Marching Through Time Part 1

This past weekend we had a blast Marching Through Time!

We spent quite a bit of time in 800 with Charlemagne's encampment.  This may have been because they let Choclo and Oob whack at each other with wooden swords.

But we also enjoyed their (heavy) chain mail, and their small throwing axes (franciscas, from which we get Franks, from which we get France).

Alas, we did not get to throw any axes, but we did get to mess around with this light cavalry mace.

And they were encamped next to these Romans.

I grant you, he looks more like a Viking, but that's because he is a Viking being paid to fight for the Romans... of the Eastern Empire, long after the Western Empire (Rome itself) fell.

Yes, it's Byzantine.

 Moving on to the War of the Roses...

We met a brave knight.  He was so brave, he let us try on bits of his armor while he himself was getting fully suited up.

Note the anachronistic soldiers from the 1800s in the background.  One of the fun things about this encampment is watching various eras interact.

 Here he is all suited up and ready for action!

A very fun thing this time around was the presence of some friends.  The dad in this family was a Swiss Guard, which makes him the only person I have met who has professional experience wearing plate armor. And Halberds!  It was fascinating to hear him discussing things with the reenactors.

One thing I learned: metal armor always feels either too hot or too cold.