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Medieval Party Theme – Everyone will enjoy Medieval Knights

Some of the most enjoyable events that we have been over the years, have been themed in some way to improve the experience on the day. Water parks, roller coaster venues, and giant theme parks all use well conceived and executed themes from which we can draw ideas that can be successfully used on a smaller scale for our own parties and special occasions.

Birthdays, weddings and social gatherings are all wonderful opportunities for using a party theme to enhance everyone's enjoyment of the day, and with some planning and attention to detail you can be sure to make your occasion a special event that will remain a fond memory in the minds of your friends, family and colleagues for years to come.

The trick to making any themed party special, is to take time over the details that on the surface seem unimportant. Colour-schemes, cutlery, chairs, fabric decorations and lighting all have a considerable impact on enhancing any theme if it is done correctly.

There is the Medieval Knights party theme along with detailing ideas that will take the theme to the next level, and need not cost a fortune to do.

A medieval themed evening is a guaranteed fun evening, and is suitable for adults and children alike. The theme works best if you organise your event in a large hall area where you can situate a row of large tables that allow a comfortable 2 or 3 foot distance between you and your facing guest. This allows plenty of room for wooden plates and cutlery, goblets, candles and small bunches of rustic flowers to be placed along the full length of the seating arrangement.

Family-sized garden tables can be used for a rustic effect, though regular 6 by 4 feet tables can be used instead. Regardless of the type of table you choose, using dark brown, or deep red fabrics are ideal colour-ways to use as table coverings, accompanied by fabric place mats that are embroidered with a suitable crest or coat of arms.

You can add to the feeling of your medieval hall by using inexpensive sawdust shavings scattered lightly over the hall floor.

You take care if you use choose to layer the hall with sawdust as it could upset those who suffer with allergies, so be sure to be aware of yours guests allergies prior to the event, which you should of course do as part of your pre-party planning.

Conventional pet sawdust can be used including those that have been treated with floral scents as an additional touch. It is recommended that you do not completely cover the whole floor with sawdust, just scatter a few bags lightly over the whole area. The scent of the sawdust will carry well with the smell of grilled food, candles, wine and ale.

If the venue has florescent lighting, turn it off, and cover all of the windows where possible with home-made, or charity bought coverings, preferably in dark colours and drape them over the window openings. Allow some natural light to enter the hall through thin cotton sheets that will diffuse bright sunlight and create a slighly more subdued ambience. For creative people who are willing to contribute to the event, they can help to produce royal crest designs on window coverings. You may find inspiration for the designs from medieval films or historical websites, and these will enhance the look of the outer walls of the hall.

Lighting is of utmost importance and at the same time a safety concern as the best lighting effect possible is candle light. The safest but most expensive option is to hire electric powered candle-effect stand lamps and table lights, though the most genuine effect is obtained by using white and yellow church candle lights on the tables and iron stand lamps placed 8 to 12 feet apart around the wall edges of the hall.

You may use rose, jasmine or lavender scented candles to help replicate the floral scents of the era. Avoid using any candles that will create an aroma that is too strong as this could put your guests off their food, and ensure that you have a few candles spare in case some go out during the event.

The ideal seating arrangement at a medieval party is to have two heads at the table at either end, and the remaining guests sat close together along the edges of the table on wooden chairs or a long bench-type seat. Keeping your guests close together will encourage people to socialise and share their enjoyment of the event as they drink and tuck into a truly authentic medieval banquet.

Music plays an important part of any good party theme, and in medieval times, music was often played during holidays and special occasions. Your guests will enjoy eating in an authentic medieval hall just as people of the era did several centuries ago, listening to traditional medieval music. Locating suitable medieval music to play is not as hard as you might think, and many offerings are commonly available on CD from on-line stores such as Amazon, titles include; “Music for a Medieval Banquet” (2001), the “Medieval Collection” (2007) and many others.

Depending on the mood of your guests as the event progresses you may wish to play your favourite music which is absolutely fine, though you should ensure that you have enough music to comfortably last the whole duration of your event. Medieval music is enjoyed at its best when it is played at a lower volume than contemporary music would normally be played at a party. The music should be played loud enough to hear, but not so loud that guests have to raise their voices to talk.

Now that you have taken care of the hall arrangement, seating and decorations, it is time to turn to the main part of the Medieval Knights theme, the banquet!

The banquet food itself can be bought and prepared inexpensively. The best way to pull off the feeling of eating in medieval times is to serve grilled and barbecued food and vegetables to the table on wooden plates for your guests to eat either with their hands, or with suitable cutlery such as wooden forks, knives and spoons.

If possible, cook outside, as close as is safely possible to the banquet hall allowing the smoke and aroma to permeate the area being careful not to create a smokescreen in the process. This will be sure to make your guests feel hungry as the delightful aroma of grilled chicken, pork and beef waft about their noses.

Whole chickens, beef brisket, pork ribs, beef steaks and barbecued food in general are all highly suitable for your Medieval Knights banquet, served onto large serving platters to the table, or directly to your guests plates at the table by young willing assistants dressed as surfs (common medieval workers).

If your budget allows, you may choose to go the “whole-hog” and have a spit-roast suckling pig with an apple in its mouth served to your guests in true medieval style.

Bread is traditionally served with every meal, and as such, baguettes and whole round loaves are perfect for breaking off with the hands and using to mop up an empty plate. Ensure that your bread is served warm to the table and that you have plenty of butter and a selection of cheddar cheeses available as tasty fillers between plate refills.

As a sweet filler during the meal, place two or three medium sized wooden bowls on the table, such as salad bowls, and fill them with oranges, apples and bananas. Not only does this add the traditional colour and effect to your table, it also gives your guests something sweet to eat amidst the savoury meats and cheeses.

Traditional medieval desserts would probably be considered unpalatable by today's standards, though you will find that strawberry tarts, Queen of Puddings, a fruit salad with cream and even rice pudding with cinnamon are all great desserts that maintain authenticity and are a perfect end to your meal.

Choosing the right drinks for your guests will add the final touch to your occasion, and in medieval times, beers, ales, wine and liqueurs were commonly drunk with all meals. Belgian Abbey Biers, like Leffe or Affligem are good examples of traditionally made medieval beers that are still available today from specialist suppliers, though any good beer or ale will play the part just as well served in a tankard, goblet or chunky glass vessel.

Spiced wines were the mainstay of most meals, with Bordeaux being served to the nobility of the medieval era. All red wines are suitable to use of course and you may have your own personal preferences. It is recommended that with any meat-heavy meal, that full-bodied red wines are used to complement the flavours of the food and should be served in a large flagon to goblets or glasses.

One of the wonderful things about the medieval period is that there are so many costumes to choose from. Knights, damsels in distress, “ladies”, nobility (both French and English), and lowly surfs who act as common people of the time.

Monks add a great presence to the guest-list, allowing for a few ale-swilling Friar Tuck look-a-likes to join the party for a tipple.

Specialist medieval costume suppliers are recommended to dress your guests ideally for the occasion, but you can effectively make your own medieval costumes yourself using on-line medieval re-enactment websites from which you can draw inspiration for your desired outfits.

Men's medieval clothing includes shirts, tunics, chain-mail, tabards, jerkins, capes, doublets and boots, while ladies often wear bodices, gowns or dresses with a chemise, particularly those inspired from the Renaissance period. Children can of course wear scaled-down versions of adult clothing.

Your banquet will benefit from the presence of at least one King and Queen, though two Kings and Queens are preferable so that there is enough nobility present to maintain “order”, and fun, throughout the evening. The Kings and Queens are supported by their loyal armoured Knights and squires, well-dressed ladies, all the way down to the lowly scruffy guests dressed as surfs.

Regardless of what costume you or your guests decide upon, you can be assured that you will have created the right setting and atmosphere to make your Medieval Knights party a day to remember.

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