| The Official Newsletter of Das TeufelsAlpdrücken Fähnlein. Published monthly, or whenever I get around to it. Any opinions contained herein are strictly my own, as are any typographical errors. For external use only - but you may read this inside. Entire contents copyright 1996 by Paula Peterka, unless otherwise noted or authored. Yeah, like you'd WANT to steal anything out of here! Prices shown for comparison only, options extra. Hey, where's the cream filling? |
| Volume 3 | Issue 5 |
Date Unknown | |
Once again, our Fähnlein will be guarding King Henry VIII and members of his court at the Maryland Renaissance Festival. The unit voted to accept the contract at our last Quarterly Business meeting, so we will be performing there again this year. The unit also opted to pay each member $8.00 per day, and provide breakfast and lunch. Non-members, or members with individual contracts, may buy into the food plan as they did last year.
Camping will be available for members who live more than 45 miles from the site. Camping passes will be $10.00 for the run, plus a campsite deposit fee, which will probably be covered by Larry and Paula as in the past. If you wish to camp with the unit, please contact Larry and Paula immediately, camp layout will begin soon.
This year's festival begins August 24, and runs through October 20. Enclosed you will find a postcard with these dates and dress rehearsal weekend. Please circle the days you can commit to working. Our contract states that we must provide a minimum of four guards per day. It would be best for the unit if everyone would commit to as many days as they can, but please be realistic, and sign up for the days you know you can work.
This is the Festival's twentieth anniversary, and they have some very big things in store. The year is 1547, and Henry is in ill health. His sixth wife, Katherine Parr has accompanied him on this progress, and is worried about him. The rest of his courtiers are more worried about who will be in positions of power after his demise. Additionally, both Mayor Fibber and Sheriff Halifax are removed from office by the grumpy king at the beginning of the day, and replaced by Jack Rackam and his long-lost brother Zach. Ex-Mayor Fibber spends the rest of his day in the Mud Pit with the Groundlings, and Jack spends his day with the headaches of being Mayor, and dealing with a long-lost-but-now- returned wife. This should prove to be a very interesting year!
It Takes Character (and Accent)
The question has been raised as to why our unit insists it's members develop 16th Century characters and german accents, when many other reenactment units do not. One of our primary goals as reenactors is to educate ourselves and the public about the lives of the Landsknecht soldiers and campfollowers (the other primary goal being to have fun while doing so), and experience has shown that some of the best ways to educate is by immersion, and through entertainment. Human beings remember more of what they hear than what they read, and more of what they see than what they hear. Additionally, people tend to remember information longer and relate to it better when it is presented in a striking or humorous manner.
To effectively educate and entertain, our unit has chosen to create the illusion of having come from another place and another time. Part of creating this illusion is, of course, wearing period clothing. However, we also give as careful thought to what we say, and how we behave. First person interpretation in character, accent, period and manner makes a very strong impression on both the visitors, who have come to learn, and your fellow reenactors, who may also learn from you.
One of the things that sets our group apart from other reenactment groups is our speech. When you go up to other camps at Marietta or Jamestown, they may look fantastic, as if they've stepped right out of a period painting or picture, but most of them do not sound that way. When the public talks to one of us, we don't just say, "Yes, I come from the Holy Roman Empire", we say "Ja, I am from der Romisch Reich." Our first person interpretation in all areas sets us apart from most other groups, and ensures that our group and our message is remembered by the public, the judges, and our fellow reenactors.
Because our intent is to honor the lives of those men and women that we recreate, we must remember that while our interpretations may be humorous and fun-loving, they should not be caricatures. By creating archetypical soldiers and campfollowers, who become living, breathing people, we make it easier for our audience and ourselves to relate to them as real people, and thus learn from them. If we resort to broad comedy and caricature, then we have missed our mark; We become as real, and about as effective, as Bugs Bunny and the Klingons at King's Dominion.
First person interpretation and development of a character also requires staying in that character, and acting and reacting to events as a 16th Century person would, not as a 20th Century person wearing 16th Century clothes. At the very least, this means talking about your life in the Holy Roman Empire, or in service to the English King. It also means looking blank when someone asks you about electricity, television, the Redskins, or even Queen Elizabeth (I or II). It means not talking to visitors about other reenactment groups, whether ECW or SCA, or other events, whether the Virginia RenFaire or Military Through the Ages, or your regular job, whether IRS Agent or McDonald's Clerk. It means dropping "O.K.", "Cool", and "Spiffy" from you vocabulary, and replacing them with "Ja, indeed", "schön", and "wunderbar". It means cursing with such colorful epithets as "Thou poxy knave!", "God's Death!", and "Get thee gone, else I shall surely smite thee grievously upon thy ale-soaked pate!", rather than the more boring and vulgar modern sayings.
This may seem to be a great deal of effort to go to, but it makes our interpretations very strong, not just to other people, but also to ourselves. It helps us to "walk around inside" a period mindset, and understand why they people of that time behaved, thought, and did things the way they did. And after all, that's why we're out here, isn't it?
Who's got the aspirin? by Mike Amos (Heinrich "the Good" Dreiswert)
Gruss Gott!
Well, you've survived the battle. The looting and plundering are done. Not bad for a day's work. Now, what do you do about this nasty headache? The barber surgeon tends to the seriously wounded, cauterizing bleeding cuts with hot irons and sewing them up with horse hair (from the tail), linen, and even long human hair in a pinch. He will also set broken bones. The midwife is also too busy. She not only delivers babies, but commonly deals with sickness in people and even animals (other than horses or cows, which have their own handlers). So what do you do about mundane day-to-day problems?
If you are near a large town or city you might go and see the local purveyor of Phisycke. He may or may not heal you, but he will charge you a hefty fee for his services. If you're in hostile territory, it might not even be wise to drink his potions!
Left to your own devices, what do you do? Old bits of wisdom - wives' tales - might give you some help, for example, "put a cobweb on a cut to bind the wound up". Mom probably grew some plants in her garden for medicinal uses exclusively, and if you are lucky, she taught her daughters how to use them. Most medicines came from plants and spices prepared in various and sundry ways. Some of these were commonly found in the local fields and forests, and some came from as far away as China, via the Silk Road, and were worth their weight in gold. Medicinal preparations were sometimes complex, requiring a skilled apothecary, but many were often as easy as making a cup of tea.
Some of the old wives' cures have carried over to this day. A German chemist, Felix Hoffman, working for Friedrich Beyer in the late 1800s, was looking for a use for phenol, a manufacturing waste product. He used it to synthesize an extract from a plant called Meadow Sweet, which had been used as a headache and fever remedy for at least 2500 years. He called the new product "aspirin", AS for acetyl salicicylate, the active ingredient, PIR for the old botanical name for meadow sweet, spiraea ulmaria, and IN just to give it a nice ring. The majority of our modern drugs, legal and otherwise, started with plants. Now for your headache...I'd recommend a nice cup of Meadow Sweet and Anise infusion, made like tea, with a touch of honey to kill the bitter taste.
Später! - Heinrich
To increase the military appearance and behavior of the unit we are implementing the following script for the changing of the guard. This will be used beginning with the Maryland Renaissance Festival.
Your Dues Are WAY PAST Due!!!!!
If you have not paid your dues, or made arrangements with Drew, you will be dropped from membership, and this will be your last issue of the Landskonnections!!! You will not know what is happening with the unit, what events we are doing, what workshops we are having, or which parties we are going to. You will miss out on all the fun!!! (You will also get no biscuit!) This will not affect anyone on the "Friends" list, who receives complimentary issues, or those who pay for newsletter subscriptions only. Paying your dues keeps your membership current, supports the unit, and entitles you to all rights and privileges of membership. If you have requested to be an inactive member, you will not be dropped from membership or the mailing list, but five bucks towards the newsletter would be appreciated. Dues are $20.00 per year for individuals, and $30.00 for families. Newsletter Subscriptions are $5.00.
If you need directions to an event please e-mail us