"Grandpa! I got a starring role in the class play!" Laurie bounded into Grandpa's study.
"That's terrific!" Grandpa said, giving her a hug. "Tell me more."
"The title of the play is Medieval Nights, but our teacher says it's based on some book called The Canterbury Tales."
"Ah! That's one of the most famous books of the Middle Ages.
It was written by a man named Geoffrey Chaucer," Grandpa said.
"The play is about a group of travelers going to visit a cathedral.
I'm an English queen who meets a knight and sends him on a long journey!"
Grandpa smiled. "Then I'm sure you live in a magnificent castle!
How much do you know about cathedrals, knights, and castles?" he asked.
"Not much," Laurie admitted. "My class is going to study the Middle Ages next week."
"I could give you an introduction," Grandpa offered.
"Sure." Laurie settled down on the couch.
"The Middle Ages refers to the time between the collapse of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the European Renaissance,
so from around the fifth century to the fifteenth century.
In Europe the Christian Church had become the richest, most powerful institution.
You, Queen Laurie, might have been baptized in a cathedral, like the one in your play.
You'd attend church every Sunday, get married in a church, pay taxes to the church, and go there to seek advice and make confessions.
Church buildings became really beautiful during the Middle Ages.
Medieval architects designed tall buildings with pointy steeples that reached toward heaven.
The insides were filled with expensive sculptures, golden goblets, and other fancy things.
Huge, stained-glass windows flooded the church with colored light.
But these beautiful windows weren't just decoration—they also told stories.
Many people those days couldn't read, so how could they learn the stories of the Bible?
Well, priests could tell them of course.
But people could also look up at the massive windows and see the story of Jesus, for example, pictured in the glass."
"Wow . . . Like a storybook." Laurie gazed at the windows in the study, trying to imagine a story painted there.
"I bet there is a monk and a nun in your play too," Grandpa said.
"Yep. But I'm glad I get to be the queen and wear a nice costume," Laurie confessed.
"The nun just wears a boring gown and something to cover her head."
"Men and women who became monks and nuns devoted their lives to the church.
They didn't have time to worry about things like pretty clothes.
They lived in their own communities, separated from the town.
Monks wore plain, brown robes, ate simple food, and spent their days praying and studying the Bible.
They were often well-educated and could read and write.
Many copied out long sections of the Bible in beautiful script.
Nuns devoted most of their day to prayer too, but they were busy with chores such as cooking, cleaning, and sewing.
Many medieval Christians wanted to create an entirely Christian world.
But there were still strong empires with different religions.
For example, the Muslim Abbasid Empire ruled northern Africa and the Middle East.
European Christians didn't like that their holy land—including Jerusalem, where Christianity developed—was controlled by Muslims.
Many Christians journeyed to these places to worship.
And church leaders worried about Christians' safety because sometimes they were attacked.
So the pope asked barons—wealthy landowners—to gather their armies and fight for Christianity.
These battles, known as the Crusades, lasted for nearly two hundred years and killed almost nine million people.
The Christian fighters were called Crusaders and wore red crosses on their armor.
Many were knights. Is the knight in your play a Crusader, Laurie?" Grandpa asked.
"I don't know! All I know is that he travels around and when he finally returns, he gets married and lives in a castle," Laurie said.
"Is he chivalrous and handsome?" Grandpa asked, smiling.
"Handsome? No! Yuck," Laurie answered, crinkling her nose.
"And I don't know what chivalrous means."
"Chivalrous means good, honorable, and polite to women.
All knights were expected to be chivalrous.
They practiced this, along with fighting skills, from a young age.
Knights worked for barons. In exchange for protection, barons gave their knights some land and maybe a nice castle to live in.
Battles were often deadly, so knights were respected for their bravery.
Plus they made an awe-inspiring sight when they dressed for battle.
In the early Middle Ages, a knight's armor was a suit made of tiny iron rings linked together.
But eventually knights realized they needed more protection and began wearing suits made of iron and steel plates.
It was like having a full-body shield that weighed over 22 kilograms!"
"I'd rather hear about the castles," Laurie requested. "Since I'll be living in one."
"Of course. Castles were large, sturdy stone buildings with many rooms.
There were great candlelit halls for feasts and celebrations, but also dark, damp prisons.
Castles had to protect the owner, as well as the servants, guards, and entertainers who lived there.
Neighboring noblemen often fought each other for land.
So many castles had stone defense walls that circled the entire castle.
Sometimes there were even two or three walls.
Guards would stand on top of the walls and shoot arrows or throw huge rocks at intruders.
Many castles also had a moat, which was a man-made canal around the castle.
In order to cross it, visitors needed to have a bridge let down, or else swim across.
The tall towers were often lookout points to spot intruders.
Or perhaps to spot a knight returning from his journey!"
"Laurie! Will you help me make dinner?" Laurie's mom called from downstairs.
"Coming, Mom!" Laurie hollered back. Then she giggled.
"Silly Mom. Queens don't cook dinner!" She turned to Grandpa and raised her chin like a queen.
"Be sure to join us for our feast in the great hall tonight."
Bowing slightly, Grandpa answered, "It would be my pleasure, Your Highness."