SHERWOOD - No field trip to medieval times was required for students at Emily Howland Elementary School to learn about knights.

All they had to do was come to the school's cafeteria last week to see a knight, straight from the Middle Ages, up close and personal.

Sir Devon of York, England, was in town last Friday in full armor to share with students the role of knights in the Middle Ages and what they did in the employ of kings or lords. With the aid of his squire Sophia, Sir Devon displayed the weaponry of knights.

“The weapon of a knight is this,” Sir Devon said, lifting a long metal sword off a nearby table. “What is this? All at once now.”

“Sword,” the students answered back.

“What's a sword used for,” asked Sir Devon.

One student replied, “Defeating bad guys.”

Another shouted, “Slaying dragons.”

Sir Devon seemed amused at this response.

“I've never actually met a dragon, and I hope I never have to,” he said. “I'm not sure how to go about doing it. Dragons breathe fire and are 50 feet long.

“If (my lord) says ‘Sir Devon go slay that dragon,' I'm a good knight and I'll do my job,” he added amid laughter from the crowd. “But I'm not going to look forward to it. It is long and has claws. I don't even know how I would get close.”

Sir Devon - also known as Scott Rodlin - is

Paragon Jousting and Adventure Theater, a theatrical joust troupe that recently relocated to Aurora from Massachusetts.

The performance from Rodlin and his squire, Wells College student Jennie Huling, was the grand finale of the elementary school's “I Love to Read Month,” put on every February.

“The whole idea is to get kids so excited and enthused about reading books,” Literary Specialist Bonny Blair said, “and really to help them see how they can actually travel back through time to an exciting world because of books.”

This year's theme was “Lords and Ladies of the Reading Table,” and all month students learned about the Middle Ages across school disciplines. They made dragons in art class, participated in themed activities in physical education, read in class, learned about history and got rewarded for every hour of reading books outside of school.

“What we're trying to do is integrate all areas of learning throughout our ”I Love to Read Month,“ she said.

Sir Devon and squire Sophia provided students that final bit of learning, giving them a chance to get a real-life visual of what they spent all month reading about.

“In the age of the Xbox I think it's pretty important to see first-hand what people in the Middle Ages did,” Rodlin said.

Many students found learning about the weaponry was the most interesting.

“It was so awesome,” Sam Schneider, 9, of Poplar Ridge said. “I liked the lance.”

And while the same could also be said for Jessica Farka, 8, of Scipio Center, she also saw the importance of whipping out a book.

“It's cool that reading books can help you learn a lot of stuff,” she said.

Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or alyssa.sunkin@lee.net