big festival. It brings in not only visitors but sinners as well. We could tell by your clothes that you are clearly a nobleman so we put you up in one of the rooms of my castle. I hope you found it comfortable. We are going to the closing event of the festival – the tournament – today and I’d like you to be my personal guest as an apology for my people.
Slide 23 Tournament Grounds
You reach the tournament grounds and see hundreds of people of all classes. People are waving flags and cheering on their favorite knights. The day begins with an archery contest and is followed by a poetry contest. There are then a series of horse riding challenges. The crowd is now in a frenzy. The main event – the joust – is about to begin.
Slide 27: Field with time machine
You realize you are quite tired from all the excitement and you sure don’t want to risk another night in this strange place. You head back to your time machine and find a much calmer scene. You hop in, arrange the dials and head back home.
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