[Regia-NA] Swordplay Symposium

Sun, 15 Jun 2003 18:36:40 -0700

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Last weekend I attended the Third Annual St George Swordplay Symposium International in Benecia California. This was a meeting of scholars, students instructors in the burgeoning field of Historial European Swordsmanship. The Symposium focused mainly on the longsword of the high medieval period and on rapier play, but there were some things I saw there that might pertain to Viking-Age re-enactment.
http://www.chronique.com/schola/Symposium_2003.htm/
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There was a vendor’s table displaying many handmande aluminum swords. Many of the swordsmanship groups are starting to move to aluminum for sword simulators. The craftsman in question had made a number of Hastings-era swords. He also displayed a brace for fine axes. I believe there was recently a conversation on the weight of re-enactment axes. The weight of re-enactment steel swords is also a concern; the blades must have a certain thickness of edge for safety’s sake, but this also adds to the weight of the weapon (whether sword or axe) and this might decrease safety! I have found in using an aluminum weapon that such a blade can be very easy to use safely, with realistic-looking blows. With heavier steel swords, I believe that when you pull blows, or “slam on the brakes”, this might be visible to the viewing public, while aluminum swords are easier to deliver a safe, dangerous-looking blow. Hollywood, after all, uses aluminum swords almost exclusively. Now I know that with steel and aluminum both on the field, the two metals are bound to clash (particularly with swords), the softer metal can turn into a dangerous saw! I am simply interested in raising the topic for discussion.
I believe the vendor was:
<A href="http://www.therionarms.com/">http://www.a-work-of-art.net</A>
Although I don’t see the aluminum pieces displayed…
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Another thing I saw in the vendor booths was a penannular brooch. I inquired about who owned it and what its history was. Turned out it was made by one of the Viking-Age re-enactors in Australia. When the LOTR films were in production, the manufacturers of that brooch were flagged down and asked to make a truckload of them for the Riders of Rohan. L Unfortunately, that precioussss brooch was already sold and spoken for.
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Finally, I picked up a copy of Spada: Anthology of Swordsmanship. In it, there is an interesting article on the reconstruction of early medieval sword and shield techniques. I will comment on this in a following post, as it is pretty provocative.
<A href="http://www.chivalrybookshelf.com/titles/spada/spada.htm">http://www.chivalrybookshelf.com/titles/spada/spada.htm</A>
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