Knighthood in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Get acquainted with the warfare of the 14th-15th centuries and take a live look into the daily life of knights and their martial arts. The educational program will deepen your knowledge about the knighthood in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which, in terms of social position and functions, was no different from Western European knighthood during the time of Vytautas the Great.
The participating knights, nobleman and crusader of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, will set up a small medieval military camp: they will erect exhibition stands with medieval weapons and armor, display heraldic flags of the knights. The exhibition will feature reconstructed weapons, shields, armor, and banners. The knights will share stories about the everyday life, duties, and rights of knights, introduce the audience to the techniques of handling medieval weapons and the art of combat, and provide detailed explanations of the specific features of each weapon’s use.
The audience will actively participate in the educational program by trying on helmets and armor, holding various weapons and shields, and experiencing their weight. The audience will also be involved in knightly games that will help them better understand the daily life of a 14th-15th century warrior.
During this program, dancers will showcase the dances characteristic of the 14th-15th century, revealing the passions of the nobility and the poverty of beggars, the ecstasy of pilgrims and the everyday life of peasants, the happiness of lovers and the suffering of outcasts. Charismatic performers will narrate all these intriguing stories.
Each dance in the program is a separate miniature of medieval life, which will be narrated by the performers. The showcased dances have been recreated by the finest European masters of ancient dances, and they are performed in an authentic medieval dance style accompanied by period music.
At the end of the performance, the dancers will invite the audience to learn a few enjoyable steps of ancient dances.