Medieval market
A medieval market or medieval market today means a market event with festival character in the medieval -inspired ambience . Medieval markets have had a growing number of visitors since the 1980s. In the USA there has been a similar phenomenon with the Renaissance fairs since the 1960s. The actors and participants as well as some of the visitors dress in fanciful or medieval-looking ( historicizing ) clothes , while a smaller number in precisely reconstructed clothes . Despite the term “Middle Ages” in the name and although many organizers use this term to advertise, a mere idea of the Middle Ages is usually shown at medieval markets; the claim to a historically authentic representation is usually low. Therefore, these events are more likely to be attributed to histotainment and not to reenactment or living history . However, there are rare exceptions.
distribution
In 2010, 686 medieval markets were recorded in an event calendar in Germany alone up to May, for the whole of 2009 there were 903. In 2004, however, there were only around 300.
This increase is related both to the increasing interest of the public and to the growth in the number of feeders. In addition to the content-related motifs, i.e. the sale of goods perceived as medieval in the appropriate environment, there is also the fact that these markets open up sales times that are otherwise out of the question due to legal regulations, such as Sundays and holidays. In addition, places can be filled that are predominantly located in frequently frequented inner city locations.
Since 2010, however, the number of events in Germany has declined slightly and has reached its peak here with around 1,000 events.
Even if medieval markets can be found all over Germany, there is a tendency to see an increased concentration along the Rhine from Rhineland-Palatinate to North Rhine-Westphalia. This could be favored by the high number of medieval castles and old towns, which can give the medieval market a special flair.
Were
The items offered for sale in these markets are mostly handicrafts , but also esoteric products . Typical goods are e.g. B. herbs, hides, leather goods, ceramics, jewelry, cut and stabbing weapons, bows and medieval-inspired costumes. At some events there are suppliers of replicas of medieval artifacts. Artisans who demonstrate the blacksmith's craft can be found in some cases as well as glassblowers who make glass beads, border weavers and artists who make pots and sculptures from soapstone , like the Vikings in former times .
Artist
Typical are musicians who provide background music for the happening or for an independent concert on the market area.
In addition to music, there are also performances that range from theater to storytelling to acrobatics , sword fighting and fire- breathing. Often a court jester is also present. Some artists and performers have achieved national recognition on the medieval markets. The artists in this field include a. Magister Winterfeld, Pill & Pankratz, Zeter und Mordio, die Schmierenkomödianten, Max Gaudio, Magister Rother .
Tournaments
Exhibition fights often take place on the larger medieval markets, which are supposed to represent jousting tournaments from Tjost to Buhurt . To host the tournaments, the organizer commissions commercial groups to perform a choreographed play. Some organizers also offer free tournaments where participants actually measure their skills.
In recent years not only the medieval knights have come into play, there are also plays that depict a battle between Celts and Romans .
Criminal justice
In some markets replicas of institutions of the judiciary, mostly the lower judiciary, were exhibited or sold. Above all, the wooden version of the pillory and the neck violin are widespread, which, in contrast to the stake and other facilities for executing an honorary penalty , are most likely to be seen as their intended use. Occasionally, these objects are used on actors as part of a show trial or on visitors. Replicas of objects from the High Court , such as ax and blocks, are less common .
"Market speech"
At many of these markets the performers and some of the visitors articulate themselves in a very screwy way of speaking. Phrases such as Seyd greeted or titles such as Edler Recke and Holde Maid are intended to underline the ambience. Word creations with a rather funny meaning can also be heard as a designation for articles of modern life. So says the bag Dragon a lighter that time iron -hour and so some people communicating with the Horch bone (mobile phone). The euro is also regularly called taler or silver coin or gold or silver rim coin.
This way of speaking, known as “market speech ” , is an artificial language that has been formed from set pieces of Lutheran written language , the avoidance of modern terms and a portion of improvisation in modern markets. However, at no point (before 1980) was it actually spoken that way.
authenticity
The claim to historically correct presentation is rather low and, unlike in experimental archeology or historical performance practice, cannot be measured by academic standards. For several years, however, there has been a conflict between two groups of costumed market visitors. Some are those who dress in imaginative or medieval-looking "garments" of any kind, the others are those who value authenticity . The latter group - also known as the A parliamentary group (derived from authenticity) - criticizes the quality of the historical representation or that it is not made clear to the visitor that what is depicted does not correspond to the historical Middle Ages.
Some organizers of medieval markets try to ensure the highest level of authenticity at least for those who are stored on the market and for the sellers of products by means of regulations.
See also
literature
- Erwin Hoffmann: Medieval festivals in the present. The marketing of the Middle Ages in the field of tension between authenticity and staging . ibidem, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 978-3-89821-516-9 .
- Katharina Zeppezauer-Wachauer: Kurzwîl as entertainment. The Medieval Festival as a popular cultural reception for the Middle Ages. Historical-ethnographic considerations of the event as a game (= studies on entertainment science . No. 6 ). Tectum-Verlag, Marburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-8288-2909-1 .
Web links
- Rules for market language (private side)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Andreas Reichelt: Medieval Days Gern. Niederbayern TV, July 5, 2019, accessed on July 23, 2019 (German).
- ↑ Pfalzi's market calendar
- ↑ Mittelalter-Zeitreise.de
- ↑ Time travel - back to the Middle Ages at the Ortenburg knight games. Retrieved on July 23, 2019 (German).
- ↑ z. B. through the "rules" ( memento of the original from October 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of the First Center for Experimental Middle Ages for the Burgmann Days in Vechta
