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.