ravenous -
extremely hungry, famished, starvingActivities
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Vocabulary
ravenous -
extremely hungry, famished, starving
ravenous - I was surprised I could eat, but I was ravenous.
kindling
- Easily ignited material, such as dry sticks of wood, used to start a fire.
kindling - Chapter 9 - Page 87 - "Imagine how you would feel, my boy, if you were sitting to a nice meal of roasted mouse legs and your entire castle were lifted up and banged about like a mere piece of kindling. I doubt you would take it too kindly."
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The Knight's Armor
Before leaving on their quest William helped Sir Simon dress. Below is a list of the pieces of armor a knight would wear.
| helmet | a head covering |
| visor | movable part of the helmet that covered the eyes |
| gorget | a collar of metal that protected the throat |
| shoulder piece | metal that covered the shoulders |
| cuirass | breast plate |
| brassard | arm protector |
| elbow piece | metal covering the knee and elbows and allowing for movement of the leg |
| tasset | overlapping plates that form a short skirt around the hips |
| gauntlet | a glove |
| coat of mail (chain mail) | net made of metal rings worn under the armor |
| cuisse | a metal thigh covering |
| greave | metal from the ankle to the knee |
| sabaton | foot covering |
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Medieval Sewing
Tapestries are mentioned in the riddle that is above the entrance to the castle in The Castle in the Attic.
When the lady doth ply her needle and the lord his sword doth test, then the squire shall cross the drawbridge and the time will be right for a quest.
Later William learns that Mrs. Phillips will be keeping track of William's travels through the tapestry she sews while he is on his quest.
Ella watched the woven rug become alive.
In sewing class Ella was asked to embroider rose designs on a piece of cloth. At first Ella makes large clumsy stitches. Later she improves because she is ordered to do so.
Make medieval banners. The ones below were made of felt and yarn. They hung on coat hangers. If you want to have an authentic design check out the site called Shields, Knights, and Heraldry.
Tapestries
Tapestries were often used as wall hangings and as curtains to help keep out the drafts in the castle. They were made of wool.
One famous tapestry is the Bayeaux Tapestry. Woven into the tapestry was pictures of the Norman conquest of England in 1066. The pictures and words on the tapestry were embroidered with colored wool onto linen. The tapestry is over two hundred feet long and about twenty inches wide.
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During the early Middle Ages warriors had a hard time trying to identify
who they were fighting in battles and tournaments. The knights of the 1100's decided to
solve this problem by creating special designs called Coat of Arms for their shields. The
knight picked almost any design he liked including pictures of lions, dragons, eagles,
falcons, crowns, diamonds, and other shapes. Coat of Arms were later added to tunics and
shoulder guards wore by the knights. They were also embroidered or woven onto banners that
were carried by the knights into battle.
Fathers passed down their Coat of Arms to their oldest sons. Younger sons wore a version of their father's Arms. The rule was that the younger son had to change the design somewhat. If the warrior died without a male heir, his daughter was allowed to combine her father's Coat of Arms with her husband's. |
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The Castle in the Attic - William shrinks himself and goes into the castle. There he is trained as a squire, learns about the tapestry that Mrs. Phillips will be sewing, and prepares for his quest.
Ella Enchanted - Ella runs away from finishing school, meets up with elves who help her. Then is kidnapped by ogres. Char comes to her rescue.