Tim Finkas played a key role in the development of Landsknechts as a reenactment unit at Southern faire in California. However, it wasn’t until I began writing these interviews that I have had the chance to get to know him, or his story.

I appreciate the time that Tim has taken in relating this information to me, and I hope to get the chance to meet ( Read more... )

 As you may recall from this post waaaay back in January of 2009, I have an interest in knowing just how this crazy German Landsknecht Thing got started out at events in the United States. The subject of a Family Tree Project came back around recently via some postings in the Old Guard hanging around on FB, and one of the most involved of these ' ( Read more... )

“Mobility: Voluntary or Enforced? Vagrants in Württemberg in the Sixteenth Century” by Robert W. Scribner. from Migration in der Feudalgesllschaft, Gerhard Jaritz, Alber Müller (H.G). Page 65, published 1988, Campus Verlag, Frankfurt/New York. ISBN: 3-593-33883-1

Page 69:

“Of all the identifiable types of vagrants, wandering soldiers seeking ( Read more... )

This happy story brought to you via brickhousewench, who got it from Alena, who begat Abraham, who begat Issac…wait…sorry - wrong Big Book of Fun Knowledge.

*facepalm*

Anyway, thank you brickhousewench!

“Mobility: Voluntary or Enforced? Vagrants in Württemberg in the Sixteenth Century” by Robert W. Scribner. from Migration in der Feudalgesllschaft, Gerhard Jaritz, Alber Müller (H. ( Read more... )

I have a search filter set up on Yahoo that occasionally throws me an interesting research bone. Today’s was a pre-set image search of the British Museums print collection (search: “Block cut by Jost de Negker”). I ended up seeing a few images that I have missed in prior woodcut searches/collections; including these two.

( Cut for those who don’t care and don’t want to waste their bandwidth. )

Over the years, I have heard a number of creation stories for the originals of that mysterious creature, the US Landsknecht. As I started reenacting 16th C German in the Ren Faire scene, and in California, I have the specific idea that this group of young scallywags are to blame for all things “Germanified”, at least on the West Coast.


( Read more... )