I've always had a strong streak of romanticism, which manifested itself in a love of the Middle Ages as portrayed in the stories of Robin Hood and King Arthur (or, in other words, the good parts version). It was inevitable that I join the Society for Creative Anachronism, a group which seeks to recreate the Middle Ages as they should have been (without the plague, rats, starvation, disease, and poor plumbing), with honorable armored combat, great skill at the dance, beautiful elegant clothing, fancy feasts with skilled bards for entertainment, kings and queens, pages and knights. In the Society for Creative Anachronism, I am known as Lady Branwen ferch Emrys, a Welshwoman from the twelfth century, currently living in the Kingdom of the West.
In the SCA, there are three things that I enjoy doing the most:
One of the practices encouraged in the SCA is research into the Middle Ages, but it is hard to know where to start. I've collected some suggestions in the Middle Ages section of Branwen's Bookstore (An Amazon.com Associate) 
, my online bookstore, where you can buy my suggestions directly from the web page.