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Book and Sword

~ Some thoughts by a scholar of both

Book and Sword

Tag Archives: reconstruction

Cross-Post: Historical Metalworking Courses in Saskatchewan

01 Wednesday Nov 2017

Posted by Sean Manning in Modern

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

cross-post, reconstruction, Royal Oak Armoury, shameless plug

The cheekguard of a bronze Chalcidian helmet, in repoussé, by Jeffrey Hildebrandt. Horsey!

Jeffrey Hildebrandt is offering several courses on historical metalworking techniques in Saskatoon, Sakatchewan this winter.

Schedule for 2017

November
4 – Repoussé. Learn the basics of this venerable art form, creating fine relief work over pitch. $150 + tax
18/19 – Spangenhelm. Build your own Viking helmet using historical armouring processes. $250 + tax
December
2 – Jewellery Pendants. Learn techniques in etching, stamping and pierce-work while making several pendants. $150 + tax
9 – Victorian Christmas Ornaments. Have some festive fun crafting Christmas ornaments as gifts and decorations, while picking up some traditional tinsmithing skills. $150 + tax

Additional Information

No previous experience required
4-5 students per course. Spillover interest may lead to additional courses.
Course fees can be paid digitally to register – contact me by email.
Register early to secure your spot; free cancellation up to a week before the class.
All tools and materials are supplied, and you keep what you make.

To register before the classes fill write to Jeffrey Hildebrandt (master@royaloakarmoury.com) All prices are in CAD.

Cross-Post: Bronze Sword Workshop, Scotland, 7-8 August

02 Wednesday Aug 2017

Posted by Sean Manning in Ancient

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

ancient, Bronze Age, cross-post, reconstruction, swords

Six unpolished bronze swords laid on the grass

Photo care of Neil Burridge of Bronze Age Swords

Neil Burridge had to give up his annual bronze sword workshops when he noticed his competitors taking them, but he is making an exception this year. This one is not in Cornwall:

Bronze Sword Workshop 7th & 8th AUG Crannog Center
there are still 3 places left of the 6 contact them directly
01887 830583 this follows a history event over the weekend
Cost £100 stunning value

Bronze sword workshop
A two day workshop exploring the manufacture of bronze swords in the Late Bronze Age. The group will work together to cast a sword using charcoal and bronze age methods.
Then each participant will work on there own Ewart Park sword, cleaning, forging and looking at different ways handles were fitted. The development of leaf shaped blades though the late bronze age is the story of the Ewart Park sword making it the most prolific sword from this time in the British isles.

I believed that he means the Scottish Crannog Centre near Aberfeldy in Perthshire. You can find the original posting by Neil Burridge at https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1026451124124591&id=644921868944187&substory_index=0 {warning: Facebook!}

Further Reading Bronze Age Swords http://www.bronze-age-swords.com/

Matthew Amt’s Greek Hoplite Page Updates

11 Saturday Feb 2017

Posted by Sean Manning in Ancient, Medieval

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

ancient, Iron Age, reconstruction, shameless plug

Screenshot of a website with a title flanked by two photos of hoplites

Matthew Amt’s Greek Hoplite Page is pretty well known among people interested in ancient warfare. It might not be as well known that he has been updating it, expanding the bibliography to include some of the new publications on Greek clothing, arms, and armour and addressing the great shoulder-flap-cuirass controversy. As I revise this post, his old glued linen armour is sitting in a bath, being cleansed of its sticky contamination so that the linen can be salvaged and remade into a quilted armour. He has also added a typology of Classical Greek swords based on several archaeological publications after deciding that his old swords and sources did not match the originals, and is working with Deepeka in India to help them make replicas which are closer to the originals (a Labour of Herakles in itself!)

One thing that I admire about his approach is its humanity. One of the problems with reconstructing historical artefacts is that any one depends on a whole system of crafts and industries which are usually missing today. It is very difficult to obtain wide sheets of copper-tin bronze, so would-be bronzesmiths are reduced to salvaging decorative panels on doors and cracked cymbals. Ancient woollens were often woven to shape so that they did not need to be cut, and could have had a density and thinness which we associate with cottons; having something appropriate specially woven and dyed is a long and expensive process. There is not much demand for split or coppiced ash poles today, so modern spear-shafts have to be cut out of sawn logs, with the result that they are probably more fragile and worse balanced than the originals. Rather than give up, or exhaust oneself in the search for the perfect, Matthew suggests choosing “good enough” and making continual small improvements as your skill or knowledge increases. I think that his site succeeds in its goal of giving readers the information to make a “good enough” kit, and enough pointers to sources that they can start digging deeper if they want to.

Cross-Post: Historical Sword and Shield Training 2017

03 Friday Feb 2017

Posted by Sean Manning in Medieval, Modern

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

High Medieval, historical European martial arts, medieval, modern, prehistoric European martial arts, reconstruction, Viking Age

From Dimicator, the alter ego of Roland Warzecha.

You are welcome to participate in the Historical Sword & Shield Classes 2017 in period costume in the most beautiful venue of the History Park Bärnau in the south-east of Germany [in Bavaria, on the Czech border- ed.] All seminars focus on single combat with shields and hand weapons, but duelling with spears will be covered, too, as a means to convey essential tactical and mechanical concepts. See photos of past classes in these albums here and here.

An info brochure is attached as PDF to this post. This should answer most questions, but do not hesitate to send an email if you need any further information. Registration is open.

These are the weekend seminars offered in 2017:
Viking shield: 17/18 June
Kite and medieval triangle shields: 24/25 June
Small and medium sized triangle shields and bucklers: 22/23 July
Advanced buckler: 29/30 July (requires a medium skill level with historical sword and buckler fencing)

Feel free to ask any questions you might have via email.
See you in the History Park Bärnau in summer 2017!

Roland

From a Patreon post by Dimicator (Warning: invisible without enabling cloudflare and patreon Javascript). A brochure in PDF format can be downloaded here.

While I am not completely confident in what Roland is doing from an academic point of view, I can say that he is a very good fencer and a safe teacher. So if you are interested in how later martial arts can be extrapolated backwards to find effective ways of fighting with earlier weapons, these workshops would be as good a place as any.

The Forces of Madness Over-Reach

28 Monday Nov 2016

Posted by Sean Manning in Medieval, Modern

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Tags

historical clothing, medieval, modern, reconstruction, vir armatus

The unfinished end of the sleeve of a quilted garment against a cloth background

One cuff of the doublet about to be finished by stitching cloth along the raw edges.

The forces of madness have been on an around-the-world tour, but when they got back and slept off the tasty kebabs, weak beer, and very sweet sweets they discovered that their agent in the Alps had over-reached himself. This particular style of clothing was meant to fit very closely in some areas while standing away from the body in others, and in an excess of enthusiasm, their humble servant cut too much away from the opening of the lower sleeve to finish its edges by rolling or folding and stitching down. Fortunately, there are solutions.
Continue reading →

The Forces of Madness Make a Classic Blunder

02 Tuesday Aug 2016

Posted by Sean Manning in Medieval, Modern

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

historical clothing, medieval, modern, reconstruction, vir armatus

Components of a quilted doublet spread on the floor showing that one breast has blue cloth on the inside and one has brown there

The four modules of the doublet, laid with their ‘right’ side facing the ground and their ‘wrong’ side facing the camera. Something is wrong with this picture.

While getting involved in a land war in Asia and going in against a Sicilian when death is on the line are classic blunders, most scholars agree that quilting a garment before you have made sure that you really have one right and one left breast is a good one too. Fortunately, that is a mistake which just costs time and thread to fix.

Solution below the fold.
Continue reading →

The Forces of Madness Transform Topology

10 Sunday Jul 2016

Posted by Sean Manning in Medieval, Modern

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Tags

historical clothing, medieval, modern, reconstruction, vir armatus

SAM_8867

Since 1933, it has been well known that the forces of madness have an affinity with unusual topology. In the case of this style of garment, layers of flat cloth are assembled into a three-dimensional garment shaped like an hourglass, using a saddle-shaped curve along the high waistline. From this stage onwards it is hard to lay the assemblies flat for photographing, because the whole point of assembling them is to stretch flat planes into a three-dimensional shape. I used some books to support the edges of the seam across the small of the back to help create the right effect for the camera.

Continue reading →

The Forces of Madness Take up the Earth Basket

30 Thursday Jun 2016

Posted by Sean Manning in Medieval, Modern

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

historical clothing, medieval, modern, reconstruction, vir armatus

The ground has been surveyed, the walls measured, and the materials gathered. Now it is time to build the siege ramp for this sartorial siege, or less metaphorically to quilt endless rows of stitches.

A pile of stacks of pattern pieces for a jacket with complicated sleeves

Stacks of pattern pieces ready for the final adjustment of the stuffing then quilting and assembly. From left to right: back, sleeves, front

Continue reading →

The Forces of Madness Renew the Assault

23 Thursday Jun 2016

Posted by Sean Manning in Medieval, Modern

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

historical clothing, medieval, modern, reconstruction, vir armatus

Not even the weapons of Erra and the scornful ghosts of the Innsbrucker Schneiderkunst can stop this madness.

The inside of a white cotton jacket with many visible modifications and unfinished seams

The armpit of the second mockup after a series of … interventions.


Continue reading →

The Forces of Madness Gather

14 Thursday Apr 2016

Posted by Sean Manning in Medieval, Modern

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

historical clothing, medieval, modern, reconstruction, vir armatus

Clockwise: Three pounds of cotton, a pound of linen thread, five ells of unbleached linen, two ells of smooth blue fustian, two and a half ells of unbleached linen, assorted silk floss for eyelets and buttonholes, one spool of purple silk thread

Clockwise: Three pounds of cotton, a pound of linen thread, five ells of unbleached linen, two ells of smooth blue fustian, two and a half ells of unbleached linen, assorted silk floss for eyelets and buttonholes, one spool of purple silk thread

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