MovieBob Goes to the Renaissance Faire
- Thread starter MovieBob
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I happen to live within driving range of Bristol, one of the biggest Renaissance Faires in the country. My best friend works there every Summer (and I feel guilty about not going down to visit him this Summer, but I was either too busy or too exhausted most of the time).
It does share the characteristics of being a permanent installation (though only open in the Summer), being well-nestled into a scenic forest (with, I kid you not, a river running right through part of it, ending in a lake in which one of the exhibits is an examination of boating techniques).
I know the sight of the historical outfits (and the décolletage is nice), but I don't recall seeing many cosplayers from anime and game fandom. Maybe I just wasn't looking hard enough, or maybe the culture there is different. I'll have to keep an eye out next time.
It does share the characteristics of being a permanent installation (though only open in the Summer), being well-nestled into a scenic forest (with, I kid you not, a river running right through part of it, ending in a lake in which one of the exhibits is an examination of boating techniques).
I know the sight of the historical outfits (and the décolletage is nice), but I don't recall seeing many cosplayers from anime and game fandom. Maybe I just wasn't looking hard enough, or maybe the culture there is different. I'll have to keep an eye out next time.
I've always wanted to go to a Faire. It sounds like a great way to spend a day
Edit: On the off chance you actually read the comments, Moivebob...what is the best reaction you've ever gotten for wearing a video game shirt?
Edit: On the off chance you actually read the comments, Moivebob...what is the best reaction you've ever gotten for wearing a video game shirt?
I don't think you get anything quite like Rennaisance Faire's in the UK, so i'm starting to view them as one of those things unique to America and so I will probably add "go to a Renaissance Faire" to my mental list of "Things to do if i ever go to America". They sound like dubiously cheezy affairs, but a great place to go for an easy laugh over a couple too many drinks.
You do of course see some things in Rennaisance Faire's in the UK too. Leed's armouries for instance has a purpose built jousting ring complete with stables and blacksmiths, and a number of castles here also host jousting tournaments on open public days. On such day's you can typically expect to have a chance to try some archery, watch some sword fighting and falconry, as well buy the usual trinklets and see the usual children's entertainment in the form of "punch and judy" and pantomime's. But American Rennasance Faire's seem a lot more nerdy than their nearest equivalents in the UK.
You'll never see Black Mages, D&D characters or elven princess at Castle open day's, and nor will you see anything on the same kind of scale that you get in America. However, this latter point could be explained by the fact that castles are either built on hilly ground so space is at a premium, or that they have big huge gardens which limits space further. Basically, Castle Open day's in the UK are very vanilla family affairs. And you rarely see a trace of nerd culture at these events. Unless i've been looking in all the wrong places, there is are no beautiful eleven maidens and no spiky weapons on sale, which is a slight shame i suppose.
You do of course see some things in Rennaisance Faire's in the UK too. Leed's armouries for instance has a purpose built jousting ring complete with stables and blacksmiths, and a number of castles here also host jousting tournaments on open public days. On such day's you can typically expect to have a chance to try some archery, watch some sword fighting and falconry, as well buy the usual trinklets and see the usual children's entertainment in the form of "punch and judy" and pantomime's. But American Rennasance Faire's seem a lot more nerdy than their nearest equivalents in the UK.
You'll never see Black Mages, D&D characters or elven princess at Castle open day's, and nor will you see anything on the same kind of scale that you get in America. However, this latter point could be explained by the fact that castles are either built on hilly ground so space is at a premium, or that they have big huge gardens which limits space further. Basically, Castle Open day's in the UK are very vanilla family affairs. And you rarely see a trace of nerd culture at these events. Unless i've been looking in all the wrong places, there is are no beautiful eleven maidens and no spiky weapons on sale, which is a slight shame i suppose.
There was a Renaissance Faire near where I grew up, and it was a yearly event for my family - I remember my dad use to dress up with a staff, animal skins and ended up looking more like a druid than any other word I can think of; my sisters would dress up like 'faries', or 'princesses' or if they were feeling magical, 'farie princesses'; my brother and I were generally a little more toned down (though we always had some sort of weapon/shield fashioned out of wood).
It was something that was really quite fun, through the wonderfully opaque rose colored lenses nostalgia lends.
It was something that was really quite fun, through the wonderfully opaque rose colored lenses nostalgia lends.
That's nice. Not really sure how this adds to the conversation, other than the obligatory troll.Archangel357 said:
Ren Fairs are fun, espeically for re-enactors.
I have a theory that one of the things that made modern re-enacmtnment possible was roleplaying. Simon During in his article Mimic Toil (Rethinking History, 11: 3, 313 ? 333) possed the queestion of why didn't historical re-enacment as a hobby occure until after WW2. To condence his article down he basically argues that by the 1800s you had most of the social conditions that turned historical re-enacment into a hobby, but it didn't start until much later. Outside of possibly disposable income (most early re-enactment events were proformed by wealthy people who wore their ancestor's actual armour) I theorise that the crucial difference was roleplaying games. I guess I should specify that I'm reffering to paper and dice roleplaying games as the compterised tpye weren't around when re-enactment started. Roleplaying games brought to the fore the idea of being a character from a strange time and place as a form of recreation. Of the re-enactors I've met a fairly large number are also roleplayers, the escapism in both is what makes it fun.
I have a theory that one of the things that made modern re-enacmtnment possible was roleplaying. Simon During in his article Mimic Toil (Rethinking History, 11: 3, 313 ? 333) possed the queestion of why didn't historical re-enacment as a hobby occure until after WW2. To condence his article down he basically argues that by the 1800s you had most of the social conditions that turned historical re-enacment into a hobby, but it didn't start until much later. Outside of possibly disposable income (most early re-enactment events were proformed by wealthy people who wore their ancestor's actual armour) I theorise that the crucial difference was roleplaying games. I guess I should specify that I'm reffering to paper and dice roleplaying games as the compterised tpye weren't around when re-enactment started. Roleplaying games brought to the fore the idea of being a character from a strange time and place as a form of recreation. Of the re-enactors I've met a fairly large number are also roleplayers, the escapism in both is what makes it fun.
Well then surely you can understand that a large group of displaced Europeans living in America would want to reclaim a part of their culture when you live within throwing distance of what they strive for. Imagine if you didn't live by such a castle, wouldn't you miss it?Archangel357 said:
I personally love the Renaissance/Medieval Faire, I say that without a touch of shame.
Or we could just forget about it entirely. I guess that would be the nicest thing to do.Archangel357 said:
Honestly, if King Arthur was running around in plate mail, and not chain mail, its not that big of a problem, nor should it be. We're in the ballpark with it. When people re-enact the Wild West, its all been glorified and romanticized to such an exaggerated point that its hardly how it was back then either, and that was only a little over 100 years ago.
I just don't see how its disrespectful that we're trying to bring back something that is so much fun to be a part of. I mean, I know you don't care for it obviously, but that doesn't mean that other people aren't earnest in their actions towards it and really just enjoy the atmosphere that something like this sets up.
You do find a few examples pre-WW2, but you're right, it doesn't really blossom as a hobby until well after the war. I personally think the big catalyst was the centennial of the US Civil War in the early 1960s, which really kicked off the hobby, and the founding of the SCA shortly afterwards. But roleplaying and wargaming were definitely boosts to the hobby, no doubt about it. Several of my gaming friends are in the SCA or did historical reenactment, and us steampunks often visit 19th century museums and Victorian events with our definitely-not-period costumes.Dangerious P. Cats said:
It's a valid opinion, and I'm not here to disagree with it so much as offer another perspective - that sure, we Yanks make a mess of everyone's history, sure, including our own - and while in this case it's really all in jest and an excuse to have fun, I'm sure it can still touch nerves. We aren't the only ones, though. Sure, Hollywood's impression of the "Wild West" isn't very accurate, but foreign filmmakers have jumped on that bandwagon too - MovieBob himself talked about Clint Eastwood's "Spaghetti Western" trilogy not too long ago.Archangel357 said:
Sure, if I went to Europe and saw a modern recreation of the Wild West show, I'd find it a little disrespectful, too, but I'd also recognise it for what it's probably intended to be - an excuse to have a good time and make money. (For the organisers, not the attendees.)
I'm not sure how I'd feel about it if I were European, though, honestly, so I can't question how you feel. I do understand, though.
I'm actually glad to have heard this from someone - It has often occured to me that our (American's) fixation on "re-creating" storybook versions of cultures that ACTUALLY existed somewhere else must look from the outside.Archangel357 said:
Amusingly, about a 2 hour drive from this Faire (re: on the OTHER side of Boston) there's a local curiousity called The Hammond Castle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammond_Castle It's a "Medieval European" castle an eccentric inventor had built from pieces of other castles he had shipped over here like that guy from "Gargoyles."
I would own the shit out of that archery and I'm not just saying that. Surprisingly to me, this sounds like a lot of fun. I could totally see myself buying a kickass shield or some leather boots, and I'd have a blast throwing axes at a wall while and expanding my beer staff. (hopefully not at the same time)
Being to an actual castle took a lot of my interest away. Except for the less ancient and obviously eye-candy ones they are usually pretty ugly looking. Not to mention the time period itself was absolute crap to live in for most. Then again, I never really cared about medieval culture and me and my family go just to make fun of ridiculous events and people in horrible costumes.Jaredin said:
At least I'll say this about them, renaissance festivals are pretty family friendly. I've been to a pirate festival once. The stuff going on there was just...wow.