Message-Id: <199809301625.MAA18636@xkey.com>
Subject: Re: minstrel: Bardic, Period, Etc.
To: lilyrose@mail.sjcsf.edu
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1998 12:25:37 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Greg Lindahl" <lindahl@pbm.com>
Cc: minstrel@pbm.com
In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.3.96.980929070955.32345A-100000@mail.sjcsf.edu> from "Lily Rose" at Sep 30, 98 07:24:02 am
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> Period entertainment -- heh.  You want period entertainment?
> 
> How about a nice:
>  -- bear baiting
[...]
>  -- war?

I've seen a nice bear baiting.  It was done similarly to how we do
wars, i.e. it sacrificed authenticity in order to be safe and fun.  We
had people with costumes as dogs and the bear. We handed out (fresh)
vegetables for the audience to throw. If we wanted to be authentic,
the veggies should have been rotten. A good time was had by all.

> But the folks in period did not give a rat's ass about documentation,
> authenticity, whatever.  They were too hungry, too cold, and too bored to
> care if the food, the clothing, or the song came with a five page research
> paper.  This emphasis on documentation and authenticity is UTTERLY out of
> period. 

Who ever said that an emphasis on documentation or authenticity was
period? Not I.

> But it seems to me that competitions which are primarily
> oriented towards documentation, *especially* bardic ones, are
> skating on very thin ice WRT period.

Who ever said that they weren't? In fact, I only know of a couple of
times and places where "bardic competitions" were held, so perhaps we
have too many of them.

>  And frankly, original music is
> perhaps the MOST period choice a bard can make.  

Perhaps. But original music in an authentic style, theme, etc. is
definitely more period of a choice than original music in a 20th
century style, theme, etc.

> So, (since I see a group of folks approaching my soapbox with sharp pointy
> things), it's my not-very-humble opinion that anybody who tries to
> entertain should be judged PRIMARILY on how well they entertain. 

Great. Except that entertainment does take place in the SCA, where we
wear funny clothes and yak on about recreating the middle ages. That's
where the conflict usually arises.

I find Scottish Country Dance to be entertaining. But it's 18th
century, so I do earlier dances in the SCA.

> Documentation and research papers belong firmly on the fringes. 

I just hope documentation is not being discouraged anywhere.

-- Gregory Blount

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