NEW YORK—Thousands of people made the trek to the Cloisters at Fort Tyron Park on Sunday to step back into the days of flowing white gowns, melodious minstrels, and hand-crafted artistry.
Jester hats and fairy wings piled out of the 190 Street subway station into a sunny stone courtyard surrounded by trees.
The Cloisters were built after the model of five medieval French cloisters and house the Met Museum’s medieval collection.
At the entrance to the park, a medley of modern and archaic sights greeted the visitors. A family in medieval garb played fiddle, concertina, and harp.
A Dunkin’ Donuts truck was the anachronism at the site. They had coffee in the middle ages, but it probably didn’t come in a cup with pink and purple text with a donut on the side.
Nearby, the Manhattan Mini-Movers booth was attended by a purple-robed king.
The further one proceeded into the fair, the fewer signs of modernity punctuated the atmosphere, though one old-time craftsman was using duct-tape (one of the wonders of the modern world) to repair his antique machinery.
Children in burlap tunics sat atop their parent’s shoulders; fair maidens, monks, and chain-mailed knights enjoyed giant turkey legs right out of a medieval banquet.
To one side of the Cloister is the Hudson River. To the other side lies a cityscape, a reminder that the world has changed.
Two young women danced to a Celtic jig, with white and pink dresses flowing, long hair swinging back and forth, and rosy color brightening their cheeks. With a step out of the Cloisters and into the subway, the juxtaposition was most pronounced. Black-clad youth intermittently free-style rapped vulgar lyrics and complained about their iPod or cell phone malfunctions.
