We try to represent a person in England of 1471 as closely as possible. To do so we have the following rules about your physical appearance when representing a member of Lord Grey’s Retinue:
- All unnatural hair colors and extremely inaccurate hairstyles are to be tucked into a hat and to kept covered at all times.
- This is a time of modestly – Women kept their hair covered at all times and very little skin is ever exposed. Men would similarly be modest but to less of an extreme.
- Modern eyeglasses are not permitted. Please wear contacts if at all possible. (If a problem, speak to Steve)
- Any piercings that are visible are to have the hardware removed.
- All jewelry is to be removed except for that which is historically accurate and justifiable for your person.
- Any tattoos are to remain covered at all times please.
- Ladies are not to wear any make-up or nail polish.
- No noticeable modern clothing is to be worn – yes, that means no bras (sorry Ladies)
Our rules of conduct:
- We are each an ambassador representative of historic reenactors everywhere. Always be kind, courteous and impartial in your conversations and interactions with the public as well as other reenactment groups.
- We strive for first person impressions with third person mixed in. We do not pretend to know nothing of modern life but we try to portray and understand our 1471 person as thoroughly as possible. This will help you to better answer and guide the public.
- Do make every effort to keep conversations witnessed by the public on topic for our time or return them to discussing our time period as quickly as possible.
- Try as best you can to separate your modern notions and knowledge from what your 15th century self would think and know.
- Do not correct another member of the group in front of the public. Please wait to have a conversation in private or speak to Steve about it.
- If you need to use your cel phone please conceal it to the best of your ability and step away from the camp to have your conversation discretely.
- Same for any modern item you need to use – conceal it to the best of your ability and use it with the utmost discretion please.
- No smoking in any form in camp.
- Drug use, drunk and disorderly behavior will not be tolerated
- Never argue with a member of the public
We are open and welcome to all people regardless of a person’s skin color, nationality, religious preference, political preference, sexual orientation or abilities. We ask that all members respect that we each have the right to our own opinions, so for common courtesy – please refrain from any political, racial, sexist, biased or anti-Semitic type conversations and certainly not ever in the presence of the public. Should a member of the public ask or say something inappropriate we ask our members to please mitigate the topic and lead the conversation away from it as quickly as possible. You may be placed in the tough position of asking a member of the public to please refrain from mentioning inappropriate things in front of other members of the public. It actually happens - there is always that one troublemaker who cannot hold their tongue and makes the crowd uncomfortable.
- If you wish to portray a person of a different gender than that which you were born – We ask that you generally pass as that opposite gender.
- If your genetics/nationality is something obviously not common for England of 1471 – We ask that you have a prepared answer for if/when a member of the public should ask about it. It can be as simple and “no, my ancestors were not in England in the 15th century”. It is also a great opportunity to open the conversation about trade and migration with other cultures and possibly the origins of slavery – up to you, whatever direction you are most comfortable with.
- If you have an obvious physical disability – together we will come up with a way to make it work with your persona.