The Armour Archive

SyrRhys

[He told the gentleman that if they fought again that he was going to "drop tonnage" down. Meaning "I'm going to hit you as hard as I possibly can". Why? So he'd get a point? Hope giving someone a concussion, or breaking one of their bones is worth the lesson taught. I don't agree that's a good way...

SyrRhys

Off topic: So long as we're going with a single counted blow fighting method I'd like to see a calibrating blow become part of the pre-fight ritual. Bang. "That'll do just fine for me, my lord." Bang. "I'd like a little bit more than that please." Hi, I've seen people do a lot of that, but it never...

SyrRhys

I could probably make a matching strap leash but the manuscript seems to show just rope being used. Though if I did make the leather strap leash, I'd probably use a modern latch on it to make it work. Just using a rope is correct. Scenthounds are tied with a rope called a Liam (and huntsmen who lea...

SyrRhys

toads that would say something like that need to me removed from the field. i mean how self-centered, ignorant, and insulting. anyone who actually thinks they know the force of a blow that didnt hit them is a fool. the person that thinks so highly of themselves and so little of their opponent as to...

SyrRhys

Yep, to SyrRhys question, Logan summed it up nicely for me. I am not saying I take light, I just take what I consider a good shot. But I try to throw harder than that, to leave no doubt, which unfort, I am not always true at, which has cost me a tourney or two. I can sort of see that; I'm not sure ...

SyrRhys

I see two primary causes for this: 1) Failure to train new fighters in the "the opponent calls what hits him" paradigm. Absolutely. Agreed. 2) Knights/peers/senior fighters either kibbitzing during fights or, more insidious, bitching to a sympathetic private audience later. And I think this is true...

SyrRhys

This thread is very useful, but I want to make sure that people understand my original problem, and clearly understand what I am saying about it. I just don't like a meme being thrown around that serves the person who is temporarily stupid more than it will serve the person who is trying to deal fa...

SyrRhys

However, I always take lighter shots than I hit, which I believe is the correct way to do it. Why do you believe that? Aren't you cheating your opponent by taking lighter blows? If he is there to test himself shouldn't he be allowed the same privilege you require of yourself--that he strikes hard? ...

SyrRhys

Vitus von Atzinger wrote:Rhys, I will deeply consider what you have said.

As I have done and always will do with what you say, my friend.

SyrRhys

The flip side to all of this is "There is no such thing as excessive force" which was preached by one knight in particular in the East. I had a very powerfull squire, sadly he lft the society in disgust eiht years ago, at one tournament he watched this knight walk through attacks, and plant hard st...

SyrRhys

You forgot one V 6. Those guys take so much harder than us we can't win. Corrolary to #6: we can't have lost lose do to leser skill, fucktarded battle plans, or inferior numbers becuse we know that we are really superior and can only be beaten by cheats. Spoken like a true Wilmot. Well done, sir sq...

SyrRhys

Each man's reputation is his own. He made it, and he carries it like Marley's Chain. I've cheated people before- I am man enough to admit it. I have a terrible temper like most small creatures. On all of these occasions I was racked by guilt and sought the person out to beg their forgiveness. This ...

SyrRhys

It is simply not possible for the entire SCA fighting population to come to an agreement on definitions, principles etc. My own principles and definitions are not what I am worried about. I am also not worried about the definitions of people who I agree with. I am worried about the idea that some o...

SyrRhys

Life isn't chess. Chess sets up an artifical world where rules are precise and measurable, but life isn't like that. Our fighting is a test of prowess, courage, strength and endurance. The real loser isn't always the official loser, but the test and its results, while difficult to precisely quantify...

SyrRhys

With respect, brother, your argument is flawed. Who gets to define "center"? I think my calibration is what a worthy man should have; you might think it too high. A weakling might think I ignore his blows when I just think he isn't skilled enough to land a worthy blow. Many years ago I fought a Tuch...

SyrRhys

Duke Conn MacNeil/Bob Charron's Fiore has applicability. Some of it they won't allow us to have fun with, though. Most of Fiore's material is going to be very difficult to bring into the SCA since Fiore emphasises grappling so much. You'd do much better, I think, to select a work (e.g., Ringeck) th...

SyrRhys

Who is this guy? Anyone have an email addy for him? His name is Will McLean and his address is McLean1382@aol.com. He is known in the SCA as Galleron de Crecy, OL. He is the author of an amazing collection of articles and translations relating to deeds of arms, and his laurel is for researching dee...

SyrRhys

You have to think about what you're going to do. If you're going to fight with sword & shield then none of the manuals have anything to show you since none of them discuss the way we use sword and shield (which seems to be quite a bit like the way the iconography shows it to have been done in period...

SyrRhys

Well, if you'll recall, I *did* suggest a format and a set of rules based upon a real 14th-century deed of arms. What did you think of that?

SyrRhys

SirAngus wrote:Also, many deeds talk about so many blows with the axe...

What kind of axe do we think they are talking about? Halberds or hand axes?

Neither, Jeremy, they're talking about pollaxes.

SyrRhys

Murdock wrote:any movement???

I'm still busy checking the thread count on my lentner to make sure I can qualify.

SyrRhys

I did not mean to imply it only meant horse combat skills, I worded my answer poorly. Certainly chivalry changes over the medieval period but I often find when these kinds of questions are asked we are not talking about prowess and God but instead it is about modern ideals of correct behavior. It i...

SyrRhys

Is that chivalrous? First I assume you mean is it polite? Chivalry in the middle ages was about combat, horse combat, not polite behavior like the Victorians made it. Hi, Actually, "is it chivalrous?" may be a meaningful question here. First, your comment about chivarly relating only to mounted com...

SyrRhys

I've played the SCA game on and off since we used REAL axe handles for our padded axes. I think the above quote sums up much of the issue Society wide... So, why are we hitting so hard? Rhinohiders? I would HOPE that a person using a mass weapon would individually calibrate it... You need to swing ...

SyrRhys

In all honesty, Murdock, the hammer heads hit like a rock at the force levels we use in the SCA (Avalon). It has nothing resembling progressive give, and does not have even the dubious benefit of the lightness of the unpadded polearms (which I do not care for). It might be workable if used with one...

SyrRhys

You don't want to hold tournaments, those are mounted melees. You want to fight deeds of arms on foot. And you don't want to have such a wide time period: Deeds of arms on foot are a phenomenon of the mid-14th century and later, and besides, much of the necessary armor (e.g., gauntlets don't really ...

SyrRhys

It is not easy to portray an early European persona and still be armored to SCA standards. I would actually say it's "not possible" unless you want to get away without any armor, and that's a sports rig. If someone wants to wear a great hauberk with hidden couters with a helm and mail chausses that...

SyrRhys

Not from my experience. They remember the guy who wins the most, and that's usually been Logan in his poly-cotton tabard and plastic armor. If there's ever been a shiny full plate guy on the field he usually doesn't last very long, so they forget about him about ten seconds after he's gone. Really?...

SyrRhys

Having spoken with those that made the decision in the Middle to pad the Talhoffer head, I can at least explain why the decision was made. The unpadded polearm has a certain weight (say 4 pounds). Adding the weight of the rubber talhoffer head adds another pound (give or take) to the striking area ...

SyrRhys

For the first part of the HYW (1337-1360) I heartily recommend War Cruel and Sharp by Clifford J. Rogers (The Boydell Press 2000). Edward III is too often portrayed as a too-chivalrous buffoon wandering helplessly through France, however professor Rogers goes back to primary source material to tell ...

SyrRhys

One point about faulds: I second Cet's comments about 14th-century faulds, my Mac breastplate is lamed that way so that arrows can't get in. But when I look at later-period breastplates I see that when the wearer walks the lames often separate because the lower lames are pushed up: This would create...

SyrRhys

According to French drill regulations of the 18th c., a cavalry charge would take about 90 seconds from 325 yards or 76 seconds from 275 yards. That includes covering nearly half the ground at a slow gallop or fast gallop, but the evidence is that medieval cavalry never charged faster than a trot. ...

SyrRhys

then there is the psychological factor. If you look at modern armies, the accuracy of a M16 rifle is quite good, and the average soldier was trained to shoot at targets, and was relatively accurate, still in vietnam to took on average 25000 rounds of small arms ammo to kill a single man. While I ag...

SyrRhys

I fight in hand-made turnshoes I made at Mac's shop (with his supervision) under my sabatons (I have to--nothing else would fit). They have no vibram, nor any inauthentic materials anywhere (except that the leather's probably been tanned differently than it was in period) except for the padded inser...

SyrRhys

the evidence is that medieval cavalry never charged faster than a trot. This intrigues me. Which sources, exactly? I've just started reading Dom Duarte's book on horsemanship and he certainly suggests faster movement, but I'll have to look to see if that was only single and not in formation.

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