The sound of wooden weapons pounding against each other echoes through the second floor of a little church in Akron most Thursday nights. Men and women dressed in full armor wait for the chance to fight a friend to practice for upcoming battles. Downstairs, other men, women and children sit in small groups and talk about sewing, weaving, scribing and plans for upcoming events above the sound of the combat.
Welcome to the Marche of Gwyntarian, whose members are dedicated to recreating the Middle Ages through combat and arts and sciences. The Marche is a chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism, an international organization that has chapters in the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia.
Combat
Brian Dockus, also known as Lothar in the society, strikes Jeff York, or Farthen, as they reenact a bridge fight between the Vikings and Saxons in Mansfield on Saturday, Oct. 16. The point of the fight was to capture the other side’s flag.
On a cold, rainy morning in mid-October, members of the Marche of Gwnytarian make their way to Mansfield for the Battle of Hastings reenactment to see who will be the King of England.
As fighters pile on their armor, Mike Johnson, known as Tetsuo Akira, says he loves fighting in the society.
“Because the fights are not choreographed, you have to evaluate your opponent and figure out how to win,” he says. “Depending on who you are fighting, you might be saying, ‘I need to do this, or I need to do this,’ or, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to die.’”
Johnson says serious injuries are rare in combat. He says it’s “mostly just bruises and bumps or hyper-extending something. Sometimes people will get broken bones.”
He says the broken bones aren’t caused by blows from weapons, but usually by people falling on top of each other in large battles or people falling into gopher holes. People have also fallen on bees’ nests, he says.
The largest battle in the society is the Pennsic War reenactment, in which it is not unlikely to see 2,000 people on the field at once.
Due to the weather, armies of only about 10 show up at the Battle of Hastings, but the fighters still have a good time, first reenacting a bridge fight. Unlike some adults, these fighters have no problem using their child-like imaginations. The bridge is constructed out of bales of hay, and fighters must do their best to stay in between the hay as they make their way to the other side to capture the other army’s flag — a sign of victory.
Alexandra Starner, 2, embraces her mother Rebecca Starner with a hug while watching her father fight in the Battle of Hastings on Saturday, Oct. 16 in Mansfield.
But fighting isn’t just about battle — it’s about practicing and recruiting new fighters. During Thursday night meetings, members of the Marche of Gwyntarian practice armor combat with heavy weapons and rapier combat, such as jousting.
“Aim around his defenses, not at his defenses,” Kevin Hodges, or Sir Styrkarr Jarlskald, a knight, yells to another member learning the art of armor combat.
“I’m still trying to figure out how to walk in armor,” Andrew Krell responds. At the time of the interview, it is Krell’s third week as a member of the Marche of Gwyntarian.
Later, Krell pauses again, this time to make sure he can still feel his arm, which is being weighted down by a heavy shield. “I like feeling my arm — it means it’s still there,” he says.
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