I attended my first Renaissance Faire yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. Great fun! The wide variety of costumes on display was very impressive, and yet the whole experience got me thinking about what a naturist “Ren Faire” could be like. There would be no costumes, or only a “bare” minimum such as sandals, hair ribbons, and belts for holding swords. Certainly a nude May Pole dance would be fun and feasible, but naked jousting…er, not so much! This imaginary Naked Renaissance Faire could definitely have a Lady Godiva event, just that our “Lady” would not be the only nudist – far from it! And there could be nude theater, nude jugglers, nude acrobats, and many more.
I remembered that I’ve already written a few pieces in the style of what would fit in a Naked Renaissance Faire. I wrote a brief profile of Lady Godiva (and three more legendary naturist heroes), a humorous poem about an overdressed knight who encounters a nude village (“The Naked Knight“), and another poem, “The Tailor,” in which a man “of the cloth” meets a certain well-known playwright. There’s also my naturist retelling of Don Quixote, “The Nude Adventures of Doff de Chonez pa’ su Mecha,” set in contemporary California but invoking the spirit of Cervantes’ addlepated knight-errant.
Please enjoy these stories – they just might put you in the mood for a Naked Renaissance!
I’m surprised no one has put together a “Naked Renaissance Fair” yet – we are so in need of one. Well, today’s a bit chilly, here, I guess; and yet, maybe we’d all be better constituted for living naked in a cooler climate. Anyway, Will, thanks for the provocation!
Allen Knudsen
I wonder if The Naturist Society has done something like that at one of their gatherings – I wouldn’t be surprised. Or perhaps British Naturism.
Yes – it’s a cold, wet day here today as well, and yet – what fun it would be!
I’m glad you enjoyed the Faire, Will, and may it give you a thousand inspirations!
Thanks, Paul! It really was a very fine afternoon.