I attended the Tournament of the Horse and Falcon this weekend in the Barony of Forgotten Sea, Calontir. The tournament itself was great. It’s a five man melee tournament fought as a round robin so pleanty of fighting and there were just enough teams to make a good tournament and be able to finish. On the seccond day of the events I got armoured up early and went looking for pickups. I found Baron Wulfrick on the list field and asked he if he would participate in my quest. He agreed and we had a good training session. I think I’m improving a bit as I work on this quest and I think it’s already helping my fighting.
Thank you Baron Wulfrick for taking the time to help me with my quest!
p.s. sorry about the video quality. I’m having trouble with my software.
Recently there has been some discussion on the Armour Archive about some changes being made to the SCA rules of the list regarding covering blatantly modern material and equipment. The usual arguments have cropped up about how hard and expensive it is for people like the much lamented “poor college student” to put together a nice looking harness. Apparently some folks even think a tunic and baggy pants are too far out reach for these poor kids. Many of the regular member think this is a stretch.
Any reasonable hobby has a price point to enter. The SCA is no different. If your having trouble figuring out how your going to cover your basic needs like keeping a roof over your head or feeding yourself then taking up a new hobby probably isn’t such a hot idea. It has been my experience that getting started in a typical hobby usually runs a minimum of $200-$500. That’s a fairly decent budget for a starter kit and there is no reason that starter kit can’t look decent with a little extra research and effort. If you scrounge a bit you can even trim that.
I recently picked up a helm (the one pictured above) from another Armour Archive member Hjalmr for $80.00. It’s a very basic early 14th century great helm which should be suitable for creating a knightly impression from the first quarter or so of the century. I’m planning to build a “knightly” looking kit around it for about $100 minus the gauntlets. When I’m done I will add in the price of the helm and gauntlets for a total harness cost.
About a decade ago I purchased a 10’x18.5’x8′ Medieval Double Bell Wedged Tent from Tentsmiths. Despite the fact that it has spent a good deal of that time in storage the tent is in excellent condition. I have never had a mold or mildew problem with this tent and this is the first time I have had it up in over five years. Unfortunately this tent represents my entire camp at the moment. I use to have a bed and a couple benches but I don’t have those any longer. Currently my plan is to replace those items and add several other items. First up will probably be iron stakes unstead of the modern stakes I’m currently using. I will also soon be adding some kind of rugs or ground cover. I want to make some break down stools and a break down tressle table.
Eventually I will probably be buying a much larger tent because my family has outgrown this one for anything but small events. I’m going to keep this one however because it is very easy to put up and I do sometimes go to events by myself and it will be good for those events.
I’ve known Syr Reimond for quite some time and even before he was knighted I saw him as an excellent example of knightly virtue. I come from a small shire and we have rarely had Knights at our fighter practice but of late we have been trying to get people from other groups to come down and fight with us. Syr Reimond visited our group this last weekend and gave us all some training time. He even loaned my brother and law half his harness so that he could fight for the first time. Since I have been too busy to attend an event in a while I was glad to have the oppertunity to get another fight in for my quest.
In an effort to get prepared for this war and tournament season I decided to take stock of my armour. Not just what I am wearing on the field at the time but also the “best” pieces I have in my inventory. Of course there are several piece here that are not padded or strapped but they could be set up fairly easily. With any luck I’ll have at least an extra harness or two put together by the end of this year so I can provide armour to some of my noble cousins that have not yet acquired theirs.
I picked up a copy of “The Last Duel” by Eric Jager about two years ago. It’s an account of the last judicial duel in France which took place in 1386. When I picked up the book I read about half way through it then it got away from me.
I was recently speaking to Sir Reimonde (Calontir) who reminded me of the book during a conversation about different text and tales on Knighthood. I remembered how interesting the tale was so I decided to pick it up again and give it another go. I’m about half way through the 2nd chaper now and I can’t figure out why I ever set the book down in the first place.
The book is a well written account and an excellent source of insight into the life of lower nobility in the late medieval period. I can’t wait to finish it!
Geffroi De Charny’s “A Knights Own Book of Chivalry” is I think an excellent book on the subject of actual medieval chivalry and a great read for any knight or squire in the SCA. De Charny was a knights knight and a real fighting man of the 14th century. He was a member of the Order of the Star and he died at Poitiers where he bore the Oriflamme the banner of the King of France. This man knew and lived his business and his book on chivalry reflects his genuine experience.
I have been reading Arthurian literature since I was a boy and I thought I had a good handle on medieval chivalry but after reading De Charny I realized just how out of perspective my views were and how tainted they were by Victorian and modern concepts about chivalry and knighthood. De Charney starts out talking about Prowess a virtue often overlooked by modern civility then he proceeds right into the types of deeds of arms a knight can perform and which are most worthy. Every subject he touches on is relevant to a student of chivalry and medieval knighthood. His wisdom is often not what you would expect but always practical.
I purchased my copy at a Barns and Noble but it is available many places on-line.
A Squire's Tale 