or even just reenactors, rediscovering the traditions and uses of a people, develop an experimental archeology, for example using a sword reproduced following the miniatures of the time. Using it, they manage to understand why the form was just that, and they divulge the notion, both in specific publications, and directly among the public of the events they recreate, that is, they do teaching.
We say this is the functional role and the reason why a re-enactor can spend days reconstructing ancient gestures.
Obviously, those who are the protagonists of a historical re-enactment experience one or more emotionally intense days, as they often have to reach places of artistic value, traveling in company, meeting similar groups from even very distant locations.