Important Terms
Different Eras to portray/Reenacting:
Medieval and Renaissance: is a historic period in Europe that is both portrayed in Europe and America. Most of time are professional or payed actors for Renaissance Festivals. If you join an reenacting group of this era you will mainly reenact/interpret for medieval, renaissance, or celtic festivals, fairs or tournaments.
American French and Indian War: due to this era mainly being fought in the wilderness there are few existing places (forts and small villages) that still exist today. If you join an reenacting group of this era you will mainly reenact/interpret in living history events (museums, villages), reenactments (battles) and participate in 18th century fairs. You may also help interpret Colonial, American Revolution and the War of 1812.
American Revolution: has a wide variety of existing battle fields and museums. If you join an reenacting group of this era you will mainly reenact/interpret in living history(museums/villages) events as your main activity and few battle reenactments. This era of reenacting or interpreting is good if you like educating and talking to the public. You may also help interpret Colonial, French and Indian War and the War of 1812.
American Civil War: has a wide variety of existing towns and land that have been preserved by the state or national park services as battlefields. Most battlefield reenactments are not sponsored by the park service and are sponsored by private individuals. If you join an reenacting group of this era you will mainly reenact/interpret battle reenactments and few living history events (museums/villages). You may also help interpret the Mexican American War, and frontier era.
Different Types of Reenacting Events:
Living History #1: are meant entirely for educating the public about a particular time period. They might reenact a small battle, but focuses on showing the public the lifestyle of average people and soldiers of the time. The most common activities during this type of event include weapon demos, cooking demonstrations, song, leisure activities, and lectures.
Living History #2: Is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to reenact a specific event in history, living history is similar to, and sometimes incorporates, historical reenactment. Living history is an educational medium used by museums, historic sites, heritage interpreters, schools and historical reenactment groups to educate the public in particular areas of history, such as clothing styles, pastimes and handicrafts, or to simply convey a sense of the everyday life of a certain period in history. Usually about the way of life during an era in time.
Public Demonstrations: are smaller battles reenacted by reenacting organizations and/or private parties primarily to show the public how people during a particular time lived, and to show a particular battle.
Reenactment/Reenacting: performing a role in an event that occurred at an earlier or past time. is a type of role-play in which participants attempt to recreate some aspects of a historical event or period. It may be a narrowly-defined time period, such as a specific war or other event, or it may be more broadly defined. is an educational medium used by historical reenactment groups, battlefields and private historic societies to educate the public about a specific war or time in history.
Tactical Battles: are battles that are not open to the public. Tactical battles are fought like real battles with both sides coming up with strategies and tactics to beat their opponents. Since there is no script, the battle tends to follow the same course an original battle might.
Scripted Battles (Reenactments): are larger battles, and are usually fought either at the original battle ground, or at a place very similar to the original. In scripted battles, the battles are planned out beforehand so that the companies and regiments make the same actions that the were taken in the original battles.
Overlap Events: are categories both reenactors and events are loose, fuzzy, and often overlap. Individuals and reenacting clubs may attend both mainstream and authentic events. No reenactor and no event will deliberately describe itself as “farby”.
*Another event you should also look forward to are period balls or dances. This allows both men and women to dress up, dance to period music, and socialize.
Different Types of Reenactors: Or different degrees of reenacting.
Farbs: are reenactors who spend relatively little of their time or money maintaining authenticity with regard to uniforms, accessories, or even period behavior. The ‘Good Enough’ attitude is pervasive among farbs, although perhaps few casual observers would be able to point out flaws in their impressions.
*Farb: Some think the origin of the word is a truncated version of “Far be it from authentic.” An alternative definition is “Far Be it for me to question his impression”, or “Fast And Research-less Buyer” Farb is a derogatory term used in the hobby of historical reenacting for participants who exhibit less commitment to historical authenticity. … Farb is a derogatory term used in the hobby of historical reenacting for participants who exhibit less commitment to historical authenticity.
Mainstreamer: are reenactors who are somewhere between farb and authentic. They are more common than either farbs or authentics.
Authentic/Progressives: are reenactors who try to recreate life of the period reenact to the fullest, researching details of material goods and operations in a quest for accuracy. They are constantly trying to “progress” in their knowledge and other aspects of the time period.
Hare-Cores: are the opposite side from farbs, you have “Hard-Cores” or “stitch counters”. Though they usually possess a wealth of knowledge, some hard-cores sometimes take the hobby to an extreme, even to the point of refusing to take part in battles because they know they can’t experience authentic wounding from live period weapons (usually speaking of Civil War Reenactors). Less extremely, a number of hard-cores crash-diet themselves in the lead-up to campaign season in order to look like authentic under-fed Southern soldiers, such as would have been part of Stonewall Jackson’s foot cavalry. Some hard-cores “weather” their uniforms and equipment to give them a “worn” look, as an actual soldier from the War Between the States would have had relatively new things issued to them. Hard-cores are typified by their disregard for farbs, whose frequently corpulent appearance and inaccurate dress is a source of great irritation.
*For more terms on reenacting please visit the following…
- Become A Civil War Reenactor
- A Reenactor’s Journal
