Did you ever wonder what it would be like to be a knight, a wizard, or maybe a king or a queen? The days of knights are long gone but there are organizations, groups and events that still celebrate the beauty and wonder of the Middle Ages. You might not be able to live a medieval life full time but there are some great ways you can try it out on the weekends!
Go To A Renaissance Faire
This is a great way to experience a little bit of the Renaissance life as a spectator or as a participant if you choose. You will like this if you are just looking for some entertainment in the traditional way -although Renaissance Faires can be very interactive.
Picture yourself taking a trip back in time to the middle ages and experiencing a real faire. That is exactly what many Faires try to do. They will have arts and crafts, armor and weapons, and many medieval type items for sale. These Faires often have jousting tournaments and real blacksmiths. Often times they will have a rental shop where you can rent some renaissance clothing for your stay at the faire. Of course the food is very thematic and at a faire you will often see people walking around munching on enormous turkey legs and other such medieval-like food.
Try Larping
Larping is based on the acronym LARP, which stands for Live Action Role-Playing. It is a wonderful type of hobby that takes the concept of gaming to a new level of reality. It is loosely based on the early dungeons and dragons games where players would sit around a table and talk their way through a dungeon. In Larping the players take this to another level. They dress the part and actually do the adventure type things –including combat. It is something that people often will do on a weekend and there are even larping events that last for a full weekend. During one of these events people dress in authentic medieval clothing and don armor and foam weapons. There can be very elaborate story lines that come with larping events and some events have very detailed guidelines for combat, language, dress and more. The goal is to bring you as close to the reality of the period as possible.
Join the SCA
The Society for Creative Anachronism – They have quite a creative name and the espouse a really creative lifestyle. They are an international organization dedicated to researching and re-creating the arts and skills of pre-17th-century Europe. They have a very large member base and they sponsor big events such as Renaissance Faires, tournaments and art exhibits. They have a popular and easy to find website if you want more information on them.
Stay In A Medieval Castle
The tourist industry has changed quite significantly over the past ten years and the Bed and Breakfast niche of travel has gotten very creative in that many real castles peppered throughout all of Europe are now full fledged Bed and Breakfast facilities. Some of them are very fancy and expensive while others are reasonably priced. A little bit of internet research can turn up quite a few wonderful castles in this niche. You can actually sleep like a King in one of these facilities!
The Middle Ages were a very unusual period in our history and many people hold a strong fascination for the lifestyle of that time. And even though this period is now many hundreds of years behind us you can still experience a little bit of it today in the modern world.
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