About Historic Period Pavilions...

 Having a period-style pavilion can make your re-enactment experience richer. From the Medieval Marquee to the Civil War Wedge, they are more than just a shelter from the elements; a period pavilion can add to the authenticity and atmosphere of any camp. Your pavilion is your second home, and can identify who you are through the use of distinctive colors, styles, even painting on the outside, as well as being individually decorated on the inside. You want to have a tent that looks period for your persona, is comfortable for you to live in, and will protect you from all the elements.

 Historic pavilion designs vary dramatically in color, shape, and size, as well as design through the centuries. They ranged from the small, simple lean-to, to one of Timur’s tents (known in Europe as Tamerlane) that was large enough to shade 10,000 people. Period tent makers used the materials they had available: wood (often green, not aged), hemp and linen, cotton (more expensive, but available from the Mediterranean), wool, silk, felt, leather (especially for those authentic Roman tents) and other materials were used. Tents were often painted, dyed, embroidered, and decorated brilliantly. There is evidence for pavilions that were joined together, rooms added on, even windows put in (or painted on).

 Unfortunately, we cannot always have the exact tent that would have been used in the time period we are trying to reenact. After all, few people can afford an authentic hand-stitched Roman tent made of calfskin, or a hand-woven goat or yak-hair Bedouin-style tent that needs a new center strip woven in every year. It would be prohibitively expensive for most people, and not practical for the different climates that we live in. Using the materials available to us now, you can still have an authentic looking tent, without sacrificing comfort or expense. You can also paint or otherwise personalize your pavilion with the addition of painting, flags, dags, embroidery or appliques to add to the authenticity of the event and your experience. The tent you own should reflect you and your needs.  

Middle Eastern Tents

 If you are looking for a tent specifically to fit a Middle Eastern persona, there are several period styles you can choose from. Depending on the time period and region, rounds, conical tents, double bell wedges, wedges, marquees, and yurts were all used in the Middle East, as well as the familiar black tents utilized by nomadic people. These black tents were made in two regional styles: the Arab style, and the Persian style. The Arab style had tension bands that distributed the stresses across the length of the tent, and were used in Arabia, Iraq and Syria westward, as well as by Bedouin tribes. The Persian style had no tension bands, and was used generally from Iran east into Tibet. Walls were traditionally attached to the roof by long metal pins or toggles and loops. Not all tents of this style were black, in fact, many had colored stripes of dyed material to show tribal affiliation and tension bands were sometimes colored as well as the back walls.

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