Royse Feesten in Gruitrode

This weekend was the annual Royse Feesten in Gruitrode. In the background is the Commandary. I'm told that it's not exactly a castle, but was a major stronghold in this area. This festival celebrates life here in the middle ages, and gives you a little glimpse into how they carried on in day to day activities. There were lots of demonstrations, and activities that you could take part in. Brandon's favorite part had to be the cannons. They fired off several different types, and let me tell you...they were LOUD! They even had one that had a lot of small barrels and one fuse, and was essentially a middle ages machine gun. The whole area was set up like a medieval town, and the people were all in character the entire time. There were tents where the women gathered and cooked over open fires. There were tents for the blacksmiths, seamstresses, dining halls, and many other things. People were in each area, demonstrating and displaying their crafts. In the back section were the tests for the knights. You could peek into them and see how they used to live. The tents were really well made, and the top braces could be used to hang things like weapons, or clothing that needed to be dried. Everything was set up inside the tents just as they were living in them hundreds of years ago. It was really fascinating. Everyone there was so friendly and was more than willing to answer any questions. Brandon got to try on a mail shirt, helmet and ax. (Some people refer to it as chain mail, but that is redundant, because mail is actually a series of little rings of chain woven together to make an armour material. So saying chain mail is actually saying chain chain.) It was really heavy, but they said that this is one of the lighter ones. Can you imagine how much weight these people had to lug around, just to stay alive? This gentleman was making molds and pouring melted silver into them. They appreciated what they had so much more back then, because it took so long to make each item. There was another section where you could try your hand at some activities from that time. We got to shoot crossbows, toss hatchets, and shoot longbows. (I'm not naming any names, but SOMEONE hit just a hair below the bulls eye with the cross bow on her first try. I'm just saying.) It was a lot of fun and a get way to spend a beautiful afternoon. If you find yourself in Gruitrode, Belgium this time next year, I would recommend you stop by and check it out for yourself. You will be happy you did. Where else can you learn so much about history hands on in one afternoon? Here's the official site for the festival if you want to read more about it. http://royse-feesten.be/