Re: Company in the news

[John Richards]

Hiya Christian, dear all

Thanks for linking this discussion and blog, it made very interesting =20=

reading and I liked your blog interview. Essentially, for the English =20=

speakers, the NZZ article suggested that there is a large medieval =20
movement in Germany and that it is washing over into Switzerland. To =20
reduce the article to the bare essentials, it says that the hobby is =20
basically a chance for adults to "play as children". It recognized =20
that there were groups who tried to take the hobby seriously and was =20
very complementary about the CoStG, but pointed out the impossibility =20=

of really "reliving the period", because we have a different attitude =20=

to religion, a hugely advanced scientific understanding and =20
completely different morals to our ancestors.

Basically, in my humble opinion, the NZZ author hit the nail pretty =20
much on the head. The very fact that a large number of those =20
contributors to the chat rooms discussing this article include photos =20=

of themselves in "Knights" outfits or call themselves "Edlevrouw von" =20=

is nothing more than the adult expression of the childhood fantasy of =20=

being a knight in shining armour or the female equivalent. When you =20
hear the expression "bloodthirsty steel", it's me back in the =20
schoolyard with my wooden sword and a fire bucket on my head.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. When reenacting 1476, we =20
are all using our imagination and our fantasy and all wish that we =20
owned a time machine. Of course, none of us would want to come back =20
with the plague, or sweating sickness, and I'm sure the women =20
wouldn't want to be treated as chattels, so we indulge our fantasy of =20=

the more pleasant or exciting aspects of the period. If you were an =20
independant observer and went to all the medieval events in Germany =20
(or France or the UK for that matter), wouldn't you come back with =20
the impression that 90% were "kids playing"? It doesn't mean that you =20=

didn't enjoy the events, but you probably didn't learn much.

Frankly, I prefer to belong to a serious, accurate group, because it =20
makes it more difficult for people to laugh at me when I'm conducting =20=

my hobby. I prefer to wear "accurate" costume, because it just looks =20
right, and doesn't make you feel silly. It annoys me when I visit a =20
medieval site or event and the guide passes on the usual load of old =20
bollocks and misconceptions about the period (everyone had straw on =20
the floor, everyone was 4ft 6" (1m37) tall and men-at-arms were =20
lifted into the saddle by crane because the armour weighed so much). =20
There is no doubt that our historical research aids theoretical =20
history study by adding a practical side (the search for hose =20
material, the famous "S"-shaped implement that turned out to be an =20
arquebus trigger, the rain covers for scabbards, etc. etc). However, =20
in those magic evenings in Haute K=F6nigsbourg when the public have =20
gone and there is nothing but candlelight and music, or when I am =20
lying in ambush on an Imperial scout party with my friends ready to =20
draw their yew bows amidst the scent of freshly crushed herbs, I'm a =20
happy 10-year old all over again.

I think Gerry once wrote "we take what we do seriously, but never =20
ourselves", and for me, that's really what it's all about.

John


On Nov 23, 2007, at 17:03, Christian Folini wrote:

> Hello again,
>
> The newspaper article got some attention and has been discussed
> online at http://www.forumromanum.de/member/forum/forum.php?=20
> action=3Dubb_show&entryid=3D1101833854&mainid=3D1101833854&threadid=3D11=
712014=20
> 57&USER=3Duser_338862&threadid=3D1171201457
>
> Today, the well known Swiss Blog of the "Stadtwanderer", aka
> political scientist Claude Longchamp, covers the article
> and brings an interview with me. I do not have the time to
> translate it here, but maybe somebody can cite a few
> infos. Btw. the blog is open for comments. Would be cool
> to see feedback from you German speakers.
>
> http://www.stadtwanderer.net/blog/single.php?date=3D1195803180
>
> regs,
>
> Christian, very tired and still busy
>
> On Thu, Nov 15, 2007 at 08:22:09AM +0100, Christian Folini wrote:
>> Hya,
>>
>> "One of the oldest and most professional Reenactment-Associations =20
>> is the
>> Company of Saynt George. ... The Company is strictly adhering to the
>> sources for its display."
>>
>> (-> "Eine der =E4ltesten und professionellsten Reenactment-Gruppen =20=

>> ist die
>> Company of Synt George. ... Die Company orientiert sich f=FCr ihre
>> Auff=FChrungen strikt an den erhaltenen Quellen.".)
>>
>> This is part of an article of the Swiss Newspaper "Neue Z=FCrcher =20
>> Zeitung"
>> today. The NZZ is one of the most serious newspapers in German =20
>> language
>> (if you never had it in your hands: imaging the most boring German
>> newspaper you can think of. That's close to the NZZ):
>> http://www.nzz.ch/nachrichten/schweiz/=20
>> zurueck_in_die_kindheit_1.584528.html
>>
>> The article is a coverage of the whole medieval scene with a Swiss =20=

>> focus.
>> It pushes everything in direction "childplay" but underlines the =20
>> fact,
>> that it is a big movement and that there are very serious people =20
>> among the
>> reenactors; like the people in the Company.
>>
>> What I like is the fact, that it is finally a non-local newspaper =20
>> with an
>> expression of quality covering the Company of St. George. When the =20=

>> Company
>> was covered in August in the NZZ, there was nothing worth quoting.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Christian
>>
>>
>