2007 XIV AMC Period Encampment Inspection Report

Inspectors: Sven (New Varangian Guard) & John the Wyrm (Grey Company).

Premise: To inspect the encampments of the 2007 Australian Medieval Conference to rank the encampments on a range of criteria to find the best at conference. The criteria consisted of:

Period to non-period ratio of accommodation (percentage)
Period tents/building accuracy to period meant to be depicted (percentage)
Accoutrements (amount of period accessories measured in broad terminology)
Number of non-period items (a list was made)

Objective: Provide comments and feedback both verbally and in a written report on how to improve the presentation.

Encampment/group and period	Ratio of period to non period	Period accomodation accuracy	Accoutremonts	Number of non-period items	Comments
Green Regiment of the London Trained Bands (Pike and Musket) - 1642 AD	100% Period	100%	Extensive	Rake; white sliced bread; milk in carton, modern tent pegs	Items for commendation: mile marker street signs loo
Uppsala - 8th – 14th century	20% Period	70%	Nil	Lots	Only the two cabins were looked at in any detail in this inspection, one of which had a turf roof.
Various Vikings - Viking (Lynne Simpson etc.)	60% Period	60%	Some	Rope handles on chests, bolts holding Viking tent together	Only one Viking tent with accurate ends
Fire & Steel - 10th century, North west Europe	100% Period	90%	Extensive	Rope handles on chest; non-period shoes; Phillips head screws on bucket; Easter egg	Items for commendation: Gokstad and Oseberg tents Oseberg child chair, bed, lyre Linden wood shield
Ancient Arts Fellowship 740 – 1066 AD	40% Period	70%	Not many	Bell tents with internal frame, etc. etc. etc.	Items for commendation: stripped getald
New Varangian Guard Branches - 9th – 13th century	100% Period	80%	More than some	Modern tent pegs; chest without hinges, hasps or locks	Items for commendation: 256 appliquéd flowers and squiggles on replica of tent from Maciejowski Bible Byzantine wall hangings in Byzantine tent
Sydney Ancients Greek and Romans	100% Period	95%	Extensive	Phillips heads screws in standard; plastic container in tent; modern tent pegs on one tent; screws in shield handles; Allen key screws in brazier	Items for commendation: Defensive field works Tents – Republican Roman, summer campaign Tent pegs on majority of tents based on those from Numenati
Frojel - Viking Gotland	100% Period	65%	Some	Non-period carving on tent poles; Phillips heads screws in standard; plastic container in tent; modern tent pegs on one tent; screws in shield handles; Allen key screws in brazier
Conroi de Bohon	100% Period	75%	Some	Sheep skin on welding glove; no locks or hasp on chests; modern tent pegs; steel sleeve on tent poles; cooking pot; use of fly questionable; rope handles on chest; chest without hinges or closure.	Items for commendation: arms and armour costume
League of Unaligned Re-enactors - 14th century	100% Period	95%	Some	Treated pine tent pole; modern hinges on chest; modern tent pegs; no locks or hasps on hutch chests	Items for commendation: attachment of separate bell tent walls via toggle arrangement

Comments:

We have come a long way since 1985 in regard to historical representations especially in regard to tents, costumes and accoutrements, and this report represents the current endeavours of the groups listed.

John and I walked around the encampments and inspected those with even a modicum of historical representations, thus we had a larger pool of encampments to inspect than the usual few. The period versus plastic ratio was a crude measure used to indicate the percentage of non-period tentage/building present, 7 out of 10 encampments reached the 100% mark. The percentage accuracy to the period depicted was an indication of how well the group had done in their presentation, only the Pike and Musket achieved 100%, and the Sydney Ancients and the League of Unaligned Re-enactors achieved 95%. The number of accoutrements was represented in the use of terminology (extensive to nil), the top three (Pike and Musket, Sydney Ancients and Fire & Steel) all achieved the ‘extensive’ label in this category.

All encampments still showed some non-period items. The most common non-period items included;

modern tent pegs (this needs more research)
rope handles on chests (on pseudo Viking chests)
Phillips heads screw (in buckets, a standard and a shaving horse)
chests without hinges, hasps or locks were also noted but this is a more of a lack of the necessary chest furniture

Some of worst non-period items included;

modern tools
modern food
bell tents with internal metal frames
a design on a bench in texta
treated pine pole of a bell tent
Allen key screws in a brazier

In the comments section we tried to find those items that deserved special commendations and the list is extensive, highlights include;

mile stone, street signs and loo (Pike and Musket)
efforts at period houses, one with a turf roof (Uppsala)
Oseberg tent, chair, bed and lyre (Fire & Steel)
256 appliquéd flowers and squiggles on replica of tent from Maciejowski Bible (NVG – Antioch)
period tent pegs (Sydney Ancients)
the use of detachable tent walls on a 14th century bell tent (League of Unaligned Re-enactors)

With two years until the next conference there is ample time and incentive to remove these flaws in our representations and replaced them with more period items.

Prepared by Wayne Robinson,
Gasmules Society (Formerly The Australasian Mediaeval Conference Association Incorporated)
Last Updated 17 April 2007

Done with Notepad - the proper way