Okay, so it's been more than a month since the last update. Here we go!
There were two reenactment events in the last few weeks that I was invited to in the last few weeks, both with the Kings Horses - one of the only groups in Victoria that does equestrian reenactment. What that means, in layman's terms, is jousting! Lots and lots of jousting. Plus plenty of peasants to help out.
So, the first event at Maryborough apparently went well. I didn't go to this one, so I'm not entirely sure what happened. I'd give a proper update on that, but I really don't know how it went. Oh well. The second one went off without a hitch however! Last weekend (2nd and 3rd of October) we had an event at Kryal Castle, just outside of Ballarat. There were quite a few groups there, including the Melbourne Swordplay Guild and the Jomsvikings. Look them up, they're both quite interesting groups.
Anyhow, the Kings Horses put on their displays on both days. The entire weekend was fairly busy, considering the football was on and the entire country was rabid at the time. The first display we put on was basic jousting - nice and simple, Sir Geoffrey and Sir Angus charged at each other three times, and scored appropriately. All well and good. There was also a skill at arms display and the hunting of the boar, as well as a demonstration of Sir Geoffrey's bronze mace. All in all, a good weekend, minus the sunburn!
Oh, slinging. Right. Just a quick update in that regard - I've found a couple of depictions of soldiers using a small shepherds sling in the Maciejowski Bible. Good enough reason for me to start using one, so I made a quick and dirty sling with some scrap leather and a couple of shoelaces. Seems to work pretty well, though it turns out that stones about an inch and a half across are easier to manage. More updates and possible pictures to come!
