Historical reenactments allow people to step out of their own time period and experience a different world, even if only for a few hours. For children, reenactments are educational, bringing to life the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, colonial wars, or the American Civil War. Every autumn in North Carolina the Carolina Renaissance Festival and Artisan Marketplace brings together an inquiring public with knights, damsels in distress, singers, jugglers, and a host of vendors selling everything from medieval apparel to CDs featuring the music of a bygone era. The Festival is easy to get to, just a few miles from Charlotte and close to major highways, and is open on weekends from 10:00 to 5:30 PM.
Knighthood Comes to North Carolina
The joust or tournament of knights is one of the chief features at any medieval or Renaissance Festival. Visitors to the Carolina Festival will not be disappointed. Jousting takes place three times a day and is probably the most colorful event at the gathering.
Historians believe that the tournament began in Europe after Charlemagne introduced the idea of mounted soldiers. Originally fought among Anglo-French knights, the tournament or "melee" flowered in the 13th Century, giving way to the plaisance that utilized blunt weapons to avoid the large scale killing of knights associated with early Middle Ages' tourneys. Jousts - matches fought with lances, were popular into the 16th Century; in 1559, for example, King Henry II of France died prematurely after suffering a mortal wound from a lance during a joust.
