VENTURA : Renaissance Comes Alive at School

A 16th-Century storyteller, in costume complete with tankard on his belt, visited a Ventura school Wednesday to unveil the rigors of life during the Renaissance period.

And tough it was, especially on the girls who were expected to marry at 10 and bear the first of many children by the age of 14, performer Dave Gotcher told the startled fifth-graders at Sheridan Way Elementary School.

That fact was met with incredulous “ooooh’s” and more gasps when he told them that the young women milked the cows, slaughtered animals and cooked meals that they were not allowed to eat until the men in the family had finished.

“It’s very different from now,”offered Sandra Erisman, 10.

The Renaissance period will come to life in Ventura County Sept. 12 and 13 when the Ojai Renaissance Festival is held at Lake Casitas. The weekend event, with its battle re-enactments, theater performances and games, is expected to draw about 6,000 people.

Admission is $7 for adults, $4 for children, and kids under 3 are admitted free.

Gotcher, 32, one of the festival’s performers, is a professional Renaissance storyteller from the Los Angeles area who often visits schools. On Wednesday, he portrayed the fictional character “Mychael Wordsmythe,” a storyteller in the court of England’s Queen Elizabeth I.

In his accented voice, he greeted the children: “My lords and kind ladies, good morrow.”

Gotcher showed them the contents of five leather pouches attached to his belt and around his neck. One contained stones to “ward off negativity” and bring good fortune, another yielded gold coins, another his “identification papers,” and another his juggling balls.

The children were astonished with his tales about hardships of the times.

Children were sold into apprenticeship by the age of 5, becoming journeymen by 15.

People bathed about three times a year and owned maybe two changes of clothing, he said.

Times were tough on those who stepped out of line, he told them.

“If you talked against the queen or a nobleman, they would take molten silver and pour a thin strip on your tongue,” he said.