A NEW TAKE ON THE PAST
WRITTEN & PHOTOGRAPHED BY KRISTEN TOMKOWID “We don’t want to hurt anyone; we just want to kill them.” Vrouw Lijsbet de Kuekere’s words ring true as dozens of middle-aged men in armor beat one another with rattan covered swords. Smack! Clang! Clang! Yes. The heavy weapons tourney at the Annual Festival for the Passing of the Ice Dragon draws dozens of lords and a handful of ladies from all over The Kingdom to participate. Wielding swords and shields — or the occasional katana or spear — fighters enter the roped off lists that cover half of the floor. Only victors emerge in the end, leaving the dead behind to fight another battle until either they, too, become victorious or are sliced to death two more times. A bear pit style tournament. “62 beat 41,” one fighter with the number 62 duct taped to his helmet says to the Mistress of Lists and then returns to the queue to kill again. The smacks of plastic on metal echo off the brick walls and glass ceiling of the armory, interrupting menial conversations by onlookers about garb and gossip. A
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25-foot-wide American flag hangs above the fighters, and every state flag is displayed off the second floor balcony below. But around the staircase banisters, on tables, walls and even stuck to the ropes of the lists are green and black flags of various sizes for The Barony of the Rhydderich Hael, or Buffalo, N.Y., as it is known in the mundane world. Lined along the brick walls of the first floor are dozens of merchants: soap makers, leatherworkers, fiber farmers, jewelers and garb makers. The Society for Creative Anachronism has something for everyone. There are brewers, shoemakers, educators, fencers, archers, jousters, weapons throwers and those who create the events. Those who wish to take part in the society transform themselves into made-up personas, and can do anything pre-17th century from the known world. The extent people go to for an accurate re-creation varies. Some are like lifer Muirenn ingen ui Muirchertaig, who can’t be seen at events without her charcoal eyeliner, replica 15th century glasses and a veil on her head. She won’t even cut her long, brunette hair because it wouldn’t fit her persona: a farmer’s wife. Others, though, aren’t as committed, as seen by