Bringing the Middle Ages to Life: Historical Re-enactment as a Research Tool

A sixth-century Merovingian leader, a knight from 1187, a Syrian prince from the late twelfth century: behind these figures in period dress lie historical research, archaeological objects and carefully considered reconstructions. In Alsace, the Guerres Historiques association explores several eras to show that medieval historical re-enactment involves much more than costumes or combat demonstrations.

We spoke with Anthony Ahmed-Yahia, director of Guerres Historiques, about the sources behind the association's reconstructions, traditional crafts, Alsatian fortifications and its planned living-history museum. His answers show what must be researched before making an object, selecting clothing or recreating a medieval environment.

Guerres Historiques: an association that starts with the sources

Guerres Historiques begins with a simple question: what evidence can be used to represent a particular period? A striking outfit or weapon is not enough. Its date, origin, available materials and uses suggested by the evidence all need to be examined.

Members work on several periods, from Late Antiquity to the end of the Middle Ages, as well as other historical eras according to their specialisms. Beyond military equipment, their work encompasses everyday life, crafts, heritage and educational activities for the public.

In this context, historical re-enactment seeks to present a coherent reconstruction of a person or setting. Experimental archaeology, when conducted through a research methodology, can test hypotheses about how an object was made or used. Such experiments may illuminate historical questions, but they never replace the documentary evidence and archaeological remains on which they are based.

The aim, therefore, is not to claim to recreate the past exactly, but to make well-supported hypotheses visible while explaining the limits of what we know.

Four archaeological reference sites for the early Middle Ages

Anthony identifies Marlenheim, Erstein, Illkirch and Roeschwoog, four sites in Bas-Rhin used as references for the living-history museum project. He explains that these sites have yielded structures or burial grounds with archaeological finds relevant to the sixth, seventh and eighth centuries.

Discoveries in such contexts raise practical questions: what did an everyday object look like? How was it used? What can its association with other remains tell us? Its dating and archaeological context matter just as much as its appearance.

For Guerres Historiques, the sites serve as documentary reference points for reconstructions grounded in regional history. Anthony is not claiming that the association directed excavations at all four sites; rather, the published archaeological findings inform its research.

Why is Guerres Historiques so interested in the Merovingians?

The Middle Ages are often illustrated by thirteenth-century castles or armour from the end of the period. Guerres Historiques has also chosen to give prominence to an era less frequently seen at medieval festivals: the Merovingian centuries.

“We became interested in the Merovingian period because it is fascinating but rarely represented in historical re-enactment.”

Anthony Ahmed-Yahia — Guerres Historiques

The appeal is practical as well: this period offers the association a wealth of material for exploring old trades and traditional skills. Some reconstructions can therefore focus on craftspeople, their techniques, tools and place in society, rather than only on warriors.

Anthony also highlights the connection with the origins of Alsace as documented in written sources: the name of the region is attested in the seventh century, notably in the tradition of the Chronicle of Fredegar. This local history gives the association's work a particular regional grounding.

Characters separated by several centuries

The photographs Anthony supplied show the breadth of this approach: an Alemannic prince around 430, in Late Antiquity, a Merovingian leader around 550, Carolingian figures around 830 and Scandinavian warriors around the year 1000.

These characters are not simply a collection of interchangeable costumes. Between the fifth and eleventh centuries, equipment, clothing styles and political settings changed. Comparing them helps dispel the idea of a uniform Middle Ages.

From the twelfth to the thirteenth century: men-at-arms and figures from the Crusades

Several Guerres Historiques members also study the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Anthony describes reconstructions of men-at-arms, sergeants and local lords from approximately 1187, 1230–1240 and 1270, in Alsatian or Lorraine settings.

These are distinct characters who did not necessarily wear the same clothing, carry the same weapons or hold the same status. Careful re-enactment must account for such differences and for the speed at which some military equipment evolved.

Among the photographs provided, Anthony identifies a sergeant and knight around 1187 and a man-at-arms around 1230. The association also reconstructs later periods, extending into the fifteenth century. Accurate dates are essential to understanding how equipment changed.

The year 1187 also belongs to the history of the Crusades in the East. To explore this period without confusing Guerres Historiques' characters with Templars, read our article on the history of the Knights Templar and their role in the Crusades.

A Syrian prince from the late twelfth century

One member of the group is working on a reconstruction of a Syrian prince from the very end of the twelfth century. This character offers another perspective on the Middle Ages beyond the warriors of Western Europe.

Middle Eastern societies had their own political, clothing and military traditions. This reconstruction highlights the diversity of the worlds that encountered one another during the Crusades. Since Anthony did not identify a specific historical figure in his answers, we retain the general designation.

Why these characters should not be presented as Knights Templar

This distinction matters for readers of The Temple Journal: Guerres Historiques is not yet specifically re-enacting the Order of the Temple. Some members are interested in the Templars and other military orders, but photographs of warriors from the same period should not be relabelled “Knights Templar” simply because the dates overlap.

“Some people in our group are passionate about the Templars, or more generally about the orders during the Crusades, but we are not yet working specifically on that subject.”

Anthony Ahmed-Yahia

For an approach focused directly on the lives of the brothers of the Temple, our interview with Fantassins de France explores what historical re-enactment can teach us about the Knights Templar.

Alsatian castles: understanding the builders' choices

Another topic discussed with Anthony is Alsace's medieval castles. Their appearance reflects military needs, residential uses, regional traditions and the surrounding landscape.

Anthony points out that medieval Alsace was part of the Holy Roman Empire. He notes a difference in the organisation of seigneurial spaces: Alsatian castles very often have a separate lord's residence, frequently adjoining the keep. In many castles of the Kingdom of France, by contrast, the keep itself could serve as the lord's residence. This distinction helps explain why castle buildings were not always arranged in the same way from one region to another.

Shield walls and the Vosges landscape

In some fortresses of the imperial territories, the keep consequently retained a mainly defensive role. Anthony also discusses shield walls: massive defensive structures designed to protect the most exposed parts of a castle. Their thickness and few openings reveal a priority for resistance, sometimes at the expense of comfort and natural light.

He also stresses a prominent feature of the Vosges: the narrowness of certain sandstone spurs. A fortress on a rocky ridge has much less space than a castle built on more open ground. Buildings had to fit the terrain, which helps explain compact or irregular layouts.

These examples do not establish an absolute opposition between “French castles” and “imperial castles”. Rather, they show why each fortress must be understood in context, without imposing a single model of a medieval castle.

For another example of how fortified heritage evolved, our article on the Larzac commandery and the walls of Sainte-Eulalie-de-Cernon examines a complex built and altered in a very different historical setting.

Which animals belong in a reconstruction of a setting before the year 1000?

In the planned living-history museum, animals are not merely decorative. They help recreate a world in which livestock farming, raw materials and everyday activities played an essential part.

Anthony explains that the association draws on several kinds of evidence:

• Historical images, including illuminated manuscripts and frescoes, when they make it possible to distinguish animal types.
• Archaeological remains, particularly for studying the size and physical characteristics of animals found at excavation sites.
• Written sources, when particular types of livestock are mentioned or described.
• Characteristics of modern animals, seeking hardy types among sheep, goats and chickens.

This method calls for caution: even a modern breed that has undergone relatively little selective breeding is not necessarily identical to a medieval animal population. Re-enactors therefore seek plausible comparisons, not certainty based on appearance alone.

The living-history museum project: bringing everyday history to life

All this research feeds into an ambition: to create a living-history museum where visitors could discover reconstructed techniques, crafts, buildings and environments. The idea is to move beyond simply looking at objects towards a practical understanding of historical activities.

“Our living-history museum project is making good progress when it comes to research and fieldwork. On the administrative side, things are moving rather more slowly...”

Anthony Ahmed-Yahia

According to Anthony, the team has accumulated more than twenty years of experience and is eager to demonstrate its expertise more regularly. Work is advancing on the ground and in research preparations, while administrative development is proceeding more slowly.

Until the museum project is completed, Guerres Historiques already welcomes private, school and extracurricular groups by prior reservation. These visits introduce audiences to demonstrations and immersive activities without waiting for a permanent museum to open.

Passing on knowledge involves more than displaying a finished result. Explaining why a choice was made, which sources support it and what remains uncertain is also part of the visitor experience.

Misconceptions about the Middle Ages: a future topic to explore

Asked which misconception he would most like to correct, Anthony says it would be difficult to choose just one. In his view, the many clichés about the Middle Ages deserve an article of their own.

This illustrates the value of a living-history association. Seeing figures from 550, 830, 1187 and 1470 side by side is already enough to show that clothing, weapons and ways of life were not the same throughout the medieval era.

The Knights Templar have likewise inspired a gap between history and popular imagination. Our interview with historian Florian Besson explains how the history of the Order of the Temple gradually became a myth.

Discover Guerres Historiques and the association's activities

Based in Drusenheim, in the Bas-Rhin department, Guerres Historiques is a multi-period re-enactment association combining research, cultural education, heritage preservation and experimentation. Its activities extend beyond costumed events to include education and work promoting historical heritage.

The topics Anthony describes demonstrate this diversity. The Merovingian era, Carolingian reconstructions, twelfth- and thirteenth-century military equipment, castles and the living-history museum project all share one purpose: making the past accessible without obscuring its complexity.

To learn more about the association, its re-enactment activities and museum project, visit the Guerres Historiques website.

We thank Anthony Ahmed-Yahia for his time, detailed written answers and the photographs he supplied for this article.

Bringing the Middle Ages to life without claiming to reproduce them exactly

The work of Guerres Historiques demonstrates that medieval historical re-enactment is about more than a single striking image. It calls for selecting sources, comparing evidence, testing techniques and understanding each object in the world where it originated.

From Alsatian archaeological sites to the castles of the Vosges, from Merovingian clothing to figures from the Crusades, every subject requires us to distinguish what is established from what remains hypothetical. This rigour turns a costume into a means of sharing historical knowledge.

Frequently asked questions about medieval historical re-enactment

What is historical re-enactment?

Historical re-enactment uses identifiable sources to recreate the clothing, objects, activities or environments of a period. It cannot guarantee a perfect reconstruction of the past and must distinguish documented facts from hypotheses.

How is it different from experimental archaeology?

Experimental archaeology methodically tests hypotheses about how historical objects and techniques were made or used. Re-enactments may draw on such tests, but not every public demonstration is automatically a scientific experiment.

Which periods does Guerres Historiques represent?

The association covers several periods. Anthony describes Merovingian and Carolingian reconstructions, Scandinavian warriors around the year 1000, twelfth- and thirteenth-century men-at-arms and figures from the later Middle Ages.

Does Guerres Historiques re-enact the Knights Templar?

Not specifically at present. Some members are interested in the military orders, but reconstructions of warriors from the Crusades should not be confused with the clothing of brothers of the Temple.

Can visitors tour the Guerres Historiques living-history museum?

The museum is still a project. However, according to Anthony Ahmed-Yahia, the association already welcomes private, school and extracurricular groups by prior reservation for certain discovery activities.

Article from The Temple Journal based on an interview and written answers from Anthony Ahmed-Yahia, director of Guerres Historiques, and revised in accordance with his feedback. Photographs: Association Guerres Historiques, except the Carolingians aboard a ship (Remi_rmt). Cover photograph: Association Guerres Historiques. The concluding illustration was AI-generated and does not show a real activity of the association.