The New Murrey and Blue blog

I have been considering various angles for a blog about Bosworth this year. I think there is an interesting debate to be had about the ‘re-enactment’ phenomenon that seems to be increasingly popular and to what extent these events are a tribute to the fallen warriors of long ago, a commercial merry-go-round, a deeply serious lifestyle choice for the people taking part or a bit of harmless fun for all the family for spectators? People attend these events for so many reasons but when they are enacted on the same soil as the original battle is there a ‘moral’ dimension which needs to be considered amidst the picnics and face painting?

Is it partly a question of the distance of time? Could we imagine a D-Day re-enactment with our children dressed in WWII costume? Is there a romance about watching knights in armour and massed archers which removes the action sufficiently from reality to disconnect…