SC - Medieval Times

[James F. Johnson]

Just a brief note concerning erroneous history when it comes to
entertainment. From my own history and anthropology studies, I came
across examples in the Middle Ages and Renaissance where the concept of
change in styles over historical eras did not exist. One late period
example is English theatre during the reign of Elizabeth I (Shakespeare
and contemporaries). There were two types of constume. Street wear
(basically, the mode of the day, if not their own personal clothes) used
for any contemporary plays (Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing,
Doctor Faust,) and 'ancient' dress, which was toga-like robes for plays
like Corialanus, Titus, Pericles, Julius Caesar). Basically, it was
generic "old" clothes. The assumption being _everybody_ wore those
clothes _back then_, and at some undetirmed time, the started wearing
trunk hose and doublets. I'd say it is a fair guess to say that most
decent SCA clothiers know more about clothing in the high Middle Ages
than the folks did living only two hundred years later. 

The distinctions between 11th Century Moorish Spain, and 14th Century
Bavaria, and 16th Century London are lost on most 20th century folks.
Just not relevant to their lives, just to the historophiles like us. So
they are happy with Medieval Times as it is, and Medieval Times is happy
to provide it. 

I will admit, potatoes and BBQ sauce is a bit much. While I can see the
difficulting in getting the average Yank to eat turnips or other
suitable root and potatoes are cheap and very available, why not just a
simple roast chicken?

Then again, there has got to be a higher proportion of people in the
mundane world than the SCA who expect mundane foods at their meals. From
a customer service and profitability point of view, it can be easier to
just put the modern stuff out there and not deal with stupid complaints
from the under educated.

Seumas