Mud, Grendel and the Faire - Hanna A.

The Renaissance Faire at Green Bluff was a rather humorous experience. In terms of cultural accuracy, most of the stuff going on was pretty off. The accents that people were using were really funny though and I really had lots of fun sampling food and interacting with all of the people. There was even a large ogre wandering around that reminded me of Grendel. Another highlight of the day was watching some jousting and seeing actual grown men in armor pummel each other with large poles while on horseback.

I also had the unusual experience of watching some “peasants” act out a muddy and inaccurate version of Beowulf. There was a small theatre called “The Mud Pit” where two men and one woman crawled around throwing mud at one another, all the while creating and acting out some semblance of Beowulf. It was awkward and rather painful to watch because it was clear that none of them wanted to be doing their job. They did however get the basic points of the plot correct with Beowulf first fighting Grendel, then Grendel’s mother, and I actually didn’t stay long enough to see whether Beowulf ever fought the dragon, but it seemed they were at least sticking to some of the basic plot points and characters. Though I hope never to see Beowulf acted out in that fashion again, I did get to have a bit of mud added to my wardrobe that day.

The mud theatre, as well as some of the music, games, and tent shops did give a bit of live-action context to some of the things we have been learning in class.

I enjoyed watching people interact in different interpretations of Middle English accents while attempting to rope all of the visitors into various activities like archery or sword fighting. There was also a mystical and magical aspect to the faire because creatures like the ogre as well as a plethora of witches, fairies, and gypsies were present. It seemed to me that people were pretty excited about bringing back the mythical aspects of the time more than the actual culture that would have existed.

            Overall the experience at Green Bluff was super entertaining and I would have loved to go back and speaking in an accent while flouncing around in some kind of dress from the time. It was great to watch people come alive in that setting and just enter into the foolishness and celebration of the culture created there.