Medieval Banquet

Mountsorrel’s Legendary Knight…

…or Legendary Night – With or without the ‘K’, The Mountsorrel Community Team carved a mark in village history this month.

800 years ago in 1217AD, the King sent Sir William Marshall to drive the French from Mountsorrel Castle. William Marshall is one of England’s most famous Knights. He fought in the Crusades with Richard the Lionheart, took part in the battle of Agincourt and brought about Magna Carta and our current rule of law. In his lifetime he served 5 Kings and was a member of the Knights Templar.

To mark the anniversary of the siege of Mountsorrel, the MCT (Mountsorrel Community Team) held a Banquet & Tournament attended by over 100 people all dressed in period costumes for the occasion. Lords mixed with Rat-catchers and Highborn Ladies danced with peasants, while the hall rang to the cheering for the Jousting (on Spacehoppers!).

Mountsorrel based caterers, Rival Catering, provided a superb banquet, expertly dodging Jesters and Swordsmen as they served at table.

William Marshall himself entered the hall, bringing the audience to their feet, as they cheered the great man as he was lead to the top table. The banquet was compared by event organiser, Ian Shonk who played the role of ‘Scrotum the Jester’ alongside his Castle Lord, John Macrae. Each ‘house’ had their own crest hanging over their table and competed for gold coinage bestowed by Sir Marshall for success in the Tournament challenges, with the winner being awarded the ‘Freedom of Mountsorrel’ (which unfortunately expired at midnight).

Jax Harrison from Loughborough, who was dressed as a Medieval lady, said; “It was a fantastically fun evening, I can’t remember when I laughed so much!”

The MCT would like to thank Mountsorrel Working Mens Club for all their support of the team’s activities and for allowing the Concert Room to be converted into the Castle Great Hall for the event.