SC - Medieval Times

[Michael F. Gunter]

> I don't really think very many here would care if they called it "A
> Knight of Fantasy" (even if they tacked on "inspired by the Middle
> Ages"), and made no claims whatsoever about the historical accuracy of
> it.
>
> /UlfR

I think I'm going to take Balthazar's side here (hey, there's a first time
for everything). I've gone to Medieval Times once and I would actually
like to go again. Okay, the food sucked, I hated wearing the paper crown
(took it off as soon as I sat down), the fighting is choreographed and at
the time they were wearing leather helmets, and there was very little
you could consider authentic. BUT.

The "feast hall" is impressive. The pagentry is medieval in its grandeur.
The falconry exhibition is nice. The horses and horsemanship are fantastic.
The choreographed fights on foot are nice because they are done full speed
and it is obvious that these guys do it all the time. It isn't the "swords up,
tink. swords down, tink" thing we see too much in Renfaires and bad
movies. The opportunity to talk and have a drink with the "knights"
afterwards and discuss swordsmanship and horsemanship with them.
And did I mention the horses? Gorgeous things!

As far as the lack of authenticity and the erroneous information that
is presented. I don't think it's as bad as people think. Sure the info
is wrong, same as on the Emeril and Sara Moulton shows, but it
captures the imagination of the uninitiated. Spurs them to want to become
that knight. Or to have a "feast" with their friends.  How many of us
came to the SCA or any other historical group with full knowledge on
how it was actually done? Now how many of us joined with visions
of Camelot, Conan, Robin Hood and D&D in our eyes? I've learned tons
of valuable information on how it was actually done in the olde days and
sometimes I was disappointed in my knowledge. But these inaccurate
displays of ancient times spurred me to learn and emulate how it was
actually done.

I would bet that very few people that attend Medieval Times or any
of its clones thinks they have stepped into the past. But maybe 1% of
those kids who go there and are entranced with what they see may wind
up joining the SCA or a jousting company or even do a school report on
history. For just that 1% then Medieval Times has earned it's keep in
my eyes.

Sorry for the editorial.

Yers,

Gunthar