Are you an affiliated reenactor? -- myArmoury.com

J. Nicolaysen · Posted: Wed 11 Mar, 2015 6:24 pm Post subject: Are you an affiliated reenactor?

OK Last poll at least for reenactment.

Now I wonder how many people here have an affiliation with a reenactment organization of some sort and how many just do their own thing.

I would like to know how many people are what you might say "Professional Reenactors" in other words those whose organization or groups put on programs for the public, whether or not they get paid. I would like to know even if you do it professionally but are not a group member; perhaps you look like Abraham Lincoln or Hildegard von Bingen, or Xerses. I would like to know if you are part of a group that is fairly structured but does not give presentations to the public. And I'd like to know if you are not part of a group but forging ahead, alone by choice or necessity and just making cool kits for your own satisfaction.

I'd also find it interesting to know what groups are out there doing this professionally, represented here on myArmoury. Some groups I have in mind would be Thegns of Mercia, Wulfheodenas, Legio XX, Regia Angolorum, Vikings N.A. and so on. Links to your organization would be nice!

If you are doing your own thing, I'd like to know why and what you do to meet your own satisfaction for your kit.

If your group doesn't do "professional engagements" let me know what you do.

Thank you!

Ian S LaSpina · Posted: Thu 12 Mar, 2015 8:50 am Post subject:

Hello,

Although not as large as some of the organizations you listed, I participate with a group called La Belle Compagnie. We portray an English medieval household during the middle of the Hundred Years War. Our timeline in the past was the 1380s, but this year in honor of the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, we will be portraying 1415.

We participate in several living history timeline events each year, mostly on the East Coast of the US. In fact our next show (and the biggest for us) will be in 2 weeks at an event called Military Through the Ages near Williamsburg, Virginia at Jamestown Settlement.

Here's a link to our website for those interested:
http://www.peelaffinity.net/

J. Nicolaysen · Posted: Thu 12 Mar, 2015 11:42 am Post subject:

Perfect Ian, thank you very much! It's very enlightening to see the variety of groups and a website like yours does help the relatively uninformed like me to learn about what you are doing. Hopefully as my children get older, we can travel around a bit and see groups like yours and learn even more. In the meantime it's very interesting for me to know about all the experience here people have doing these things, whether on a personal level or a very dedicated level like yours.

Nice website!

Quinn W. · Posted: Thu 12 Mar, 2015 8:32 pm Post subject:

I'm just passing my third year as a professional interpreter for Camlann Medieval Village, a living history museum project located in Carnation, Washington. I say project because we started as a renaissance fair but have been trying very seriously to transition toward greater accuracy for the past six or seven years. We reenact rural village life in Southwestern England in the year 1376. It features some martial demonstrations but we try to emphasize everyday crafts. Seems very similar to what Ian is up to!
So far as I am aware, we are one of the only permanent interpreter sites in the USA for the medieval period, currently with about a dozen or so timber-framed structures housing our staff and volunteers.
We are mostly active during the summer but we do host year round classes and a restaurant featuring all period recipes.

We are constantly transitioning to greater and greater levels of accuracy (we only just got an anvil without a horn on it, and getting building permits for wattle and daub construction is a nightmare) but I'm very proud of the progress we continue to make!

You can learn more at www.camlann.org

I look forward to learning about all the other groups out there!

J. Nicolaysen · Posted: Fri 13 Mar, 2015 3:59 am Post subject:

Hey that sounds great Quinn. I actually went to school in Bellingham a while back and we get to the PNW sometimes to visit family and friends. I'll have to look you guys up when we get up there next. I would have had no idea you guys were there if you hadn't written. Thanks

J. Nicolaysen · Posted: Fri 13 Mar, 2015 5:49 am Post subject:

Also very interested how those who go it alone work at building and refining their kit, since this is pretty much going to be how I proceed for the foreseeable future. Certainly searches here and other fora and all across the web is helpful, but it seems that a lot of people use Manuscript Miniatures and Effigies and Brasses for ideas for some things. But there's a lot an independent person can miss when outside of a community: obvious mistakes or things that others have already figured out.

However, I suppose there is less stress involved when there's only one's own standards and guidelines to meet.

Ian S LaSpina · Posted: Fri 13 Mar, 2015 6:36 am Post subject:

David Lewis Smith · Posted: Fri 13 Mar, 2015 7:57 pm Post subject:

Where is the "All of the above"?

Yeah, I am all of the above.

Edward Lee · Posted: Mon 16 Mar, 2015 5:38 pm Post subject:

I made some pretty bad choices in gathering a harness, and ended up selling them because they weren't fitting what I want. Now I only have enough to fit into some 1490 ish infantry guy.