Who had the best time in Medieval Times?

Answer 1

Any answer to this question would be a guess and an opinion, but it probably deserves to be answered.

My own guess is that the people who had the best time were the women of Tortosa, Spain, who were members of the Orden del Hacha, or Order of the Hatchet, a knightly order created by Count Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona in 1149.

The story behind this is that the count, with his army, besieged Tortosa and took it from its Muslim overlords in 1148. Soon after, the count's army was called away urgently to fight elsewhere, taking the fighting men of the city with them. And very soon after that, the previous ruler returned with an army and started his own siege of the city to get it back.

At this point, the women of Tortosa dressed themselves in men's' clothes, armed themselves with hatchets, kitchen knives, and anything else they could find, and attacked the enemy army in the night, defeating it soundly enough that it was driven off and never returned. Out of gratitude and admiration, the count created an order of knights to which all these women were admitted.

The reason I pick these women is that they were ordinary people, women with no high status, mostly no education, and no great expectations, but they were suddenly given a new place in society, in which they were exempt from all taxes, took precedence over common men when speaking at assemblies, were given honored places in processions and parades, and were treated with all the honors of knighthood because they were, in fact, knights. They could walk through the city, heads held high, knowing they were considered heroes and were respected by all who met them, and would be so for the rest of their lives.

There is unfortunately no Wikipedia article on the Order of the Hatchet in English. I have provided a link to the Spanish article below.

Answer 2

The rich and famous. Kings and Queens.