The Company of Chivalry - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Company of Chivalry is a living history

Living history

Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to reenact a specific event in history, living history is...

group portraying a Military

Military

A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...

Company in the age of Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), under the command of Sir Thomas Hungerford (c. 1330 – 3 December 1397), a Vassal of John of Gaunt 1st Duke of Lancaster (March 6, 1340 – February 3, 1399).

The group performs at Medieval Reenactment events; with civilian Living History

Living History

Living History is the autobiography of Secretary of State, former United States Senator from New York, and former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, published in 2003....

and military Combat Display aspects. The Company of Chivalry is well known for its vivid display of daily life in a medieval camp especially in the Castles of Wales for CADW

Cadw

-Conservation and Protection:Many of Wales's great castles and other monuments, such as bishop's palaces, historic houses, and ruined abbeys, are now in Cadw's care. Cadw does not own them but is responsible for their upkeep and for making them accessible to the public...

. The Group has the only fully trained Medieval Siege Engine Crew in the United Kingdom, and regularly displays the use of four types of Siege Engine

Siege engine

A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some have been operated close to the fortifications, while others have been used to attack from a distance. From antiquity, siege engines were constructed largely of wood and...

at Caerphilly Castle

Caerphilly Castle

Caerphilly Castle is a medieval castle that dominates the centre of the town of Caerphilly in south Wales. It is the largest castle in Wales and the second largest in Britain after Windsor Castle...

in South Wales

South Wales

South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...

.

The society has set its effective date as 1370, during the Hundred Years War at a time when the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

were ascendent against the Armies of France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. Within the society the military aspect consists of soldiers who are primarily made up of Billmen with a gunner in charge of a small black powder cannon

Cannon

A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...

, commanded by armoured Knights.

Name

]
There is not a single correct spelling for the name of the company; the group usually uses “The Company of Chivalry” or the more Archaeic “Ye Compaynye of Cheualrye”

Origins and History

The Company of Chivalry was formed in 1988 by a group of people with a love for medieval England. Over the years they have developed a system of operating that has caused them to evolve from a small group to a well structured society of over 50 active members. The aim of the society is to recreate the daily life, culture and technology of English

England

society in the Plantagenet period of the late fourteenth century.

Membership

]
There are around seventy five people involved with the group and about fifty of them are considered active. The active members live in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

; the General Membership is mostly drawn from the West Country

West Country

The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...

(Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

, Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

, Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

), and from Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

. The society actively recruits and welcomes enquiries for membership and events from all over the UK and Europe, the society is happy to accept members with or without prior experience; and welcomes families to join.

Events

The Company of Chivalry primarily works with CADW

Cadw

, and English Heritage

English Heritage

English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

, and some privately owned properties such as Pembroke Caste; and carries out living history

Living history

events in close cooperation with them. The Group usually carries out between twelve and fifteen events each year/season between Easter and September, in the UK. The Society has developed strong links with Compagnia di Porta Giovia an Italian Reenactment Society Based in Milano, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, and travels to Morimondo

Morimondo

Morimondo is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 20 km southwest of Milan.-External links:*...

, Italy

Italy

every year to participate in a reenactment of The Battle of Casorate (1352) between Carlo IV of Bohemia

Bohemia

Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...

and the Duke Visconti of Milano. The Society also attends private events.

Video

A Good Hanging The Company of Chivalry at Pembroke Castle in 2007
The Company of Chivalry at Farleigh Hungerford Castle June 2006
Battle of Casorate Reenactment May 2005

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.