Some Actual Medieval Practices That Are Eminently D&D-able

-Light (a scarce commodity indoors) was frequently used for political symbolism: for example, in some castles special candles sunk into loaves of bread were used to illuminate the count, countess and seneschal--and nobody else--at the dinner table.



-After feasting, many lords would leave the doors to their halls open so the poor could dine on the scraps.



-Marriage was a tool of expansionism. Convincing party A to marry party B could unite lands and armed forces. We all know this--but I feel it's not used nearly as often as it could be as a plot hook. Finding ways to make the Troll Princess unwilling-, unable-, or unfit- to marry the Gnoll Prince just has endless possibilities. Conversely...



-Women occasionally hired men to kidnap them as a means of escaping undesirable marriages.



-Another popular method: since divorce was forbidden, an annulment could be achieved if it was proven that the spouses were related to each other--even distantly. Obviously the exact rules depend on the century and place (the Habsburgs were horribly inbred on purpose), but this method was common in the Middle Ages.



-In monasteries, an especially tasty dish was prepared on the anniversary of the death of any resident monk.