Ethan A. Chase Seventh Graders Present Medieval Faire

A puppet show was just one of the many displays put on by students at the Medieval Faire. Menifee 24/7 photos: Kristen Spoon

Seventh graders at Ethan A. Chase Middle School got the chance to dance in Medieval costumes, stick their head and arms in the law and justice "stocks", test out a toy catapult and many other activities during the school's second annual Medieval Faire.

The event, held last Friday, lasted throughout the school day. Seventh grade history classes rotated in each period and manned the many displays to show to the seventh grade science students. According to history teacher Shannon Emmer, the event is a fun way for the students to learn about that period of history.

"The Medieval European time period is a really fun time period for our kids to learn about," Emmer said. "Last year we decided to start this fair as a way for the kids to do hands-on projects and showcase their work and to get the other grade levels excited about history also. The sixth graders get to preview it and the eighth graders get to reminisce about it."

Students were assigned roles by their teacher and wore period costumes, which were either collected by Emmer at thrift shops or made by the students themselves. Activities on Friday included a Medieval dance group, games based on activities of that time period, a puppet show, displays of clothing and farming activities of Serfs, and forms of Medieval law and justice -- including the stocks and a "chair of torture."

"The Royal Court group is very regal and welcomes everyone," Emmer said. "Then a minstrel group performs a little play about peasant life. We have different games based on topics of the time period."

One of the games is based on the medicinal cures used against the Black Death plague, which killed millions of Europeans in the 1300s.

"You choose a card to determine which disease you have," Emmer said about the game. "Then you get to choose from a list of cures. You roll the dice to see if you live or die. Medieval medicine really was a gamble."

Seventh graders Emma Barber and Selena Nieto worked at a table where elaborately decorated letters were displayed. Students picked the first letter of their last name and colored the initials.

At one table sat four boys who represented members of the clergy, ringing a bell to summon the people to Mass and explaining about religious customs of the day.

One of the priests, Jonathan Quintero, was asked what he had learned about the people of that time period.

"They drank lots of alcohol," he said. "They liked to dance and they worked a lot."