meet ed asner knights in combat - · pdf fileworn by viking warriors. they can paint heraldry,...

© 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

release dates: July 4-10 27-1 (09)

from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate


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Have you ever dreamed of living in thetime of knights, lords and ladies? Thistime is known as the Middle Ages.

Renaissance (reh-nuh-SAHNTS) fairsand tournaments give modern people ataste of life in the Middle Ages andRenaissance.

To learn more about Renaissance fairs,The Mini Page talked to an expert fromthe Society for Creative Anachronism*(uh-NA-kruh-ni-zum), or SCA.*An anachronism is something out of its propertime or place. For example, if you were watching amovie about American pioneers and somebodypulled out a cell phone, the phone would be ananachronism.

SCA brings something from the pastinto the present. It calls itself “creative”because certain modern conveniences,such as modern plumbing, can be at theirevents.

Renaissance fairs (sometimes spelled“faires”) are re-enactments of townfestivals that would have occurred duringthe Middle Ages, usually to celebrate aholy day or the harvest.

The Middle AgesExperts disagree about the exact dates

of the Middle Ages. This era, or timeperiod, lasted about 1,000 years.

It is the time in European historystretching from about the fall of theRoman Empire, around A.D. 400, to theend of the reign of England’s QueenElizabeth I, in 1601.

During the MiddleAges, people lived undera feudal (FYOO-duhl)system of government.This meant kings, andsometimes queens, had the most power.

Lords and ladies, or nobles, wereunder the royal rulers. They owned largeareas of land. The people who worked theland were under the rule of the lord ofthe land, or the landlord.

The RenaissanceThe Renaissance arrived at the end

of the Middle Ages. It began in about the1300s in Italy, and in about the 1500s inFrance and England.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, tradebetween countries shrank. People weren’twell educated, and they grew poorer.

During the Renaissance, things gotbetter again. “Renaissance” means “rebirth.”

People began trading more, whichallowed them to learn from othercultures. Scientific study and art grewimportant again.

More people beganliving in cities.Business people,artists and educatedpeople gained morepower and respect.

Step Into the Middle Ages

Come Ye to the Faire!

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Knights engage in teamcombat in a battle at an SCARenaissance festival.For most of the Middle Ages,knights promised to serve inthe king’s army for a certainnumber of days each year. Inthe late Middle Ages, knightspaid a tax to get out of militaryservice.This was better for the kingbecause knights were aroundonly during wars. With themoney paid by unwillingknights, the king could keepan army of trained fighters allthe time.

A queenwalks agreyhoundduring atournament.

Mini Spy . . .from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

Mini Spy and Basset Brown enjoy dressing up for theRenaissance fair. See if you can find:

• letter C• dog• snake• tooth• sock• pig’s face• bell• word MINI• number 7• letter A


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KnightsDuring parts of the early Middle

Ages, knights were regular soldiers.They stopped being knights as soon asthey left the wars.

Later, knights kept their rank evenafter the wars were over. They began togain their own castles and land. Oftenthey earned this land by their deeds onthe battlefield.

Slowly, they began pulling themselvesout of the peasantry, or lower class.They became part of the aristocracy(ah-ruh-STAH-kruh-see), or ruling class.

Although most knights were men,women could be knights too. In the 1300s,the Order of the Garter in Englandaccepted women and men as knights. InSpain, the Order of the Hatchet wasfounded just for women going into battle.

JoustingA joust (jowst) is a competition

between two knights with long lances,or spears. At the beginning of theMiddle Ages, jousting was basically war

with rules.There weremanydeaths.

By thelate Middle

Ages, it had become more of a sport. Ifsomeone got killed during a match, theking’s officials investigated it as if itwere a murder.

Knights in Combat

TournamentsThere are two types of Renaissance

fairs. In one kind, actors perform for thepublic. The knights already know whowill win the tournaments.

They may charge each other onhorseback. Because the combat is beingstaged, the actors can make sure thatno horses or people will be hurt.

In SCA festivals, people act as if theywere in the Middle Ages. Knightsengage in real matches. No one knowswho will win ahead of time. Knightsengage only in hand-to-hand combat sono horses could accidentally be hurt.

Words that remind us of Renaissance fairs are hidden in the block below.Some words are hidden backward or diagonally, and some letters are usedtwice. See if you can find: MIDDLE, AGES, RENAISSANCE, KNIGHTS,LADY, LORD, WAR, JOUST, HORSE, ARMOR, KING, QUEEN, FEAST,JUGGLER, EAT, FESTIVAL, SAFE, TOURNAMENT, EUROPE, MERCHANTS,ART, LITERACY.

Renaissance Fair TRY ’NFIND

COME ALL YELORDS AND

LADIES!

K F E S T I V A L F F E A S TE I K N I G H T S K E S R O HU L N J O U S T L R O M R A MR A O G Y D A L M N E E U Q IO W G R T A E R E L G G U J DP Q A E D S T N A H C R E M DE K K R S N Y C A R E T I L LK T N E M A N R U O T T R A EE F A S E C N A S S I A N E R


Basset Brown

The News

Hound’s

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Two polearmsmenbattle at atournament.

A femaleknightengages inhand-to-handcombat withanotherknight at aRenaissancetournament.

Rookie Cookie’s RecipeBroccoli Bake



Meet Ed AsnerEd Asner is the voice of Carl in the

Disney/Pixar movie “Up.” He has been inmany TV shows and movies. He is bestknown for his role as Lou Grant in the TVseries “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” He isalso known for his role as Capt. ThomasDavies in the TV miniseries “Roots.”

Ed has won seven Emmy awards and fiveGolden Globe awards for his acting on TV.

He has appeared in several Hallmarkmovies, including “The Christmas Card.” He also acted as SantaClaus in the movie “Elf.”

Ed, 79, was born in Kansas City, Kan., as Yitzhak EdwardAsner. He has worked for many charitable causes, including theenvironment, human rights, good treatment of workers, andfreedom and peace throughout the world.

You’ll need:• 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped broccoli• 1 cup baking mix• 1 cup reduced-fat milk• 2 eggs• 1/2 teaspoon salt• dash of pepper• 1 cup shredded low-fat cheeseWhat to do:1. Cook broccoli according to directions.2. Blend together baking mix, milk, eggs, salt and pepper.3. Stir in cooked broccoli and cheese.4. Coat a medium-sized baking dish with cooking spray. Pour mixture into dish.5. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes until set.6. Cut into squares and serve. Serves 6 to 8.You will need an adult’s help with this recipe.


All the following jokes have something in common.Can you guess the common theme or category?

Ginger: Why do we sometimes call the MiddleAges the Dark Ages?

Gustav: Because there were so many knights!

Geoff: What did Sir Lancelot wear to bed?Greg: A knightgown!

Giselle: What happens when you put a lightbulb in a suit of armor?

Gigi: You have a knightlight!

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Jousting eventsDuring jousting tournaments at

Renaissance fairs, the moves areplanned in advance so no person orhorse gets hurt. Fair-goers might get tosee knights jousting on horseback.

In SCA tournaments, knights joust onfoot. Because their tournaments are notplanned out, they don’t take a chance ofhurting each other or the horses.

Jousting on foot was common duringthe Middle Ages, especially if a matchwas in the middle of thetown. It was hard to findenough space in citiesfor two knights to run ateach other on horses.Staying safe

Modern SCA knightsuse wooden weaponsjust as knights did when training forbattle. Modern knights must wearprotective clothing or armor.

Modern knights can make theirarmor out of anything, including sportsequipment, which is often safer thanwhat the real knights had. For example,knights of the Middle Ages wrapped feltaround their elbows for protectionduring combat. Modern high-tech elbowpads are much safer.

Fun for kidsKids are encouraged to take part in

SCA events. They can learn to fightwith padded swords.

They might make necklaces withcolored beads that resemble decorationsworn by Viking warriors. They can paintheraldry, or coats of arms. These arethe personal signs on knights’ armor.

Fun at the FestivalA taste of the Middle Ages

Renaissance event chefs often takepride in cooking up authentic (ah-THEN-tik), or true-to-life, dishes fromthe Middle Ages.There is often abig feast.

People in theMiddle Ages atewith their fingers.At SCA events, itcan be fun to diginto the food withyour hands.

As in the MiddleAges, diners atSCA feasts scoopup food from thesame dishes.People might even share the sameplate. Many hands might be digginginto the same food. It was not OK tocome to the table with dirty hands!

SCA chefs like to end the feast aschefs did in the Middle Ages, with adish that was more for fun than forfood. This was called a subtlety(SUH-tuhl-TEE).

Subtleties might be huge sculpturesmade out of food. For example, cooksmight build a copy of the lord’s castle ora dragon. It wouldn’t matter if it tastedgood, as long as it looked good.

The nursery rhyme line, “Four and 20blackbirds bakedinto a pie,”describes afamous subtlety.The cook put livebirds into a panand put a pie

crust over those birds. The birds weren’tactually baked. When the pie was broughtto the table, the birds all flew out.

The Mini Page StaffBetty Debnam - Founding Editor and Editor at Large Lisa Tarry - Managing Editor Lucy Lien - Associate Editor Wendy Daley - Artist

Archers take their positions on the lines at aRenaissance tournament. The SCA hasclasses in archery for kids as well.

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These modern women are dressed asGerman shoppers at a town festival. As inthe past, merchants bring out their wares,or goods, to sell. Bakers and cooksprepare fancy local dishes and pastriesto sell.

The Mini Page thanks Scott Farrell, Societyfor Creative Anachronism, for help with thisissue.

Site to see: www.sca.org

Look through your newspaper for storiesabout festivals and fairs in your area.

Next week, The Mini Page is all aboutsynchronized swimming.

There was oftenmusic or juggling toentertain guests atfeasts.


Supersport: Hannah NielsenHeight: 5-5 Hometown: Adelaide, Australia

Hannah Nielsen didn’t major in drama at NorthwesternUniversity. She doesn’t plan to become the next HannahMontana. But she did put on quite a show on the lacrosse field.

One of the college women’s premier players, Nielsencompleted her sparkling career by helping the Wildcats win afifth straight national title and post a perfect 23-0 record thisspring.

The 5-5 midfielder set NCAA Division I records for assists in a game (10), aseason (83) and a career (224), and won her second straight TewaaratonTrophy as the nation’s top player. In the 21-7 championship game victory overNorth Carolina, she dished out six assists.

Neilsen also is Northwestern’s all-time scoring leader, with 398 points.Academically, she succeeded as well, earning a joint degree in human

development and psychological services. Maybe an honorary degree in dramawould also be fitting, considering her performances in lacrosse.

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meet ed asner knights in combat - · pdf fileworn by viking warriors. they can paint heraldry,...

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