Spectacular Jousting at Linlithgow Palace
After breakfast Saturday morning we were ready to go to Linlithgow Palace for a glimpse of life in medieval times. The drive was around 2,5 hours and we arrived not long after the first events started at half past twelve.
After a quick inspection of the exterior of the castle, we quickly headed for the arena, put our picnic blanket on the grass and had a long overdue lunch, which also included fresh strawberries. According to the calender it was now summer, but before we were done for the day I wished I'd brought my gloves, not just the scarf. The boys were fine though, our oldest son even refused to put his jacket on top of his hooded jumper. As I'm writing this it strikes me that I'm starting to sound like an old lady - and I'm not even 40!Entertaining jousting
While we were waiting for the knights, our boys managed to get a balloon-sword each and small flags to cheer for the blue team as soon as the tournament started. Throughout the tournament there was a speaker making funny comments about what was going on, adding to the entertainment of the tournament.
There were two teams of two knights each, who all performed a number of precision tasks on horseback, including hitting a wooden figure and picking up or catching rings with their lances. They also fought on foot with swords and other weapons. The best part was the jousting, a single combat of two knights riding at each other with lances. There was a great element of show and rehearsed fights, but one of the knights actually fell of his horse during the combat. I assume it was planned, but it was still impressive falling off a galloping horse.Linlithgow Palace - the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots
After the jousting we headed off to explore the palace.
Linlithgow Palace was begun by King James I in 1424, following a fire that devastated its predecessor. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries. Most of the Stewart kings lived at Linlithgow Palace, and James V
(1512) and Mary Queen of Scots (1542) were both born here.After the Union of the Crowns in 1603 the Royal Court became largely based in England and Linlithgow was used very little. Sadly, most of the palace buildings were destroyed by burning (done by Duke of Cumberland's army) in January 1746.
Even though Linlithgow Palace is in ruins, its size still makes it a very impressive building. The palace is 5 floors high and was built around an open courtyard, with towers in each corner. In each of the towers are spiraling staircases, taking you from one floor to another. With a great number of rooms and hallways all around the central courtyard, it is easy to get lost. I imagine the servants must have walked very far every day they worked in the palace.The palace has been actively conserved since the early 19th century and is today managed and maintained by Historic Scotland.
Life in medieval times
After we had seen most of the castle, we decided to return to the arena to watch another round of jousting. On our way out we came across a demonstration of how ladies who lived in the castle were dressed, from undergarments to completely dressed. This was quite fascinating, so I stayed behind to watch more of the demonstration while the boys and their father went to see more fighting.
After the final show, we took a look at the camps, where we could try helmets, swords and chain mails, or weave our own decorative armbands. We tried calligraphy with pens made from bamboo and other pens made from swan feathers. I've done a bit of calligraphy over the years and enjoyed trying these new tools. One of the ladies gave me one of their swan feather pens to take home, I really appreciated the gift.
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