A medieval tournament

This picture is more than twenty years old and was taken at Visby in Sweden, during their medieval festival. There was, among other special event, a tournament, with knights fighting and various feats. It felt so very authentic, as if we were back in time. I am now a medievalist, I actually study tourneys as part of my thesis, so if I was to go to the festival of Visby again, I would probably watch it with more critical eyes, at least for a moment. Nevertheless, I would really want to see it again. I think I get caught in the game, so to speak, and forget my reservations.

Summer Solstice

Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year and the official first day of summer (although for me summer starts with the first day of June). Like last year, I decided to commemorate on this blog by uploading a picture of the mystery play my family and I saw at the medieval festival of Visby in Sweden. We visited Sweden a bit more than twenty years ago and I think a lot about my time there these days.But this picture is fitting for the solstice for two reasons: 1) like for the imagery mystery play, Midsummer has roots in Pagan folklore, with its display of fire and demons and monsters, in sum primitive forces of nature and 2) I was never so conscious of summer lights as in Sweden. We visited it in August, but all the same the sun was up very, very late. I never felt as much in summertime as in Sweden that year. it also happened to be one of the warmest and driest they had in history. But in any case, the summer solstice reminds me of this mystery play.

A great unknown line about Scandinavia

Rereading this blog, feeling uninspired, I found on this old post a comment from my brother PJ. I decided to blog it, as it is so very definitely a great unknown line. So here it is translated in English:

"We have to admit, everything Scandinavian is cool, isn't it? Whether it is Vikings, trolls, the movies of Bergman, medieval festivals in the ruins of the Hanseantic League, or blonde Swedish women."

This is all very true, of course.

Midsummer

I have learned rencently, on one of the internet forums I sometimes go to that we are or we are near Midsummer, which is more or less the equivalent of the Summer's solstice. Which means today. Or tonight. The longest day of the year. In Sweden, Midsummer's Day is celebrated on the 24th of June, but from what I understand around Scandinavia it is more or less from June 21st until the the 24th. It is celebrated with old rituals which roots are deep in Paganism. To commemorate Midsummer and in a way to kick start the season I thought I would upload a picture of the mystery play I saw in Visby, during the medieval festival there. A medieval mystery play, the longest day of the year, summer in full bloom, it is a fitting image.

Troubadours, trouvères et musique médiévale

Cette photo a été prise à Visby en Suède, il y a de cela bientôt 20 ans, lors de leur festival médiéval. Remarquez l'anachronisme: l'homme de gauche porte des lunettes. Mon père a intitulé la photo troubadour, mais ça pourrait tout aussi bien s'appeler trouvère. Bon, ni troubadours ni trouvères ne se trouvaient en Suède à l'époque, ces appellations viennent bien entendu de France. Le midi pour les troubadours, le nord pour les trouvères. Mais enfin bref, en regardant les photos de notre voyage en Suède, il m'est venu à l'esprit que je n'ai jamais publié sur Vraie Fiction de musique authentiquement médiévale. Pas dans mon souvenir en tout cas. C'est une tare: je suis médiéviste de formation, il faudrait bien que j'en fasse état sur mon blogue. Alors je remédie à cela tout de go, avec Douce Dame Jolie de Guillaume de Machaut. J'ai le même nom que lui, comme vous avez remarqué, ce que PJ trouvait bien drôle quand j'étais enfant ("Guillaume de Macho qu'il l'appelait, non mais quel philistin inculte). Petite remarque: la chanson est en ancien français, ce qui ne l'empêche pas d'être comprise facilement.