Amidst all the banners and pageantry of the Middle Ages, from the most lavish courts of the most decadent nobility, to the history-changing victories of gallant warriors fighting for the crown, a certain image is placed into our minds of the Medieval world where the wealthy were persons of utmost culture, wars were fought on a code of Chivalry, and the commoners were simple and content. Or at least that's the storybook Medieval period.

Lest we forget that the lives of Medieval people were lived by humans, subject to the same plights and follies that humans are prone to. We as a race have never been known to be the kinder and gentler species that one might naively try to envision. Our history is checkered with abominable acts of depraved tyrants, not to mention the discontent of those under Noble and theocratic heel.

The Middle Ages were often a dark and stagnant time, and with that darkness came an even darker underbelly of the human experience. From the righteous perversions of the cardinals and bishops who gave birth to the Inquisitions, to the blood-spattered marble bathtubs of Elizabeth Bathory, our glorious human tradition of abominable activity had never been more alive.

My own lust for things macabre and diabolical lead me to study and research the darker recesses of the Medieval Period, and in turn, to add a section to this website devoted to such study (or at least a very small portion thereof).

WitchCraft & Heresy | Crime & The Underworld
Torture & Execution Art of the Plague Era

All materials at this site ( mountainfreehold.org/arts/mmp/ ) are Copyright © 1997 - 2007 Kevin Montanaro unless otherwise noted. Use of any materials contained herein are subject to stated terms or written permission. Address any questions to Dante D'Artaqua. You know the address.

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This is the recognized Web Page for the Shire of Mountain Freehold of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. This page was last updated on Thursday, February 28, 2008. The maintainer of this page is Alaxandar an Chobhlaigh mac Lochloinn, ( alaxandr@mountainfreehold.org ). This page is not a corporate publication of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc., and does not delineate SCA policies. In cases of conflict with printed versions of material presented on this page or its links, the dispute will be decided in favor of the printed version.