Heroic Dreams - All Things Medieval

You won’t be bringing down any castle walls with this trebuchet but it is a pretty strong floor model sized siege engine. It hurls a tennis ball.

The big thing I focused on with this trebuchet is “fast and easy”. I wanted to try to put together a powerful treb without all the hassle. And this fits the bill pretty good. It took me a few hours to design and make it. You should be able to build it in a couple of hours. I try to improvise all common parts and it uses just a few pieces of two by four and two barbells for a total counterweight of 20 pounds.

The project is located here and I will be posting to that page a youtube video explaining more and showing it firing off. The Tennis Ball Trebuchet

Fantasy Wall Diorama Part 7 The Underground Castle

I show how to make a castle out of cardboard, tubes and sheets of paper. I also show how I wire it up with lights. This is part 7 of the Wall Diorama (Shadowbox) Tutorial.
More stuff on my website : http://www.stormthecastle.com

If you have been following my blog for some time, or if you visit my medieval website you might be familiar with the unusual case of the mysterious medieval chest. Someone sent me pictures of a beautiful wooden chest and wanted to see if I or my readers could lend some insight into what it was, when and where it came from. I got a lot of great responses to this and you can read all about it on my medieval castle website here: The Mysterious Medieval Chest

A lot of the speculation revolved around the front of the chest which had what appeared to be a carving of a castle.

I received an email from somebody (Stephen W.) about this carving on the front of the chest. He proposes that it looks more to be a group of bell tents in an encampment rather than a castle. And it makes sense. I think he has really pegged this just right. Here is a partial quote from the email he sent me:

I have an interest in military architecture, tents and chests and the “castle” idea does not fit with what I saw.

I see a group of bell tents with unusual rounded topped door ways, but with the conical shape depicted in some manuscripts and other depictions (i.e. Lorenzo Ghiberti’s, Gates of Paradise (East Doors), Baptistery in Florence (1425 - 1437 A.D.), second panel from the bottom left, a group of five bell tents.

Some tents have been depicted with dorma windows (i.e. Jean Froissart’s Chroniques de Froissart, The Jousts of St. Inglibert (British Library, MS Harl, 4379, f 23v). The structures show a number of features of bell tents; apex decoration, valance decoration anc clear demarcation between the roof and the side panels.

So this could encampment scene may date from the 15th century and not 13th century, which would correspond with the type of chest and over decoration of the chest. See this link http://www.larsdatter.com/chests.htm for clearer picture of chest design and development over time.The decoration and style of chest looks more like this: http://www.insecula.com/oeuvre/O0002751.html

Here is a picture that he refers us to:

The similiarity is uncanny and I think that Stephen really pegged this! My thanks to him for this insight and for the research he did toward this mystery.

You can also read my previous blogpost about this Medieval Chest here: The Case of the Mysterious Medieval Chest

I just completed this new tutorial and it is complete with a video. It shows you how to make the leg guards (Greaves) just like in the movie 300. They come out really good and you just need a few items including some cereal box cardboard, flour and water. This is part of my on going series of tutorials on the 300 weapons and armor. So far I have the Spartan Greaves, Spartan Vambraces (arm guards) the Spartan Helmet and the Spartan Spear.

Coming soon I will be doing the Spartan Sword, The Spartan Shield and the Chest Plate.

Here is a little gem of an audio adventure that I have discovered. it is an ongoing series of medieval tales from the kingdom of Udenland. It is all totally free and you can either stream the audio or download it. In the first three episodes we travel along with Sirs Cottington and Bratwurst as they encounter an Emerald Forest Twin Tail Dragon (named Nigel). It is a hilarious series of adventures and the production values are high. Its a nice production and the first three episodes run between 12 and 17 minutes long. You can check it out on their website here: The Hazardous Players

Here is what the Hazardous Players have to say about the production:

The kingdom of Udenland is populated with unique characters and bizarre creatures, all entwined in the ever growing story of good Sirs Cottington and Bratwurst. Here you can follow their adventures as they traverse the land and sea on various quests throughout the kingdom.

The Hazardous Players will introduce you to some of the eccentric inhabitants of Udenland society, who our two moderately brave and occasionally noble knights often encounter on their continuing travels. Plus we will take you to the far corners of Udenland: deep in the Ragstag Mountains, across the Tempest Sea and to new and distant lands where undiscovered and extraordinary creatures can be found.  Creatures that even the extensive Henchwoods Guide to Magical Creatures has not catalogued.

Please join us and listen to the tale of Sir Cottington and Sir Bratwurst and accompany them on their adventures.