Citadel Medieval Society

The Citadel Medieval Society is a fun-loving group of people who dedicate a large portion of our "spare time" to reenact the lives and times of people from an era of chilvalry.

From establishing a "living history" military encampment, to engaging in combat with the weapons of the medieval times, all of our members have a passion for history and take great pleasure in allowing the ladies and gentlemen of the modern day to experience it first hand.

As a group, we become a 14th Century company out of the town of La'Rochelle (on the western coast of France), during the Hundred Years War in approximately 1370 A.D.

We also reenact the Schwertzbruder (or "Sword-Brethren"), taking on the roles of Knights and men-at-arms, squires, and their accompanying familes in the 13th Century.

We pride ourselves on our safety and our historical accuracy, and we encourage the members of the public to attend, inspect, and question us in our encampment. We hope to give them the best opportunity to learn a little more about how our ancestors lived.

If you're interested in learning more about us and about history, or perhaps experiencing it for yourself, please contact us by clicking here.

Frequently Asked Questions

"Is that a real sword?"

This is the most commonly asked question at any event, and sometimes we feel like answering with "Are you wearing real clothes?".

The most correct answer is, "yes". The weapons that we use are as real and as historically accurate as we can make them, keeping the safety of our combatants in mind. As safety is our primary concern, we must round the points and blunt the edges of our weapons.

"How often do you train for this?"

We train almost every Sunday afternoon at Yugumbir State School at Regents Park with a break over the Christmas to New Year period because it's too hot at that time of year. For more information, please select training from the menu on the left.

"Do you ever get hurt?"

Injuries to the extremities occur, but thankfully are minimal. We wear padding to train in and utilize a system developed and based on Fiore de Liberi's - 'Flos Dellatorum', Hans Talhoffer's 'Fechtbuch' and the I.33 manuscript from the thirteenth century. We have had ex-football players join up because they get less injuries!

"Can anyone fight?"

If you possess no physical or mental disability, you can train to perform. Not everyone can get to a suitably safe or competant level for public performance. You have to be over the age of 18 or have parental consent if you are between 16 and 18. And Yes, we have female fighters too.

"How much performance space do you need?"

Depending on the performance, our requirements range from simply a couple of tables to set up for a lecture, to a full scale living history encampment needing an area of 20 metres by 25 metres or more to house tents and fire pits, and if you would like combat, we will need a similar sized area again. A lecture will last from an hour to two hours and a combat display goes for about half an hour.

"Where do you get your clothing and stuff?"

We make as much as we can ourselves; our clothing, shoes, hats, etc. We have access to specialised artisans that can create more difficult items like armour, weapons and tents. Is it expensive? Yes. That's why we make as much as we can ourselves, using our own research and development.