March 13th, 2010
I received a press release about an interesting new book that is coming out in July
Here is the release:
“I’ll be honest, I see a lot of people join because their real life sucks. You can come here and be anybody.”
–Lord Duncan the Monster
Whether they’re bored office stiffs, housewives, or disgruntled war vets, the armor-clad members of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) like to get beat up the old-fashioned way. Boasting more than 30,000 members worldwide, and over 16 “Kingdoms” in the United States alone, the eclectic eccentrics of the SCA participate in a variety of rigorous medieval battle simulations. Suburban Knights is a series of portraits of these 21st-century warriors, in costume and in character as their knightly alter egos.
From 2003 to 2005, internationally renowned photographer E. F. Kitchen photographed and interviewed the fighters of the SCA on location at their battles. Kitchen’s unique approach dispensed with technologically sophisticated cameras, and she instead used a tripod-mounted, 8×10 bellows camera with exclusively handmade and antique lenses. The results are appropriately hoary, sepia-tone images of these fierce warriors lost in time.
Suburban knights willfully escape from the 21st-century and into the realm of the SCA, where one can come face to face with the formidable armor and lance of a knight calling himself “Nissan Maxima.” Warriors are icons for an idealistic code of behavior extolling power and virtue. The men and women of the SCA capture a bit of this past glory for themselves, and while a majority of the portraits obscure the faces of these knights, under their thick armor, their features couldn’t be made clearer.
E.F. Kitchen’s photographs are included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art among others. Her work has been published in books including The Greatest Alum Covers That Never Were (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, 2003), and Flora Photographica (Simon & Schuster, 1991), as well as periodicals such as the Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Angeles Magazine, and View Camera. She is based in Venice, CA.
Leo Braudy is a professor, and the author of From Chivalry to Terrorism (Vintage, 2005), and The Frenzy of Renown (Vintage, 1997), among other books. He is also the coeditor of the Film Theory and Criticism anthology. His most recent book is On the Waterfront (British Film Institute, 2008) in the BFI Film Classics series, and he is currently working on a book about the intertwined history of Hollywood and the Hollywood sign
This book is available for pre-order on Amazon.com: Suburban Knights: A Return to the Middle Ages (Powerhouse Books)
Posted in Books, Castles/Medieval, role playing, SCA | No Comments »
February 18th, 2010
I received this picture of a pair of medieval statues (Grave monuments) from a web visitor (Brad) who is a fan of all kinds of medieval things. He needs help identifying the figures in the picture. I am not sure who these figures are and I could make a few guesses but I want to be sure. Maybe you recognize these statues. The architecture and stained glass in the background, not to mention the dress of the figures gives us some great clues as to the country and time period.
Anyway, If you recognize these figures just send me an email! And thanks for your help!
Posted in Castles/Medieval, Medieval, Historical, Renaissance | No Comments »
February 4th, 2010
I do a lot of different dioramas and I do a lot of different siege engines. If you have been following me for a while you have probably seen some of my catapults, trebuchets and miniature castles. I recently got an email from a web visitor who has tied all these things together by making a large diorama of a castle with a very big front gate. But he also built the various siege engines that are attacking it.
This is a pretty cool project and it includes a trebuchet, battering ram and a Mantlet which is a portable shield that was used to protect warriors from arrows and other projectiles.
You can see the various aspects of his project on my website here: A Medieval Siege Diorama Project
You may also want to check out my 8 foot diorama called “The Battle Between Good and Evil” It has a castle with lighting, a mountain and a working waterfall. A picture of this diorama is below.
Posted in Castles/Medieval, creativity, Projects u do, Siege Engines | No Comments »
January 11th, 2010
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
Posted in Castles/Medieval, Medieval, Historical | No Comments »
October 29th, 2009
I just finished a new Paper Project that you can download, print up and make yourself. It is the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens Greece. The project is a complete and free download that you can make. And it is a pretty easy yet fun project. Also included with the project is a youtube video that shows you the Paper Project as it is completed along with some actual footage I took of the real Parthenon in Athens. Here is the location of the project: The paper Parthenon - Acropolis
Posted in By Will Kalif, Castles/Medieval, Projects u do, Historical, Travel | No Comments »
