There’s nothing local found this week, but Eastern Europe continues its traditional love-affair with all things historical and sword-like. The Ukraine, Poland, Belarus and Russia all have WMA/HEMA competitions that have ‘hundreds’ of participants, with thousands of spectators – and often have strong municipal and provincial support as well.
Their different sword-cultures are long and established, if somewhat hidden in their collective past. Where are the Polish medieval ‘fight books’? Who were the Ukrainian renaissance ‘Masters at Arms’? Who taught in the Belarus salles?
And who’s making up their safety rules for their current medieval demonstrations and competitions!
Get in there and Dig!
ПОРОГИ (Zaporozhyia?, Ukraine) 19 August 13 (Marina Botnareva)
This weekend past saw the “Zaporozhye Oak Cup” competition fought for, as part of the civic historical festival.
Two days of intense medieval-style man-on-man and team-on-team sword and shield combat saw the ‘Shadow of Ages’ historical fencing group take home the tightly contested honours this year. Participant Sergei Polyushko remarked that his challenge was to adapt his fighting style to each individual opponent – having to adjust to fighters that had speed, followed by those that had strength.
Of note, in some of the intense group-on-group melees, the referees had to separate various combatants by getting their attention with blows with a shovel to their backs!
Reinforcing Success
GAZETA (Białystok, Poland) 09 August 13 Rozpędzone konie, świszczące strzały. Weekend z Tatarami
GS24 (Warsaw, Poland) 16 August 13 Jak Indianie lub Tatarzy. Warsztaty Łucznictwa Konnego w Mrzeżynie
The same weekend featured the IV International Polish-Tartar Mounted Archery Competition in Supra. Aside from numerous Polish teams, contingents also showed up from Brazil, Turkey, Russia, Luxembourg, France and Spain to share their joy of this unique martial art.
Archery workshops, historical fencing, horse racing and regional cultural events combined to make a full weekend for the thousands of participants and spectators that made it out to the competition grounds.
And capitalising on interest in their sport, various horse archer authorities conducted an intensive horse archery workshop in Mrzeżyn … on the same weekend (who does the deconfliction planning for these events anyway?)
The article’s list of classes and progression is extensive, and demonstrates the detail to which the horse archery community has dedicated themselves to in order to ensure that the art flourishes in moderns time without losing its historical authenticity.
Win, or I will Crush You like I do a Cockroach!
НАРОДНОЙ ГАЗЕТЫ (Minsk, Belarus) 30 July 13 Heroes на Замковой горе
Individual and group combats, equipment displays and a massed melee were all part of an extensive Belarus cultural event … as was the traditional cockroach race.
While the ‘hundreds’ of fighters that showed up for Mstislavl’s “Castel Hill” fighting could be compared more to the re-enactor community that the martial arts side of the salle (though We’re positive that their post-bout bruises are indistinguishable from ours), the intent of their participation in this event is to awaken “interest in local medieval history, present chivalric culture and inspire patriotism” within the young observers. And in this, our communities are more alike than different.
Kitty with Klaws!
МОСКОВСКИЙ КОМСОМОЛЕЦ (Moscow, Russia) 31 July 13 В Кратове отхороводили крещение Руси
As described above, only this time it is the historical recreation group “White Lynx” doing it on the shore of Lake Kratovo in Russia. For 15 years White Lynx has been studying the arms of 9th-11th Century Russia – and the culture behind those times.
A Hand Full of History
NORTHFIELD NEWS (Minnesota) 16 August 13 History Lesson: Battle sword used during Civil War (Kara Hildreth)
Another U.S.A. Civil War sword finds its way to a place best positioned to explain its part in local history.
Cathy Osterman, museum curator archivist, said she loves her job – and particularly this part of it - because she can hold history in her hands, and she hopes that displays such as this of Duren Kelley’s sword will “let the public have the enjoyment and thrill that I get.”
Snippets
Umm, well … umm …how do We introduce this …