That's not the word I want, but I mean those folk who pretend they live elsewhen - yomp about in genu-wine handstitched footrolls of authentically uncured sheepskin, wear vast layers of extremely draughty clothing held together by the latest in tablet-weaving technology, and get to fire off REAL cannons and muskets and mangonels, even if they ammunition-of-choice for todays go-getting recreationist (or whatever) is a grapefruit.
We had them at the Open Air Museum - Normans, this lot were. Dressed in yards of what looked like fat, dirty bandages, and wielding bloody great not-very-sharp swords. Dunno which frightens me more - a very sharp sword, or a not-so-sharp one. I read that when Henry VIII had some bishop's head off (Cranmer? Cromwell?) he gave the job to a 15-year old boy who had practised the night before on a dead pig, and whose axe was not very sharp. Maybe there are occasions when sharp is good.
Anyway, they also had this thing called a perrier, which is yer basic person-powered mangonel (I know! Yeah! Exciting, eh?) with which they slung grapefruit a goodly distance. Said grapefruit exploded upon impact very satisfactorily.
So they had the maiming and killing pretty much covered. But the stuff they didn't have, and which is my favourite, is the medical stuff. Infinitely more maiming and killing to be had in a doctor's bag then, I'll tell you. True, they had some winners like maggots and sphagnum moss, but mercury as a treatment for constipation? Oh yes. The foot-long screw-operated tweezers used to take the bullet out of Henry V's brain when, at 16, he was shot in the face? I guess he had to be held down. U-uurgh.
But just what are these lovely play-actors called?
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A perfectly reasonable life spins out of control . . .
About Me
- Mangonel
- Dealer in disease, destruction and death with a kick like a mule. And a BIG crush on Stephen Mangan. Which Significant Other knows nothing about.
Things to do before I die
- See the Aurora Borealis
- Take an actual proper music exam
- Read Clarissa
- Visit Everest Base Camp and see the Khumbu Ice Falls
11 comments:
Saddos?
re-enactors?
single?
...yup. you guys covered it.
Personally I think it's all a form of S&M lite. Aren't you supposed to outgrow playing dressup?
completely agree on the medical eurgh. nothing like a good vintage medical display, i say. mouth-suction actuated cataract removal syringes, rib spreaders operated like a carpenters breast drill, waterjars full of swimming leeches in constant motion...*snif* makes me all nostalgic...
Are they The Sealed Knot?
escapees
I went to teaching vet hospital once (was enough) and they had a display of ye olde vet'nry equine implements - big they were and very long some of them - ugh
poor ggs
What makes them specialise in certain eras of history? Is it considered to be a sellout in the re-enactment scene if you defect, say, from Norman invading to American Civil War?
didn't wyndham and the Mrs Triffid do this a whle ago? or was it a photo of a couple of total strangers he google searched wearing armour. . .
Thank you all - it's re-enactment, isn't it.
But actually I think we probably learn stuff from the fact that these dear people actually go out and DO it. All very well and good reading that the chainmail weighed forty pounds, but actually wearing some, then trying to swing a broadsword makes you think about those ten-day forced marches in a whole new way. I'll happily trade their batty ridiculousness for my enlightenment.
BiB, I thinkj the Sealed Knot is specifically English Civil War, and Betty (hi!) I'd pay good money to watch a defectment court-martial.
I,LTV, it's Wyndham, so I have no idea. I re-read the post, and I still have no idea.
puts the perrier award in a whole new light, dunnit?
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