Medieval markets and re-enactments are big business. One of the major European events is the twelve-day-festival in Santa Maria da Feira in Portugal. Recently the motives behind participation were explored.

Castelo de Santa Maria da Feira lies halfway between Aveiro and Porto. In itself, its major cause for fame is a medieval castle. Located on top of a hill it, the fortress dates back to Roman Times, when a military fort was built there. Later, the castle was constantly rebuilt, besieged, dismantled and yet again resurrected. It was declared National Heritage in 1910 as an outstanding example of a Portuguese defensive monument from The Middle Ages. As it stands today, only the first floor of the watchtower dates from before 1300. The main edifice is dated to the late 15^th century, after Alfonso V handed it over to Fernão Pereira (1472). Later it was turned into a palace conveniently located on the major route from north to south. After 1929, the castle was deliberately restored in order to bring it back to its medieval “look”.

Today, its major importance lies in its role as theatrical backdrop for the annual medieval festival, the Viagem Medieval em Terra de Santa Maria (Travels to the Land of Santa Maria). Running for more than twenty years and over more than twelve days, it is arguably one of the major medieval events in the Portuguese calendar.

One of the reasons, why this medieval event has attracted especially large numbers of visitors – 50.000 daily – has to do with the yearly creation of a specific portfolio delineating a chosen person or event. Great effort is invested in getting it right – daily life, eating habits, forms of dress, religious beliefs, recreational activities, arts and crafts are carefully “policed” in order to ensure the event is living up to the theme for the year.

Thus, the festival in August 2016 was set in the time of King Dinis, king of Portugal from 1279 to 1325. Dinis is known as the “farmer, the poet and the troubadour” as well as the founder of the first Portuguese university and the first Portuguese navy. In general, he is considered on of the most important medieval Portuguese kings. As is evident from the programme , the organisers were not just content with staging just another “medieval event” – the festival did focus on the life and times of Dines and created an atmosphere of in-depth fun teaching. For instance, this year a special shipyard was created in order to allow visitors to explore the background for the first Portuguese navy.

Visitors

Recently, its impact was measured as to the reasons, why people visit and take part in it. Especially, the quality of the experience and the emotional engagement of the participants and visitors was explored based on a quantitative analysis carried out in 2011. A questionnaire was offered to every fifth visitor at specially selected sites inside the festival-ground. A minimum of 475 completed questionnaires were sought in order to secure a confidence level of .95. In the end 517 questionnaires were included in the analysis.

Of the visitors, 89 % were Portuguese (mainly Centre and North). Foreigners came from Spain, France, England and Switzerland. The average age was 35 years, with the majority between 25 and 44 years old. Slightly more females (61%) were included in the sample. 68% were employed, while 15% were students.

The informants were mainly asked about their motivations for participating and their general satisfaction plus the general pleasure (or lack thereof) generated by participation. Especially, the study sought to explore the different emotional responses, participation caused – e.g. the level of arousal, pleasure and relaxation.

On the basis of the answers, a number of clusters (or segments) could be discerned: A) The Apathetic (19%) B) the Drivers and Influencers (37%) and C) the satisfied and enthusiastic (44%).

These different segments did not differ as to socio-demographics. Nor, did the length of stay seem to have an impact, the type of activities carried out, or the type of group, which they were part.

Physical and social engagement versus spiritual and emotional experiences

Disregarding the small group of obviously displaced – why-are-we-here? – participants, the main difference within the two large groups of visitors seems to have to do with the level of personal engagement with the locals (taking part in the fun) versus the satisfaction derived from acquiring cultural knowledge. Further, the more participants were interested in acquiring cultural knowledge, the more satisfied, they became and the more emotional experiences of arousal and pleasure were expressed. On the other hand, the visitors, who sought active participation were the less satisfied (experienced less pleasure). It is for instance characteristic that the middle group of participants (drivers and influencers) had more contact with the locals than the enthusiastic third group. However, they were significantly less satisfied with this dimension. It is obvious, that the middle group valued the social dimension of the event more than the cultural – and was (slightly) less satisfied! Although not statistically significant, it is perhaps worthy of note that the middle group was on average accompanied by more children than the third group and furthermore, significantly more interested in strengthening family relationships. Perhaps, the festival is simply not especially welcoming towards children?

This is a very important study in so far as it demonstrates that the medieval festival in Santa Maria da Feira appeals to and satisfies two different groups of visitors – those who wish to be involved in crafts and playacting, and those who wish to mainly experience it mentally.

It is perhaps also indicated that the concept of creating a scholarly-based portfolio – a specific theme – on which to base an event, appeals less to the family-oriented “crafty and social” people, and more to the “academics” (although this could not be demonstrated in a statistical significant way. This, accordingly needs to be further explored.

VISIT:

Viagem Medieval em Terra de Santa Maria

SOURCE:

The Emotions generated by re-enactment events: A market segmentation study of the Medieval Journey in the Land of Saint Mary.
By: Maria João Carneiro, Celeste Eusébio & Ana Cláudia Santos
In: Journal of Convention and Event Tourism, Volume 17, 2016 – Issue 3

READ MORE:

“Eventful Cities” and Cities of Events – Medieval Events in Portugal. A Comprehensive Study.
By Carla Alexandra Pereira Fernandes Delgado. Dissertation. Escola Superior de Turismo e technologia do Mar 2013.