Re-enactment for the Uninitiated
Pat Poppy
Origins
The general consensus is that modern re-enactment started in the late 1960s when
some lecturers at Sandhurst decide to use the cadets to do a son et lumiere of the
English Civil War, from this beginning grew what is still the largest English reenactment group, the Sealed Knot.
Historical spread
Within the following few years large groups grew up covering the American Civil War,
and the Napoleonic Wars, and a series of small groups covering Roman and
Medieval periods. Some of the large groups spilt, the Sealed Knot for example
producing the King’s Army and the Roundhead Association, which together form the
English Civil War Society. Today you can find a group for any period from pre-Roman
to the Gulf War.
Geographical Spread
Re-enactment is not limited to the UK, there is a large following in North America,
Europe and Australia. Groups, particularly those covering international wars, often
travel to other countries to re-enact.
Size
The UK re-enactment scene is usually estimated at between 20,000 and 30,000
people. It is very difficult to be exact as the groups are very fragmented, many are
very small, and lots of people are members of more than one group. The largest
society, the Sealed Knot, has 5,000 to 6,000 members. The English Civil War Society
has about 2,000 members, and societies like SosKan, the American Civil War
Society, and the Napoleonic Association also count their memberships in thousands.
The Call to Arms, which is a directory, lists several hundred addresses, many are for
groups in their own right, while others are constituent parts of larger societies.
What is re-enacted
The first groups simply re-fought battles, and still do so, but by the mid 1970s groups
were appearing which also covered civilian life. There is no such thing as a typical reenactment, they can run from half a dozen people to several thousand.
Some examples of re-enactment types are:- A group, anything from half a dozen
people to a hundred or more taking over a period property and re-enacting it as it
was at a particular date; or on a more open site, a group of soldiers, with or without a
military encampment, doing military drill of the period they represent. Explaining
arms, armour, weaponry, tactics, etc. An encampment, usually has a civilian element,
e.g. sutlers, surgeons, chaplains, camp followers. This can also incorporate a
skirmish, siege or small battle. A battle re-enactment can be anything from a small
skirmish to a major engagement using anything from fifty to several thousand people.
Even campaigns and marches have been re-enacted. There are also multi period
events, where you have groups from several periods on one site.
Interpretation
Re-enactors use either first or third person interpretation. In first person
interpretation, you become a character and never leave it, you apparently know
nothing of what happened after the period you are presenting. In third person
interpretation you can say, “I am representing a person of this date, I am using/doing
x not y because y wasn’t invented/in use for another hundred years.” Third person is
often used to demonstrate craft skills, e.g. blacksmithing, spinning, rope making,
butter making, charcoal burning, etc. With large scale battle re-enactments there is
little interaction with the public.
Equipment and Traders
With most groups the members provide their own costume and equipment. The more
organised groups detail what is required, often providing handbooks, patterns for
costume, or listing traders who sell the items. Over the years a large body of traders
has grown up specialising in providing materials to re-enactors, and there are also
regular markets. For markets the year starts with the Oxford Fair in March, followed
by Temple Cressing in May, Tewkesbury in July, Kirby in August, Avoncroft in
September and Oxford again in November. Individual societies also have small
markets at their major meetings. At these markets it is possible to buy almost
anything, pottery, pewter, treen, longbows and muskets, arms and clothing, fabrics
and accessories. The quality varies from museum level to appalling.
Costume
Many members of re-enactment groups have little interest in their costume, they take
what is recommended by the society and wear that, but others have a strong interest
in the costume, and there are many arguments as to the "authenticity," "accuracy,"
or "correctness" or the costume. In some groups the overly concerned with detail are
known as “authenti-nazis.”
Most societies issue guidelines as to what may or may not be worn, and there are
often convoluted arguments within societies about their costume. The clothing thread
of the English Civil War Society bulletin board, for example, has had discussions
covering felt hats, scotch cloth, red dyes, bum rolls, knitted stockings, and many
other subjects. These arguments are often heated and frequently contain such
phrases as, "but where is your primary evidence" and "well they must have."
The costume interests of re-enactors usually focus in three specific areas:


military uniform
the clothing of the working classes
the cut and construction of garments.
With the exception of the third item these are not areas where the Costume Society
has done much, certainly not as far as the earlier periods are concerned.
Costume Society Membership
Many re-enactors with a strong interest in costume are also members of the Costume
Society. Some re-enactors have joined and then left, either because the society, and
its journal, does not cover their interests, or because they have come up against an
attitude that is extremely dismissive of re-enactors. I have been told by some
medievalists that the attitude is much better in MEDTAS. However many re-enactors
don't know that the society exists
© Pat Poppy 2004