War in Peace

Sometimes, the present needs a helping hand in portraying the past.

To some, the idea of re-enacting history is unnatural, unknown and downright strange. To the rest, re-enactment is an enjoyable, interesting hobby with fantastic social opportunities. Unfortunately, without a good knowledge of the era that is being portrayed; be it World War, Napoleonic, Medieval or indeed Roman, a re-enactor would not be able to represent their chosen period with the air of authenticity that is needed.

The question here, then, is where do we gain this knowledge? To those of you already having guessed or know the answer, I apologise for stating the obvious. From books.

The Internet is all well and good, but as we all know, it’s incredibly and notoriously susceptible to inaccuracy and bias. While a lot of information on the Internet is fair and correct, it is still in the public and very open domain and as such cannot really be relied upon for anything past light reference. This is why books are the key.

Ironically, it is both fiction and non-fiction that help our re-enactor along his way. I know some dear readers will be thinking ‘How can a fiction book help if it’s made up?’ but reading between the lines of a novel, for example set during the second World War, you will find tiny, yet accurate details that give the reader a bigger picture of what life was like back then. This is essential of course for maintaining ‘character’ since re-enacting has its major clue in the name – ‘acting’

Non-fiction books of course have tons of material, both text and photographic (depending on the era) and references to back them up. They provide our humble re-enactor with the bare bones, the history of their chosen time. The more he or she reads, particular areas of interest and specialisation appear (not everyone wants to be an Infantryman) which leads on to even more reading in an endless circle! I personally refer to one of the many same books in my collection for even something minor as divisional insignia when trying a new part in my chosen era.

For me, books have been the easiest, means of research into whatever I choose to do in the most accurate and fitting way possible, even if that means sitting around in a deck chair all day. So it just goes to show that for a hobby as…well let’s face it, quirky, as re-enacting is, the importance of books as a resource is absolutely paramount. It’s all about having the eye to pull out the small bits of detail that is needed to be one step ahead of the game when it comes to being as authentic as possible in front of the public eye.

Which, let’s face it, can only be a good thing.

Written by: James Darlington-Walters
Edited by: Sara Slack

4 Responses to “War in Peace”

1. Me says:

   January 14, 2010 at 7:20 pm

   Very interesting post. I would like to link back to it….
2. Sara Slack says:

   January 15, 2010 at 5:33 pm

   Please feel free. ^_^
3. Valerie Goodvin says:

   January 17, 2010 at 9:40 am

   Very nice site!
4. medieval re enactment says:

   March 5, 2010 at 9:21 am

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