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How did Renaissance fairs begin?

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Re: How did Renaissance fairs begin?

#11

Post by torben-friis »

triceratops wrote: post #8
Mistletoe wrote: post #3

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?

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.

Sounds scary enough. Why are people dressing as non scary things though?

Re: How did Renaissance fairs begin?

#12

Post by leetharris »

Mistletoe wrote: post #3

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?

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.

Re: How did Renaissance fairs begin?

#13

Post by mcv »

Tsiklon wrote: post #4
Mistletoe wrote: post #3

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?

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.

Re: How did Renaissance fairs begin?

#14

Post by torben-friis »

Tsiklon wrote: post #4
Mistletoe wrote: post #3

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?

Renaissance fairs don’t really exist in Europe. Most countries have their own traditional festivals and customs which date back to that time period.

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..

Re: How did Renaissance fairs begin?

#15

Post by kragen »

triceratops wrote: post #8
Mistletoe wrote: post #3

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?

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.

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).

Re: How did Renaissance fairs begin?

#16

Post by jfengel »

Mistletoe wrote: post #3

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.

Re: How did Renaissance fairs begin?

#17

Post by rdtsc »

Mistletoe wrote: post #3

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?

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.

Re: How did Renaissance fairs begin?

#18

Post by triceratops »

torben-friis wrote: post #11
triceratops wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Sounds scary enough. Why are people dressing as non scary things though?

I didn't think of that, that's fair.

Re: How did Renaissance fairs begin?

#20

Post by CivBase »

jfengel wrote: post #16
Mistletoe wrote: post #3

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 m…

> 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.

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