Pennsic XXXVIII Battle of Helm's Deep (Part 1)

This was the final heavy battle of Pennsic 38, using the Pennsic castle. It was a limited resurrection flag-control battle, with the side defending the fortress getting one resurrection per man and the attackers getting three.

This is part one of four. Parts one and two show the Midrealm and East attacking the fortress with the rest of the Known World defending; parts three and four show the second run with the roles reversed.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• SCA
• Pennsic
• War
• XXXVIII
• 38
• heavy
• fighting
• Helm's
• Deep
• battle
• Middle
• Kingdom
• Midrealm
• East
• allies

[TheLoneOnion]

Hey I'm looking into getting into SCA heavy Armour fighting, although I'm not too sure how. Would a full suit of battle ready chain mail and a padded gambeson / plate helm would be good for amour? And where do I find a Rattan (spelling?) Sword to purchase and use in this. Any help on this would be appreciated, thanks

[RenegadePaladin]

@TheLoneOnion Well, first you'd need to get in contact with your local group. Most shires and baronies will have some variety of loaner equipment for newcomers to use. Rather than ask you publicly where you are, I'll just point you to sca.org and tell you to click the link that says "Find your local group" in the right sidebar. The local seneschal and chatelaine should take over from there, but if you need more help let me know. Good luck!

[MetalicDeah]

douset look safe? you wanna be safe and use padded sticks, i wanna be unsafe and use rounded edge metal swords and rounded stabbing points. it would hirt allot more, but it would change how people fight in battles for the better in my opinion. there wouldent be anymore rabbit sword play bacause there heavyer, harder to swing fast, waring you out, making you conserve energy. but there would be a heavy plate armor requairment..

there are videos on here, look up "russian medieval battle"

[RenegadePaladin]

@MetalicDeah A steel blade isn't appreciably heavier, actually, and rattan hurts plenty. Also, a heavy plate armor requirement would suck, since the vast majority of people who participate don't have tens of thousands of dollars sitting around to commission a suit of field plate.

[MetalicDeah]

@RenegadePaladin tens of thousands? wow, i was looking and found some for 1,500.. but i guess thay where for show or something.

how about... metal plate armor on the hands, chest. metal helm and chain mail under that? im guessing you would also need shorder plate armor so people dont brake your coller bone?

[RenegadePaladin]

@MetalicDeah Plate is easy. It's the fitting part that's hard. Having field plate custom fitted to you (and it has to be if you're going to wear it effectively) by an armorer costs roughly ten grand, or did last time I was price checking. .

[RenegadePaladin]

@NorseLax07 We have fun doing it. I note you're not saying that to the face of someone who knows how to use one of those sticks, though. :p

[RenegadePaladin]

Bored old men who could club your punk ass like a baby harp seal if you said that to their faces. :p

[peterpourier]

5:01 badass roman crest helm

[MetalicDeah]

@RomanovBuck ah i see, 10lbs swords where used for Ceremonial perposes. most swords used in combat where around 5/6lbs. but still, a metal sword with its smaller cross section at the cutting edge vs. a wooden shaft, you could use it diffrently, right?

[RomanovBuck]

@MetalicDeah

Once more, not so much. You REALLY need to research your weapons. Two handed swords weighed between 6 and 8 pounds. SCA is pretty accurate to what the weights were back then. Not only that, it still ain't fun to be behind a shield when someone's whaling on it with a 7 pound stick. Eventually the arm goes numb from the vibration.

These guys get as close as possible while still remaining as safe as possible. Live Steel combat is dumb, dangerous, and a bad idea.

[gungadin900]

'Cos I-raq was some dumb medieavil boo0shee to!

[gungadin900]

Is this like I-raq or someplace?

[MetalicDeah]

@RenegadePaladin me neather, but i would save up just to fight with actual weapons. a 2h sword would be more than 6lbs? im thinking of how a guy with a sword and sheild, fighting a guy with a larger/heavyer two handed sword. it would play out diffrenlty? if a guy was beating on your sheild with a metal sword and the sword starts to get stuck in the wood, it would play out diffrently than if he was beating on your sheild with a stick is all im sayin.