In a nutshell, this is the book to acquire for anyone who would like to know more about how this amazing phenomenon of renaissance faires came into existence first in the US and then internationally. One of the first things the author-scholar, Rachel Lee Rubin, points out in "Well Met" is that the renaissance faire culture which began in the United States in the 1960's is one of the most under-written-about and under-researched social phenomenon of modern times in western culture (defined as Europe and Norther America). The original Renaissance Faire which began in the Los Angeles area of Southern California influenced similar cultural off-shoots, such as The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA where people pretend it's still the Middle Ages) and other renaissance and medieval faires throughout the US and Canada. Eventually the renaissance faire/medieval faire re-enactments of history became a mainstay of Europe. Several European towns with medieval roots have medieval faires, such as the town of Bayeux in France and the town of Rothenberg in Germany where these towns for about a week dress as if it's the 15th century (i.e. 1400's).
Even the late writer-scholar Umberto Eco, whose historical novel "The Name of the Rose" is one of the best depictions of medieval monastic culture ever written in a novel, didn't know that many North Americans are fascinated with Europe of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. He thought only current pop culture was of interest in the US. (He discovered his error when he visited the US for the first time and happened through the doors of a science fiction/fantasy bookshop in the late 1970's!)
And yet it wasn't until "Well Met" that a scholar of sociology who teaches at one of the University of Mass. campuses decided to engage in in-depth scholarly research on this subject. She interviewed numerous participants and visited many faires from coast-to-coast. She was even able to interview Phyllis Patterson, the true creator of the renaissance faire along with her husband Ron Patterson, shortly before she passed in 2012.
From its beginnings the renaissance faire as it was originally conceived was intertwined with the counter-culture movement of the 1960's. Most books about this subject prior to "Well Met" have been predominantly participant retrospectives. "How I Became a Renaissance Faire Brat" or similar titles was the prevailing kinds of books prior to "Well Met". The first renaissance faire occurred in the late spring of 1963, and the first edition of this book was published in 2012, nearly 50 years after the very first renaissance faire. Better late than never for a book from a scholarly perspective!
Rubin's book traces the origins of the renaissance faire to several seemingly divergent activities which were occurring around the same time in Laurel Canyon in the Los Angeles/Santa Monica area: alternative left-wing voices in media, particular on the radio, the seeds of the counter-culture movement which began with the beat writers, and the arts and crafts revival which also began in the late 1950's and early 1960's. (Often movements such as these are a convergence of disparate groups and activities.)
Phyllis Patterson and her husband Ron had moved to Laurel Canyon in the late 1950's. She was a theater and English instructor who had been given a job to teach high school students about theater. Ron was an arts instructor at UCLA. One of the pieces of the puzzle which would become the renaissance faire was that Phyllis had been misinformed about who she would be teaching theater. It wasn't high school students but elementary kids. She realized she would need more visual means to capture the kids' attentions, so she acquired costumes and props, something that high school wouldn't necessarily need. For several years, Phyllis taught theater through costuming which would become a fundamental aspect of renaissance faire culture. She and her husband also offered after-school theater and art workshops at their home in Laurel Canyon.
At the same time, KPFA radio was one of the first independent and left-leaning radio stations on the west coast. They needed fundraising to offer an alternative to the conservative political voices which monopolized most airwaves at that time. (Around this time, Americans were via Joe McCarthy told that communists supported by the USSR were rampantly infiltrating the US government and Hollywood, which turned out to be total fabrications.) The last piece of the puzzle was a revival of arts and crafts as alternatives to machine bought items, and their creators needed a better means of selling their wares. (Department stores had no interest in handmade art objects of this sort.)
Phyllis then had the idea of creating a selling faire, using her and her husband's skills as theatrical and art instructors to create a costumed fair with a renaissance/medieval cultural flair, unique at the time, and the proceeds would be donated to KPFA. She had at first named it "Medieval Fair" but was soon convinced that the word "medieval" had many negative connotations, particularly its treatment of women at the time. "Renaissance Faire" sounded more positive and fit better with the counter-culture movement. ("Renaissance" means "rebirth".) The First Renaissance Faire occurred in the spring of 1963 in North Hollywood at a place called Haskell’s Rascals Ranch.
During the next few years, Phyllis with her husband Ron decided to add another aspect to the faire. They would employ struggling actors and acting students who would dress up as historical characters from Renaissance England: Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Walter Raleigh, William Shakespeare, etc., and they would also employ potential prop artists from the entertainment industry to beef up the historical re-enactment of the faire. It would give actors and artists a chance to try their skills in an open environment and give a late 16th-century atmosphere to the faire. This particular addition of "living history", which may have been the first of its kind in the western world, gave the renaissance faire its eventual atmosphere and eccentricity and would influence many renaissance faires throughout the US thereafter. The first renaissance faire in Northern California was held in 1967, also produced by the Pattersons. They would also produce the first Dickens Fair in San Francisco.
However, the renaissance faire was not without its adversaries. Around the time of the second faire, a conservative group formed in Los Angeles whose primary goal was to shut down the faire for all time. Even though the renaissance faire was perfectly legal and the producer/creators had acquired the proper land-use permits, this group just didn't like the faire's existence because of its association with the beat and hippie counter-culture movements. Interestingly these same groups often advocated freedom of speech and business without government hindrances. They feared the renaissance faire would become a mainstay (which it did) in part because of its growing popularity.
For me, this is the part of the book which demonstrates the resolve of Phyllis Patterson and her determination to foster and continue her renaissance faire. The conservative group filed an injunction against the faire, and fabricated participants' behavior, such as accusing them of illegal and rampant drug use and mistreating children on the fairgrounds. Phyllis attended all court hearings and demonstrated that the group had provided no evidence of their alleged illegal behavior. For one year, I believe 1965, the group successfully did shut down the faire. However, Phyllis, Ron, and the early participants may have lost this one battle, but they ultimately won the war. By 1970, the renaissance faire was so popular, the conservative group couldn't thwart it, and the renaissance faire has become ever since a mainstay of North American culture. By 1980, renaissance faires were being created and organized all over the United States, Canada, and beyond. So, let's doff our hats to the Patterson's who made it all possible.
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