It’s difficult for me to remember that the hulking castles of Medieval Times were drafty, damp and unfriendly because the movies make them seem so accommodating.

Making the era more fascinating is how the Tudor kings like Henry VIII transported soft goods and metal items from castle to castle when his court was on the move—the tapestries and platters and candlesticks creating the warm glow that the cavernous rooms could not. Consider the fact that the provisions for the kitchen at Hampton Court Palace when he and his court were in residence would have filled a veritable supermarket given there were 600 to 1,000 people to feed during each sitting. The King spared no expense as the feasts for the Tudor court routinely lasted for seven hours or more!

Those meals were prepared in the largest surviving Renaissance kitchens in Europe, and roasted meat was at the heart of each and every one of them (this makes the King’s substantial girth makes sense, doesn’t it?). Six fires would be burning in every roasting room to prepare for these grand productions when the court descended, and the servants minding the spits described their workstations as mortal hell. Hard to believe there was an upside to their jobs, but one existed: they were the only help allowed an unlimited amount of beer each day. It’s shocking anyone’s rations were restricted given the palace was known for racking up orders of 600,000 gallons of the liquid refreshment each year, the majority of which was consumed when the courtiers were present. I find facts like this fascinating so if you do as well, you can click on the Medieval Times tag and find other stories relating to the era.