KoRT (Knights of the
 

"...... Seize the freedom you have earned and live it for the both of us. I cannot follow you....... I know now that all the blood I have shed, all the lives I have taken have led me to this moment....."

As with all of the Arthurian myths and legends, the truth of the matter, Arthur’s utopian home has been debated for centuries. However, in “Unto Britannia”, the site of the castle is in Somerset; upon a hill by the name of Camelot, overlooking the village of South Cadbury.

Castle Camelot, The predominant structure from which all men named Arthur, ruled Britannia, dispensing justice, hosting feasts, games, and tournaments, while surrounding themselves with brave knights, who commanded and trained an army of the people. Camelot is destined to become an important center of commerce.

 

Life in Camelot

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Life in Camelot, although better than most, hardships are aplenty. There is no central heating, except for the central hearth or fireplace, which has to be tended to be efficient. Of course, other hearths adorn the castle throughout for servants, soldiers, and others. Torches along the wall provided some light, and heat, but all do shiver a lot in the cold, cold nights. 

The inhabitants of Camelot and guests have the added comfort of heavy blankets, feather mattresses, fur covers, and tapestries hanging on the walls to block the damp and breezes, while residents of lesser status usually slept in the towers and make due with lighter bedclothes and the human body for warmth. However, they slept on the floor wrapped in a blanket, but, at least on the floor, they could absorb some of the warmth of the fireplace. 

Even during the warmest months of the year, the castle retains a cool dampness and all residents spend as much time as possible enjoying the outdoors. Oftentimes, members wrap blankets around themselves to keep warm while at work (from which we derive the term bedclothes). 

And for more delicate endeavors, imagine needing to use the guardrobe (latrine) and having a brisk wind gusting through the privy. With stone or hard wood seats, using the latrine can certainly be an invigorating experience. No wonder the chamber pot remains close to the bedside! 

Life begins at sunrise, when one of the guards trumpets the day's start. Servants have already begun to stir, ensuring the fires are lit in the kitchen and Great Hall and gets the morning meal underway. Since dinner is not served until between 10AM and noon, they have at least a few hours to fulfill their other chores while the stews or soups bubble in the iron pots. All floors have to be swept, cleared of any debris, and basins washed out. 

Once the lords and ladies have arisen, chambermaids venture into their chambers, sweep and empty chamber pots and wash basins, and the laundress also begins the day's wash. For their part, the lords and ladies, of the castle make sure they are tidy before they greet the household or any guests, washing off with water from their basins while partially clothed to keep warm. 

A small breakfast of bread and drink is taken by all, and then off to the chapel for morning mass. Once mass was complete, the Commander, and his Knights, tackles the day's business. While relying on certain members of his household staff to manage the castle in his absence, or when he has other duties to handle, the Commander is the castle's chief administrator when he is in residence. 

The Commander, being in possession of more than one lordship, has to divide his time among all of his properties. His powers are political, judicial, fiscal, and also include the policing of his territory. 

Knowing Britain would need a solid knowledge base to which to grow, Arthur instituted a plan. The ladies of the castle are responsible for educating the young pages who, at the age of 7, comes to the castle to learn religion, music, dance, hunting, reading, and writing before moving into knight's service as squires. At age 14, young boys become squires, and the Commander places them under the guidance of a knowledgeable knight who will teach them about chivalry as well as how to wield a sword or ride a horse into battle. Arthur desired to a youth's ultimate goal to be knighthood, which could be attained at the age of 21 when the boys officially become men. Many knights could become highly skilled warriors under his plan. He envisioned their peacetime spent traveling to tournaments to pitch themselves into individual combat with other aspiring knights. The tournaments would be good training grounds for real warfare. 
 

When a group of soldiers are stationed at the castle, they comprise its garrison. Individual members include the knights, squires, a porter (to tend the main door), guards, watchmen, and men-at-arms. All are prepared to defend the King and his household in an instant. Each soldier has his own place in an attack and his own skill to rely upon. Some are archers, lancers, or wield swords. Warfare is definitely a highly complex process, despite the simplicity of the weapons. 

The Castle is a noisy - and smelly - place. Livestock roam inside the stables, blacksmiths clang out ironwork in the forges, the soldiers practice their skills, and children play when lessons are complete. Various craftsmen work diligently in the inner ward, including cobblers (making shoes), armorers, coopers (who made casks), hoopers (who helped the coopers build the barrels), billers (making axes), and spencers (who dispense). 

The interior walls are used to support timber structures, like the workshops and the stables, and, sometimes, stone buildings also leaned against the walls. Fires burn. The well and cisterns offer water. 

Servants are constantly bustling, taking care of the personal needs of the household, but also finding time for gossip and flirtation. At mid-morning, dinner is served. This is the main meal of the day, and often features three or four courses, as well as entertainment. After dinner, the day's activities will resume, or the Commander might lead his guests on a hunt through the grounds. Recreation is never ignored! 

The evening meal, supper, is generally eaten late in the day, sometimes just before bedtime. While not as formidable as dinner, this meal ensures residents will never be hungry when they settle down to sleep off the day's labors. 

Though the people worked hard, they also compensate by playing hard. Holidays are times for letting loose of inhibitions and forgetting the stresses of life. The peasants as well as the castle's household find time for pleasure, and make up for their struggles as best they could. 

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Bathing and Washing

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Baths are normally taken in wooden tubs. Often times some privacy is provided by a canopy or tent. In warmer weather, the tub is placed in the garden of the castle, and in cold weather near a fire inside the castle. 

A lavabo, slop basin, or laver is a stone basin built into the wall. It is used as a wash basin and sink for washing the hands before and after meals. Often, a refillable tank with copper or bronze taps sat above the basin. Some lavabos now have highly decorative and spouts in the form of animal heads. 

When the Romans took charge of the original castle, they engineered aqueducts for water from the lake in the hills, to the castle. This luxury was built to supply the Roman baths to be used. Now, for residents of Camelot, Arthur ordered the baths to be unearthed, cleaned up and prepared for use. The bathrooms were originally built in, a chamber 23 feet by 17 feet, lined with stone, which could contain 4 feet of water . There is a ledge for accessories, a recess for the bath, and a changing room located right above the bathroom. The aqueducts piping in water, and a hearth beneath the baths, provide the hot and cold water… and bath mats to protect their feet from the cold.

 

 

Food

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Eating is one of the castle dweller's most popular pastimes, for not only did food provide needed sustenance; it was a means of entertainment. In particular, the banquet is used to impress the guests with Arthur’s generosity. 

Generally, meals are taken three times a day. A small breakfast of bread and cheese at sunrise was followed between 10 AM and noon with the main meal, dinner. Then, towards sunset a lighter supper is served, consisting of bread, cheese and perhaps a small dish like a stew. After supper, entertainment is provided by minstrels, storytellers, acrobats or contortionists, or games and song enjoyed. 

Dinner usually have two to three courses, mainly meats and pastries, bread, wine or ale (usually the drink of the lowest classes), fruits, cheeses, nuts, and the like. But a feast is something so much more. Beef, pork, mutton, venison, poultry, fish, eggs, bread, milk, cheeses, vegetables (in lesser quantities, because they were considered "common"), and a profusion of wine, ale, cider, and mead are in ample supply. 

During the spring and summer months, food stuffs are in ready supply, and included: "starlings, vultures, gulls, herons, storks, cormorants, swans, cranes, peacocks [often displayed in full feather after cooking], capons, and chickens... dogfish, porpoises, seals, whale, haddock, cod, salmon, sardines, lamprey, dolphins, tunnies, and eels", as well as mullet, sole, shad, flounder, plaice, ray, mackerel, trout, crab, crayfish and oysters. 

Fruits are also eaten, as are onions, garlic, peas, and beans. Wild cherries, grapes, plums, apples and pears are usually cooked. Roasted apples are popular. ((Potatoes and corn was not used until the 16th century.)) 

The winter months are a time of scarcity, and preparations are made during the rest of the year to ensure the availability of meat. Wild animals are always hard to find during the winter, so most of the cattle are eaten. Beef has to be dried, though, or would rot if kept for any length of time. One imaginative, yet practical, addition to the winter meat supply is the harvest of pigeons. Dovecotes are built to house and breed pigeons during the year; when winter comes, the birds are killed for the table. 

Fish from the castle's nearby ponds are also gathered to augment the winter's food stores, as are others from nearby rivers or the sea. Like meat, fish are salted or smoked for longer preservation. And as far as drink are concerned, where water dwindled, wine, mead, and ale are abundant.