Renaissance fairs were celebrated as festivals of spring.
A celebration of the end of another harsh winter, and the promise of the
rebirth of the land and the new crops to come. The essentials of medieval
life that were celebrated every year between the end of winter and the
beginning of spring. During the Renaissance period, winters were known to
be harsh, and many people failed to survive. You had to work to live in
these far-off days, and those that were unable to work did not survive.
What little food there was had to be hidden away before it was taken by
the landowners and lords for their own winter stores. There were no shops
to pop into in those days. You were left to forage for your own food, so
there is no surprise in them celebrating the end of winter in this way.
Renaissance stands for "rebirth": the rebirth of the countryside and the
appearance of fresh young shoots and spring lambs and calves, promising a
plentiful supply of grain and meat for the summer and autumn to come. The
Renaissance Faires with their jesters and mummers, their actors and
minstrels, were attended by everyone in the surrounding area who came to
be entertained, fed and watered with the food and drink laid out for
everybody to partake in the celebrations. Ladies wore their most elegant
costumes, and the gentlemen displayed theirmost decorative swords.These
periods of celebration of the end of winter and beginning of spring are
reenacted in America and elsewhere in the world in the form of Renaissance
Fairs that involve dressing up, in replica costumes of the period,
entertainment and lots of food and drink presented to represent the period
in history being celebrated. Renaissance Fairs in America were originally
intended to be reenactments of the real things, but are now a mix of the
old and the new. Queen Elizabeth and her dandified consorts mix with
characters wearing Lord of the Rings costumes, and authentically dressed
lords and ladies with their renaissance costumes mix with the fictional
Three Musketeers and others wearing popular movie costumes. Roast beef
and English ale are on offer from landlords who don fantasy costumes made
from their own imagination, while others eat pork with their fingers while
supping a cup of mead or small beer. The true English renaissance period
occurred during the 15th and 16th centuries, during most of the Tudor
reign. King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I are the two most famous
monarchs of the era, and this is seen by the costumes worn by those who
try to emulate them, in appearance if not in deeds. Traditional
Renaissance Faires have the Elizabethan parade as part of their
entertainment, with Queen Elizabeth and Henry VIII even sometimes
appearing together. It might be taking a liberty with history, but it is
entertaining.Participants wear the costume that they deem suitable for the
period, and it is not unknown for popular movie characters to make the
occasional appearance, such as the foresaid Three Musketeers, and also
Mary Queen of Scots, but with her body and head complete. Admission is
normally required for these events, but is well worth the money. The food
and drink are normally marvelous and frequently authentically cooked or
not, as the case may be! Many American Renaissance Fairs insist on
authenticity, not only in dress, but right through to the language used
and music played. It is said that Henry VIII himself wrote the tune
"Greensleeves" and lutes and timbrels, or other forms of medieval drums,
are the order of the day. Some "faires" are based on a specific part of
the renaissance period, or even a specific year, and many are given the
name of a fictitious village or town. Some are specifically Elizabethan
with lots of Elizabeths, Sir Walter Raleighs and Francis Drakes mingling
with the crowd. Ruffs and stockings form the neck a leg decoration of
choice for men and women alike. Renaissance fares can last for a day or a
weekend, and the social events normally portray specific aspects of life
during that period in English history, with cookery demonstrations and
musical renditions using the instruments of the period. If you have a
chance to attend one, don't miss it. A Renaissance fare, or Renaissance
faire as it is often written, is not only an educational experience of
what life was like before computers, cinema, TV and rock & roll, but also
great fun. As you take part, just take a little time to quietly think
about the life of ordinary people in these bygone days, and how harsh it
must have been in the winter for its ending to be celebrated in this
fashion.