The article can be found at http://www.mysteriousaustralia.com/strangephenomenonh.html
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This article from ‘Psychic Australia’ in March 1977 by Rex Gilroy claims that Norse/Scandinavian sailors visited the South Pacific and northern Australia. The article, ‘Vikings Visited Cairns’’, is now freely available online on the Mysterious Australia website. The article includes various arguments for a Norse presence in the south Pacific, including swastika symbols found in rock and wood art in Java, Cambodia, Malaya, and Vietnam, the shape of war canoes in Fiji, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Tonga, and the physical appearance of some of the native inhabitants of New Guinea. Similar arguments are then applied to northern Australia, augmented by a comparison between northern-Australian Aboriginal religious beliefs and those of the Norse, such as the existence of a rainbow bridge (Bifröst in Old Norse texts) in both cultures, and spirits, or Valkyries, carrying off the dead after a battle. Gilroy also considers rock art near Cairns, Queensland, to show warriors dressed as Vikings in horned helmets. The author’s belief that Vikings wore horned and winged helmets, both of which became popularly associated with Vikings through the costumes used in Richard Wagner’s (1813-1883) Ring Cycle operas (although there is evidence for the ceremonial use of horned helmets in pre-Viking age Scandinavia), and the confusion in calling Wotan/Oðin/Odin the thunder god instead of Þorr/Thor, allows for little confidence in the assertions of the article.
The article can be found at http://www.mysteriousaustralia.com/strangephenomenonh.html
For their website see http://citadel-medieval-society.webs.com/Index.html
]]>Citadel Medieval Society is a living history group based in Queensland. The group were founded seventeen years ago and focus on two time periods and locations: the port of La Rochelle, France, in c. 1370 during the Hundred Years War; and the German warrior-monks the Livonian Brothers of the Sword (also known as the Sword Brethren or Schwertzbruder) who took part in the Livonian Crusade and operated in modern-day Estonia from 1202-1236, when they became the Livonian Order within the Teutonic Order. The group focus on combat (although other activities such as music and craft are practiced) and appear in full costume, and with weapons and tents, at various events. They are also available for hire.
For their website see http://citadel-medieval-society.webs.com/Index.html
The logo for the group is a heraldic lion rampant on a shield, and their website features images from medieval illuminated manuscripts.
For their website see http://www.knightsorderlionrampant.com/index.html
]]>Knights Order of Lion Rampant is a living history group based in the Brisbane suburb of Lutwyche. The group were founded in 1991 and focus on the culture of chivalry, especially that surrounding tournaments, that existed in western and central Europe at the end of the fourteenth century. Although there is a focus on the clothes, weapons, and combat associated with tournaments, the group also engage in other activities and have staged a Latin Mass and conducted research into medieval cosmetics. They have also collaborated with the Queensland Museum and The Abbey Museum on a museum exhibition. Knights Order of Lion Rampant performs at various Queensland events.
The logo for the group is a heraldic lion rampant on a shield, and their website features images from medieval illuminated manuscripts.
For their website see http://www.knightsorderlionrampant.com/index.html
For their website see http://www.eslitedcorps.com/index.html
For more information on their founder see http://www.sirjustyn.com/home.htm
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Eslite d’ Corps: Premier 14th C Reenactment are a living history group based in the outer Brisbane suburb of Redcliffe North. The group were founded in 2006 and are headed by ‘Sir Justyn Webb’. Eslite d’ Corp is based on a quote attributed to the courtier composer Guillaume de Machaut to King Philip VI of France, advising him to only accept the best men into his army for the war against Edward III of England. The group concentrate on the period 1340-1380 and re-create the art, combat, music, costume, craft, dance, food, and tournaments of that era. Eslite d’ Corps perform at various Queensland events.
For their website see http://www.eslitedcorps.com/index.html
For more information on their founder see http://www.sirjustyn.com/home.htm
For their online store see http://warsword.com.au/index.php
]]>War Sword is a store specialising in swords and armour in the Brisbane suburb of Carina, Queensland. They sell various re-creations of medieval weapons, including axes, halberds, shields, spears, swords, and helmets and full suits of armour. There are also weapons based on such medievalism film and television series as The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, as well as films set in the medieval era such as Braveheart and Kingdom of Heaven.
For their online store see http://warsword.com.au/index.php
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/