Living History

How Does Context Work in Historical Study? Definition of Outside and Inside Knowledge: Context is an odd concept as, in this case, it covers outside knowledge as well as inside knowledge. Therefore, I will speak of it in terms of both concepts. Outside knowledge is information about a later or earlier period in relation to the studied period, whereas inside knowledge is information specifically from the studied period. *** Why do we call things irrelevant? Because they go against the laws of context. Why do we call things relevant? Because they obey the laws of context. Let me explain. ‘Context’ is a term of which I feel many individuals, unfortunately, forget the importance. In fact, Dr. J. Scott Duvall and Dr. J. Daniel Hays state that ‘context determines meaning’ [1] ; I am inclined to agree with them, for how can one interpret anything truly without knowledge of context? Why would we, for example, assume that an individual living in Jerusalem in the 1 st century AD ...

Why is Living History Important? Living History is the art and science of applied historical study that encompasses immersive historical learning, learning that aims at minimising the third person perspective, making history not only a theoretical but also a practical experience. Living History benefits its practitioners educationally, but also in the following way: respecting and taking within themselves their and others’ pasts through immersive activities and experiences. Without immersive techniques, the learner (and teacher), often unknowingly, distance themselves from the subject they study, teach, or both. Because of this, I believe Living History is not just a form of education, it is a completely new of way of understanding, seeing, and interpreting history. The importance of immersion cannot be stressed enough when it comes to all aspects of education; to learn and teach should be to invoke the subject, in a sense, taking the subject within oneself. If one does not ...

Safety All weapons used in combat are blunt with rounded tips, and this is so for obvious reasons. Fighting with steel weapons is dangerous enough, one does not also need the constant risk of deep lacerations or sliced arteries and veins. This, of course, does not mean that re-enactment combat is perfectly safe and no injuries are possible, as the weapons used are still pieces of strong and well-forged steel; there is a reason why maces and hammers in history did not need to be sharp to cause serious injury. All weapons used in combat are blunt but, like it or not, they are still very dangerous and certain safety precautions have to be in place. Are these safety precautions historically accurate? Of course not!  But…what is the alternative? Hundreds and thousands of individuals were killed in combat (surprise, surprise) and every historical reenactor should aim to avoid this as much as possible. One can still use authentic methods in this form of combat, as I will later ...

Censorship in Re-enactment This may seem a strange topic to bring up, but one will soon understand that this concept is a very important one. All forms of good Living History are dedicated to authenticity, however, only insofar as it can be shown with minimal disturbance of the conscience.  What do I mean by this? I mean, that, should one’s group re-enact 16 th century Japan, one should not display actual headhunting at an event or in any other context. Another example: if one’s group re-enacts the Middle Ages and one wishes to do a surgery demonstration, one should not show an actual surgical demonstration with actual wound quarterisation straight onto the skin. The reason for this is obvious, but I will state it nonetheless: you are still living in the 21 st century and, therefore, some practices that were authentic in your period are unethical, extremely dangerous, completely unnecessary, or a combination of these. However, does this limit one’s Living History? ...

Empiricism...Good or Bad? Before one begins to accumulate, research, and apply documentation, it is crucial to discuss the lens in which the documentation is to be viewed. Documentation makes up the majority of the foundation of Living History for, without it, Living History is simply playing ‘dress up’ with much vigour. Empiricism arose during the enlightenment era, and was an attempt at solving the epistemological arguments, ‘What is it to know something? What do we really know and how do we know that?’ As Anna Green and Kathleen Troup state, ‘Empiricism is both a theory of knowledge, an epistemology, and a method of historical enquiry.’ [1] You may be wondering why I am speaking of epistemology in a paper on Living History, but, I assure you, there is a method to my madness. The link between epistemology and Living History occurs in the concept of Documentation. Documentation is that which shows that the action a practitioner of Living History is performing, the garmen...

Putting the Empirical Danger into Perspective The year is 2618 and you are super excited about joining a historical re-enactment group. History has always fascinated you; the idea of learning while experiencing the history for yourself seems too good to be true. There was a group called ‘The Millennials’ that focused on the year 2018 in Brisbane, Australia. You had been to a few training sessions, but now had finally come the time where they tell you about group standards when it came to authentic clothing! You find yourself snapping away from your imagination as the group captain addresses you. “As you know”, they begin, “we are dedicated to presenting an authentic picture of life in Brisbane in the year 2018.” “Yep”, you reply, barely able to contain your excitement. Your captain seems pleased and continues. “What kind of persona were you looking to pursue?” You give the matter a bit of thought, and then reply in a well-mannered voice. “The idea of being a middle...

What is My Background in Living History? At the time of writing this paper, I will have been a historical reenactor for over four years and in three different Living History Groups: Pax Romana (1 st Century Roman Britain), Companie of Knights Bachelor (1195 Holy Land), and Sengoku No Bushido (16 th century Japan). I first joined Companie of Knights Bachelor, then also joined Pax Romana, and then created Sengoku No Bushido in August, 2016. I had always loved history as a youngster, and up until I was about nine years old I assumed that the only way one could learn about history was through textbooks, history class and the like. However, when I was about ten years of age, my parents told me about a festival in Caboolture called the Abbey Medieval Festival. I thought this would just be another outing where my parents said it ‘would be fun’, and I kept thinking to myself that they were overreacting when they said I would love it. They eventually were able to convince me to come...

How Do I Document What I Do? No matter how documentation is categorised – depending on where one re-enacts – there should always be a categorising system for documentation. Why? Because not all documentation is the same or should be read in the same way. In Queensland Living History, documentation is placed within one of the two categories: Primary and Secondary…although I like to include a third category called ‘Tertiary’ (explanation later). These categories, within Living History Queensland, are defined as such: Primary Documentation: An example of the actual piece being documented. For example, if a member is documenting a chest, a picture of – as bringing the actual item may be problematic – the actual chest in a museum or other form of collection would be a primary source of documentation. This also includes a period artist’s impression of the item, ie an artist from the time. Reputable and accurate translations of original documents also fit into this category. S...