100 Mile Elementary School students got a Medieval twist on their education last Friday.
The entire school took part in the inaugural Medieval Fair organized by French immersion teacher Tristan Feissli and his Grade 4-6 class. Feissli said the fair was meant to be a chance for students to interact with Medieval history in a hands-on way.
“There aren’t many museums around here about the Medieval period, and (museums) are also look but don’t touch,” Feissli said. “Here, we have all that material, and the idea is to really have kids try to do things; not only receive information but try for themselves. It’s almost like an interactive museum.”
Several booths were set up at the fair, with replicas of medieval artifacts on display. Each booth was manned by a group of Feissli’s students who taught other students about the history behind the artifacts.
Madison Wright, Grade 6, was one of several students responsible for showing off a collection of medieval weapons. Wright handled rapiers, swords, axes, war hammers and maces, but the deadliest weapon, she said, was actually the humble dagger.
“Daggers are the weapons that killed the most people because they can get to all the soft spots,” Wright explained. “I learned a lot about swords, like how on most of them there are little marks on the blade that show what blacksmith they were made by.”
Feissli has a deep passion for Medieval history and fencing. Originally from Switzerland, he was a member of a historical reenactment troop for several years that put on sword-fighting exhibitions across the continent.
Since moving to Canada, Feissli said most of his gear — including weapons, tents and other historical items — has just sat in his garage. Bringing them to the school seemed the perfect way to utilize them, but first he needed the support of his class. Feissli said the idea relied on them to educate the other students.
“I brought it up to the kids and they were all for it from the get-go. If they were not on board it would have been impossible to put together, but because of their support it came to fruition.”
In the week leading up to the fair Feissli taught his class about Medieval combat, the evolution of armour, siege weaponry, fashion, daily life and heraldry.
“The Medieval period, in modern history, is the second longest period of time. It lasted for 1,000 years. In that time a lot of technological improvement happened,” Feissli said.”You can see an evolution of the armour and weapons over time. Same with the castles and the siege engines.”
Wright said she was really excited to be a part of the project. Actually teaching her fellow students made her a bit nervous, but she enjoyed the chance to step out of her comfort zone.
Her classmate Rowan Johnston, Grade 5, also had fun teaching his fellow students. Johnston manned the armour display, walking students through the development of armour from chain mail to full plate armour.
“It was very cool to learn about it. Armour was used for protection and they would have multiple layers. They would have cloth padding and at one point only chain mail. Then, in the 1200s, they started to wear plate over the chain mail and eventually by the 1400s they only wore plate,” Johnston said. “I’m one of the only people who knows it, so it makes me feel a bit special.”
The biggest draw on Friday was a square set aside for sword fighting. Several members of Cariboo Bladed Combat, which Feissli organizes, volunteered their time to demonstrate proper fencing skills. Feissli himself used a blunt metal sword while in full plate armour in front of the entire school.
“The steel blades are pretty cool to see because they spark, and for kids its always like a ‘wow’ effect. It’s the closest you can get to having an actual fight.”
Feissli said organizing the fair was a lot of work but he’d like to try organizing it again next year.
He is hopeful another community group will get involved, and welcomes people to reach out to him about it.
“I’m very satisfied with how it turned out because (my class) put in a lot of work and it paid off in the end,” Feissli said. “It was a very cool opportunity for me to share something that was not in the regular curriculum.”
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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