Or Back to the 70’S… the 1470’s that is…
What on earth can make an otherwise sane group of adults drive (collectively) several thousand miles, load, unload, re-load and unload yet again several tons of equipment, survive two midnight thunderstorms, spend all day crowded in by visitors, and have the time of their lives?
Sounds like one of these televised survivor series but with no dream home or world cruise at the end…
At any rate, it was terribly hard work, but enormously satisfying being the living (and forging, pavise-making, pot-throwing, cannon-shooting, fencing, camping-and-cooking out, bow-shooting, armour-polishing, fletching, tempera-painting, tailoring, mail-riveting, sewing, singing, dancing, quarterstaving, embroidering and scribing) extension of an exhibition for 10 days at the Bernese Historical Museum.
Anyway, you know me, it all goes two-penny philosophical pretty quickly: what are we supposed to do with the past? If we could learn from it, we’d probably have done so by now. As the saying goes, history never repeats itself, it just stutters…
Much of the past comes to us in the form of fragments of wood, cloth, metal, ceramic or leather and comes to us without the essential ingredient: those who lived it. And naturally, these same fragments are twisted, broken, rusted, usually incomplete and terribly precious, so the past is more often than not behind glass. Also, time and happenstance have arbitrarily selected what we may see.
Our contribution to all that is to try to put the human beings back in the picture. To re-create the costumes and the accessories, to use them and live in them, ultimately to try to present a plausible vignette, a small window on the past. It is also an eternal treasure hunt, as we discover new material, documents, archaeological finds. And it’s a Grail to chase after, as we can never hope to get it right.
We’ve learned a lot over the years, by necessity empirical, by definition particular rather than general, and I’ve had the honour and pleasure to make good friends and meet like minds throughout Europe. And besides, as a hobby, it’s no more expensive than golf…
As this isn’t exactly a living history forum, do wander by http://www.companie-of-st-george.ch if you’d like to read more.
 |
 |
 |
GANDALF
More pictures from Oscar, including a picture of the artist himself. I knew that Gandalf’s head is miniscule, (after all, he’ll stand about 2 feet high) but after all the jpeg close-ups, I’d started to forget just how incredibly detailed it was for the size.
 |
 |
 |
MYTH & MAGIC IN JAPANESE
This came as a surprise in the post this week. I hadn’t a clue that there was a Japanese edition of Myth & Magic in the offing. It’s quite a small format, about the size of a healthy manga, but it looks lovely. Of course, all I can read are the dates…
Flyers and invitations will be going out soon. Besides the opening, I’ll be loitering about the place on September 28th and October 12th and 26th, from 2 to 5 in the afternoon. So come and meet the artist if you like. This is going to be the only opportunity in Switzerland to buy copies of the limited prints (the fourth, Legolas and Gimli at Helm’s Deep, should be available along with the first three: Gandalf, The Dark Tower and Gandalf Returns to Hobbiton).
ANDURIL
Just HAD to put this picture up – I did design what I hope is the first hilt with a hole in the middle for a fantasy film and I am really happy to see it all over. Of course, nobody is looking as the sword, and understandably so, but anyway…
And speaking of Anduril, I am in the process of signing the certificates of authenticity for the United Cutlery reproduction. The Sword that Was Broken and Reforged Again as 5000 Limited Copies. Seriously, if you only want ONE repro blade from the LOTR collection, this one is a good choice…. until the Rohan blades come out of course.
A cover for Sarah Ash: Book Two of the Tears of Artamon
