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Medieval
Fair
One of my favorite museums in New York is The Cloisters, in Fort
Tryon Park, at the north end of Manhattan. The museum itself is an
amalgam of several sections of old European castles and churches, moved
to Manhattan. I once heard an English friend protest indignantly that it
was terrible that this had happened – why couldn’t they have left them
where they were? Well, the truth is that in their original locations
they may have been neglected, ignored, or simply inaccessible, while
transplanted to Manhattan, they are seen and enjoyed by thousands of
people.
The Cloisters stands high above Fort Tryon Park, and it’s all about
medieval art. Magnificent manuscripts, carved wood furniture hundreds of
years old, exquisite wood-paneled and decorated rooms, and the famous
Unicorn Tapestries, which are in amazingly good condition. The herb
garden is wonderful, and there’s an outdoor “deck” with spectacular
views of the Hudson River.
It’s only appropriate, then, that every year, a Medieval Festival is
held in Fort Tryon Park in early October. About 40,000 people attend,
many in costume. Usually we miss it, in spite of our best intentions,
but this year we remembered it in time, and even looked up the schedule
of events ahead of time to make sure we saw what we wanted. (We’re not
good at planning ahead.)
We knew we were on our way there when we entered the subway and
found people in full costume waiting for the train. (They warn you that,
while “noble” costumes – velvets and furs – look very grand, they are
hot and uncomfortable to wear. Peasants’ costumes, apparently, are much
more practical.) One of the people waiting for the train was dressed as
a belly dancer, which seemed odd in a predominantly European style fair,
until Steve reminded me that the Crusaders probably brought it back with
them.
It was an extraordinarily beautiful day – as good as New York
weather gets, with a brilliant blue sky, sunshine and a cool breeze. We
browsed the booths, looking at everything from swords and costumes to
calligraphy and herbs. We watched a falconry demonstration – more talk
than demo, but beautiful birds nevertheless. A huge owl, with wings
spread wide, landed on her handler’s arm with spot-on precision, and a
falcon flew back and forth among the trees before being signaled to
descend and claim his dinner.
And we admired the costumes, including the amazing number of little
fairy princesses, complete with tutus and wings, often riding on daddy’s
shoulders. We ate meat pies, but decided to forgo the line for mead. And
ultimately, we decided to pass on the jousting, because we just ran out
of steam. Fort Tryon Park is huge!
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Photos
Click a thumbnail to see a larger version.
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One of many medieval fairies
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King Henry VIII and one of his wives (not sure which)
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A falconry show
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Is that mead he's drinking?
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Beautiful costumes - but hot!
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Lots of people wear elaborate costumes
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Selling mead
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In a hurry...
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Sword fighting for the children
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More great costumes
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The view down the Hudson
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A tired child
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Dancing to the music - the little girl in yellow was really good!
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Sword-fighting on a small scale
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