Photos of Uffington Castle event, and Canterbury tourney
Lady Nesta has graciously posted her photos to Flickr of the day.
It looks hazy and hot because it is - a rare late-summer heatwave has hit southern England. The dew in the grass kept it cool, acc to Robert, til it burned off by midday, and then they retreated to the pub.
It also looks like they're fighting on the edge of forever, with no background - the hill is the highest point for miles of downs, and so the view is unimpeded as far as you can see. Presumeably that's why the horse is there. The horse is now fenced off to pedestrians, but the sheep are still allowed on it, though I don't see any round on that day.
larmerasked what a Canterbury tourney is.
It's a tourney of Robert's design - very simple, with an emphasis on endurance, and getting to fight everyone more than once, which suits our small kingdom, and small tournament numbers. If you're going to haul armour in cramped cars at great expense, you want to make it worth your while.
- Line fighters up in order of precedence (can have swanky noble introductions here)
- Highest ranking fighter fights everyone, in order, to chosen level (first good blow, to three good blows, to death, whatever)
- Second highest fighter then fights everyone, in order of precedence
- Third fighter then fights everyone... etc etc to end
If you have 8 fighters, then you fight 7 bouts back to back (endurance) then 7 individual bouts when called (meet opponents more than once).
A side effect: by the time the most experienced fighters reach those at the 'end', they're pushing their endurance, but meet someone fresh. Newest fighters get to fight everyone when they're a bit tired.
Assumes most ennobled fighters are most experienced, which is broadly true, though not for every instance.
Robert's shield is painted with two badges quartered:
Azure, seme of demi-suns Or.
Argent, three dragons passant sable.
We're hoping to submit these individual badges, not quartered, as prince and princess' badges. They do look handsome together.
Painting the shield was a quick way to see how it would look, though we may still make up individual banners to display the badges, and get comments on them at coming events.
And no larmer- Robert has not died and gone to Valhalla, surrounded some primitive heathen nobles. Sheesh.
His heaven is populated by gothic angels framed by perfectly proportioned pointy arches, and saints wearing glorious brocade laden with pearls and cabuchons, with plump patrons kneeling before them...
ETA: should be Canterbury tourney - not to be confused with Oxford roll tourney, another of Robert's tourney ideas!