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