Comments on: Living history

By: Danny Lemieux

Danny Lemieux — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 00:37:01 +0000

If you take the time to speak to some of the Civil War re-enacters, you find that they assume the identify of an actual soldier, research his past and trying to be as true-to-life as he might have lived it in that era. The re-enactors are fanatic about replicating everything that can of that era. I can’t think of a better way to pay homage to those soldiers than to be remembered in this way.

By: ymarsakar

ymarsakar — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 00:16:27 +0000

Anybody ever go to a Society (SoCA) re-enactment?

Book,

seems like California may be termed Bohemian heaven?

By: JJ

JJ — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 00:13:51 +0000

Yes, there is a huge difference. I have been at a number of Civil War re-enactments, and Anna’s precisely right: these people generally know a great deal of what they’re about. If school system history classes had any brains they’d recognize a resource. (Aother topic.)

Street fairs; well…

By: Anna

Anna — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 23:56:46 +0000

“I’m sure they wash now, …” Hate to say it, but no, they often don’t and I know this from my brother-in-law and his family who participate in these faires on a regular basis. They fit in quite well in all respects.

The Civil War reenactments are very fascinating, though and the people involved are really walking encyclopedias regarding the era. Being from Ohio with PA very close by, there are always reenactments going on throughout the summer months.

By: Bookworm

Bookworm — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 23:32:53 +0000

Not much to tell, Y. We used to go to the festivals in the Bay Area in the late 1960s/early 1970s. On the one hand, it was a lot of fun. On the other hand, it was simply an extension of the hippie lifestyle: unwashed, unshaven, long-haired people frolicking in weird clothes. I got my fill then. I’m sure they wash now, but I bet the rest remains the same. (And yes, that’s cynical, but I really did get my fill then, as I said.)

By: ymarsakar

ymarsakar — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 22:17:44 +0000

After looking up some things, Book, I do believe I’ve come across something

“They were called Pleasure Fairs then,” he said, “and were mostly a hippie sort of gathering.”

Correction for Ringo, he wrote about Society for Creative Anachronism. Which is, if you can’t translate it, those that specialize in medieval re-enactment down to fine and finer details. Jousting or dueling is an example of re-enactments, when they use medieval era swords.

When he retired from the Army in 1972, he put his mess sergeant experience to work and started traveling around the country with the fairs as a food vendor. As the fairs gained popularity and became more authentic to medieval times, so did the food.

Renaissance festivals continue to draw crowds. Twenty seven are running at various times of the summer near major cities. If you miss these, such medieval-re-enactment groups as the Society for Creative Anachronism give performances. That’s how Brennan Wells, a technical analyst at Oracle Corp. in Colorado Springs and avid cook interested in medieval European history, got interested in cooking historical recipes.

Wells likes to use recipes from Maggie Black’s “The Medieval Cookbook.”

“One of my favorite dishes is a rather plain one, called frumentry. It’s a side dish, kind of like a pilaf,” he says.

I would still like to know of your previous experiences at such festivals, if you’d care to tell of them, Book.

By: ymarsakar

ymarsakar — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 21:58:28 +0000

What makes you say they smell of hippie festivals, Book?

By: Bookworm

Bookworm — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 21:34:13 +0000

To me, Y, Renaissance Faires still smell of hippie festivals. They just don’t interest me, because they’re a dressed up street fair. This Civil War event, though, was a fast dive into a vanished era. It was wonderfully done at every level.

By: rockdalian

rockdalian — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 19:50:08 +0000

The 2003 movie Gods and Generals was made on locations in the south with the shooting of the film around reenactment gatherings. Most of the extras are true reenactors. Even Ted Turner had a cameo in the movie.

By: ymarsakar

ymarsakar — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 16:59:02 +0000

As we explained it to the children, people who are fascinated by the era, and are stymied by the fact that we can’t travel back in time, have done the next best thing: they’ve recreated a moment in time as faithfully as possible, and then shared it with all of us.

I believe one circle calls themselves Ren Faires. Short for Reinaissance Faire.

John Ringo’s probably such a hobbyist and perhaps Mercedes Lackey as well. I deduce this belief from their writings and countless mentions of High Tech civilizations going into the dust and needing old school skills.

So there is indeed much more than a staged battle, Book. They do this not for the show, but because they like recreating the setting. Although they are limited because of rules that prevent killing and accidents ; )

As a hobby in the high tech world, it is all very well and good, but they would be the first to tell you that actually living the life is not a good idea given the situation as it was. Kind of different from the Revolutionaries that say come the revolution things will be good.