This weekend Blackfriars, a restored 13th century Dominican priory, is home to a LARP Kit Fest. I'm not a fan of the latex weaponry, apart from a frying pan! But the handmade items from leather, wood, wool and paper are exquisite!
The highlight for me was the time spent with the Sealed Knot people. I was deeply entranced by their clothes. One guy took a lot of time to answer my questions and was very understanding that I wasn't interested in battle what so ever, but the history of everyday people, what they wore and how they lived was of far more interest. I enjoy historical costuming on YouTube, but this was so much better, being able to interact with people, and to touch and feel the clothing (with permission). One of my favourite items was a black cassock with red cloth buttons. It could be worn as a jacket, or a cape simply by unbuttoning and rebuttoning in a different way.
Just before we left Blackfriars, the Sealed Knot put on a display in the courtyard. The officer explained who people were, their clothing, ranks etc. When the black powder man started preparing his musket, a couple of the guys cordoned off a section of the courtyard. This was the area they were going to be firing into. The sergeant stopped people from entering the firing zone, and was smiling at them. I barked out 'Sergeant, stop smiling at the civilians, and turn them back!' He did this, much to my amusement.
The sergeant came very close to where we were sitting/standing, at the edge of the exclusion zone, and gave us far more information than the officer was bellowing out. One little nugget is that when fired at night, a musket flash can extend to 5m! Another nugget is blacksmiths would sometimes fire a shot at a steel breastplate from 100m, and this would leave a dent in the armour. This was seen as a mark of quality and safety. However, at 50m, the musket shot would penetrate the steel and cause a huge deal of damage to the flesh and bone behind.
At one point I looked at the sergeant and remarked "Sergeant, you are smiling again." He grinned and said he liked us. We were interested in what was happening. I hadn't realised the armoured sergeant was the guy I'd been talking with about clothing etc.
The Blackfriars Priory is also very interesting. It is a place I will need to visit in a subsequent visit to Gloucester.
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