100 Knighs 100 Fights #1 Master Glendour Knight of Calontir Sunday, Nov 22 2009

Years ago when I was a wee lad of 11 or 12 I went to the Kansas City Renaissance Festival and while I was there I found a shop called “Talon Armoury”.  Even back in those days I loved armour so I had to go check this place out.  Inside was the most amazing array of armour including a full suit of Maximillian armour inside a glass case.  The shop was run by Master Glendour a Laurel in the Kingdom of Calontir.  He was quite patient with myself and my friends despite the fact we were getting our grubby finger prints all over his nicely finished armour.  He answered all our questions about the armour and how he made it and then he told us about a group called The Society for Creative Anachronisms who were running a big demo on the site.  I think I spent the entire day there running back and forth between the SCA demo and Master Glendours shop.  A few years later I found out there was a SCA group just an hours drive from my home so I joined up. 

Master Glendour was also knighted a few years ago in the Kingdom of Calontir so when I saw him at the Toys for Tots tournament I knew I had to ask him to be the first knight to accept my 100 Knights 100 Fights challenge which he graciously accepted.  I was honored not only because Master Glendour is such and excellent knight who embodies the knightly virtues in every way but also because it was he who introduced me to the SCA and armouring. 

Thank you Master Glendour!

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Who is Duncan Boyde? Wednesday, Nov 11 2009

Good Sir James!

Duncan Boyde was born in Roxburghshire Scotland in 1295 to William Boyde a poor squire with a small estate on the border between Scotland and England. His family was forced to leave their home when he was little more than a year old when Edward I of England invaded Scotland. His family fled to the north and stayed for some time at the homes of various relations.

By 1308 William was able to reclaim his home in Roxburghshire and his family were able to enjoy a few years of relative stability and prosperity despite a near constant state of conflict in that region. In 1314 William was thrown from his horse while traveling to join the forces of Edward Bruce who was laying siege to Stirling Castle. Badly injured he and Duncan returned home. William lingered for some time but eventually died from complications relating to his injuries. It was while making funeral arrangements for his father in late June that he learned King Robert the Bruce had won a major victory over the English at Bannockburn.

After his father’s death Duncan took over the family estate but he seemed to have an even harder time making ends meet than William. In 1315 Duncan married an English woman named Alice Attwode. In 1322 he entered into the service of Sir Alan Cathcart as a Butler.

When King Robert died in 1329 he charged Good Sir James Douglas to take his heart on a crusade. Sir Alan Cathcart pledged to join this expedition. As Sir Alan’s butler Duncan is also going on the journey and is currently helping Sir Alan prepare for the journey.

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100 Knights 100 Fights. Tuesday, Nov 10 2009

  

Greetings Gentles

On the 17^th of October this year I became an authorized fighter again in the Kingdom of Calontir after several years of inactivity. I am squired to Jarl Thjothrekr Eriksson formally of Calontir now of the West Kingdom. I have not seen my knight in person for several years now although we do communicate from time to time.

Now that we are both active again I expect our communication to become more frequent. However this does not change the fact that we are living much further apart and as such I will rarely have opportunities to benefit from his direct teaching with regards to my fighting skills. So I have devised a personal feat of arms that I hope will help me increase my prowess and learn as much as I can. I plan to challenge 100 Knights to fight with me and instruct me in areas where I am lacking.

My plan is not to fight a single bout with these Knights but a series of bouts which I also plan on recording with a HD video camera. I also hope to do a short interview with each Knight about what they think I need to improve on and hopefully also what knighthood means to them. I also plan to chronicle this feat on this blog. 

My sole purpose for doing this is to become a better squire and man at arms so that I may better serve my King and Kingdom. Hopefully other fighters around the known world from the lessons and insight as well. I don’t plan on setting a deadline for myself. The quest will end only after I have completed 100 recorded bouts.

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