The Armour Archive

Richard Blackmoore

Dilan, your interpretation is one of the key important ones that many ascribe to. It both makes sense but also creates a lot of our current headaches. To me, a pre-chivalric period persona, if based in Europe during the middle ages, may have most or all of the elements of a chivalric era knight. As ...

Richard Blackmoore

Hi Animal. Very good points. If I had all the answers, I'd just write a simple document saying "This is how it should be, here is a set of clarifications, additions and changes for the rules of the lists, to SCA corpora and other documents including descriptive SCA literature including new member pa...

Richard Blackmoore

Some valid points. And there is no one right answer to fix all the problems with the SCA that does not risk destroying some important part of it. That is why change comes so slowly and we debate it here. Frankly, many of those who want change are quite capable of winning a coronet or crown list and ...

Richard Blackmoore

By the way Tessa, when I talk about knightly Medieval European combat, I am referring to combat appropriate to the nobility during the era when knights actually existed. If you go back far enough in the middle ages, prior to the knightly era, you are more likely to find examples of nobles using bows...

Richard Blackmoore

I knew I missed something in my hasty response. Since everyone in the SCA is a noble, there is a tendency on my part and on many others to simply refer to all participants who perform in combat roles not appropriate to the nobility as well as those who claim to give up their noble birthright bestowe...

Richard Blackmoore

Hi Tessa. I can't respond in detail to your post right now, but a few key points. If a heavy weapons fighter is intentionally trying to injure an archer or break the archer's bow/crossbow/arrows/bolts, especially an archer who has already yielded and lying on the ground, that fighter is violating th...

Richard Blackmoore

Your Grace, I am not one of the Chivalry that thinks banning of CA should not take place simply because it would not be 'nice'. In fact I have advocated banning CA for many years and pushed for this in appropriate forums. Sometimes doing the right thing, precludes being nice. I tend to be one of tho...

Richard Blackmoore

Defeat a master of arms and strap his corpse to your back.

Richard Blackmoore

Richard Blackmoore

I have have this apalling image Alfred, of resurrecting the much and deservedly maligned Pennsic Boat Battle of years ago, just to find myself faced by Aztec archers in umiaks and kayaks piloted by Inuit. Not the Middle Ages as they were, much less as they 'should have been'. Time to get the hell ou...

Richard Blackmoore

Quote: "I have practised so-called 'live steel' combat re-enactment for well over 20 years. Live steel is a dreadful perjorative term, that some folk insist on using for what folk like me in The Vikings, Regia, the NVG, The Huscarls, the JomsVikings, Conquest etc do. These groups are a bit like SCA ...

Richard Blackmoore

While I used to think that exactly as you did, that "...almost all Chiv members dislike CA in its present form so intently." From partaking in discussions with Chivalry on misc other forums, I'd have to amend that to "Most Chivalry members dislike CA in its present form so intently." There are a ver...

Richard Blackmoore

Well.... The guiding documents explain it pretty well. We are supposed to be creating the noble/chivalric environment of Medieval Europe. And visitors to that environment are expected to participate as visitors to that environment reasonably would have. So a Samurai could visit Europe, it happened. ...

Richard Blackmoore

Um... Are they implying that all SCA combat archers are primitives?

Ducks, runs, hides...

Richard Blackmoore

Richard Blackmoore

There is a big difference between sidesword experiments with a select group of participants who are not trying to do full force competitive combat, with handing sharp steel longswords to the average SCA fighter and saying go at it and try to beat your opponent. I agree that experimentation witj and ...

Richard Blackmoore

Hi Steve. I am sorry you made an investment in expensive combat archery equipment that can no longer be used in your kingdom without more expense or without modification. While I am personally still against CA in the SCA, it is improving and if it is to go away, it should be because it needs to go a...

Richard Blackmoore

Thank you Animal for that explanation. Given that information, your participation makes much more 'sense' to me. In the past I had spoken with many Tuchux and read their postings on forums such as this. They in general explained that their culture not only does not embrace the concept of chivalry, b...

Richard Blackmoore

Hi Jester. I did not take it as a dig, no insult taken. Nor did I assume you meant to replace rattan swords and keep the existing rules necessarily. However, to me the key word is combat. That means that rather than doing choreographed live steel or unchoreographed live steel where blows are nonethe...

Richard Blackmoore

I can't tell you the original reason for banning it. But the current reason to keep it banned for combat (note that under certain circumstances real swords can be used in a limited way for demonstrations - not combat) is safety. Period. I know enough people who were on the board over the years that ...

Richard Blackmoore

European Medieval Bastard Sword with proper Quillons. Not a katana.

Even more challenging in bouts where thrusts are disallowed.

Great Sword is a close second.

Richard Blackmoore
East Kingdom KSCA.

Richard Blackmoore

Diomedes Sebastianus & PigFace, when will you learn that the rules and regulations don't matter, SCA members (oops you don't have to be a member to play) need to be able to do whatever they want whenever they want or "you're oppressing them". Remember, Supreme Executive Power Is Derived From The Mas...

Richard Blackmoore

My only comment on using wire in arrow heads is as follows. Heavy Weapons combattants are not permitted to use metal of any kind in the heads or striking surfaces of our weapons. Not even wire, which some of us thought about using to prevent splintering or to prevent damage to rattan/foam/leather et...

Richard Blackmoore

Late PeriodSCA: Anything post 1500.

Early Period SCA: Anything prior to 1401.

Pointless SCA Periods: Anything Prior to the advent of actual European Medieval Knighthood and anything after 1600.

Richard Blackmoore

Richard Blackmoore

Hi Tessa. I actually did read the combat missle rules, though frankly I have not memorized them. So when I saw your post that archers would be able to wear 18 gauge helms, I assumed it was another update/change you were putting in. Since you clarified that it is only for non-contact archers and for ...

Richard Blackmoore

That makes perfect sense. But I noticed one new piece of information that puts up a big red flag. If archers that are subject to be struck with a heavy weapons blow are going to be permitted to wear 18 gauge helms, that is not safe. At least not in the East/Atlantia/Pennsic where people hit pretty h...

Richard Blackmoore

Stephan Von Dresden has super duke potential, he just chooses not to be king. Yes there are some people with similar levels of talent who may beat him even when Stephen is in practice and having a good day, but it is a short and distinguished list. Stephen's just too damn good not have won at least ...

Richard Blackmoore

Thank you all for the comments, updates and corrections. Those appear to be excellent solutions, I did not realize gleaning and reuse without reinspection had already been banned society wide. I personally prefer Society Wide standards for both fighting & CA when it involved heavy fighters (provided...

Richard Blackmoore

I don't think comparing the safety of spears to arrows is comparing apples to apples. Spears have to be inspected and are typically used by a single wielder during a battle (sometimes passed to others but most of the time not) where arrows are often gleaned from the field after being walked on by tr...

Richard Blackmoore

The day I have to put fencing materials or steel mesh in my period sallet with a visor or my bargrilled open face sallets & bascinets just so that an archer can shoot at me, is the day I give up on the SCA and quit fighting. If they want to shoot me, fine, but arrows must meet the same safety requir...

Richard Blackmoore

The topic of siege weapon effects was posted on the SCA Chivalry Yahoo Groups. I specifically mentioned the Gulf Wars incident where a ballista bolt passing over a fighter's head clipped the top of the glaive and he was called dead. I thought and do think this is a stupid rule. I did receive some an...

Richard Blackmoore

Despite my issues with CA, if an arrow hits me in such a way that the rules indicate that it has an effect on me (killed, lost limb, etc.), I will of course follow the rules. Anyone who refuses to follow the rules for CA should be (and in my experience is) subject to the same sanctions that apply to...

Richard Blackmoore

Tessa, I crossposted this to the SCA chivalry group on Yahoo.

Richard Blackmoore

Richard Blackmoore

I'm a little out of touch with the current status of those fighters, but given where they were 4 years ago, my money's on Rurik if he's in practice and wants it.

Richard Blackmoore

Richard Blackmoore

Here is the text I posted to the Yahoo SCA Chivalry Groups: Dear Brothers. m Tessa the Huntress has posted a request for information regarding actually historical archery use in the medieval period, on the armour archive link above. The various issues regarding Combat Archery in the SCA have been di...

Richard Blackmoore

Thank you Malcolm. There will always be people unwilling to listen, think or change their positions. We can't do anything about them, except try to make sure they are not in positions of authority and refute their positions logically and in public, preferably in a constructive way. What you can do, ...

Richard Blackmoore

Hi Tessa. I finally posted this to the SCA chivalry group on Yahoo. Sorry for the delay. I hope you get good responses.

Richard