How did Renaissance fairs begin?(history.com)
history.com
How did Renaissance fairs begin?
https://www.history.com/articles/renaissance-fair-origins
103 comments
The Ren Faire in NY has a time traveller day. Trekies abound.
Bristol, WI and the TRF in Todd Mission, TX (outside Houston) have those days too, or sometimes a weekend. You see a handful of Doctors even when it’s not one of those. When it is, you’ll see a lot of Doctors, Starfleet, and others.
I'm absolutely going to Ren Faire every year. It's the perfect way to end the summer in costume and festivities.
You've recreated a famous Youtube comedy sketch.
Are they all just focused on sex, debauchery, lots of drinking today? I went to the one near Pasadena around a decade ago, maybe related to the OG faire, and there was so much sexual humor in the open air (like jokes shouted by storekeepers, and in the play being run) where I'd consider it an adult environment. It was a little disappointing because I was expecting something like a live-action museum, sort of like colonial williamburg in VA, but it was more like a party with expensive shit (I think a bottle of water was like $7?) being sold and drunk people stumbling. The highlight was just talking to a blacksmith who was making nails by hand who seemed serious about his craft.
I recently went to the New York one. It seemed to mainly be about cosplay (showing off your own cosplay, vendors selling cosplay-related supplies) and various kids activities. Although there certainly was drinking, and a car crash - probably caused by the drinking - very soon after the exit from the parking lot.
Coming from the experience in the PNW, 1960s onward, Renaissance fairs were never about serious historical reenacting. The sex/drugs/music were always focus, sort of like a Grateful Dead concert without the band.
Yes, they are primarily based on moneymaking entertainment, as you have guessed.
There are more historically-oriented "entertainments", but they tend to be both non-profit and not audience-based (everyone attending is in costume).
There are more historically-oriented "entertainments", but they tend to be both non-profit and not audience-based (everyone attending is in costume).
Depends on the crowd at Irwindale. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCThN5D3ICk
> Are they all just focused on sex, debauchery, lots of drinking today?
...As opposed to the actual medieval period, which was famously chaste, calm, and sober?
...As opposed to the actual medieval period, which was famously chaste, calm, and sober?
Is that not authentic?
Since 1963. The Byrds attended the first series of renfaires.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AFlBoxsAkI#ren
https://www.amazon.com/Well-Met-Renaissance-American-Counter...
https://www.amazon.com/Well-Met-Renaissance-American-Counter...
If you stretch the "Renaissance" back to the Middle Ages (1300s CE), Japan had them in the Renaissance itself.
1500s samurais popularized a pasttime of reenacting 1300s samurais. Except, being Japan, they had actual relics of the period in pristine condition.
I know someone in the SCA who portrays a 1500s samurai who portrays a 1300s samurai - giving him two periods of costume to play with, without "changing persona" at all. Kinda.
1500s samurais popularized a pasttime of reenacting 1300s samurais. Except, being Japan, they had actual relics of the period in pristine condition.
I know someone in the SCA who portrays a 1500s samurai who portrays a 1300s samurai - giving him two periods of costume to play with, without "changing persona" at all. Kinda.
In the Middle Ages, people would hold festivals where they would dress up as King Arthur, El Cid, etc.
I don’t know about antiquity - did people dress up as mythological figures? The first plays were in Greece. Were there unscripted or ad hoc performances? I know what I’m going to ask AI next.
I don’t know about antiquity - did people dress up as mythological figures? The first plays were in Greece. Were there unscripted or ad hoc performances? I know what I’m going to ask AI next.
One could make the argument that you're off by about 125 years.
The 1839 Eglinton Tournament, was, in a way, a Renaissance Fair. It was a massive spectacle at the time, became enduringly famous (or infamous), and helped to kick-off the Romantic 19th century fascination with the medieval:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eglinton_Tournament
The 1839 Eglinton Tournament, was, in a way, a Renaissance Fair. It was a massive spectacle at the time, became enduringly famous (or infamous), and helped to kick-off the Romantic 19th century fascination with the medieval:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eglinton_Tournament
As a Roger McGuinn fanatic I'm thrilled to see this mentioned on HN. Have a spirited upvote and turn, turn, turn!
"By 1965, it moved to Paramount Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains"
Fun personal fact: Paramount Ranch was also the site of my high school's home cross country course (Westlake High School). During my high school days, the ranch's center was set up as a western town for filming Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. As a kid, you just accept all of that as normal, everyday things. "Doesn't everyone have Renaissance fairs and TV and movie sets in their town?" It took going to college thousands of miles away to realize and appreciate how delightfully weird Southern California can be.
Fun personal fact: Paramount Ranch was also the site of my high school's home cross country course (Westlake High School). During my high school days, the ranch's center was set up as a western town for filming Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. As a kid, you just accept all of that as normal, everyday things. "Doesn't everyone have Renaissance fairs and TV and movie sets in their town?" It took going to college thousands of miles away to realize and appreciate how delightfully weird Southern California can be.
I went down a rabbit hole on Wikipedia about turkeys. Am I understanding it correctly in that turkeys went from South America to Europe then to North America?
So it's native to the new world, but not native to North America?
Anyway, 1500s is when they came to Europe, so maybe they did enjoy a good turkey leg...
So it's native to the new world, but not native to North America?
Anyway, 1500s is when they came to Europe, so maybe they did enjoy a good turkey leg...
>So it's native to the new world, but not native to North America?
My understanding is that the wild turkey was common throughout North America, but was domesticated in Mexico, and modern turkey farming uses stock descending from that population.
So the bird itself is native, but most Turkey farms in the US or Canada would have been Mexico->Europe->NA.
My understanding is that the wild turkey was common throughout North America, but was domesticated in Mexico, and modern turkey farming uses stock descending from that population.
So the bird itself is native, but most Turkey farms in the US or Canada would have been Mexico->Europe->NA.
But Mexico is in North America...
Yes. As far as I'm aware the person I responded to was mistaken about that. My own point was that commercial farming in the rest of NA (and possibly even parts of Mexico, I genuinely don't know) was introduced via Europe rather than straight from Mexico. At least as far as I'm aware.
That is incorrect. Both extant species of turkeys are native to North America.
Turkeys in the northwestern US are not native. They were released here (and periodically restocked) in order to be hunted.
Not the point. Cactus are not native to Alaska; polar bears are not native to Utah; (some species of) cactus and polar bears are native to North America.
I love how history.com, seeing that I am located in Germany, instantly redirected me to history.de, where this article is not present, so then dumped me on the homepage, because no one in Germany could bear to look at things not in German.
/s No I don't - over-localization is one of the banes of my existence.
/s No I don't - over-localization is one of the banes of my existence.
What interests me is why humans crave this one time in history (medieval?). It’s old enough to be different than now but not old enough to be like caveman times? Lower technology than now but not no technology. Do people in other countries that aren’t western civilization have similar cravings for that era or an era like it?
Theoretically it's Renaissance rather than Medieval. And English Renaissance at that, which is well after the Renaissance was well underway in Italy.
But most RenFests seem to cover a period of about 500 years, plus a fair bit of outright fantasy.
At least at my local one, there is a Court playing out a fictional version of a real event early in the reign of Henry VIII, a period right on the cusp which I would call medieval rather than Renaissance. The people involved in that project actually have a good understanding of the history and are trying for some sort of period accuracy. Everyone else...
Why is that period so fascinating? Pretty clothes, and just enough superstitious belief in magic to let you play fantasy stories. Plus the actual history really is cool, even if it's only obliquely referenced.
But most RenFests seem to cover a period of about 500 years, plus a fair bit of outright fantasy.
At least at my local one, there is a Court playing out a fictional version of a real event early in the reign of Henry VIII, a period right on the cusp which I would call medieval rather than Renaissance. The people involved in that project actually have a good understanding of the history and are trying for some sort of period accuracy. Everyone else...
Why is that period so fascinating? Pretty clothes, and just enough superstitious belief in magic to let you play fantasy stories. Plus the actual history really is cool, even if it's only obliquely referenced.
> Why is that period so fascinating?
My guess is the invention of the printing press. Thanks to that, tons of stories and myths have been preserved and proliferated with origins in the Renaissance.
We also tend to group a lot of Medieval and Victorian era stuff in with the Renaissance, meaning it effectively spans a huge era of recorded human history.
My guess is the invention of the printing press. Thanks to that, tons of stories and myths have been preserved and proliferated with origins in the Renaissance.
We also tend to group a lot of Medieval and Victorian era stuff in with the Renaissance, meaning it effectively spans a huge era of recorded human history.
The printing press definitely played a huge role.
The earliest equivalents of modern mass market paperbacks were fueled by existing legends like King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable which invented the whole medieval romanticism genre. I don't think it's a coincidence that a lot of the cosplay gear at renfaires reflects that 12-13th century era rather than the changes that amassed versus gun powder (although that might just be the ones I've been to).
Sadly not much of that literature survived because it was bottom of the market and it's hard for scholars to really study.
The earliest equivalents of modern mass market paperbacks were fueled by existing legends like King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable which invented the whole medieval romanticism genre. I don't think it's a coincidence that a lot of the cosplay gear at renfaires reflects that 12-13th century era rather than the changes that amassed versus gun powder (although that might just be the ones I've been to).
Sadly not much of that literature survived because it was bottom of the market and it's hard for scholars to really study.
> At least at my local one, there is a Court playing out a fictional version of a real event early in the reign of Henry VIII, a period right on the cusp which I would call medieval rather than Renaissance.
Henry VIII was in the early-mid 16th century. Thats's pretty darn late to consider medevial. Dates vary considerably but most historians consider the medevial era to have ended sometimes in the 15th century. Conquest of Constantinpole (1453) is a pretty common, albeit arbitrary date.
The Renaissance era, was considered to have begun in Italy sometime in the mid 15th century. Of course it took some time to spread throughout Europe. But by ~1500 Europe was mostly considered to be in the Renaissance. Certainly by 1521 when Martin Luther appeared at the Diet of Worms which kicked off the Reformation
Henry VIII was in the early-mid 16th century. Thats's pretty darn late to consider medevial. Dates vary considerably but most historians consider the medevial era to have ended sometimes in the 15th century. Conquest of Constantinpole (1453) is a pretty common, albeit arbitrary date.
The Renaissance era, was considered to have begun in Italy sometime in the mid 15th century. Of course it took some time to spread throughout Europe. But by ~1500 Europe was mostly considered to be in the Renaissance. Certainly by 1521 when Martin Luther appeared at the Diet of Worms which kicked off the Reformation
Maryland?
Yep. I gather it's one of the better ones. It's certainly insanely popular. It practically sells out its entire season before it even opens.
And I have never once been aware of the Court. I know about it only because I have friends in it. They put a lot of effort into that story line.
And I have never once been aware of the Court. I know about it only because I have friends in it. They put a lot of effort into that story line.
I just started going a few years back and I agree, it is really well done. One of my neighbors is the king’s main guard, so we get all sorts of behind the scenes anecdotes at the kids’ bus stop in the morning.
I would guess that a large part of it is that it's the oldest period of time for which we have significant details, and a strong association with the people there as our ancestors (in the respective countries where such fairs are prevalent). We have much less idea of what ancient Roman or Celtic or Norse or Thracian etc day to day life actually looked like, and to the extent that we do know, it's much weirder and more foreign.
first off, as a ren fest veteran, it's easier to just take "renaissance" to mean "basically any time between the collapse of rome and world war i, also with the possibility of time travellers and things that never existed in the first place and anachronisms like turkeys in pre-Colombian England" and take "Renaissance" with the capital "r" to mean "from the 1300s to roughly the discovery of the new world"
Second, I think it's an interesting question to ask if people craved this particular past or if they just craved a space where everything is vastly different and settled on this period because it's pretty firmly embedded in our cultural mythology and everyone has an idea, however historically inaccurate, of what this time period was like. I think it's less that we built it because this is specifically what we want and more that this was waiting for us to materialize it. The majority of what people get from the ren fest isn't renaissance specific, it's just about going to a place that's different enough to be novel and exciting but familiar enough to be comfortable. I think that if we did a Flintstone Fest where we all dressed as cave folk that would be similar enough that you have people who go to both. In fact I may be a little biased because I actually like to bring a caveman character to our local fest's time traveller's weekend. It's fun to turn the conceit on its head by walking around acting amazed at how advanced everything is. I could also foresee a successful Old West Fest. All time periods that are vastly different than now, but with a familiarity from being studied, stereotyped and riffed on in the common culture. A comfortable elsewhere and elsewhen.
Second, I think it's an interesting question to ask if people craved this particular past or if they just craved a space where everything is vastly different and settled on this period because it's pretty firmly embedded in our cultural mythology and everyone has an idea, however historically inaccurate, of what this time period was like. I think it's less that we built it because this is specifically what we want and more that this was waiting for us to materialize it. The majority of what people get from the ren fest isn't renaissance specific, it's just about going to a place that's different enough to be novel and exciting but familiar enough to be comfortable. I think that if we did a Flintstone Fest where we all dressed as cave folk that would be similar enough that you have people who go to both. In fact I may be a little biased because I actually like to bring a caveman character to our local fest's time traveller's weekend. It's fun to turn the conceit on its head by walking around acting amazed at how advanced everything is. I could also foresee a successful Old West Fest. All time periods that are vastly different than now, but with a familiarity from being studied, stereotyped and riffed on in the common culture. A comfortable elsewhere and elsewhen.
> Second, I think it's an interesting question to ask if people craved this particular past or if they just craved a space where everything is vastly different and settled on this period because it's pretty firmly embedded in our cultural mythology and everyone has an idea, however historically inaccurate, of what this time period was like.
I think it's mostly a case of the printing press solidifying all that cultural mythology right around the tail end of the Renaissance. King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable was an especially popular theme among early printed fiction (think mass market paperbacks of today) which is where I think most of this began. The motifs introduced in those books have been pervasive since the common people started learning how to read and evolved into a lot of different cultural features like renfairs.
I think it's mostly a case of the printing press solidifying all that cultural mythology right around the tail end of the Renaissance. King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable was an especially popular theme among early printed fiction (think mass market paperbacks of today) which is where I think most of this began. The motifs introduced in those books have been pervasive since the common people started learning how to read and evolved into a lot of different cultural features like renfairs.
> Old West Fest
For sure, there are things like Cheyenne Frontier Days though not sure that it really goes as far as the cosplaying that is seen in ren faires. People do dress in western clothes, although they're not necessarily acting out a part. Rodeos and western wear though are still fairly common in modern day America though.
For sure, there are things like Cheyenne Frontier Days though not sure that it really goes as far as the cosplaying that is seen in ren faires. People do dress in western clothes, although they're not necessarily acting out a part. Rodeos and western wear though are still fairly common in modern day America though.
Have you ever done a ren fest? It's an awful lot like that. The paid actors are in character but everyone else is just modern folk in a weird, garish misinterpretation of pre-1900s fashion. It's kinda fun watching someone in Victorian finery try to fit a turkey leg and a beer in one hand so they can take a selfie, the anachronism of it is cute. It's a bit more audience participation-y than, say, colonial williamsburg where the idea is that you're separate from the period-appropriate folk and watching, but any sort of roleplay from the patrons is optional and silly.
I think it's partly because this is what was started and caught on.
There are also folk life festivals with traditional art forms from before mass production, frontier festivals, colonial festivals, Civil War reenactments, Revolutionary War reenactments, the Vintage Computer Festivals, conventions for antique radio and TV equipment, and all sorts of periods people commemorate. This is the one that has been around a few decades, caught on in a big way, and spread nationwide.
There are also pumpkin festivals, apple festivals, corn festivals, other harvest festivals, May Day festivals, county fairs, state fairs, and more despite most of the things involved in all of these are anachronistic for most of the population. Very few people actually raise prize cattle, sheep, and pigs. Very few farm crops. We still celebrate these as if we’re an agrarian society though.
There are also folk life festivals with traditional art forms from before mass production, frontier festivals, colonial festivals, Civil War reenactments, Revolutionary War reenactments, the Vintage Computer Festivals, conventions for antique radio and TV equipment, and all sorts of periods people commemorate. This is the one that has been around a few decades, caught on in a big way, and spread nationwide.
There are also pumpkin festivals, apple festivals, corn festivals, other harvest festivals, May Day festivals, county fairs, state fairs, and more despite most of the things involved in all of these are anachronistic for most of the population. Very few people actually raise prize cattle, sheep, and pigs. Very few farm crops. We still celebrate these as if we’re an agrarian society though.
I love camping, sleeping in just a tent, cooking on a fire. But only for a week here and there, most of the time I'm glad to live in my house with HVAC, and cooking in a modern kitchen is much easier. However it is fun to do with less - intentionally - for a short time once in a while.
You know I'd never considered it but a lot of small to medium sized music festivals probably scratch the same Temporary Autonomous Zone itch as the ren fest. It's just a somewhere else to go for a bit where things are different because we're all pretty sick of how they are here.
A lot of fairy tales in the West take place in a "medieval mythical time" as I call it: Snow White, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella etc. Not sure how many children are still reading or hearing those these days but I think that generates some of the interest. The women can still pretend to be Cinderella and men get to pretend to be knights or Robin Hood and such.
Yeah. I think this setting goes from like… the fall of western Rome to the Early Modern period, haha. (I mean, King Arthur stories have been reimagined with Arthur as a Roman or somebody filling the vacuum of them leaving Britain, so it must bump up against that side).
King Arthur is most likely a story talking about the defence of Britain against the Saxon invaders by the "native" Britons but told by Anglo Saxons 400-500 years later that were themselves living the invasion of Britain by the Normans this time.
I think it's just the huge corpus of fiction that centers around that time frame. Our modern culture is directly descendent of that. Concepts like master bedroom, inheritance, formal titles like sir, King James bible and its older English wording, Shakespeare, King Arthur, etc etc. There are massive stone works and cathedrals from that timeframe still around today in Europe. Many fairy tales and myths and legends were created in that time that colored fiction for the next 500-1000 years into modern day.
China at least has the mythologized three kingdoms period and wuxia stuff, pretty relatable to arthurian style fables. Dynasty warriors is probably the biggest exposure the west has had to it off the top of my head
Does China have something equivalent to "renaissance fairs" ?
= re-enactment of things that happened 5 or 6 centuries ago ?
I had a friend group who participated in these fairs and Dagorhir (battle roleplay + foam padded weapons).
I never asked them why they participated. But from observation they had great joy in hand crafting costume, weapons, and armor, then utilizing their craft to roleplay and battle. Maybe there’s something to be said about ownership.
I’d also hesitate to guess that the medieval time period was a time when most of the technology at the time could be understood and actively participated by the average person while simultaneously supporting a growing! civilization.
Now the average person undesirably participates in a no or low growth job where they have no agency in their day to day.
I never asked them why they participated. But from observation they had great joy in hand crafting costume, weapons, and armor, then utilizing their craft to roleplay and battle. Maybe there’s something to be said about ownership.
I’d also hesitate to guess that the medieval time period was a time when most of the technology at the time could be understood and actively participated by the average person while simultaneously supporting a growing! civilization.
Now the average person undesirably participates in a no or low growth job where they have no agency in their day to day.
Similarly why do people dress up as pirates and Vikings for Halloween? We're talking about gangs of armed robbers who engaged in rape, pillage, murder, and slaving.
They aren't dressing up as actual pirates and vikings, they're dressing up as fictional archetypes inspired by stuff like Pirates of the Caribbean and How to Train Your Dragon.
Halloween pirates are as different from real pirates as Star Wars Stormtroopers are from real-life stormtroopers.
Halloween pirates are as different from real pirates as Star Wars Stormtroopers are from real-life stormtroopers.
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Sounds scary enough. Why are people dressing as non scary things though?
I didn't think of that, that's fair.
The humans find narratives about those things very interesting, perhaps because listening to them has been a crucial survival trait since they evolved storytelling. But the question above is why there are Renaissance Faires rather than Middle and High Medieval Faires (Viking times) or Early Modern Faires (Treasure Island times).
That depends on the country. In Finland, reenactment events tend to be either "ancient" or "medieval". The former focus on the Iron Age until around 1200, or prehistoric times before Swedish rule and the establishment of Christianity. The latter extend until around 1500 or 1600.
Then there is a separate tradition around idealized peasant life in the 18th and 19th centuries. But that's not really reenactment, as the tradition started with the rise of nationalism in the 19th century.
Then there is a separate tradition around idealized peasant life in the 18th and 19th centuries. But that's not really reenactment, as the tradition started with the rise of nationalism in the 19th century.
In my experience, Ren Faires tend to run the whole range of early medieval to renaissance times.
In Florida, there is a permanent year round dinner entertainment show that includes horseback stunts called Medieval Times. In my local Ren Faire, it's really all meshed together, if someone wanted to have a viking event or attraction it would fit right in and no one would bat an eye.
In Florida, there is a permanent year round dinner entertainment show that includes horseback stunts called Medieval Times. In my local Ren Faire, it's really all meshed together, if someone wanted to have a viking event or attraction it would fit right in and no one would bat an eye.
Medieval Times has nine locations in the US and one in Canada.
Didn't realize, was only aware of the FL one. Good to know!
So the answer is that people are unclear on the concept of "Renaissance"?
It's just become a stand-in word to describe this class of fairs. In practice, sometimes they are called medieval fairs at the event, but there's not a huge distinction. No one is going to nitpick at a medieval fair that some tech or innovation didn't exist until later and if a ren fair features elements of medieval times, it's just not going to be called out. Most people mean early renaissance anyways, as the fantasy to play up to, when knights and swords still played a big role and before colonial empires and musketeers really took over.
Invention of the printing press caused more late medieval and Renaissance data to be captured?
Sometimes people like to think about, and even roleplay, some pretty dark stuff. Especially on the day set aside for exactly this sort of thing.
Renaissance fairs don’t really exist in Europe. Most countries have their own traditional festivals and customs which date back to that time period.
I don't know what a renaissance fair is like exactly, but Netherland has several medieval and fantasy themed festivals.
Castle Fest is centered around music (I think it was originally organized by the folk band Omnia), but has tons of combat and archery demonstrations, a market with clothes and weapons (blunt steel and boffer), esoteric stuff and anything else that vaguely fits in there.
Elfia, formerly known as the Elf Fantasy Fair is a fantasy-themed cosplay festival held twice a year.
Keltfest (10,000 visitors, apparently) is about ancient crafts, music, archery, with workshops and demonstrations.
I've also been to a few smaller ones I forgot the names of, but these are all pretty big, I think.
Castle Fest is centered around music (I think it was originally organized by the folk band Omnia), but has tons of combat and archery demonstrations, a market with clothes and weapons (blunt steel and boffer), esoteric stuff and anything else that vaguely fits in there.
Elfia, formerly known as the Elf Fantasy Fair is a fantasy-themed cosplay festival held twice a year.
Keltfest (10,000 visitors, apparently) is about ancient crafts, music, archery, with workshops and demonstrations.
I've also been to a few smaller ones I forgot the names of, but these are all pretty big, I think.
> Renaissance fairs don’t really exist in Europe.
We have them in Slovenia. In the summer local castles will put on a fair for the tourists and kids. Sometimes multiple!
Typically you get a visiting troupe or two from Italy, they like to do flag twirling shows. There’s always a group of folks from Czech who put on an armored fighting competition. I’ve seen jousting tournaments too. And then you have a slew of local artisans selling wares roughly inspired by the time period. There’s often an outdoor play or two, maybe belly dancing.
It’s all great fun.
We have them in Slovenia. In the summer local castles will put on a fair for the tourists and kids. Sometimes multiple!
Typically you get a visiting troupe or two from Italy, they like to do flag twirling shows. There’s always a group of folks from Czech who put on an armored fighting competition. I’ve seen jousting tournaments too. And then you have a slew of local artisans selling wares roughly inspired by the time period. There’s often an outdoor play or two, maybe belly dancing.
It’s all great fun.
There were at least a dozen this past summer. There was one in Žovnek Castle two weeks ago. A couple of weeks before that, in Ptuj. Before that, in Celje. Before that, there was a Roman-era festival in Ptuj, which was seriously cool. And the best medieval-themed festival was in Žužemberk.
I went to all of them because I have young kids and they love that stuff. It's a fun day out. Also gives us an excuse to wear all of the arms and armor we've collected, lol.
There are lots of these in Austria, too, BTW. There was a two-week-long joust fair/festival by Millstätter See in early August!
In truth, these festivals are all over Europe. They're just not well advertised, so you have to look for them.
The next one in the region, by the way, is the medieval-themed Advent festival at the castle in Friesach. (Austria.) I'll be there for sure.
I went to all of them because I have young kids and they love that stuff. It's a fun day out. Also gives us an excuse to wear all of the arms and armor we've collected, lol.
There are lots of these in Austria, too, BTW. There was a two-week-long joust fair/festival by Millstätter See in early August!
In truth, these festivals are all over Europe. They're just not well advertised, so you have to look for them.
The next one in the region, by the way, is the medieval-themed Advent festival at the castle in Friesach. (Austria.) I'll be there for sure.
> In truth, these festivals are all over Europe. They're just not well advertised, so you have to look for them.
Considering how crowded they feel, I’d say the advertising is plenty sufficient. They’re local events with limited space.
Considering how crowded they feel, I’d say the advertising is plenty sufficient. They’re local events with limited space.
That's true of some of them. Some of the other ones -- usually the ones in out-of-the-way castles (but also, surprisingly, both of the events in Ptuj) -- could have been twice as busy, and they'd still have plenty of room.
Ah, anyway, it's nice that there's always something to do on a Summer's weekend...
Ah, anyway, it's nice that there's always something to do on a Summer's weekend...
At least here in Spain we do have medieval markets not tied to a specific festivity.
Not sure how much they resemble American ren fairs, but they tend to have falconry exhibitions, smiths forging stuff, sellers of wooden toys and artisan jewelry..
Not sure how much they resemble American ren fairs, but they tend to have falconry exhibitions, smiths forging stuff, sellers of wooden toys and artisan jewelry..
At a surface level, that sounds very similar. There’s also a lot of selling of art, swords, axes, period clothing, and such. Oh, and it’s the US so there’s lots and lots of food.
I wonder if some part of it is because in Europe it's local history, while in America it's something imported from an idealized past.
The wiki page to the Eglinton Festival notes succinctly: "Medieval culture was widely admired [in the 18th and 19th centuries] as an antidote to the modern enlightenment and industrial age."
This kicked into overdrive in the 20th, with the nascent genre of literary fantasy (and, later, video games,) showing people alternate worlds that are potent medicine against the enlightenment and industrial age -- for they contain little or nothing of the more dour aspects of 9th-17th century life.
If anything, it seems to me that most fantasy books and games like Dungeons and Dragons only make sense if you imagine they take place in the distant post-industrial future. They're too cozy; there is far too much healing magic and other tech; their economies are in many cases post-scarcity...
This kicked into overdrive in the 20th, with the nascent genre of literary fantasy (and, later, video games,) showing people alternate worlds that are potent medicine against the enlightenment and industrial age -- for they contain little or nothing of the more dour aspects of 9th-17th century life.
If anything, it seems to me that most fantasy books and games like Dungeons and Dragons only make sense if you imagine they take place in the distant post-industrial future. They're too cozy; there is far too much healing magic and other tech; their economies are in many cases post-scarcity...
Speaking just about the Renaissance fair phenomenon in the USA, I think the main inspiration was the 1960s hippy obsession with Tolkien. Renaissance fairs were just a big outdoor costume party, were you could prance, toke, skinny dip, and buy/sell crafts. The more realistically named Oregon Country Fair was originally the Oregon Renaissance Faire.
As to why fans of the fantasy genre prefer medieval settings. I know it's a topic of discussion, but I don't know if there is a widely accepted explanation.
As to why fans of the fantasy genre prefer medieval settings. I know it's a topic of discussion, but I don't know if there is a widely accepted explanation.
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Fun fact: During the actual Renaissance, they had "tournaments" which were just medieval fairs.
They also had fairs without tournaments during the actual Renaissance.
Ren fair(e): entertainment gathering of the modern age.
Rennaissance fair(e): entertainment gathering, occuring after the start of the Renaissance.
Ren fair(e): entertainment gathering of the modern age.
Rennaissance fair(e): entertainment gathering, occuring after the start of the Renaissance.
It is similar enough to our modern notions of civilization, while being a simpler time.
Also, lots of fantasy stuff is written in medieval-style settings, which means lots of fiction meshes well with the environment of a medieval renfest.
Also, lots of fantasy stuff is written in medieval-style settings, which means lots of fiction meshes well with the environment of a medieval renfest.
There's just something appealing about this period of time before all the modern technological "evils" seemed to take over: capitalism, firearms, factories, etc.
And it's particularly romantic in terms of castles, knights, and clothing.
Of course it's not exactly historically accurate. E.g. firearms were definitely a thing at the time, but the fairs focus on swords, shields, and bows.
And it's particularly romantic in terms of castles, knights, and clothing.
Of course it's not exactly historically accurate. E.g. firearms were definitely a thing at the time, but the fairs focus on swords, shields, and bows.
In reality though, feudalism was just one notch above pastoral slavery. You had no rights, most people were trapped into poverty and bound to a plot of land to work on the rest of their lives. The vast majority were not nobility so were given breadcrumbs. Wars were brutal and constant, bows were as deadly as firearms for a couple centuries, as evidenced by the Commanche even into the 1800s (they took more skill to train though). Only after capitalism and factories did anyone get empowered to improve this situation.
Oh, absolutely. But here everybody gets to cosplay as nobility -- knights and princesses and such. Or the "saucy wench" in the tavern, or the court jester or whatever. And merchants.
It's definitely about the pre-industrial courtly romanticism of it, not the reality of an average person at the time.
It's definitely about the pre-industrial courtly romanticism of it, not the reality of an average person at the time.
Everyone at a fair is a noble, or merchant. Very had very different rights, and a much better lifestyle (realistically common merchants were probably worse off, but we pretend they were better). The peasants were not invited to see a joust - some did see it, but only because they were servants who's job happen to put them in the right spot.
"Invited to see" is not "allowed to see".
I suspect tournaments were heavily attended by any peasants who could get there. Their money, however hard-scramble, was just as useful to merchants selling meat pies, fried sweetened breads, and beer/wine.
I suspect tournaments were heavily attended by any peasants who could get there. Their money, however hard-scramble, was just as useful to merchants selling meat pies, fried sweetened breads, and beer/wine.
> What interests me is why humans crave this one time in history (medieval?).
Based on the OP, it sounds like it's nothing special about the time period. It sounds like someone put one on as a one time event then it became regular event. People think they're fun, and it spread.
> It’s old enough to be different than now but not old enough to be like caveman times?
Ancient Greece/Rome would also fit that bill, but I haven't heard of an "Ancient Rome Fair."
Based on the OP, it sounds like it's nothing special about the time period. It sounds like someone put one on as a one time event then it became regular event. People think they're fun, and it spread.
> It’s old enough to be different than now but not old enough to be like caveman times?
Ancient Greece/Rome would also fit that bill, but I haven't heard of an "Ancient Rome Fair."
There's at least one in Europe: https://www.augustaraurica.ch/en/roman-festival
Also a British city that does an annual Saturnalia festival: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-67680824
Also a British city that does an annual Saturnalia festival: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-67680824
You've probably heard of Carnival, which served as a sort of Roman ren faire for renaissance Italians.
Sadly the illuminati called dibs on having events based on that time period.
I could probably wax poetic about how it is perceived as a time of innocence but high culture, before "technology and science" ruined stuff, a time that is immortalized in literature such as Robin Hood, King Arthur, and imitated today by Tolkien and Rowling alike.
It is especially interesting the way people tend to portray it drained of all religious overtones and entirely secular in nature, so that it is palatable to all comers, whether pagan, Christian or Jew.
TFA completely fails to mention the utter fandom that has grown alongside RenFaires: The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). People who are involved with the SCA basically have ongoing year-round RenFaires of various magnitudes. They develop entire in-world personas for themselves and they're assigned to Kingdoms and such, regionally. I'm not sure of the relationship between the two, but it's certainly symbiotic and RenFaires give a taste of what people can have, 24/7 in the SCA.
Medieval life is also attractive to traditionalists of a Christian nature, again -- before everything was "ruined" by science and modernism. We all love going back to the 16th century to see how it all went wrong, or the 11th century to see how it also went wrong!
What's more, plenty of other subcultures draw on medieval tropes, such as goths and filkers and whatever con-going fandom is up to these days. Any competent cosplayer can "seamlessly" meld into a medieval princess or wench just by designing the right costumes, and there are plenty of YouTubers and Etsy sellers ready to assist!
It is especially interesting the way people tend to portray it drained of all religious overtones and entirely secular in nature, so that it is palatable to all comers, whether pagan, Christian or Jew.
TFA completely fails to mention the utter fandom that has grown alongside RenFaires: The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). People who are involved with the SCA basically have ongoing year-round RenFaires of various magnitudes. They develop entire in-world personas for themselves and they're assigned to Kingdoms and such, regionally. I'm not sure of the relationship between the two, but it's certainly symbiotic and RenFaires give a taste of what people can have, 24/7 in the SCA.
Medieval life is also attractive to traditionalists of a Christian nature, again -- before everything was "ruined" by science and modernism. We all love going back to the 16th century to see how it all went wrong, or the 11th century to see how it also went wrong!
What's more, plenty of other subcultures draw on medieval tropes, such as goths and filkers and whatever con-going fandom is up to these days. Any competent cosplayer can "seamlessly" meld into a medieval princess or wench just by designing the right costumes, and there are plenty of YouTubers and Etsy sellers ready to assist!
The SCA is way more fun than Ren Faires in my experience, but you typically have to play the part to experience the fun. So much so that Ren Faires seem boring to me these days.
The following info is dated to about 2004-2008:
I was fortunate enough to live in the Phoenix area, where the second largest gathering occurs in Feb, called the Estrella War (it since moved south to Florence). There are about 5k people that come out for the event, and a giant camp, marketplace, battlefield are all set up.
I spent my days fighting in giant battles, and the evenings were spent with friends and acquaintances. Nights brought parties, etc., but nothing beats falling asleep in a tent to the near-distant beating of drums and occasional bagpiper.
There are a variety of arts and sciences, crafts for children, and of course royal court proceedings. I had an absolute blast as a college student participating.
One day I hope to participate again and venture to Pennsylvania for Pennsic, the biggest which was about 16k folk when I played.
Who knows how the SCA is now; I've been out for so long with a shoulder injury. But I've considered getting back in for rapier combat which looked like a lot of fun but not nearly at the battle scale of hardsuit.
The following info is dated to about 2004-2008:
I was fortunate enough to live in the Phoenix area, where the second largest gathering occurs in Feb, called the Estrella War (it since moved south to Florence). There are about 5k people that come out for the event, and a giant camp, marketplace, battlefield are all set up.
I spent my days fighting in giant battles, and the evenings were spent with friends and acquaintances. Nights brought parties, etc., but nothing beats falling asleep in a tent to the near-distant beating of drums and occasional bagpiper.
There are a variety of arts and sciences, crafts for children, and of course royal court proceedings. I had an absolute blast as a college student participating.
One day I hope to participate again and venture to Pennsylvania for Pennsic, the biggest which was about 16k folk when I played.
Who knows how the SCA is now; I've been out for so long with a shoulder injury. But I've considered getting back in for rapier combat which looked like a lot of fun but not nearly at the battle scale of hardsuit.
Where is the article? I'm getting something about Kevin Kostner's The West. Nothing about renaissance fairs.
It's broken in the UK. Gives a 302 redirect to https://www.history.co.uk/
And VPN via Sweden, redirects to https://www.historytv.se
I don't think they want international visitors.
And VPN via Sweden, redirects to https://www.historytv.se
I don't think they want international visitors.
Same deal in Germany - straight to the www.history.de homepage.
Loads fine for me.
I'm guessing this is a complaint about a full-screen ad that history.com is running. I can't confirm because I have like 5 different layers of ad-blocking that I'm not going to turn off to check this, but here's what the page looks like from a Finnish server: https://pikwy.com/web/68dd4ace6c4fe212122bdfe2
It seems that history.com is geo-blocked. You can see it if you are in USA, not if you are in Europe or other countries.
Oh that's crazy, you're right: https://support.history.com/hc/en-us/articles/4411049949079-...
I wish there was a way for The Internet to eminent domain this URL from the History Channel, they clearly don't deserve it.
Archive for anyone interested: https://archive.is/2xmAE
I wish there was a way for The Internet to eminent domain this URL from the History Channel, they clearly don't deserve it.
Archive for anyone interested: https://archive.is/2xmAE
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next on history.com, "Whence Weebos?" right after "The Decline of Cowboys and Indians"
None of these answers are accurate.
What happened is that this county gathering has been happening for centuries. Since 1253 in truth. First it was called a gathering, then a cobble, and finally in 1582, the Franks took it over.
It was highly popularized as a French affair. The whimsical garb, the music, all something the stodgy English would have no part in. In fact, so stodge were they that it was forced outdoors, as none would rent to the Franks for this. Quite rude, in the rainy land of the Brits!
Eventually it became Frank-aire, just as other loan words from French, like concessionaire or millionaire, and then just Faire.
It's really the world's longest running annual gathering, where there's always a redhead in the same maid outfit. 538 years running, this year in fact! You can find it in the Guinness Book of World Records!
What happened is that this county gathering has been happening for centuries. Since 1253 in truth. First it was called a gathering, then a cobble, and finally in 1582, the Franks took it over.
It was highly popularized as a French affair. The whimsical garb, the music, all something the stodgy English would have no part in. In fact, so stodge were they that it was forced outdoors, as none would rent to the Franks for this. Quite rude, in the rainy land of the Brits!
Eventually it became Frank-aire, just as other loan words from French, like concessionaire or millionaire, and then just Faire.
It's really the world's longest running annual gathering, where there's always a redhead in the same maid outfit. 538 years running, this year in fact! You can find it in the Guinness Book of World Records!
I went in star trek blue. My favourite response a lady tells me that I'm violating the temporal prime directive for being in uniform. That was hilarious!
Note, I was literally the only person dressed in star trek lol.