Rosa Mundi

© Rosa Mundi 2024

Rosa Mundi Living history

 Rosa Mundi have portrayed all levels of medieval society - from ‘friends’ of the Mayor of York at Barley hall, to the peasant working in the fields. For each of these positions differing skills are required and portrayed, and Rosa Mundi members have a wide skills base from which to draw.

From leather work (shoes and purses), chain mail making, cooking to authentic recipes,  spinning  and felting, fletching and arrow making, to basket making, braid weaving, woodcarving, Calligraphy and even 15c accounting techniques. We use  primary resources (medieval manuscripts /records, archeological finds) as background to our demonstrations. Using museum replicas, and working closely with archaeologists and other experts and researchers to advise on the authenticity of our own artifice. We even ‘mint’ our own copies of currency used at the time.

By allowing members of the public to handle  these artefacts we believe that this allows an audience to feel they have truly participated in the minutia of 15 c life.

We have also provided talks on specialist subjects such as ‘food and manners’,  to a medieval version of ‘I know my place’ - explaining the differences in clothing to identify social status. We have also provided talks on ‘Arming a man’,(medieval armour), and provided medieval servitors at a banquet for the Bishop of York.

Appearing on Time team for the ‘hospital’ dig at York, and also for the Christmas special at Barley Hall.

Rosa Mundi also perform medieval dance from around Europe, for both low and high status. We perform English dance from the recently discovered Gresley manuscript, and will involve the public in some of the simpler dances and can provide one day dance workshops

Dancing 'Old Almain' at Raby Castle

Italian dance - ‘Salterello’ dance

English dance (Gresley)