Historical

Reenactment

Activities related to reenactments based on historical events have been takeing place since the beginnings of civiliaztion and have a long history.

The Romans staged recreations of famous battles within their amphitheaters as a form of public spectacle. In the Middle Ages tournaments often re-enacted historical themes from Ancient Rome or elsewhere.

A historical reenactment is a type of roleplay in which participants attempt to recreate some aspects of a historical event or period. This may be as narrow as a specific moment from a battle, such as the Civil War battle of Port Gamble or as broad as an entire period such as the Rennaissance.

Living History

The term living history describes attempts to bring history to life for the general public. Historical reenactment includes a continuum from well researched attempts to recreate a known historical event for educational purposes, through representations with theatrical elements, to competitive events for purposes of entertainment, which might be considered a form of live-action role-playing (LARP) within a historical context.

The line between amateur reenactment and presentations at living history museums can be blurred as, while the latter routinely utilize museum professionals and trained interpreters to help convey the story of history to the public, some museums and historic sites employ reenactment groups with high standards of authenticity for the same role at special events.

Period

The period of an event is the range of dates. Authenticity in reenactment makes for how the period affects the types of costume, weapons, and armour used. Popular periods to reenact include:

  • Classical reenactment
  • Medieval reenactment
    • Dark Ages reenactment
  • Renaissance reenactment
    • English Civil War reenactment
    • The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and its wars.
  • Modern reenactment
    • American Revolutionary War reenactment
    • Napoleonic reenactment
    • American Civil War reenactment
    • The Fur Trade is reenacted at events called as "Rendezvous."
    • World War II reenactment
    • Korean War reenactment
  • and more.

Reenactors

Most reenactors are amateurs who pursue reenactment as a hobby. Participants within this hobby are extremely diverse. The ages of participants range from young children, whose parents bring them along to events, to the elderly. Among adult participants, people from all different walks of life can be found - college students, firemen, lawyers, members of the armed forces, doctors, and even professional historians.

Although there are many that start off as amatures, some have a desire to actually make a professional career of it or as a way to start in acting as it can be the starting point to performing as a career, or it can be a way to turn your talents into a second job. Take Penn & Teller teller for instance, although their current path is much different from reenactment, they did get their start at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival and went on to bigger and better things in the professional world. More...