| ‘Hunger Games’-related archery press continues to dominate, at least on this side of the big pond. However overseas; sword melees, sword research and sword-related ‘culture’ continue. Wes
A Royal Sword?
BOURNEMOUTH ECHO (Wareham, UK) 19 April 12 Saxon sword found in River Frome may been owned by royalty (Jim Durkin) A 10th century, old-English inscribed, Saxon sword discovered at the bottom of the River Frome 85 years ago may have belonged to royalty. “The wording on the sword’s hilt translates as ‘Ethe owns me’”, explained town museum creator Mike O’Hara. “… names of that era starting with Ethe are associated with the royalty of the time.” We really like the initiative of displaying the water-battered remnant sword with a replica of what it would have looked like when it was whole and ‘functional’. http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/9659073.Saxon_sword_found_in_River_From...
Arrows All Over the Place
CHICAGO TRIBUNE (Illinois) 29 March 12 Hunger Games and archery: A quick way to approach a trend story (Andy Grimm) Mr Grimm writes an interesting piece that the ‘archery renaissance’ can be attributed to a host of factors that presaged the arrival of the ‘Hunger Games’ interest. He makes some interesting arguments - but given the amount of press that is out linking the books/movies to phone calls to archery centres, I’m not sure that he understands just how ‘big’ the influence of this movie is (as ‘Lord or the Rings’ was) in creating interest in the sport – and by a group that traditionally was not considered to be a major sports market (notwithstanding his many examples of young women doing very well thank-you very much). http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-03-29/news/chi-hunger-games-and-arche... Of related interest, USA TODAY has also done a piece on the recent Hollywood love of all things toxophilitical. (http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/story/2012-04-04/archery-in-film-tv/...
NEW ZEALAND HERALD (Auckland) 11 April 12 Survival film sparks hunger for archery lessons (Vaimoana Tapaleao) New Zealand is reporting that the Hunger Games the driving force behind their youth having an interest in the sport; and the scenes of crowded clubs there are very reminiscent to what we have previously witnessed happening here and in the USA. Archery NZ president Frances Ross: "The number of young woman on the line just showed off how popular it is now with the girls. It's great to see there's a female lead in this movie - Katniss is going to get a lot of girls into the sport. It's very exciting for archery." http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10797993
AUGSBURGER-ALLGEMEINE (Germany) 19 April 12 Treffen über eine Distanz von 165 Metern And while ‘Hunger Games’ does not (yet) seem to have any significant effect in non-English speaking countries, German archery seems to be holding its own in popularity – and with ‘traditional English’ style to boot! Young Germans are getting a taste of what it was like to be an English archer circa 1442 by shooting ‘the Clout’ – and some shot 72 arrows each over a distance of 165 meters. http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/friedberg/sport/Treffen-ueber-eine-Distan...
Massed Melee for the Masses
АИФ СЕВЕРО-ЗАПАД (Pskov, Russia) 23 April 12 На Псковщине отметили 770-летие Ледового побоища This is not so much a ‘hard’ WMA item as perhaps an indication of what could be exploited to bring ‘medieval fans’ into the realm of serious martial arts study. If you’re lucky enough to get hundreds/thousands out to watch various period-study groups conduct a mass, (government-supported and funded) ‘historical recreation’ event (as the Russians seem to be able to do with great regularity); there surely must be a way that a switched-on WMA/HEMA group can benefit by advertising “you’ve seen the show, now – come fight … for real’! And besides, any time that a sword-related effort is posted on the ‘society’ and ‘cultural’ pages of your local paper, you just know that your group has ‘arrived’! In Pskov 170 re-enactors (including 12 mounted) celebrated the 770th Anniversary of Alexander Nevsky’s ‘Battle on the Ice’ victory against the Livonian Order with a massed demonstration of army organisation; jousting; archery; sword, axe and spear combat; and the infamous “Livonian pig”. http://www.sz.aif.ru/society/news/68912 And from their ‘culture’ page … http://www.sz.aif.ru/culture/gallery/100216 And, some serious kit … http://pskov.kp.ru/online/news/1121957/
Individual Melee for the Cultured
TRIERISCHER VOLKSFREUND (Trier, Germany) 13 April 12 Fechten wie im Mittelalter So, you’re going to have some ‘sword play’ in your theatric production eh? So, how often do you practice so that the melee looks natural, and is safe for participants and audience? Eight actors from the Hinzerath theatre group have practiced their 2-minute routine no less than 50 times – having multiple goes at the routine during their twice weekly practices. “"We learn by rote, like from a text," says the instructor. “Then there is practice, and practice” http://www.volksfreund.de/nachrichten/region/hunsrueck/aktuell/Heute-in-der-H...
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