The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture

RENAISSANCE FESTIVALS.

Dozens of Renaissance festivals take place annually across the nation, with a growing number in Oklahoma. Although fairs with Medieval themes and events trace to the eighteenth century in the United States, the first modern Renaissance festival in the nation was held in Los Angeles, California, by local residents Phyllis and Ron Patterson in partnership with radio station KPFK-FM. The modern Renaissance festival best resembles the 1963 California fair. These events have since become fixtures in American entertainment. Vendors and attendees alike often don Medieval costuming to enjoy local and traveling artisans, musical performances, acting troupes, historic reenactments, and stunt shows, all of which contribute to the general atmosphere of a Renaissance festival. The first such event documented in Oklahoma was the Medieval Fair organized by graduate students at the University of Oklahoma in Norman on April 23, 1977. Since then, various organizations have organized other festivals here.

While Renaissance festivals have grown in popularity over sixty-two years, the tradition of revisiting Medieval culture in Europe and the United States dates back further. Sourced from Medieval history, equestrian events, including jousting by knights on horseback, are often the main entertainment hosted by Renaissance festivals. Jousts had emerged in northern France during the late eleventh century, becoming a popular tournament event with chivalric knights for their training in new combat techniques. Eventually, tournaments and jousting evolved from military exercises into entertainment spectacles, and they declined in frequency in the mid-1400s as the Middle Ages ended.

During the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Gothic Revival enthusiasts sought to revive the tournament tradition in England and the United States through reenactments. Medieval influence grew primarily in the antebellum South where Southern white elites were exposed to popular pieces of literature, including historical novels by the English poet and novelist Sir Walter Scott. This interest quickly grew to include Medieval equestrian events like jousting, especially after the popular 1839 Eglinton Tournament held in Scotland. Because nineteenth-century knights lacked metal armor, early American tournaments consisted of tilting, or riding rapidly with a lance pointed at a suspended ring or a mounted object known as a quintain, rather than at another knight. Although tournaments were most prevalent in the South, they eventually spread westward and by 1935 rivaled the growing rodeo movement. In the twentieth century jousting events are primarily presented by theatrical companies, reenactment groups, and a few professional sports leagues.

Oklahoma Renaissance festivals represent evolving interests in Medieval culture and equestrian pastimes sparked by the early expansion of jousting in the United States. Renaissance-themed events, primarily tied to small county fairs, scout groups, and college campuses, were held in Oklahoma as early as the 1920s, with a jousting tournament at the Wagoner County Fair in 1923, and a ring-tournament at a carnival in Miami in 1927. Due to media trends toward traditionalism, as seen in such films as Ivanhoe (1952), which incorporated Medieval characters, interest blossomed in the 1950s. There was a noticeable increase in events relating to jousting and fairs resembling modern Renaissance festivals. In 1955 the Cub Scouts in Oklahoma selected “Knights of Yore” as their March theme, and six hundred scouts participated in an Arthurian-themed circus performance in Stillwater. Similar to the founding of the Medieval Fair in Norman by University of Oklahoma students, college students helped drive the development of Renaissance-themed events in Oklahoma. Fraternity groups adopted the imagery of Medieval knights, incorporated Medieval terminology, and even staged “mock” jousts to celebrate pledge classes. Several towns in Oklahoma were stops in 1958 for Bill McGaw’s Tournament of Thrills, one of the first travelling stunt groups incorporating jousting. Sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, this automobile variety show included a jousting tournament, a Roman-style chariot race against an automobile, horse races, and a Wild West show.

In the twenty-first century, Oklahoma is home to numerous Renaissance festivals. They include the Oklahoma Renaissance Festival in Muskogee (established 1995), the Runestone Festival in Heavener (established 2005), the Grand Lake Renaissance Festival in Vinita (established 2015–24), the Queensferry Renaissance Festival in Vinita (established 2019), the Guthrie Renaissance Faire (established 2021), the OKC Renaissance and Scottish Festival (established 2022), and the Waynoka Renaissance Festival (established 2025). A few companies are equipped with the necessary resources to perform equestrian shows. Jousting companies based in Oklahoma include the now-retired Heroic Knights of Old (established 2013–24), followed by the Knights of the Vale (established 2024). Oklahoma is also home to Hanlon-Lees Action Theater (established 1979), the oldest operating theatrical jousting company.

Cate Kurtz