Knygts Erraunt
of Edmonton
the
These are the noble souls of the village (okay, the members of our club).
Lukas
(Club Authenticity Officer)
Lukas has been interested in medieval history since childhood. Stories of King Arthur and his court, library books, movies, and computer games all contributed to his developing interest. A visit to a medieval festival in Germany finally inspired him to pursue his dream of recreating life in the Middle Ages.
Ultimately, it is impossible to fully explain the origin of his passion for medieval history, but some of it has to do with his love of the aesthetic of the culture of the 14th century. He delights in the architecture, art, music, literature, and fashion of the period. Along with practicing medieval fighting techniques, Lukas enjoys a variety of medieval crafting arts. From armouring to leatherworking to blacksmithing to sewing, and almost everything in between, he enjoys recreating the material culture of the 14th century.
Whether on the tournament field, in camp, or in the workshop, he seeks out moments of complete immersion, in which it is possible to imagine that he has been transported back in time.
The blazon of the arms he displays is "Or, a chevron between three trefoils slipped sable."
Mel
(Club Treasurer)
Mel has been involved with living history in the 14th century for several years now. Though she began studying swordsmanship, she quickly discovered a passion for exploring everyday Medieval life. Her specialties include period cooking, embroidery, and stitching clothing by hand. Like a true person of the 14th century she hopes to be 'a little good at a lot of things' and enjoys studying new techniques and theories around daily life.
She typically tries to display the garb of a middle-lower class woman.
You can follow her projects at https://ladyisabelattegrene.wordpress.com/ and on instagram @rainydayforest
Nathan
(Club Secretary)
Nathan's interests in things medieval started when he was a kid, probably from Bill Peet books (maybe Droofus the Dragon or Cowardly Clyde?). He also vaguely remembers a comic where Archie made armour for himself out of a garbage can. Nathan treasured steel garbage can lids as shields ever since then.
He got started on heraldry (coats of arms) probably around grade nine, when he stole Boutell's Heraldry from the school library (still feels guilty, still has the book) and doodled like a crazy man thereafter. Nathan's interests with the club are a mix of heraldry and peasantry (which doesn't lend itself to representation by a single character -- each of which he calls "James").
Nathan started out with sewing a peasant costume (and lucked out by using wool the first time!), and has supplemented that with the military equipment expected of a reasonably well-off working man: a helmet, spear, quilted armour, and a coat of mail. (It would be cool to assemble a knight's kit someday, because he needs an excuse to wear a great helm and ailettes!) He's also made a lot of shields, and doesn't show any sign of stopping.
On the other hand, Nathan has pieced together a herald's costume, with a nice hat, tunic, and of course a tabard (in the arms of Otto III, Count of Bentheim-Bentheim from 1348-1364). He's working on a roll of arms, but first he needs to make the parchment for it.
As a herald for Otto II, Count of Bentheim, Nathan wears a tabard displaying the arms "Gules, bezanty."
Barb
Barb has always been interested in historical things, but she's new to studying the Middle Ages. Her primary interests were in Celtic lifestyle circa 1st Century BCE and Robin Hood lore of the 12th C. Details of daily life fascinate her, and she's spent days in various museums trying to absorb everything.
Researching the legends about Robin Hood is when she first heard about Morris dancing and jumped at the opportunity to join Alberta's only Morris dancing side. She's been trying ever since to find documented proof Morris (with bells and in a form similar to today's routines) existed before the 15th C so she can make an accurate Morris costume. She still dances and teaches Morris to a hardy few, celebrating May Day's dawn in many of the old ways.
She's always been interested in "fancy dress" and her favourite holiday has always been Halloween. She's dabbled in Cosplay competitions and is amazed that she now must compete at the Master level--far above her actual skill level! She's happy for the opportunity to get the costuming historically accurate. Medieval hand sewing techniques aren't very different from today's, but finding just the right fabric is sometimes a challenge.
Erik
We haven't got a decent blurb for Erik yet, but he is hard at work on a second set of clothes, among many other things. Erik has an impressive collection of swords!
Johnny
We haven't got a decent blurb for Johnny yet, but he is hard at work on a set of vegetable-dyed woolen clothes and eager to swing swords at any opportunity!
Heather
Heather's interest in the middle ages is, in a large part, a result of her enduring interest in Tolkien's literary works. She's been a "Tolkien nerd" her whole life, and his fairy tales have been powerful tools for her interpretation of real-life experiences as well. Heather is also a huge "church nerd" and Anglophile, which seems to be why Heather has chosen to represent a medieval Dominican monk in the context of our club!
David
David's our newest member, and so we haven't even got a photo of him yet!
Donna
(Club President)
Donna has always had a deep love for all things medieval. She got her first piece of armour at the age of 5, and even though it was plastic, she loved it, even after it was broken. Throughout her childhood, she read all the books about knights in shining armour she could find, and loved all the movies that had even a slight Medieval theme.
That love was further cemented in 1977, when she went to Europe and spent several months happily travelling around the continent, drinking in all she could of it's ancient atmospphere.
Years ago, Donna taught herself how to sew as they did back then. She has even taken a blacksmithing course in order to be able to make the things she needs for her encampment, or any 14th century daily tasks that need doing. There are many useful items around the house that have been made using 14th century tools and materials. Her first hand made Medieval garment was actually a pair of leather turnshoes. She has also become an accomplished spinner. The first piece of Medieval furniture she made was a rope bed with a feather mattress and wool stuffed pillow. There is a 13 foot pavillion that she has camped in for 3 years, and an almost completed one up in the sewing room that will be the kitchen tent for this summer!
She loves quills and ink, swords and daggers, and needle and thread, all in equal measures.
(Club President)
(Club President)
Marshall
(Club Martial Arts Officer)
From childhood Marshall has always had a passion for history and has studied many time periods. The first bug can be blamed on a book about Robert Ballard’s dive to the Titanic, and Marshall's grandfather’s collection of the Life series on the Second World War. Although he was still too young to read, the pictures left a lasting impression that ignited a need to know the story of humanity.
His interest in the middle ages can be traced to his first Lego sets of knights and their castles. Lego castles eventually transitioned to wooden tree forts and straw bale castles constructed on the family farm each fall.
When Marshall moved to Edmonton he was finally able to learn the art of swordplay, a desire that had taken hold while reading the Wheel of Time series by the late Robert Jordan. Marshall’s interests quickly evolved beyond sword play and moved to the larger battlefield, especially the tactics and techniques that helped early foot soldier armies shape this truly unique century.
Through his study and research into the military world of the 14th century, Marshall has done his best to assemble an accurate mid- to late 14th century armour harness. Frustratingly, as new sources are found and dates revised, this remains a constant work in progress.
The blazon of the arms he displays is "Vert, three lioncels rampant argent."
Chris
(Club executive at large)
We haven't got a decent blurb for Chris yet, but he is hard at work on a second set of clothes, among a great many other things for his encampment. Chris is also very keen on the culinary aspects of this hobby.
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Sam
(Club executive at large)
We haven't got a decent blurb for Sam yet, but she is hard at work on a set of vegetable-dyed woolen clothes.
Sandra
Sandra always wanted to learn how to swordfight, probably because of her love of fantasy fiction -- especially Redwall! One day, she ran into a few people on the street corner wearing medieval clothing and armour, and figured that she could perhaps learn swordfighting from them. Three years later, she became a founding member of the Knygts Erraunt of Edmonton. Her training in historical European martial arts has lead to her becoming a formidable fighter. Sandra is also an accomplished artist, and has a degree in art history.
Jeanette
Jeanette’s love of history began as a child exploring a folder from the school library on King Tutankhamun tomb. As a teen she loves watching medieval themed movies and any historical documentary she could get her hands on.
Many years ago, she found out that groups of people who love history as much as she does exist and joined she first group to learn to sword fight. She has been a part of many groups since.
While she does not mind sword fighting, Jeanette has many interests in the middle ages. Her firsts loves are dancing and gaming. She loves cooking historical recipes and testing them out on her friends, without telling them it’s a medieval recipe until after they have tried it! She also enjoys crafting, sewing historic dresses and accessories. She enjoys researching new topics in the middle ages, and desires to explore woodworking and start making medieval furniture and storage chests.
Ronnie
Ronnie got interested in medieval living history simply by browsing Kijiji looking for something interesting to do. He likes being active and working with his hands, and so has invested in a great many tools to assist him in learning traditional skills. He's also picked up a lot of related books -- with pictures, of course! Ronnie also owns a complete suit of armour, should he need to create the impression of a man-at-arms.
Darren
We haven't got a decent blurb for Darren yet, but he is hard at work on a set of vegetable-dyed woolen clothes and eager to learn blacksmithing.
Emily
We haven't got a decent blurb for Emily yet either!