BattleofHasting.pdf

My Experience at the Battle of Hastings

1066 Reenactment

Battle, England, October 14 th and 15 th 2006

By Lord James de Biblesworth M.K.A. James Barker

Me in my full outfit standing in a doorway at Battle Abbey

April 11, 2007

James de Biblesworth

Page 1 of 18

Getting to the Reenactment and Checking In.

In October 2006 I went to England for a late honeymoon and to participate in the Battle of Hastings

reenactment in Battle England on the weekend of October 14 th and 15 th . 2006 was the 940 th

anniversary of the original battle.

Driving into the town it looks like most towns in England, it has row homes and small homes lining

the streets, feels like a small town in America. I was

dropped off in front of Battle Abby, the church built right

after the conquest. I went through the gates and found

there was an information both run by the English Heritage

society, they gave me direction on how to get to the check

in, it seems it was about ¾ of a mile walk from the

entrance to the check it. I was in kit but carrying my

maille and helmet in a bag, I decided it was time to put

them on to make it easier to walk to the check in which

was in fact about a ½ to ¾ a mile away on the other side

of the battle field which was behind the abbey.

Participating in this event is much like going to Pennsic,

your equipment gets inspected and you carry a card they

check to make sure you have been looked at; the major

difference being they have a kit inspection to do quality

control on the people on the field. When I first got to the

site I checked in and found my card for participation had

been pulled and so I needed a new card. This was a pain

because my sword fighting authorization and kit

inspection had already been approved, so now with a lost

card I had to go through inspection again. Well I head

down to the inspection station and the kit inspector looked

me over and said, “Well you’re the first non Vikes

(Viking UK group who hosts the event) person I have

seen today I have no complaints about”; man did that

make me feel good, I was a bit worried heading down

there that I would happen. . He checked off my card and I

crossed the way to the fighting inspection. At the fighting

inspection I found some Americans and Brits I know, Paul and Steve, who are running the check

point. I told them my card had been lost and they checked me off without an issue knowing who I

was and they had trained me in their combat system at another event anyway.

I am a member of an American group called Conroi FitzOsbern based in VA and GA; all the other

members who came over were horse riders and were going to do cavalry in the reenactment. I also

know a bunch of other American reenactors who were there but they all play Anglo Saxons so I

found myself without a group to line up with for the reenactment. So I went to the British fellows I

knew, Paul and Steve, and asked if I could line up with their Norman unit and they said that would

be cool. Little did I know what I had just asked.

April 11, 2007

James de Biblesworth

Page 2 of 18

The Rules of Combat

This show was being run by the Vikings UK and much like the SCA they have a form of

reenactment combat. The rules for the battle were that only the fifth and final charge would deaths

count, until then it was like a resurrection battle; die, look good, get back up when your line passes

by. Everyone here had a sword, spear, axe, or bow. Targets for spear, axe, and sword were the

shoulders, body, arms, and upper legs; much like the SCA except no head shots since we have steel

weapons. When you are struck by a weapon you are wounded, you have to lower your shield and

weapon but can move slowly. If you can count to ten without taking a second blow you can start to

fight again, if you take a second blow you are dead and they want you to drop over and open

yourself up so others can give you a dramatic death blow, it looks really awesome when you see it

as a spectator. Arrows kill no matter what; the important thing was to not look up when a volley

came in.

The Battle

So I mustered with my British friends Paul and Steve who were leading the left flank who were the

Bretons (people from Brittany France). Being that they were leading the group the fellows

following them were the front line, which included me. We were mustered in some woods off to the

side of the field and had to group up to march over the little bridge and onto the field which was

three times longer than the main field at Pennsic and four times wider. When we organized into

lines I realized I was really tall

compared to almost everyone around

me. The group I lined up with where the

head of our line/flank and as luck would

have it we were the first to march on the

field. I ended up being one of the first

twenty Normans to march out onto the

field.

The excitement I felt marching on is

hard to describe; there are 1200 Saxon’s

atop the hill, our backdrop is Battle

Abbey, there were 20,000 spectators

who are all cheering, and there are 100

men on horse ridding by in a line to my

right.

The noise of the spectators was suddenly overtaken by the chanting and taunting of the Saxon line.

Chants of “Godwinson” echoed off the hill and Abbey behind the Saxon’s; it was as loud as being

at a football game in a large stadium.

Our line marched off to the side and the next five lines of men making the left flank lined up behind

us and let the other two flanks pass by. We then wheeled our unit into position facing up the hill at

the Saxons.

April 11, 2007

James de Biblesworth

Page 3 of 18

Paul our commander explained how we, his personal group I was with, would be the first to charge

up the hill and we would lead the charge in the sixth and final charge at the end of the battle.

As the Norman flanks lined up chants of “William” and “God wills it” started coming from the

lines. The noise was nearly deafening at this point, horses, commanders giving orders, and the

chanting was building with everyone’s anticipation for the first clash.

As in the real Battle of Hastings, this one opened with words from each side. Taillefer the fool from

the Norman side rode out and mocked the Saxon line while juggling swords. A Saxon came out to

attack him but Taillefer killed him. Then a cheer as loud as any you have ever heard erupted from

the Norman lines “Yeaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Taillefer! Taillefer! Taillefer!” as men beat their

swords and spears on their shields, I beat the pommel of my sword on the rawhide edge of my

shield while I yelled with the crowd. Now several Saxon’s came out and met Taillefer, dragged him

from his horse and killed him. The Norman line booed and cried out in outrage as the Saxon line

erupted into cheering and chanting “Godwinson” again.

The order for archers was barked out

buy the commanders, every other man

on the line stepped behind the man on

his right to make space for the archers to

move through the line. Four lines of

archers about fifteen men across formed

in front of my flank as the same

happened in front of the other flanks and

as the cavalry lined up between the

flanks. I could not hear the orders from

the archer’s commander but I could see

all the archers draw an arrow from their

sheaths and nock them on their bows.

The next order came and they drew their

bows aiming into the sky. The next order

came and about two hundred arrows were loosed into the air as the archers now began to draw and

loose as fast as they could; archers were getting as many as three arrows in the air at once, I had

never seen a movie or been in a reenactment with made me feel like I was really there before, at this

moment I was in a real medieval battle. Arrows raining down on the Saxon line hundreds at a time

as a few men here and there dropped dead from wounds. Men on the Norman line were cheering

and shouting “William” so loudly that I could hardly hear the man next to me talk. My focus was on

the battle and the modern people there to see the battle were no longer seen or heard in my mind.

The command to stop the archers was given and the men on horses charged forward up the hill at

the Saxon line. The Saxons lowered their shields from the sky to back in front of them and reformed

their line quickly to prepare for the first cavalry charge as the archers passed back through the

infantry’s lines and we reformed.

We were giving the order to march at a slow pace up the hill at the Saxon line. We were to charge

only when we get to the last twenty yards, the commander would let us know when, until then we

marched in a steady pace up the hill. As we approached the Saxon line I felt my heart begin to

April 11, 2007

James de Biblesworth

Page 4 of 18

pound with anticipation of the fighting, my adrenaline was really pumping and my senses where

sharp. I had to keep an eye on the line

because I was so excited I was walking

faster than the rest of the line. My shield

was up and my sword was at the ready

when I heard “CHARGE!” As I began to

run at the Saxon line screaming like a

maniac the Saxons unleashed a borage

of rocks; I raised my shield to block a

few heeding towards me. When they

struck my shield I realized they were

just painted sponge to look cool for the

show, none the less a few rocks hit men

in the head and they dropped dead as

part of the show. I crashed into the Saxon line and the two men, much smaller than myself, in front

of me fell down and I found myself in the Saxon line instead of my own and quickly I fell back

while I parried a few spear thrusts with my shield and my sword. As this was a show as well as a

game the first four charges are just for show no one is required to die but some will for the show, as

the lines move those who die get reabsorbed into the line. So I clashed swords and beat on shields

and gave a few good blows with my sword while parrying off the others blows for my own practice;

this went on for a few minutes until the line commanders called up the second part of the line and

we fell back to rest. I passed backwards through the second and third lines to reform with the rest of

my line in the back.

The second and third charges were headed by the other two lines and I basically hung out in

formation waiting to fight again. Between each charge the archers and cavalry got a chance to kill

Saxons.

On the fourth charge I was back up in the front. This time we, the Bretons, were going to break and

run back down the hill, some Saxon’s were to follow and we would turn back and attack the few

who leave the hill; this happened in the real battle. Once more we headed up the hill and again I felt

my adrenaline pumping as I we drew near the Saxon line. When the order to charge was given I

started running as fast as I could at the line once again but this time a large Saxon with a two

handed axe came out of the line and stood in my way; I was yelling and he bellowed as he drew up

his axe and planted it in my shield with a

loud crack as he crushed the top layer of

my plywood shield and I felt his axe

head stick in the wood a bit. I knew it

would take him a moment to recover his

axe so I stabbed him in the belly, he

lowered his weapon and I hit him again

in the body and he dropped over as I

gutted him in a showman like manner.

He screamed as if I were really

murdering him and again you are lost in

the moment and feel like you are really

there.

April 11, 2007

James de Biblesworth

Page 5 of 18

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: