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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 3, 2024 13:37:39 GMT
Well, I attended the medieval festival in both 2017 and 2022 (there are reports on both here), and it was time to give my camera a workout again, so off I went. I considered myself clever for actually consulting the weather report for the weekend. It was supposed to rain all day Saturday (and it did), but the weather was supposed to be fine on Sunday, at least in the afternoon. However, it was surprisingly chilly. There is a train from Paris-Est to Provins once an hour, and the trip takes close to an hour and a half, which is pretty incredible for an official suburb with direct train service. There are other suburbs that take as long, but they always involve having to change trains or change to a bus somewhere. I brought both a newspaper and a book for the train. People began to gather at the train station about half an hour before departure because you know you can't afford to be late for any reason. Who would want to wait another hour because they missed the train by 2 minutes? This leads to some interesting scenes in the station to both the consternation and amusement of people going elsewhere.
People wearing costumes get a discount on the admission fee, and they are clearly not very strict. I'm sure that just a cape will do.
Another reason to be early was that the train was packed. Some people had to stand the whole way.
Provins is the terminus, so everybody gets off there.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 3, 2024 13:46:11 GMT
There are some shuttle buses from the station in Provins, but the decent thing to do is to leave them for the disabled and the elderly. For everybody else, it is a long slog to get the medieval area, a lot of it uphill. I'd say the walk is close to two kilometres to the gate.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 3, 2024 21:42:27 GMT
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Post by htmb on Jun 3, 2024 22:49:14 GMT
This looks like such a fun event!
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 4, 2024 6:07:22 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 4, 2024 6:16:23 GMT
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Post by bjd on Jun 4, 2024 6:42:28 GMT
It certainly looks like a popular thing. Too bad the weather wasn't co-operating -- it looks cold. I'm sure people had fun anyway.
I wonder whether the performing participants travel from festival to festival to do their act. We saw a similar performance of medievally-dressed swordfighting in Sauveterre-de-Béarn two years ago but the actors were Spanish.
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Post by whatagain on Jun 4, 2024 7:30:40 GMT
One of those places I would gain a Kgms by attending.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 4, 2024 7:55:43 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 4, 2024 8:35:16 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 4, 2024 14:32:11 GMT
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Post by mich64 on Jun 4, 2024 18:10:57 GMT
Costumes, crafts, displays and plenty of food! Now if there was also a beer tent, I would have no problem getting my husband to the festival! 😉 Fun thread Kerouac! Makes for a good excuse to visit Pierrefonds in August too!
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 4, 2024 21:25:40 GMT
This does look like fun. I imagine some of the participants stayed in character & at least pretended to speak in ye olde style. Note that I'm not even asking if you costumed.
The man in the middle in the first picture appears to be of Asian descent and the people on either side of him appear to be in medieval(?) Japanese garb. That would be based on my research, which was watching the original Shogun on tv.
The quite authentic looking woman in salmon pink is looking at her ye olde kindle, I believe.
It's not at all common to see a Vulcan in earthly medieval dress, such as the woman in the first inside picture.
You really got some great pictures. I love all of the ones with people who look authentic -- the one of the woman in the white headdress at the manuscript illuminating stand is lovely.
re: kilts -- my guess is that kilts were probably around in the middle ages (so, to @1450), but not plaid kilts.
Looking forward to more!
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 5, 2024 3:20:16 GMT
There were quite a few people wearing Japanese and Korean traditional costumes. Since I very much doubt that oordinary tourists travel with this, it implies that there are a considerable number of expats from those countries in France and they are delighted to have an excuse to show off their finery (especially the women?). But in any case there seemed to be a huge number of Japanese and Korean people attending this event, so it must be quite famous there now. On the other hand, there did not seem to be any people from the Americas. Considering the crowds already in attendance, I fear the day that the Americans decide that this is a must, June being the month with the greatest number of tourists from the United States.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 5, 2024 3:29:55 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 5, 2024 3:42:42 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 5, 2024 4:33:36 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 5, 2024 5:51:42 GMT
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Post by mickthecactus on Jun 5, 2024 6:32:57 GMT
It seems to be an electric sackbut. They were certainly ahead of their time.
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 5, 2024 7:46:47 GMT
I see Friar Tuck has put in an appearance but can't spot Robin Hood. He did have a French connection and more than likely spoke it.
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Post by whatagain on Jun 5, 2024 8:27:29 GMT
I cannot imagine being able to walk in armour for long. Good for the guy that the heat is not here these days.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 5, 2024 11:53:55 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 5, 2024 12:13:36 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 5, 2024 12:15:42 GMT
I forgot to mention that while it was cloudy and cold in Provins, those 97 kilometres made all the difference in the world. When I arrived in Paris, it was sunny and balmy.
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