15. Even though only knights and kings could gamble, peasants still found a way to play dice – often for money
Even though they might not have had much money to spare, peasants in the Middle Ages were just as susceptible to temptation as workers are today. As well as spending their meagre pay on alcohol, male peasants would often gamble, with dice games especially popular in Medieval times. This is despite the fact that, since betting was often banned, peasant gamblers were risking more than a handful of coins when they had a flutter.
King Richard I was the first monarch to explicitly ban the lower orders from gambling. Under him, placing a wager on anything from a joust or archery contest through to a roll of some dice became the preserve of the elite. Indeed, only a knight or higher could gamble. Of course, such a law was almost impossible to fully enforce, especially in rural villages a long way from the royal court. And so, gambling was actually rife, particularly where there was beer.
Those peasants who could afford to go to a tavern would have found themselves in a den of drinking and gambling. The most popular game among Medieval peasants was a dice game called Hazzard. This was played using dice made out of wood, stone, antlers or even bone. It was essentially an early version of the popular American dice game craps and a player could bet against his opponent – or opponents – and also, sometimes, the house, too.