For their YouTube channel see http://www.youtube.com/user/burdikenknight/videos
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Burdiken Medieval Knights are a living history/re-enactment group based in the Queensland town of Home Hill on the Burdekin River. The group have a channel on YouTube that features a series of films, including broadsword lessons and demonstrations, and a Warhammer game. The re-enactor is dressed in a medieval-style sleeveless tunic in some of the films, and the banner for the channel features a knight in armour and a helmet looking at a castle. Burdiken Medieval Knights perform a demonstration each month at the Home Hill Crown Hotel Markets.
For their YouTube channel see http://www.youtube.com/user/burdikenknight/videos
For their website see http://eskfestival.com.au/Home.php
]]>The Esk Festival, also known as the Brisbane Valley Festival, is an annual single-day event held in the Queensland town Esk. A major component of the festival are displays of ‘Living History & Medieval Re-enactments’ which take place all day on the ‘Field of Honour’. The festival website promises Celts, Saxons, and Vikings, and medieval re-enactment groups who performed at the 2012 festival were The Knights of Germanica (Holy Roman Empire from 1360-1410), Scions of Mars (15th century knights), Ormsgard Dark Age Village (hunters and traders of 400-1000), Damascus (Crusader Knights Hospitalier), Saga Vikings, Rafnheim (late migration age Northern Europe), and Black Wolf (Crusades). The groups dress in period costume, perform with weapons, and re-enact other aspects of medieval culture such as trade, village life, and pre-Christian religion.
For their website see http://eskfestival.com.au/Home.php
For their blog see http://blackwolfcaravan.blogspot.com.au/
]]>Black Wolf is a living history/re-enactment group based in the Queensland town of Allora. They are focus on the Crusades and Crusader experiences in the Middle East during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Their leader is ‘Duke Robert IV’. The text on the Black Wolf website emphasises the multicultural nature of the Holy Land (referred to as Outremer: Fr. outre mer, over-seas) and the merchant caravans travelling the Silk Road from China. Two famous medieval explorers, Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta, are also mentioned. The multicultural interest of the group can be seen in their members, whose characters are French, Turkish, Irish, Danish, and English. The gallery on the website highlights the martial aspects of the group, with members dressed as knights in chain mail and helmets fighting with swords and shields.
For their blog see http://blackwolfcaravan.blogspot.com.au/
For their website see http://crimsoncog.wix.com/crimson-cog
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The Crimson Cog are a historical re-enactment group in New South Wales. They focus on the Hanseatic League in the years 1250-1300, particularly the city of Lübeck in northern Germany. The Hanseatic League were a confederation of merchant guilds and towns who dominated trade in the Baltic and North Seas from the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries. The Cog was a cargo ship used by the League.
For their website see http://crimsoncog.wix.com/crimson-cog
Their website provides some information about hourglass gauntlets (http://www.medievalshoppe.com.au/hourglass-gauntlets.html):
"When fighting was almost entirely hand-to-hand, the thorough protection of the hand was necessarily of paramount importance. Armour for the head and body was, after all, but a second line of defence against the attack which penetrated the guard of the weapon. Any damage to the hand which controlled all offensive movements, as well as all parries, would place a combatant at the mercy of his antagonist. But the armourer had not only to give his attention to the protective qualities of the covering which enclosed a part so vulnerable and so likely to receive a wound, he had also to consider how he should least interfere with the use of so complicated a piece of mechanism as the human hand. It was on account of these very important considerations that one finds the gauntlet always more complicated in the details of its construction than the rest of the protective outfit.
Underneath the plate was worn a leather glove, to the fingers and thumb of which small overlapping scales were attached to complete the defence of the hand. Hourglass gauntlets are considered the zenith of medieval gauntlets. An example of this type may be seen on the brass of Sir John de Saint Quintan in Brandesburton Church, Yorkshire, which may be dated at about 1397. The famous effigy of Edward, Prince of Wales, known as the Black Prince, in the cathedral church of Canterbury depicts this masterful warrior wearing this kind of hand defence."
An image of reproduction hourglass gauntlets, sold by the Medieval Shoppe in Parkes, NSW. The Medieval Shoppe produces and sells replicas of swords, shields, armour, and other historical weapons.
Their website provides some information about hourglass gauntlets (http://www.medievalshoppe.com.au/hourglass-gauntlets.html):
"When fighting was almost entirely hand-to-hand, the thorough protection of the hand was necessarily of paramount importance. Armour for the head and body was, after all, but a second line of defence against the attack which penetrated the guard of the weapon. Any damage to the hand which controlled all offensive movements, as well as all parries, would place a combatant at the mercy of his antagonist. But the armourer had not only to give his attention to the protective qualities of the covering which enclosed a part so vulnerable and so likely to receive a wound, he had also to consider how he should least interfere with the use of so complicated a piece of mechanism as the human hand. It was on account of these very important considerations that one finds the gauntlet always more complicated in the details of its construction than the rest of the protective outfit.
Underneath the plate was worn a leather glove, to the fingers and thumb of which small overlapping scales were attached to complete the defence of the hand. Hourglass gauntlets are considered the zenith of medieval gauntlets. An example of this type may be seen on the brass of Sir John de Saint Quintan in Brandesburton Church, Yorkshire, which may be dated at about 1397. The famous effigy of Edward, Prince of Wales, known as the Black Prince, in the cathedral church of Canterbury depicts this masterful warrior wearing this kind of hand defence."
For their website see http://www.battleofthenations.com.au/index.html
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The Battle of Nations Festival is a full contact medieval tournament held in Europe which began in 2009. Australia will field a team for the first time in 2013 and will be captained by Kit Houston. The event features various combat categories, from one vs one duels to all vs all, and one including mounted knights on horses. There is also a side archery event for bows and crossbows. Contestants are expected to use historically accurate weapons and armour, and heraldry. Weapons featured include sword, longsword, shields, axes, and sword and buckler. The event also has an six-part online television show.
For their website see http://www.battleofthenations.com.au/index.html