Companie of Knights Bachelor
The Companie of Knights Bachelor is a medieval recreation group in Australia. It was formed in Brisbane but also has a branch in Adelaide.
The Companie is set in the years 1150-1250AD, in the Holy Lands. They re-enact the period of the Third Crusade, and for public displays, etc, they are based in the year 1195, at Acre. Tournaments, etc, held in this 'time' are called the "Acre Tournaments". The period is rich in cultural evidence, such as lifestyle, dress, warfare, trade, religion, philosophy, etc, and this was another deciding factor in the choosing of this period for re-enactment purposes. As far as armour, weapons and clothing goes, the period is wide enough so that a barrel helm and a nasal helm being seen on the battlefield together was common, even though they fall at opposite ends of the timeline, the barrel helm being of the later period.
The Companie in Adelaide considers itself to be a Living history organisation, being that within the resources of the 20th century, everything is re-created to as accurate detail as possible for the 12th century. Documentation for things such as a particular style of gown, goblet, tent, helm, etc must be provided with one primary source, two secondary sources, and three tertiary sources. New ideas are happily welcomed! Because of this high standard of documentation required, most members of the Companie are very good at and enjoy research!
As part of its desire to re-enact as accurately as possible the time period, they take on persona names and create a history, genealogy and background for the persona.
It should be noted that men not wishing to be combatants don't have to be - they can be troubadours, minstrels, priests, monks, etc, as can the women of course (g), and that women wishing to fight are more than welcome to and enter into the basic training for fighting. The whole idea is to have fun, enjoy the history and have fun.
Most of this article was originally sourced from the Adelaide branch's webpage.
