Display Fighting

The Fellowship fights two very different kinds of fight. The first is regular in-group or inter-group combat, which is relatively straightforward and covered in detail in this manual. The other type of combat is the public display. Whether it is a paid display or at a public event, the style of combat is very different.

In particular, when fighting in a display, the emphasis is not on winning the fight, but putting on a good show. In the end it doesn’t matter who wins (except in a set-piece battle – see below), and a fighter should not fight with techniques designed to bring a battle to a swift close. Leave that for the competitions and the inter-club events. To put on a good display, you need to throw all those techniques right out of the window.

The Fellowship does fighting displays in order to make what might otherwise be a boring history lesson more interesting. The Battle of Hastings, for example, was a turning point in the history of Britain, and therefore the world. Many of us would not be here if it were not for William conquering on that field. Most of the members of the audience therefore leave the display with an understanding of what happened at the battle, even if they do not have the full background.

A display therefore has to be exciting. We are presenting history (a subject which some unaccountably find boring) in the guise of a bash-up. Even if they come to see people fighting and killing each other with swords and axes, they leave with a little bit of knowledge about the history of the period.

Not winning

It is important not to fight in order to beat your opponent. Almost anyone can win a fight with a fast head shot, and that’s boring. Two fighters walk out onto the field, a quick shot is thrown and they walk off. Dull dull dull.

What is far more exciting is for the two fighters to circle each other, exchange a furious rain of blows, stop, throw insults at one another, then to hurl blows at each other again, until one finally lands a good shot and the opponent dies with much gurgling.

So there are several points to make here:

Fast killing shots are to be discouraged. Any technique that lets your opponent fall beneath your superior swordsmanship, your quick thinking or your sneaky tactics should have no place in a display fight.

Instead, full-arm swings and telegraphed blows that allow your opponent to clearly see what it is you are doing, so that an effective counter can be quickly prepared, are the order of the day.

Look where you are throwing the blow. Normally this is discouraged as it gives your opponent a clue as to where the next blow is coming, but in a display this is exactly what you want to do!

Do not use feints. Feints are intended to fool your opponent and bring the fight to a quick end. Not good in a display. Land every blow you begin, and land it in the intended location.

Any situation where the audience is wondering what is going on is bad. All exchanges should be clear to the audience. They want to be able to see every parry and counterattack.

Be careful, however, not to go too slow. By following these guidelines too rigidly, it is quite possible to make the fight look very fake. Fight at full speed, but don’t try to bring the fight to a fast close.

Making noise

The audience wants to see spectacle. Loud clashes, shouts and the screams of the dying are all expected in a display combat. There are several ways to make a lot of noise when fighting.

1. With your voice: Shout battle cries, yell insults, scream when you are hit. The voice is an extremely versatile instrument, and the audience will expect to hear it. Battles are not carried out in eerie silence.
2. With your shield: Slap your sword onto the face your shield. If done right, this can make a loud bang. For a more sustained sound (particularly effective in a shield wall), hit the rim of your shield in a steady rhythm. This can be combined with a vocal yell for added effect “Ut ut ut ut ut…”. When fighting an opponent, clash shields a lot. Two shields hitting each other can make a good loud sound.
3. With your weapon: There is nothing to compare with the sound of a sword parry. When fighting with swords, always make an effort to parry instead of blocking with your shield. Blocking makes a dull thunk sound, while parrying makes an exciting ching sound.

Ending the combat

The combat should ideally go on for as long as possible. However, there comes a time when it should be brought to a close. Set-piece battles (see below) come with their semi-scripted ending. Individual combats must rely on the judgement of the combatants.

Although it is hard to accurately judge time when you are fighting, most individual combats should last at least a minute, depending on how interesting and exciting the combatants can make it. The more thrills, the longer the combat can go.

In the end, however, someone has to lose.

The time-honoured technique of ending a display combat is for one fighter to decide that they are too tired to go on. You step back, raise your sword above your head, and charge in with a gurgling battle cry. Your opponent picks up the exposed target and gets you in the belly with a killing blow. This is a good one for the audience, although if it is not done well it can look very contrived and fake.

A second method is to simply fail to parry an incoming blow. Either you fail to raise your shield, or you fail to parry a blow – the effect is the same. You get hit, the combat is over. This can be quite sudden, and it is not uncommon for the audience to wonder exactly what happened.

Note that in both these cases it is the loser who decides that the fight is going to end. The fighter who throws the winning blow cannot decide to make their opponent lose. Fighters who are familiar with each other’s style can often decide on particular techniques and combos by exchanging meaningful looks, but this cannot be relied upon. The loser decides to end the battle, and they do it by deliberately losing.

Acting

Acting is a large part of display combat. A display is above all else a history lesson. Avoid anachronisms. Don’t wear a wristwatch in a display. Behave in a period manner. Say things that someone might have said in that period of time (ignoring of course the language barrier). Don’t use modern swear words or insults. Don’t say anything on the display field that is not appropriate for the audience to hear. Don’t use modern gestures.

How to adopt and hold a character

By ‘character’ I mean each significant person in a battle should have a specific role. In the Battle of Maldon (for example), there are peasant levies and Huscarls on the Saxon side, and well-equipped raiders on the Viking side. They should behave accordingly. The peasants are frightened both of the Viking raiders and of the Huscarls. The Huscarls are proud and defiant. The Vikings are aggressive and cunning. It would not work for the Viking to be timid and the peasant to be defiant. Know your role and stick to it until the end of the battle, regardless of whether you win or you lose.

Period names for each person on the battlefield are usually not necessary, but can help to add flavour to a scene. “Over there, Ulric! On your flank Maedgud!”. Usually these can be made up on the spot.

How to be wounded, and how to die

Ideally, die with a lot of noise. But don’t overdo it.

When receiving a blow to the leg or arm, make sure the audience knows that you’ve been hit. A cry of ‘Aargh!’ is usually sufficient, then favour the arm as if it hurts to move it. Continue this throughout the battle – don’t forget that you’re wounded. The wounded party will usually lose the fight, but it makes good theatre for the wounded party to occasionally triumph against the odds.

When receiving a blow to the head, remember that you are protected by a helmet. Head blows do not have to be killing blows in a display. If it is a light tap, it can and should probably be ignored. If it is a hard blow, and you don’t want to take it as a kill, break off combat and stagger for a moment, shaking your head is if to clear it. A hard blow to the helmet will at the very least daze you for a moment. If you wish for the head blow to be a killing blow, it is usually best to immediately drop to your knees and keel over. People don’t usually last very long when they have a sword or an axe stuck in their cranium.

When receiving a blow to the body, you should judge whether the blow was sufficient to go through your armour or not. Most body blows were killing blows, but it was possible for someone to last for quite a while before dying. A sword blow to mail would at least bruise, so show it. Clutch the area with your off-hand, bend over. Make it look like you’ve been hit. For a killing blow, a slow death is recommended, with lots of gurgles and even a little bit of twitching at the very end. Again, don’t overdo it, or the show will turn from a history lesson into a comedy.

Period curses and insults.

DO NOT, under any circumstances, swear on the display field! Apart from the fact that some people find it offensive, any normal swear word that you might use is undoubtedly a modern word. Do not give the finger, despite what you might have heard about Agincourt. Do not put your sword between your legs and mimic a massive member. Do not pole-dance with your spear.

By all means shake your fist at your opponent. Brandish your weapon aggressively. Blow raspberries. Spit.

Any curse or insult you use on the field should at least sound period, even if it is not.

For more detail, see my article Period Insults and Oaths.

Sample characters

The Norman Knight knows that he is superior to everybody else. He wears a conical helmet and a mail hauberk, and carries a kite shield. He usually carries a sword and a dagger. He is well-equipped, well-trained and knows it. The Norman Knight does not retreat, except where it is a part of a planned action (eg, the Battle of Hastings – see below).

The Viking Berserk is at the very least drunk on adrenaline. He is violent and uncouth. He usually carries a two-handed axe, but some berserks can carry either sword and shield or axe and shield. He usually wears a helmet with eye bars and a mail byrnie. He may carry a secondary weapon. When he fights he goes into a frenzy, with little care for his own safety. He therefore usually does not survive the battle.

Set-piece battles

Set-piece battles are some of the most exciting displays that the Fellowship can perform. The reason they work is that everyone on the field knows exactly where they are and what they have to do.

We use set-piece battles to demonstrate a particular historical circumstance, such as the Battle of Hastings. We ask the audience to evaluate the decisions made by historical figures such as Byrhtnoth at the Battle of Maldon. We demonstrate some of the reasons people fought in battles such as the Holmgang. In each case there is a specific point to illustrate, and for that reason it is important for the battle to go smoothly.

When performing a set-piece battle, follow these guidelines:

1. Know your part. Failing to follow your part in a set-piece battle is tantamount to an actor forgetting lines. It disrupts the show and spoils the atmosphere.
2. Do not die before your time. Always die in the right place. It may not be a battle in which you are required to die, but if it is, know when you need to. It is no good in the Battle of Hastings for half the Norman line to die before the third charge.
3. In recreations of specific battles, such as Maldon and Hastings, do not change history. The Normans won at Hastings – it would be no good for the Saxons to win in a display. At least two Normans should be invincible.

Battle of Maldon: 991 AD

Vikings: Viking Chieftain, Viking Raiders.

Saxons: Earl Byrhtnoth, Huscarl, peasant levies.

The Battle of Maldon is a classic fight of Viking raiders versus Saxon peasant levies. The battle starts with a speech describing how the Viking raiders came to Maldon and found the Saxon defenders arrayed on the other side of a river. A narrow causeway was the only way across, flooded during high tide. When the tide retreated, the Vikings attempted to cross the causeway, but were held back by three of Byrhtnoth’s retainers. In the end, the Vikings parleyed with the Saxon Earl, asking to come across the causeway and fight in a fair fight. Byrhtnoth agreed, and the Vikings met and defeated the Saxons on the field.

The fight starts with the Chieftain and the Raiders on one side, and Byrhtnoth, his Huscarl and the peasants on the other.

The Vikings charge the peasant line. This is a probing attack, to test the Saxon’s defences. None are killed at this time and the Vikings retreat and regroup.

On the Vikings’ second charge, a small group splits off to flank the Saxon defenders. A Saxon Huscarl leads some of the peasants away from Byrhtnoth to meet this threat. While this is going on, Byrhtnoth is killed by the Vikings. A cry goes up from the Saxon line: Byrhtnoth is dead!

At this cry the Huscarl retreats to defend Byrhtnoth’s body and the peasants either retreat in panic or are killed by the Vikings. The Huscarl dies fighting. The Vikings win.

Battle of Hastings: 1066 AD

The display starts with a speech describing the lead up to the battle – how William was promised the Kingship by Ethelred the Unready and how Harold took the throne upon Ethelred’s death. The Viking attack at Stamford Bridge is described, and Harold’s forced march to the field of Hastings to meet the invading Norman army.

The two sides each form a shield wall. The Norman wall advances on the Saxon line for the first time, but are beaten off. They retreat in good order and regroup.

The Normans advance for a second time. Again they are beaten off by the Saxon fighters and they retreat. Some of the Saxons try to pursue them but are restrained by their comrades.

The Normans then advance for the third and final time. When they retreat, some of the Saxons break the line of the shield wall and pursue them. The Normans quickly turn, form up their shield wall, and attack the now-broken Saxon line, defeating them.

Holmgang: Viking Age

The Holmgang is an example of an individual duel as a set-piece battle. As usual, it begins with a talk about the Viking culture and judicial system.

The two aggrieved parties begin an argument. This is usually about a woman. They become violent and start fighting, but are separated by their comrades. They are brought before the Chieftain, who asks each to put their case. They explain their grievance, there are no witnesses, and they are both calling each other liars. The Chieftain declares a Holmgang and asks whether the fight should be to the death, to first blood, or to break three shields. The fighters shout ‘to the death!’ (of course) and leave the field to gear up.

At this point the speaker talks about the intent and purpose of a trial by combat, and notes that the practice continued in Europe until well into the 14th Century. If a dispute cannot be settled with testimony with witnesses, then the aggrieved parties may fight. It would be unthinkable for the Gods to allow a guilty man to defeat an innocent one.

Once the fighters are ready, a square is made by noncombatants each holding a spear at one corner. The Chieftain declares that if either fighter leaves the square they will be declared outlaw. The fight begins and continues until one fighter dies.