At Medieval Times, get ready for jousting, feasting and fun

Posted February 27, 2010 10:00 pm

By Samantha Nelson

Most audience members at Medieval Times spend the show watching the knights and royalty perform. But Dave Gordon, who alternates between playing the king and lord chancellor, likes to ask his friends to keep their eyes on the squires.

All new cast members spend months training, practicing riding and working with weapons for six hours a day. During the show, they work as squires, handing out weapons, setting up the arena for jousting competitions, carrying out fallen knights, taking up arms for some of the bigger fight scenes and even cleaning up after the horses.

"They run at full speed in 18 inches of sand over and over again," Gordon said. "It's very, very tiring."

Their work is just part of the massive effort that goes into putting on the shows, which can run every day and up to three times a day on weekends during the castle's busy winter season.

For the last 19 years, Medieval Times has been attracting crowds to don paper crowns and eat a meal of soup, chicken and ribs without the use of silverware. The 85,000-square-foot castle can seat 1,450 guests.

School groups for matinees and crowds of dedicated regulars often dress in the colors of their favorite knights. While the official dress code is casual, it's not uncommon to see kids and adults dressed up in medieval attire.

The medieval characters regularly address the audience as honored guests to their feast and tournament, asking them to join in toasts and cheer for the performers.

Framed around the story of two kingdoms attempting to establish peace after a long period of conflict, the show features jousting, fights and swordplay, horseback riding and falconry. Demonstrating the historic hunting technique, a falcon circles the arena just above the audience's heads before swooping in on a cord spun by its handler and getting rewarded with a bit of meat for its performance.

Along with shattering lances against each other's shields from horseback, the knights fight with axes, halberds, maces, flails and sometimes clash with a sword in each hand, striking blades so hard that the metal sparks. Every move is choreographed, but show cast manager Shawn Block said fights are still the hardest part of the show.

"It takes a lot of respect for the weapon," he said. "You really need to watch yourself."

The human performers aren't the only ones working hard. Mario A. Contreras, head horse trainer and stable manager, said he works with the 25 horses stabled at Medieval Times more than 40 hours a week.

The horses get some time to run free during the day and a light workout during the show, but most of their exercise comes from early-morning training sessions where they learn maneuvers that were actually used during the medieval ages. These include jumping and kicking their hind legs, a technique meant to protect knights from attacks from the rear.

"Horses were weapons," Contreras said. "They were trained to kill people."

Each show features 13 horses with alternates available for each part. The animals each get their own heated stall, weekly visits from a horseshoer and overnight caretakers. Horse lovers can buy tickets to a post-show stable tour where they can see the animals up close and chat with some of the cast members.

It's worth getting to the castle early to check out the spectacle outside of the arena. There is a bar, several gift shops and places to pose for pictures in front of bright murals or while seated on thrones.

Every guest also gets their picture taken with the princess or the king. Gordon says he enjoys being in costume and seeing the children's eyes light up. Sometimes they ask if he's a real king.

"The thing that makes the job the best for me is the kids," he said.

Royalty, knights, squires and peasants alike all take part in the opening procession of the tournament at Medieval Times in Schaumburg. Courtesy of Medieval Times

Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament

2001 N. Roselle Road, Schaumburg, (866) 543-9637, <a href="http://medievaltimes.com" target="new">medievaltimes.com</a>

Tickets: $59.95, $34.95 for kids and includes four-course meal and show

Show times: Vary depending on the day. See Web site for details.

Rating: Appropriate for all ages

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