Martin Murphy Middle School Renaissance Faire

Hello, I am Elizabeth Belcher of the Brewers (a.k.a. Amanda Reiser). This is my humble home in which I am preparing for the Renaissance Faire at Martin Murphy Middle School. Please come with me on a virtual journey back in time to celebrate this lively part of history.

The Renaissance was a cultural revolution that started in the fourteenth century in Italy, and spread to Northern Europe in the 1700’s. The word ‘renaissance’ is an Italian word meaning ‘rebirth.’ European civilization came out of the darkness of medieval times and returned to classical ideals. This allowed for new development in many areas. It was a time of scientific discovery, artistic exploration, religious revolution, and social prosperity.

The Martin Murphy Renaissance Faire is a celebration of that era, with activities and demonstrations of events common then.

In the first part of the Faire, there was a demonstration of and lecture on medieval warfare. We learned that each knight had his own symbol to represent him, such as golden lion with a sword in its claws, or a two-headed purple and white hawk. Most duels were done with jousting swords, which were very thin for quick stabs. Knights wore a full suit of armor, either wearing an iron breastplate, or a suit of metal scales attached to leather, called scale mail.

There were four main classes of people during the Renaissance: the nobles, the highest group; the middle class, composed of artisans, merchants and writers; the common people, who were mainly farmers and peddlers; and the peasants, who found work on the manors of the rich.

At this booth, we made potpourri sacks and pomanders—cloves stuck into oranges. Even peasants used them as perfume, because rarely did anyone bathe or wash their clothing. They used lavender, rosemary, thyme, rose petals and other plants as ingredients in their potpourri.

Click here to see some more pictures of the faire.

Click here to visit the website of the North California Renaissance Faire.