The Renaissance of the Renaissance Faire

Swords, armor, music, giant turkey legs: what’s not to love? Renaissance faires are having a moment (again), but how did a celebration of Renaissance Europe become so popular on American soil?

The first so-called American Renaissance Faire took place in Los Angeles in May 1963. At the time, the movie industry was in the midst of the Red Scare, leaving many actors, designers, costumers, and other professionals out of work. Phyllis Patterson, a theater teacher, came up with the Renaissance Pleasure Faire as an opportunity for these creators to ply their trades. But this was far from the first time a festival around Renaissance-era European culture had taken place in the United States.

Before the term “Renaissance Faire,” these events were called tournaments. In 1778, during the Revolutionary War, British General William Howe resigned his post and returned to England. This so demoralized the British troops that a group of field commanders decided to host a tournament in Philadelphia to improve morale. Spearheaded by the theatrical Major John Andre, the good-bye party for General Howe included a regatta on the Delaware River, a parade, fanciful costumes, a tournament with jousting, dancing, and of course, a feast. But the raucous display of British military history, known as the Mischianza, was not appreciated by the Americans, and it would take decades for another major tournament to be held in the United States.

In the country’s early days, anything seen as aristocratic was shunned by Americans, but the Romantic era brought renewed interest in all things medieval. The publication of Walter Scott’s novel Ivanhoe in 1820, which recounted the adventures of a medieval knight, sparked an international fascination. Nowhere did the fervor for medieval-style tournaments catch on more than in Virginia. According to local legend, in 1821, a young woman living near Mt. Solon, Virginia, entreated her two suitors to joust for her hand, kickstarting jousting as an American sport. Although this claim is impossible to verify, Virginians certainly embraced medieval tournament culture in the 19th century.

White Sulphur Springs in Fauquier County, a popular resort for wealthy Virginians, hosted its first tournament around 1840.

The same year, another was held near Baltimore, Maryland, and as a result, tournaments became wildly popular. After 1840, resorts around Virginia hosted tournaments yearly in the fall. These entertainments were almost exclusively for the wealthy, and included jousting, archery, and “fancy balls” or masquerades. A “Queen of Love and Beauty” was selected from among the women present, who crowned the victor of each contest with roses or laurels. Although the tournaments at White Sulphur Springs were arguably the most famous, other resorts with similar events included Huguenot Springs near Richmond, Buffalo Lithia Springs in Mecklenburg County, Orkney Springs near Harrisonburg, and Amelia Springs in Amelia County. By the 1860s, nearly every watering hole, hotel, or tourist destination in Virginia held some type of medieval-style tournament.

The irony of Virginians’ obsession with cosplaying medieval English aristocracy was not lost on the British. London magazine Punch published a poem in 1859 mocking the fad, particularly lambasting one tournament in Brentsville, Virginia:

Of all ridiculous ostents,

Especially for Yankee gents,

What more absurd than Tournaments?

Yet in America,

A snobbish, silly, vain display

Of bogus tilt and sham tournay,

On this last August’s eighteenth day,

Came off in Brentsville, Va.

Nevertheless, the popularity of these events only grew. Tournaments with fancy balls were held for everything from church fundraisers to the anniversary of the surrender at Yorktown. The trend spread beyond Virginia and Maryland, and soon tournaments were being held in other places. A massive tournament was held in Philadelphia for the country’s centennial in 1876. By 1877, the Virginia Tournament Association had been established to facilitate tournaments, even hosting one for President Rutherford B. Hayes at the Virginia State Fair.

After the Civil War, tournaments were no longer the domain of wealthy white landowners. As early as August 1865, newly freed Black communities hosted elaborate tournaments complete with banquets, balls, and jousts. Whereas rich white Southerners took tournaments very seriously, African-American versions of the event tended to lean more into the humor and absurdity inherent in the spectacle. Tournaments had gone from a pastime of Southern planters to an event anyone could enjoy.

After nearly a century of popularity, tournaments faded out during World War I. But the lull was brief. In the 1930s, tournaments experienced a resurgence in popularity. One in Clarke County, Virginia, in 1935 drew attention for allowing women to participate in horseback events like jousting and tilting. Surry County hosted tournaments from 1939 until at least 1952. These 20th century tournaments took on a decided colonial flavor, steering away from the medieval themes of earlier years. Participants and spectators often dressed in 18th-century style clothes, likely inspired by the meteoric rise of the newly-formed Colonial Williamsburg.

It’s not hard to see why the tradition was revived in the 60s, and is coming back today. Tournaments, or Renaissance Faires as we know them today, offer an opportunity to escape into a fantasy world for a day. The novelty is a welcome reprieve from the stresses of daily life, and a good Ren Faire fosters a hopeful sense of camaraderie and adventure. What could be more timeless than eating, drinking, dancing, and watching a fight?

On November 15th and 16th, Bacon’s Castle will host the Tournament of the Castle. This grand-scale Renaissance Faire will feature food, drink, music, artisans, and battles as Buhurt teams from across the state compete in full armor. Whether you want to cheer on your favorite knight or you’re just curious about Virginia’s own 17th-century castle, come and join Preservation Virginia as we reinvent the Renaissance Faire (again).

Sources

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