Funny, Free & Filthy

A woman walks her dog around a colourful church. Laughing party guests drink from a jug with a phallus-shaped spout. A monk toils over a Latin translation of an Arabic medical text. A cook adds a dash of almond milk to his delectable dish. A workman lays a colourful tiled floor in an Ypres suburb.  

Scenes like this were common in medieval cities like Ypres. The Middle Ages were vibrant rather than a dark epoch marred by violence and epidemics. It was a time of merry jesters, free spirits and bawdy farces.  

A rich urban culture flourished in Flanders between the 12th and 15th centuries. Ypres also experienced its heyday. Welcome to the medieval city! Adrianus is your guide in his city. Meet Richard who prostitutes himself as Eleanor. Discover why monks invented the mechanical clock and marvel at the glorious fashions of the day.