Bedfordshire Medieval Festival

Festival Location: Bedford, England

Festival Type: Medieval Fairs

Bedfordshire Medieval Festival Media:

Bedfordshire Medieval Festival

By: © Gillian McNern 2009

I went along to the annual Bedfordshire Medieval Festival staged at the end of June at the old WW2 Twinwood Airfield just to the North of Bedford. This is a lovely spot, with views over gently rolling hills and across the valley where Bedford hugs the river Great Ouse, and it is usually peaceful and tranquil. Not on that occasion, as the Fayre opened with a ground-shaking explosion as the gunners from the Compagnie of Saynte Barbara fired their fearsome one-and-a-half tonne siege engine, the Bombard, to let people know that the programme of demonstrations and displays was about to begin. There was a sizable cloud of white smoke drifting across the field and an acrid whiff of cordite on the air as I moved towards the Arena.

I thoroughly enjoyed the display of courtly dances by the Paladins of Chivalry dressed in colourful robes and garments and this was followed by a splendid troupe of mounted Knights, Ladies, Squires and other retainers from Destrier who showed off their skills in a series of Mounted Hunting Games. These were enormously impressive, especially as my own horse riding skills are practically non-existent. I was less interested in the Falconry, so I took the opportunity of exploring the sizeable Medieval Market, where colourful tents crowded around the Arena and in a long Avenue in the adjacent field. There was a wonderful and surprising range of goods available to admire and to buy, and I spent rather more than I had expected to, acquiring some handmade Soap (wonderful intense smells of mint and coconut!), some Incense, a beautiful wooden goblet and two very good value sheepskin rugs. I just managed to resist buying some truly lovely woollen material at a bargain £5 per metre but only because my linen cupboard is crammed full of bargains that I have yet to manage to find time to turn into all the curtains and cushion covers and clothes that are on my "intend to do" list.

Then I was lured back to watch the Cobham Household of the Medieval Siege Society demonstrating skill at arms with wooden daggers and swords. This was quite fascinating as firstly the moves and counter moves derived from the medieval manuscripts of a fight-master called Tallehoffer were gone through in what was almost slow motion so that the audience could appreciate what was involved, and then the whole sequence re-done at speed so that you could "see it for real". Then with much ceremony and a great deal of care, a "live blade" was brought into the arena, securely packed in a locked wooden case, and this was used to slice through some rolled up rush matting, quite clearly showing that a sharp sword would easily have made very real and serious wounds - unlike the wooden "wasters" being used in the mock combats.

This was followed by a full contact medieval sword fighting tournament, with knights in full plate armour using blunt swords, judged by a panel of experienced sword fighters, competing in a knock out competition for a prize worth £250. This was very different from the stylized "Skill at Arms" mock combat, these guys - and a girl! - were really hitting each other with steel swords. Even blunt they must have caused serious injury were it not for the armour, and it was actually quite noisy! It was obviously hard work, and also in the summer sunshine it must have been really hot. I was worn out just watching the first few bouts, so I thought that this was the ideal time for lunch and a welcome glass of chilled lager.

After which I wandered through some of the fascinating living history encampments, where the re-enactors were living as they might have done on campaign in the 14th and 15th centuries, complete with cooking fires and various tasks and crafts being completed, including weaving, spinning, and fletching. Then I watched a display of the arming of the knight, seeing how complicated a process it was for a man to be dressed in a "harness of plate", each piece secured to a padded undergarment called an Arming Jack by laces and straps called "points" (because they had tapered metal bits clamped onto the ends to make threading them through the holes in the armour easier). It is a common misconception that a fully armoured knight would have to be winched onto a horse, in fact a fully armoured knight can sprint in his armour. After all, he needed to be very mobile to be effective.

This was a part of the "mustering of the armies" ready for the battle that was the culmination of the day's entertainment. Run by the Medieval Siege Society (MSS) and preceded by an impressive artillery display, the battle was a re-creation of the 1460 Battle of Northampton. This Battle, from the War of the Roses, was remarkable in many ways, and the MSS do a fantastic job of re-enacting it. The Lancastrian faction, led by the Duke of Buckingham have control of the mentally ill King Henry VI, and are camped at Northampton. The Yorkists, who are feeling hard done by because they are excluded from the King's Council arrive under the leadership of the Earl of Warwick, and demand to see the King. Permission is not forthcoming, and the Yorkist army takes to the field to try and decide things through force of arms. They have the larger army, but the Lancastrians are in prepared defensive positions and have the advantage of the Royal Artillery Train. After a lot of fierce fighting, things are at pretty much stalemate, too evenly balanced for there to be any real resolution until a sudden downpour of rain soaks the black powder and silences the artillery. At that point Lord Grey, in charge of a large part of the Lancastrian Army decides that the Yorkists are the more likely victors, and treacherously changes sides, thereby ensuring a Yorkist victory. Unusually, the Yorkists chose to execute most of the Lancastrian noblemen, where the normal practice was for ransoming the rich. A bloody end to a bloody day with heads on poles! And the poor deranged Henry VI now under the control the Earl of Warwick, the Yorkist power broker who became known as The Kingmaker because of his influence over who was on the throne.

Of course, the MSS can't guarantee a sudden downpour when they want one, let alone just over the Lancastrian Artillery, so another solution was required. This was to have a party of brave Yorkists advance towards the Lancastrian positions, and from this party a torch carrying volunteer sprints towards the enemy, launching his flaming brand at the Black Powder Magazine. The results were truly spectacular. A tremendous end to a superb day out!

by Gillian McNern

Bedfordshire Medieval Festival Photos: