Our R-SPEC meeting on October 6 at the Pittsford Barnes and Noble went very well. Our guest speaker, Alex White, gave a wonderful talk on the realities of combat, class, and culture in the Middle Ages in Europe. Suffice to say that what we usually see in fantasy novels and movies is usually fantasy with respect to at least armor. A recording is available for those who missed the meeting. Mr. White indicates that he would welcome another engagement, which all of those in attendance received with enthusiasm.
Some of the salient points include:
- Armor quality was very low - users were lucky to get through a battle without changing equipment
- Casualties in battles were much fewer in number that we typically imagine
- Cultural similarities between Brits, French, and some others led to a form of ritualized combat
- Chivalry was something very different than we typically think it to be/have been
Check the recording for the gory details. Well, maybe not as gory as we thought.
