Historical reenactment

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Reenactors of the American Civil War
Reenactors of the American Civil War

Historical reenactment is an activity in which participants recreate some aspects of a historical event or period. It may be a narrowly-defined time period, such as a specific war or other event, or it may be more broadly defined.

Activities related to "reenactment" are not new. Tournaments in the Middle Ages had Roman or other earlier themes (while the Romans themselves staged recreations of famous land and sea battles within their Coliseums as a form of public spectacle), and the Victorians recreated medieval furnishings such as tapestries. However, historical reenactment in pursuit of practical historical interest, beyond merely re-inventing history as an entertainment to suit contemporary convenience or sensibilities, seems to be an invention of the 20th century.

The term living history describes attempts to bring history to life, either for an audience or for the participants themselves. The primary distinction between reenactment and a period dramatic performance is the degree of immersion and the amount of improvisation. Historical reenactment can be considered a form of live-action role-playing.

Contents

[edit] Reenactment groups

Main article: Comparison of historical reenactment groups

Most groups dedicated to reenactment are amateurs who pursue reenactment as a hobby. Increasingly, there are a number of enthusiasts who have made it their goal to be as authentic as possible.

[edit] Period

The period of an event is the range of dates . See authenticity (reenactment) for a discussion of how the period affects the types of costume, weapons, and armour used.

Popular periods to reenact include:

Reenactment covers a wide temporal span. This is a reenactment of the Roman legion XV Apollinaris, from Austria.
Reenactment covers a wide temporal span. This is a reenactment of the Roman legion XV Apollinaris, from Austria.

[edit] Props and costume

Reenactor displaying buckskins
Reenactor displaying buckskins

Small cottage industries abound that provide not only the materials but even the finished product for use by these ultra authentic re-enactors. Uniforms made of hand woven, natural dyed materials are hand-sewn using the sartorial techniques of the period portrayed. The same can be said of headgear, footwear, camp gear, accoutrements, weapons and so on. These items, while costing sometimes 30% more than their mass produced counterparts, offer the wearer an actual life like experience in the use of these materials. Also, it is hoped that spectators will have a better experience when attending an event in which a high level of accuracy is attained.


[edit] Experimental archaeology

Experimental archaeology is an important part of many authentic living history events, where crafts and techniques are evaluated to see whether they make sense in the appropriate historical setting. For example, various combinations of armour can be tried to see if an item for which no historical evidence exists is actually easy to make with the tools available and practical to use in the battles of the time.

[edit] Events

Members of the recreated 29th Regiment of Foot at an American Revolutionary war reenactment
Members of the recreated 29th Regiment of Foot at an American Revolutionary war reenactment
Main article: list of historical reenactment events

[edit] Permanent events

There are a number of locations which have set up a permanent authentic displays:

[edit] Creative history, and fantasy events

Jousting Knights on Horseback perform 3 shows daily at The Carolina Renaissance Festival.
Jousting Knights on Horseback perform 3 shows daily at The Carolina Renaissance Festival.

Although some historical reenactment groups follow a very loose interpretation of history (sometimes mixing equipment from closely related periods or often just the use of inauthentic materials: eg. cotton clothes in a medieval setting) some groups go a step further and mix historical elements with elements of the Fantasy genre or incorporate modern technology or culture into a historical setting (often simply reducing the level of authenticity for increased safety or reduced costs, eg. making melee weapons out of rubber or plastic rather than iron or steel).

A common example for this variation on the theme is the Society for Creative Anachronism and Renaissance Faires, which blend medievalish customs, dress, and activities within historically inspired fantasy kingdoms.

However many Renaissance Faires have begun to rein in the fantasy elements and have a more historical feel.

[edit] Commercial reenactment

Many castles, museums, and other historical tourist attractions employ actors or professional reenactors as part of the experience. These usually address the recreation of a specific town, village, or activity within a certain time frame. Commercial reenactment shows are usually choreographed and follow a script.

See also: list of tourist attractions providing reenactment

[edit] Publications

Over the years, there have been a number of publications devoted to covering the subjects of historical reenactment and its close cousin, living history. These have included the Camp Chase Gazette and, at various times, two different magazines named Living History (the most recent of which last appeared in 1997 and was published by Great Oak Inc. and edited by history author Michael J. Varhola).

Another popular book is The Medieval Soldier by Gerry Embleton and John Howe, 1995. It has been translated to French and German. It was later followed by Medieval Military Costume in Colour Photographs.

For the Napoleonic Period there are 2 books of interest that cover life in the military at that time and Living History; "The Napoleonic Soldier" by Stephen E. Maughan, 1999 and "Marching with Sharpe" by B.J. Bluth,2001. The various Napoleonic re-enactment groups, some of whom are listed in the External Links below, now cover the history of their associated regiment as well as try to describe and illustrate how they approach recreating the period. The aim to be as authentic as is possible from the various source materials has led many serious re-enactment societies to set up their own research groups to verify their understanding of the uniforms, drill and all aspects of the life that they strive to portray. In this way re-enactment plays a vital role in bringing history to life, keeping history alive and in expanding the knowledge and understanding of the period.

[edit] Media Support

Motion picture and television producers often turn to re-enactment groups for support; films like Gettysburg and Glory benefited greatly from the input of reenactors, who arrived on set fully equipped and steeped in knowledge of military procedures, camp life, and tactics.[1]

[edit] Criticism

Reenactors are sometimes looked on with suspicion, particularly by military veterans, but also by elements of the general public. Common criticisms revolve around motivation, as well as concerns about the level of immersion found in some arenas, notably those involving 20th Century conflicts where combatants had stricter regulations regarding personal grooming.[2]

Another commonly voiced criticism is that many reenactors are more corpulent than actual soldiers in the period they are portraying. [3] The average age of reenactors is also generally far higher than the average age of soldiers in most conflicts. Few reenactment units discriminate, however, based on age and physical condition.[4] However, there has been criticism about the exclusion of women from some American Civil War combat reenactment units. While hundreds of women may have fought in the conflict, almost all of them did so disguised as men. Attitudes on this topic seem to vary widely. [5]

A final concern mentioned by Thompson's book is the "fantasy farb", or tendency of reenactors to gravitate towards "elite" units such as commandos, paratroopers, or Waffen-SS units resulting in an under-representation in the re-enactment community of what were the most common types of military troops in the period being re-enacted. This is largely drawn from an North American perspective, although there are parallel issues on the European scene, such as the general discomfort and uneasiness with recreation of the SS, for example. Many of the earlier period groups have begun to meet under umbrella organisations to debate and discuss ethical dimensions. In the UK there are multi-period events such as 'History in Action' where groups get to look at each other's appearance and performances as well as perform for the general public. Most reenactment groups do not delude themselves that they wholly represent the period with which they associate though some are more authentic than others. Nor are the public stupid.

There is certainly much criticism from within reenactment organisations as to meritocracy, leadership and so-on. On the whole reenactors could be guilty of projecting their own, present-minded attitudes onto their historical alter egos. There is also a tendency to become obsessed with war when in actual fact there has been less war than peace.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

General
Ancient
Roman
Medieval
17th Century
  • The Sealed Knot One of the UK's largest re enactment groups, dedicated to re enacting the English Civil Wars, though some regiments within the society occasionally put on events depicting the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685.


18th Century


19th Century
20th Century

[edit] References

  1. ^ Details may be found in the "making of" featurettes on the DVD versions of both films KGFVY-7733B-8WCK9-KTG64-BC7D8.
  2. ^ Thompson, Jenny. Wargames: Inside the World of 20th Century Reenactors (Smithsonian Books, Washington, 2004). ISBN 1-58834-128-3
  3. ^ Website highlighting 'fat reenactors'
  4. ^ Thompson, op.cit.
  5. ^ Women Military Reenactor's Homepage
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