Medieval Times show promotes chivalry, anti-bullying messages

The harms of bullying, gossiping on social media or ridiculing others aren't messages students typically encounter when learning about medieval history.

Yet, that's the focus of a new educational initiative launched by Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament in Schaumburg, adding a new twist to the age-old message of chivalry.

Dozens of suburban schools have come through to see the matinee show since the initiative launched last fall in Schaumburg and eight other North American cities. Its aim is applying the medieval code of chivalry to everyday situations and challenges facing school-age children.

The first half-hour of the roughly 90-minute show features skits incorporating messages about treating people with fairness, showing compassion, honesty and respect for others, and understanding and appreciating each other's differences.

"It was just very creative and fun," said Nicole Darnall, 12, who was among a group of sixth-graders from Marlowe Middle School in Algonquin that attended the show Wednesday. She said the key messages she walked away with were "to be brave and try new things, and try your hardest not to be a bully."

"And stand up for people," chimed in Harmony Harrison, 11.

The show reinforces anti-bullying messages schools officials have promoted for years through their own Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports programs, Marlowe Principal Adam Zehr said. The show helps students make "the connection between chivalry and everyday interactions with students."

For nearly 20 years, Medieval Times' shows primarily have focused on educating people about knights, horses, choreographed sword fights and jousting, historical facts, and somewhat authentic representations of various characters of the Middle Ages.

"The kids study this period of history for one segment of one grade," said Leigh Cordner, Medieval Times' creative director who developed the script for the new educational show, which continues through the summer. "We wanted to have something that had a wider appeal for kids of all ages ... to have a real-world application for them. What we wanted to get after was the bullying, which has become really viral with social media."

Among the basic tenets of the code of chivalry are virtue, defending the helpless, and speaking the truth.

"There was an oath 1,000 years ago that knights lived by ... basically based on compassion, respect and understanding," Cordner said. "The code was made to protect the weak against the strong. We think that those values are still applicable today."

The show covers bullying, cyberbullying, social media gossip and those "magical devices" known as smartphones, which make an anachronistic appearance in a scene about knights training.

Students are passive participants and allowed to connect the dots for themselves rather than being schooled, except when asked to answer multiple-choice questions after each segment quizzing them on what they learned.

"They just have to shout out the answers. It helps us measure are they watching, are they paying attention," Cordner said. "And the participation is huge."