Tag Archives: medieval

Not every Princess wants to be saved by a romantic Knight!

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Burg Satzvey – Castle Satzvey

People are visiting the Satzvey Castle (Burg Satzvey) from all around Europe for its renowned medieval events.

As soon as I arrived I noticed that the people are not just playing a “role”… they really live the Middle Ages as a kind of second parallel life.BurgSatzvey ppl

A huge knights’ camp is built around the medieval castle, where people live like their medieval ancestors. You won’t find anything which is part of the modern way of life, not even non-medieval food.BurgSatzvey13

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The “Sauferei” (“Bender”) offers the best drinks for the best Knights:
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At the medieval market you can find everything a medieval heart desires, while musicians, jugglers and storytellers entertain the visitors.
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Proud knights on their war horses carry you back to the time of courtly love and romance.

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The highlight of my visit was a great stunt-show: „Schurke oder nicht Schurke, das ist hier die Frage“ („Rogue or not rogue, this is the question“). It was a very ironic story which played with the audience’s imagination of good and evil, hero and villain and all our clichés.

Actually, at first sight it was the usual story of a Princess kidnapped by a villain. The difference here was that she enjoyed “finally” not being treated as a Princess and was flattered the presence of the rude villain. She was fed-up by the usual boring Knights (that not always are as good as they seem).

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The Princess and the boring Knight

At the beginning of the show the audience booed every time the villain Xylon appeared and – after being a bit confused about the feelings of the princess – ended up booing every time the good Knight appeared.

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Xylon – The Evil Villain

The good and the evil fought during an impressive Knights Jousting Tournament for the hand of the Princess.

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The happy-end sees the Princess in love with the villain.

Happy End
Happy End

My first conclusion: Not every Princess wants to be saved by a Knight.
My second conclusion: Don’t let your clichées and the outside world tell you what is good and what is evil.

Absolutely recommended!

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Venus lives in Sicily: Erice

“On the highest top a medieval village rises among bristly towers. It is the small village of Erice where once the most famous temple of the most famous goddess…Venus,… with its fortified walls, with its streets accurately paved”.

Roger Peyrefitte, descripion of Erice in 1952

“Sulla vetta più alta inciela una medievale borgata irta di torri. È il piccolo borgo di Erice, dominato una volta dal più famoso tempio della dea più famosa…Venere,… con la sua cinta fortificata, con le sue strade accuratamente selciate”.

Roger Peyrefitte su Erice nel 1952

Road that leads to Erice
Road that leads to Erice

This road brings you back in time – curve after curve – until you arrive to Erice.
Erice is a Medieval town, with only 512 people living in the city center. It is located at a hight of around 700 meters on Mount Erice, with a wonderful panoramic view of Sicily’s west coast, with Trapani and the Egadi islands.

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When we first arrived to the top, the town was covered by a thick fog, which gave a somehow fascinating mystical look to the town.
It is a phenomenon that often takes place on Mount Erice and which led to many mythological histories about the town. Since prehistoric times, Erice has been connected to the goddess of fertility, love and beauty: to Venus. Some say it is because of the strong relationship between water (fog) and fertility.

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Erice street