Holiday

 

We continue our series of Tales from Sir Dickon, a 14^th Century Knight of the Realm, magically transported to the 21^st Century to become a modern-day life coach.

The other day, I was complaining to Sir Dickon about the fact that I haven’t been on holiday since the Coronavirus outbreak. Out of curiosity I wondered if people had holidays in the 14^th Century. It turns out things weren’t so different back then. The travel agency business was cornered by the Catholic Church and they offered two options.

The Pilgrimage – best suited to older people who are looking for a more leisurely break. Pilgrimage’s were low budget. Holiday attire was basically a sack cloth shirt and bare feet. Travel costs were minimal, you just walked to a shrine and back.

Sir Dickon preferred the more adventurous type of holiday, otherwise known as a Crusade. You needed a proper outfit for crusading – a full suit of armour, helmet, shield, broadsword and a war horse. At least it included a cruise to a place that was hot and sunny.

On a crusade you could take part in many action activities such as a siege, a skirmish, or a battle. With the opportunity for looting, it was actually like getting paid to go on holiday. On the downside there was a fairly high risk of death, disease, serious injury, capture and/or imprisonment.

Sir Dickon has just booked himself on a Club 18 – 30s holiday to Ibiza. He read the brochure and said it sounds pretty much like a crusade.