| Abstract: | The author is trying to deepen our knowledge of medieval society through a study of its festivals and entertainments. In the middle ages, as in ancient times, a good physical condition was sought after. Various sports were practised and hunting was highly valued, be it hunting with hounds or hawking. After tiring physical exercise, people liked to relax and to dine well. One of the major occupations of upper class men in the middle ages consisted in feasting, but their preoccupations were sometimes of a more cultural nature. Their banquets provided a means for many to share in the pleasures of civilisation. In Merovingian and Carolingian times spectacular entertainments were not valued so highly as they had been in Roman times, but singing and dancing were enjoyed. People much appreciated jugglers and they played dice.Though Christianity had triumphed, traces of paganism still persisted. Pagan festivals were not unusual at the beginning of the middle ages even though they had been prohibited by the Church. Nevertheless, religious feasts established by the Church and celebrated with great solemnity were the climax of religious life. |
