Saturday, June 10, 2017 Ah, something everyone waits for when it comes to the medieval period . ARMS! The sign on the thumb nail reads Swedish Handcrafted. No machinery here! Hence, expensive! Just like back then! The man in the red shirt is trying on plate arm armor. The 2 shiny pieces below the sign are thight and knee armor. On the rack are several swords. The maker told me they were not sharpened, but a few strokes with the right hammer would bring them to a sharp edge. Nothing to play with! Maybe this is why there are no police at the festival – scared of being carved up!!? There are several more military and civilian items on the table in the background. Readily visible are candle holders – very important for all house holds, poor as rich. They have legs so a burned down candle will not ignite the table or table cloth! There were no fire engines in those days! A fire often became a disaster! A crier was sent out to order “couvre feu” (French), or “cover fire” so people would not forget to put out candles and other flames. The white horizontally ribbed tunic is quite protective against slashing and striking weapons, but not piercing/perforating weapons. If you look at medieval battle paintings you will see many wearing this type of tunic, often painted with one’s leaders coat of arms (so you don’t stick a sword or arrow through your own men!). ENJOY!