[Ansteorra] Things we do that are not period

[elizabeth at crouchet.com]

Camping!

For much of the period we study and in many of the cultures being outdoors at night was a scary and dangerous thing.

Things and people natural, unnatural, spritual and evil roamed the darkenss and people stayed huddled at home by the fire. 

If you traveled you stayed the night in an inn, or in a barn or in someone's home. 

Unless you were a soldier on military campaign or in dire nessecity you found a roof or a cave. Tents were for day use to 
expand a hall or build a temporary court or for changing or storage facilites, like we do for a tournament and they did at Cloth of 
Gold. 

If you must camp because there was no more room in the  castle, you camped inside of or near the walls of the keep. And not 
with your family. 

These superstitions and dangers (like goblins and robbers) have left us a rich tradition of ghost stories and fairly tales. To us 
they are fun but to them I think they often believed them. 

And then the Bardic Fire. In a hall, inn or just in the open, the fire provides a safety zone of light and warmth. Wild animals do 
not appraoch fire, robbers do not wish to be seen and do not attack large groups, it is warmer on a cold night, food is prepared 
here. So humans gather and talk to pass the time and distract from worries and so tell stories and our tradition is born. 

I am so glad we have kept the warmth and comraderie and left the dangers and superstions to stories.

Canvas tents with ropes and poles give a more period feel than rounded nylon ones certainly. Candle light and lanterns help 
and fire pits. Chairs we really don't see in the dark or we can sit on logs or stones. Share drink, food and stories and we can 
overlook what we cannot fix:  

shoes (hard to do right for most people so just wear black ones)
beer in a can while it is being poured into a mug
sandwhiches (eat anyway)
airplanes
streetlamps (pretend they are the street torches lit by the local guards  when large numbers of guests were in town)
cars (they had transport too, move it and then ignore it)
Mixed cultures and times (too much fun to give up, I learn something from every personna I encounter)


One of our pet peeves:

The site at Canton. So many find it ugly and mundane.  Yes it is mundane if you mean city like rather than country like.

I tend to think of events at Canton as being held in a large city like London. All those little enclaves and tents become the city 
buildings and courts. Heck, they even have streets!  and some places have tents, croweded into the spaces between. The 
visiting merchants are set up where they can, but near each other to increase business. Even the street lights. It is all very 
much like London might have been during a large festival or such when everyone who could came to town to be there for the 
event. Street lights would have been needed then and the trained bands might have lit them at corners. Or you might have lit 
one at your own door if expecting travelers or warding off undesirables. 

It doesn't all have to be misty moors to inspire a feeling of being there, though those are awfully nice too. 

I find I can sometimes get others into seeing it as I do by commenting on it as if that is how it is rather than how I imagine or 
justify it. 

Claire