Over and over again I come across people saying that people in the past never had time for any hobbies. It does not matter if it is as early as the Victorian era, or as far back as the iron-age, the remark is always the same; “they only had time to think about survival.”

Well, as someone who was once a wilderness survival instructor(trained on a military base through cadets), I have thoughts on that. During training, you do learn the basics. You learn about how to start a fire, build a shelter, and, of course, how to find food and water. As well as that, however, is camp crafts.

When your camp is all set up, there are moments of pause. You have to wait for your water to filter, and you have to avoid going near your snares to keep from scaring anything off. The sun will go down soon or you are waiting for the weather to pass, and it happens: you have free time, and it’s dangerous.

Sitting alone, lost in the woods with nothing to do, you might start thinking about how hopeless things are, and how much you miss your family. So, the answer is keeping busy any way you can, which is what are called “camp crafts.” There are practical things you can do, like improving your sleeping situation or building more signals for if a plane flies over, but there are also just silly things you do just because it gives you a flash of joy.

When I was doing my survival instructor exam (five days in the forest alone) I made myself a garden complete with a silly little fence that was so small it was clearly just for looks. During that same exam, someone built themselves a wooden bench that looked like a couch.

The point is, that if a person struggling to survive in the forest can find moments of free time, people in the past certainly did too. For example, people in the past were more weather dependant than we are now. If it is winter, you can not tend to your crops. If there is a thunderstorm, you might not let your sheep out in the pasture. If it is night, you can’t simply flick the outside lights on.

So, perhaps because of all this, according to this article, the average American works more hours than a medieval peasant did.

“…—records from 13th century England show many families only worked 150 days a year on their land.”

From this article by the Daily Mail

So, yes, there were days off work. In fact, some peasants even had naps.

What point am I getting at? Yes, people in the past had free time, so of course they had hobbies! In fact, some of the games we play today — such as backgammon, dice, cards, checkers, and chess — all have incredibly long histories.

“To be good at cards requires more skill than dice but less than chess, both of which were well established by the 14th century when card-playing came to Europe (from Egypt perhaps, or the Middle East),” the Economist‘s “Prospero” blog reports. People from all classes would play cards…—”

From this article by Smithsonian Magazine

Now then, all my reasonings out of the way, here is a list of hobbies in case you need any ideas. Please note that not all of these may be the correct historical terms, but i hope they still give you a good starting point.

• Playing an instrument (Example: Hurdy Gurdy)
• Acting in village plays
• Watching plays
• Listening to music
• Singing
• Carving wood
• Sculpting
• Embroidery
• Horseback riding
• Hunting (Royals/Nobels Only. Example Here)
• Painting
• Puppeteering (Example Here)
• Watching soldiers train
• Training
• Gambling
• Drinking
• Flirting
• Board Games (Examples: Chess, Tables/Backgammon, Nine Men’s Morris)
• Stealing
• Story telling
• Song writing
• Poetry
• Playing sports (Example: Shinty)
• Fighting
• Dancing (Example Here)
• Swimming
• Exploring
• Falconry (For Royals. Example Here)
• Making/Flying Kites
• Shopping
• Doll Making
• Knitting
• Sewing
• Horseshoes (Throwing horseshoes at a target)
• Archery Contest
• Watching Jousting

Have more ideas? Let me know!

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Does this seem familiar? If so, there is a good reason for that! It was originally posted in 2017, but was in need of updates, so this is the new version.

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