A Writer's Love

    
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A friend of mine invited me to the Bristol WI Reissuance faire last month. Bristol Renaissance Faire I wasn’t for sure what to expect. The last faire I attended in my tiny city was very small, consisting of a few venders, a sword show and a majestic jousting program. The sword show and jousting were the only good things about this faire. So my expectations were a little low. Bristol took my breath away.



The entire large complex is surrounded with a wooden wall, reminding me of a fort. Once inside, you step into a magical and medieval world with rows of shops, eating areas and more shops, Oh!! the shops!! Weapon shops, soap shops, dress shops, jewelry shops, so many shops!! I saw elves, sprites, wizards, fairies, mythical wood creatures, Scottish fighters under William Wallace, Vikings, knights, ladies, lords and even Queen Elizabeth. Many of the attendees dressed as the mythical beings, the Scottish fighters and Vikings, while paid actors were the Queen’s court and the Queen herself. The queen had many processions through the area and there were shows everywhere. Did I mention the shops??

What amazed me most were the details the attendees put into their costumes. These weren’t costume- shop-throw-togethers; these were hand picked authentic costumes that reflected the wearers’ tastes. Every detail was thoroughly selected and examined for authenticity. Every weapon, except mine, was real, no plastic or wooden swords, daggers, staffs, etc. Each one was sharp and deadly, tied down to prevent anyone from hurting others. It’s the unspoken law of Bristol. Thou shall not have fake weapons. And if you do, you’ll be banished from the Queen’s court or, worse, mocked. (Which actually happened to me. It happens. I now know better. And yes, next year I’ll have a real dagger.)

The little fantasy writer in me peeked out at this medieval site and drooled. Ideas poured into my little writer mind. Now I agree that sometimes it’s best to stay away from the medieval costumes, culture, etc. when writing fantasy but I saw other things that I could use.

World building:
The Bristol Medieval faire has created an incredible world that includes weapons masters, servants, middle class citizens, shop owners, knights, Ladies and Lords. Each class is separated, the lower classes honoring the higher classes. But it was this class system that made me stop and think. I’ve rarely read a fantasy novel that broke the society into classes. Most fantasy novels that I’ve read have everyone on the same level. No servants, no handmaidens, no Lords or Ladies. No details. Everyone is on the same, paid the same, ahhh . . . perfect society. But here the lower classes said, “Good-Morning, my lady/Lord.” Very Elizabethan and Medieval.

This was where I found the texture of Bristol and possibly future novels. Each servant or middle class citizen had a unique personality and character that helped build this medieval world. I met cooks who ‘slaved’ over hot pots to feed the military, but did it with a smile on their faces. It reminded me of us feeding our troops and doing it with pride. The cook I spoke to had loads of information regarding medieval cooking and house keeping. He went into great detail on how the cooks of his ‘time’ prepared the food for the queen and her court and even his own family. He spoke of how housewives took care of houses, something unheard of in fantasy novels.

I also encountered a medieval doctor who went into gory details on how he worked on the injured. Most fantasy novels don’t get into the icky medical details, but instead play it safe, the doctor slaps a bandage on the knight’s wound or even better, keep the characters safe from harm, then the author doesn’t have to worry about the bloody details. But as the doctor explained medieval medicine, I again saw Bristol’s texture rolling out before me and I again itched to race to my laptop and ‘add’ more stuff to my novel. He told his small audience how he ‘fixed’ a smashed finger, which happens a lot. Cut that baby off. Ouch!! He showed us crude instruments and told how he mended broken arms or slashed bodies, drilled into the skull, etc. I didn’t stay around to hear much about it. Made my skin crawl. No anesthesia. But again, Bristol’s texture. I know I’ll have to one day study medieval medicine, but not today.

I talked to the Queen’s handmaidens, who caught my attention. Most novels and movies have us believe that the handmaidens were frightened of their mistresses, even saw them as strangers. But these lovely ladies saw Queen Elizabeth Tudor as their friend, sister, mistress, mother and queen. When she couldn’t sleep, the handmaidens stayed up with their queen playing cards, dice, reading to her, anything to help relax her. They said she danced to relax and rode her horse to clear her mind.

She proclaimed a law telling the Catholics they had to worship privately. Now to some this meant religious oppression, but to these lovely ladies, it meant protection. The past King of England killed those who refused to turn to the Catholic religion and grudges can last a lifetime. Queen Elizabeth understood these grudges and knew the present Catholics were in danger from vengeful family members. So she proclaimed the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” proclamation. Now to others in the court, this meant a tyrant queen who had lost control of her reign and was suppressing the freedom of religion. (Sound familiar? Bush lied, no he didn’t. We haven’t changed in the last 500 years. And please, no Bush Youtube videos. Thanks. ) Again, the Bristol Texture shines through.

I met a Lady who hated the Queen because, as she claimed, the Queen killed her first husband, then imprisoned her second one. She said the Queen wouldn’t allow her be a Catholic and she had to practice in private. But the guards interfered and disrupted her home services. She took me by surprise when she said she had twelve children, her youngest being only five, but her husband had been in prison for eight years. What?? Something’s wrong with this picture. She skimmed it and gave me a slyish eye. Mmm . . . Something’s not right in Denmark.

I also saw the queen had a small woman, a dwarf, in her court. She was there to ‘entertain’ the queen. I kept thinking this was so politically incorrect. But again, it was the culture and the time. My views are not welcomed or asked. It gave another layer to the world.


Syntax:
Even their syntax or the way they talked was different. Very old English. I learned that the actors have to go to classes set by the Bristol Theater to learn the old English and to learn customs, stories, etc. It’s very complex. Not an easy thing to do. But it gave you the sense that you had boarded a TARDIS and the Doctor took you back into time. Only the Doc wasn’t there. But you were back in time. I even got into the spirit and used the Lord and Lady stuff, often messing with the regular attendees about the queen and all. It’s fun to see the weird looks. Tee hee.  And yes, I did throw together a costume, which was ok. Next years will be better, I promise.

And fantasy writers, I held a Broadsword and it was extremely heavy. I could barely lift it and when I did, I had very little control over it. The blade seemed to go on forever. I thought what would it feel like to be on the other side, the pointy side, of the sword? Terrifying. I’d cry and pee my pants. The sword becomes an extension of the arm and body. And despite Hollywood’s claims, a woman or man who has no training with the sword will NOT be able to pick one up and defend himself against someone trained to use it. It’s too heavy especially for women. You have to build up the muscles first to use the broadsword. So no cheating and having the untrained beat the trained. Sorry.

So again, we come back to writing. My question is how complex do we make our worlds? Do we use the class society? Or do we keep everything on a level? What about the syntax or the way people use their words? Is it the same as in 2010? Sorry, won’t work. You’ll lose texture if you use 2010 language in a fantasy novel. You’ll also lose the texture if you decide to use 2010 culture in a fantasy realm. We’ve evolved to where we are now, women have rights, slavery is not acceptable, children are kept safe, etc. But what if the fantasy world didn’t give rights to women or slaves were the norm or children weren’t kept safe? Think of the texture and layering you could create. What if the women were actual women, who cried, loved and cared for those around them instead of charging off to battle when the wind hit them? What if she was like me and not some butch Shena (And yes, I know, women have been in battles for years, so please no youtube videos. Thanks.)? Think how that would come across on the computer screen. A woman living in her own culture, doing her own thing in her own world. Interesting thought, huh?

So my eager writers, remember texture when writing your novel. The world, the syntax, the history, the culture. All very important in any novel. I’ve included a small video that I made from some pictures I took. Enjoy, my dears.