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Comitatus at Wallington
#16
And no doubt the hosts of the event and the members of Comitatus were equally and pleasantly surprised, don't you think?

As we say here in Texas, "That ain't their first rodeo." :wink:

Good job, all.

How many scales are in the horse armor, to the nearest thousand?
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)

Saepe veritas est dura.
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#17
And Im glad they were surprised! nothing like a bit of healthy reenactment...Pink Tunic and tents too
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#18
Bless you James!

I see you are a reenactor, which group do you belong to?

@ m demetrius: well i'm not sure how many. But I do know it is 3 years work. I will find out. Smile
Amy Wallace

A member of Comitatus Late Roman
Reconstruction Group
www.comitatus.net
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#19
Quote:How many scales are in the horse armor, to the nearest thousand?

Well, I don't know about the armor that horse is wearing, but I can tell something about the original it is based on. Each scale covers 2cm (horizontale). The original piece was 122 cm long, so that need 61 scales every row. The original is reported to have 31 rows on either side of the garnent. Not all rows are completely (because of the saddle hole), but just imagine they are, that thus is made up of 2 x 31 x 61 = 3782 scales. So something between 3500 and 4000 would be a good estimate for the main body.

I've 4000 scales based on the same find lying in front of me and they should become a similar piece of horsearmour within the next two months, as I need it for a show in three months, and I want a little time to get the horse get used to it. Seems I'll spending most of my sparetime sewing scales for the weeks to come.
________________________________________
Jvrjenivs Peregrinvs Magnvs / FEBRVARIVS
A.K.A. Jurjen Draaisma
CORBVLO and Fectio
ALA I BATAVORUM
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#20
I attended the event, and can say it was a great weekend!
there were people who had come to see the hall on the Saurday, who then brought the family back on the Monday to see our shows.
There were at least 9000 children chasing us in the last show....I'm still traumatized!Confusedhock:
My therapist doubts I will recover.
It was as John and Amy say, a great surprise and a great weekend!
The staff were really nice indeed, and I would happily return there again.
In fact I could have carried on for the rest of the week, quite happily!
The horses were awesome!
I would like to post some photos too if I may? None too incriminating of course!! :wink:
Visne partem mei capere? Comminus agamus! * Me semper rogo, Quid faceret Iulius Caesar? * Confidence is a good thing! Overconfidence is too much of a good thing.
[b]Legio XIIII GMV. (Q. Magivs)RMRS Remember Atuatuca! Vengence will be ours!
Titus Flavius Germanus
Batavian Coh I
Byron Angel
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#21
A couple of the archers on the firing line!


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Visne partem mei capere? Comminus agamus! * Me semper rogo, Quid faceret Iulius Caesar? * Confidence is a good thing! Overconfidence is too much of a good thing.
[b]Legio XIIII GMV. (Q. Magivs)RMRS Remember Atuatuca! Vengence will be ours!
Titus Flavius Germanus
Batavian Coh I
Byron Angel
Reply
#22
Facing up to a charging Catephract is a great way to pass a sunny afternoon!:mrgreen:


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Visne partem mei capere? Comminus agamus! * Me semper rogo, Quid faceret Iulius Caesar? * Confidence is a good thing! Overconfidence is too much of a good thing.
[b]Legio XIIII GMV. (Q. Magivs)RMRS Remember Atuatuca! Vengence will be ours!
Titus Flavius Germanus
Batavian Coh I
Byron Angel
Reply
#23
And a final confrontation...


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Visne partem mei capere? Comminus agamus! * Me semper rogo, Quid faceret Iulius Caesar? * Confidence is a good thing! Overconfidence is too much of a good thing.
[b]Legio XIIII GMV. (Q. Magivs)RMRS Remember Atuatuca! Vengence will be ours!
Titus Flavius Germanus
Batavian Coh I
Byron Angel
Reply
#24
I have to admit I am impressed in every way! Glad you can muster that many soldiers, and put on a good show for the crowd. Did you get a lot of applause?
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)

Saepe veritas est dura.
Reply
#25
Quote:I have to admit I am impressed in every way! Glad you can muster that many soldiers, and put on a good show for the crowd. Did you get a lot of applause?

Well, just come over to Europe for some day then, and see on of the events like we have them here. Although it will be kinda different from what you have in the US, I think, I hope you would like it Big Grin
________________________________________
Jvrjenivs Peregrinvs Magnvs / FEBRVARIVS
A.K.A. Jurjen Draaisma
CORBVLO and Fectio
ALA I BATAVORUM
Reply
#26
For me the best bit about events is the evening campfire listening to stories. But occasionally some martial feat, generally a lucky hit, makes me smile and I remember the moment for some time. There were two spine tingling moments at Wallington.

My Deurne helmet reduces visibility and hearing. When it goes on I sort of “lock down” for the next 40 minutes and I live in a world of my own. When doing horse archery at the show my horse was generally a pleasure, so I was acting up for the crowd. The arena was laid out so you presented to one side, but in reality people were crammed in around three sides of it, even trying to watch the show through the tented encampment. After taking a shot I rode close to the ropes behind our tents and to the watching public I appeared out of nowhere riding at speed, with no reins, waving a bow around at them. They made a collective sound somewhere between a cheer and a gasp which I could clearly hear even inside my helmet. A magic spontaneous moment.

The second moment was when tacking up the hoses on the last day. Our paddock was a few hundred meters away, with lots of trees and buildings between us and the arena. Yet you could clearly hear the crowd noise and their applause while the arena was prepared for the last cavalry show. The sound came and went in waves, heightening our sense of excitement, and the horses picked it up as well. Great stuff.

Jurjen, what sort of crowd numbers do you get for your European festivals? In the UK each group generally does its own events but there are now lots of multi-period events. In general a small event in the UK would get a few hundred visitors. A top Roman event would get over 1,000 visitors. A Roman event on a bank holiday at a big venue such as a castle or country house could get over 4,000. Put that venue near the coast on a sunny weekend and we have performed to over 6,000. In the UK have a long history of weekend re-enactment, and we are beginning to get the hang of short 30 minute educational exciting professional displays to entertain maximum numbers in a very controlled way. The American National Park Service documents on interpretation are well worth a read, and their American Civil War events leave me amazed, for all sorts of reasons. Can you give us a european overview, and when shall we bring our horses overBig Grin

Another shot of Byron!


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John Conyard

York

A member of Comitatus Late Roman
Reconstruction Group

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.comitatus.net">http://www.comitatus.net
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.historicalinterpretations.net">http://www.historicalinterpretations.net
<a class="postlink" href="http://lateantiquearchaeology.wordpress.com">http://lateantiquearchaeology.wordpress.com
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#27
Well, Nijmegen 2005 had 12.000 visitors, in 2008 we had a little bit less, 10.000 and last time, 2010 we had only 8.000, probably due to weather conditions and a major soccer match (somewhere in sout Africa) where our national team was playing on sunday afternoon...

Two weeks ago we had a wonderfull event on the Via Belgica. Shows on 5 spots from Bavay (France) to Velzeke (Belgium). I don't know any exact numbers, but I would say that in general we must have had about 3000 visitors on every show at least. We did 5, so that makes up about 15.000 visitors over the whole weekend.

Xanten attracts between 15 and 20.000 visitors at least. Don't know any other numbers, unfortunatelly.
________________________________________
Jvrjenivs Peregrinvs Magnvs / FEBRVARIVS
A.K.A. Jurjen Draaisma
CORBVLO and Fectio
ALA I BATAVORUM
Reply
#28
May I ask who organises the events? Do they have government funding? And what are the "shows" like. You've seen the Comitatus shows, and I've sent you the running order, do the Europeans do a similar thing? Professional entertaining eductional 30 minute presentations, or do you put on "battles"? Gladiators are a good way of entertaining large numbers with few bodies. Do you guys sort out your own arenas and PA systems? Comitatus event manages it's own shows, but other groups in the UK are employed by event managers. How do things work in mainland Europe? I am intrigued.
John Conyard

York

A member of Comitatus Late Roman
Reconstruction Group

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.comitatus.net">http://www.comitatus.net
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.historicalinterpretations.net">http://www.historicalinterpretations.net
<a class="postlink" href="http://lateantiquearchaeology.wordpress.com">http://lateantiquearchaeology.wordpress.com
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#29
Well, for Nijmegen we've 2 arena's. One for military displays. Shows are similar to yours, one for the gladiators. The events of 2 weeks ago was purely militairy, shows also like yours, both infantery and cavalry. In Xanten it's the same also, as well as Marle.
________________________________________
Jvrjenivs Peregrinvs Magnvs / FEBRVARIVS
A.K.A. Jurjen Draaisma
CORBVLO and Fectio
ALA I BATAVORUM
Reply
#30
Cheers Jurjen,

We try and do some big events with lots of people, some small craft based events, and a multi period each year. But all in great locations to camp, preferably with rivers and trees nearby.
John Conyard

York

A member of Comitatus Late Roman
Reconstruction Group

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.comitatus.net">http://www.comitatus.net
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.historicalinterpretations.net">http://www.historicalinterpretations.net
<a class="postlink" href="http://lateantiquearchaeology.wordpress.com">http://lateantiquearchaeology.wordpress.com
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