Medieval times were pretty rough for most people, since they were subsistence farmers, and thus one bad winter or flood away from total disaster. However, if you were royalty, you had it made: fabulous big castles where you could hold court. Life was all about riding, feasting, hosting foreign royalty, and looking for a suitable spouse. Still, royalty was a very small group, and the only way to get into it is by birth or marriage. What was possible for the average Joe was to live in the orbit of royalty by getting yourself a job at court. That way, you could live in a nice warm, safe castle instead of a rickety little hut you built yourself, and enjoy fine food, regular income, and a rather more active social life than a typical medieval village might offer.

There were plenty of options for employment at court. The king will want to be entertained and advised, and of course, the royal personage needs plenty of maintenance. From his Majesty's stables to his wardrobe to his table to his dozens of freeloading relatives, it takes a lot of people to keep a monarch, well, monarchical. Let's find out where you would fit into this picture!