What makes you think there are Renaissance festivals in the UK?
They just call them festivals and dress nicer.
There's indeed renaissance festivals in UK.
I'm pretty sure they pretend to speak old English there.
Renaissance fairs are an American thing. They don't exist in the UK.
You say that very confidently and are pretty well upvoted but I found several in a quick search:
https://jorvikvikingfestival.co.uk/ https://tewkesburymedievalfestival.org/ https://fantasyforest.co.uk/ http://www.renaissancefaire.co.uk/
You can find any number of re-enactment events/groups across the UK from Romans to Vikings to the Sealed Knot to WW2. For most of those Medieval festivals, especially the ones celebrating an event or place (second and fourth links - the first and fourth aren't relevant to this), it tends to be a more touristy event rather than one visitors would get dressed up and involved in (until recently with the US influence).
Summer Court Renaissance Fair claims to be one of the first US-style ren fairs:
On the 6th of August 2022, we hosted one of the first American-style ren faires to make it to the UK!
Definitely this, until apparently the one you've just linked, they didn't exist in the American sense here. The closest you would get here before was out of work actors adding a bit of flavour to some otherwise-a-bit-dull landmarks or historically important places. And even then that wasn't super common.
I always saw the American style as basically a medieval themed Butlins experience. Pure entertainment rather than something ostensibly intended to be educational.
Is this 'renaissance fair' branding is a new thing? I did a few historical/fantasy weekend larps when I was younger but they were never called 'renaissance fairs'.
Renaissance Faires are a more casual event versus LARPs. It's usually for families. Some people do dress up but it's not expected. Usually you just go for a few hours, watch a joust, do some shopping, and eat a turkey leg.
I've never heard of a renaissance fair over here. And one of the examples you give, jorvik viking festival, is surely set several centurias before the renaissance.
All Renaissance fairs are really medieval fairs.
They ended up called Renaissance Fairs because a radio ad exec in California thought it was a more broadly appealing name when the first one was held, and it stuck.
They might exist, but they aren't widely known about like they are in the USA
I watched a catapult fire projectiles into a castle moat outside of Cardiff at a medieval fair. Also got propositioned by a Welsh girl, but couldn’t understand what she was saying.
- Yakkie-dah = hello; good morning/day; yes; correct; goodbye
- Boy-o = boy
- Ma-fan-way = girl
- Cmyru-way = motorway
- Cmyru-shypi = shop
- Cmyru-foni = phone
- Cymru-nana = banana
- Llllllgoogllgoogll-y-cymrnllllll = the/a/I/you/we/us/him/her/them/up/down/this/that/those
Now you can speak Welsh. Well done or, should I say, Yakkie-Cymru.
Renaissance fairs are an American thing. They don’t exist in the UK.
I don't know the UK, so I might be wrong, but it's not an US only thing (beside the naming).
I've seen various form of medieval markets/festivals on several continental Europe countries, and I don't see why it wouldn't cross the channel. Even though, Historical re-enactment is a niche hobby, it's not that uncommon to find group focused on the a given historical period caring a lot about the details, no matter if they re-enact the Viking, The crusade, or Napoleon's army (If you visit Belgium during the Waterloo battle anniversary, you can see these groups re-enacting the battle). LARP is also a thing in the whole western Europe, it's way less realistic as we do have elves and orcs, the biggest worldwide runs in Germany Trailer and UK has also some big ones and a lot of smaller ones.
So I'm sorry to disagree with your claim
While not a renaissance fair exactly, there is a jousting tournament in Leeds Castle in Kent once or twice a year. It's a lot of fun with armour, swords, horses, the whole shebang.
Why would they speak French or Italian? The Rennaisance happened in Britain too and they spoke ye olde English back then.
Speaking as an American, when I was doing the ren fair thing… I used a shitty French accent and told people it was burgundeon.
It’s bullshit, but a) it was different b) it was fun being “the bad guys”and picking fights (ahem duels) and c) the rest of my costume was fairly on point, as a musketeer- either one of the king’s or Cardinal Reicheleiu’s.
It was a really shitty French accent. I apologize to the French for that crime….
(edit, fixed my spelling error... its been a while...)
You're supposed to be the bad guy, tho. So you're not supposed to apologise for your crime.
While we're working on your spelling, it's
Burgundian
Which, en français, would be
Bourguignon (boor geen yone)
But of course you weren't doing French, you were doing English in a terrible fake French accent so maybe your spelling is a more accurate representation!
p. s. You still have an extra e in Richelieu. Reich is more German than French
It's not really been a big thing here until the American influence has sparked interest.
When you can go and watch the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, tar barrelling or the Haxey Hood, there's less interest in Medieval cosplay.
Wouldn’t they just speak renaissance English?
English back then was spoken quite differently. I know that, at the Globe Theater in London, they give some performances in what is considered to be an historically-accurate accent and dialect for Shakespeare’s time (early-mid 17th century, aka Elizabethan English), and it can be difficult to understand at times, but some of Shakespeare’s puns and jokes work better due to the change in pronunciation. IIRC, there’s a video of a father and son team who worked it all out explaining it on YouTube. Sorry, I’m on mobile, or I’d link it.
Despite being in America, the one here is not called a Ren Fest, but a Medieval Faire. It's also held at a B&B which was built to look like a medieval castle on the inside and the outside. I go for the music, which is lots of fun. The falconry demonstration can be neat too.
There are vendors which sell stupid 'magic' stuff, but it's pretty decent overall.
Much better, however, is the Feast of the Hunter's Moon in Lafayette, Indiana, which is the same idea as a Renaissance Festival, except for Colonial America/France and the indigenous American nations that lived in Indiana at the time.. The food is more authentic and the costumes are amazing. There are dozens of regiments that march through the field and they set up and live like it was the late 1700s. It's probably the only time you can get rabbit stew in Indiana.
Whoa, is that the Ren Fest in Larkspur? I spent many summer days there when I lived in Colorado.
Or is there a standardized fake castle gate you can order premade?
I LARP with medieval theme. Most speak English...most don't verily and ye (which is wrong as y is th anyway,). Some out in Scots accents for Celtic twist and some dinput on French accent for the rennaisance France flaire. But most just talk normally.
Used in place of the it's wrong, it's just pronounced the.
There was a ye though! It was the second person plural subject word (singular was thou). So we used to have a more official word for y'all when used as a subject. Y'all is cool though, we should all adopt it. I hate saying "you guys" or something, so awkward sounding.
They should at least speak in middle english.
Based on renaissance fairs there were no farmers back then.
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