United Empires of the Middle Ages
Medieval Reenactment Society
Marshall Tome

VERSION 1.0

Copyright (c) 2000

Copies may be made by members of the, UNITED EMPIRES OF THE MIDDLE AGES, for circulation to other members, so long as no changes are made and the copyright statement is included.

APPENDIX 2: UEMA COMBAT RULES

General:

The basic rules for UMEA combat are contained in the Rules of Combat for the United Empires of the Middle Ages. These Rules, however, do not specifically cover non-tourney field activities such as wars, and war archery. In practice, the Rules have been extended to cover these activities, with the observance of honor and chivalry being the overriding element, along with the safety of the combatants. The following is intended to bring together the appropriate rules for conducting both tourney field combat and other UEMA combat activities.

THE RULES OF COMBAT FOR THE UNITED EMPIRES OF THE MIDDLE AGES MEDEVAL RE-ENACTMENT SOCIETY

1. Each fighter, recognizing the possibilities of physical injury to himself or herself in such combat, shall assume unto himself or herself all risk and liability for harm suffered by means of such combat. Other participants shall likewise recognize the risks involved in their presence on or near the field of combat, and shall assume unto themselves the liabilities thereof.
2. No person shall participate in Combat-Related Activities (including armored combat, period fencing, combat archery, scouting, and banner bearing in combat) outside of formal training sessions unless he or she shall have been properly authorized under Society and Empire procedures.
3. All combatants must be presented to, and be acceptable to, the Sovereign or his or her representative.
4. All combatants shall adhere to the appropriate armor and weapons standards of the Society, and to any additional standards of the Empire in which the event takes place. The Sovereign may waive the additional Empire standards.
5. The Sovereign or the Marshall-in-charge may bar any weapon or armor from being used upon the field of combat. Should the Marshall-in-charge bar any weapon or armor, due to a safety issue, an appeal may NOT be made to the Sovereign to allow the weapon or armor.
6. Combatants shall behave in a knightly and chivalrous manner, and shall fight according to the appropriate Society and Kingdom Conventions of Combat.
7. No one may be required to participate in Combat-Related Activities. Any combatant may, without dishonor or penalty, reject any challenge without specifying a reason. A fight in a tournament lists is not to be considered a challenge, and therefore may not be declined or rejected without forfeiting the bout.
8. Fighting with real weapons, whether fast or slow, is strictly forbidden at any Society event.
9. No projectile weapons shall be allowed and no weapons shall be thrown within the field of a tournament. The use of approved projectile weapons for melee, war, or combat archery shall conform to the appropriate Society and Empire Conventions of Combat.

Ref Rule 8: Since fighting with real weapons is forbidden at any Society event, threatening the use of such weapons is likewise expressly forbidden.

At the discretion of the Sovereign and the Marshall-in-charge recognized experts may be permitted to present choreographed demonstrations with real weapons under strictly controlled conditions.

Posing for still photographs with real weapons is permitted.

No one may wear any real weapon onto the field while participating in combat or present during combat. At the discretion of the Sovereign and the Marshall-in-charge, an exception may be made for Marshall's or other noncombatants to wear knives bonded with peace straps.

Ref Rule 9: The prohibition on thrown weapons refers to weapons in combat, or thrown in a hostile manner. It does not apply to "tossing" as a gentle, short-range method of transferring or removing a tournament weapon or item from area of combat.

The use of archery, firearms, slings javelins, throwing axes, throwing knives, or any other projectile is forbidden within Tournament's, or in any other situation where spectators can not be separated from the potential line of fire by more than the effective range of the weapons.

The use of Weapons and Shields:

1. Weapons shall be used in accordance with their design (i.e. spears may only be used for thrusting, axes for striking along the edge of the blade, et cetera).
   1. Only weapons approved for thrusting may be used for that purpose. Feinting as if to thrust with a weapon not approved for that purpose is not permitted. Before any bout where a thrusting weapon is used the opponent and marshals shall be informed that such a weapon is on the field, and the thrusting tip shall be shown to the opponent.
   2. A weapon wielded with two hands and having a grip of more than 18" (45 cm) long shall not be power-swung through an arc of more than 90 degrees. Moving such a weapon more than 90 degrees for defense or positioning prior to attack shall not be construed to be in violation of this rule, so long as the weapon is not power-swung and does not strike with excessive force.
   3. The blade of a weapon may not be grasped at any time, nor may it be trapped in contact with the fighter's body as a means of preventing the opponent's use of the weapon. Neither may the blade of a fighter's own weapon be grasped to enhance the block.
2. The striking surface of a weapon in motion may not be grasped or blocked by the hands or limbs as a means of impeding a blow. Inadvertently bringing the hands in contact with the striking surface of such a weapon when attempting to block a blow with another weapon shall not be considered to be in violation of this convention.
3. Blows repeatedly blocked by a weapon in contact with a fighter's helm, body or shield at the moment of impact may at the Crown's or Marshall's discretion, be considered to have broken the blocking weapon. This will force a fighter to forfeit the fight, unless a secondary weapon is carried or the opponent chooses to allow the fighter to rearm with another weapon.
4. A shield may be used to displace, deflect, or immobilize an opponent's shield or weapon, so long as such use does not endanger the safety of the combatants. Deliberately striking an opponent's head, limbs, or body with a shield is forbidden, unless that shield is designed as a weapon, and is approved by the GME. Shields designed as a weapon, and approved by the GME, shall be considered a mass weapon.

Acknowledgment of Blows:

1. While judging the effect of blows, all fighters are presumed to be fully armoured. Special tournaments or combats may be held which may redefine what areas of the body are armoured, and to what extent, so long as all the participants are made aware of the special conditions prior to the start of combat.
2. Blows must be delivered with effective technique for the particular type of weapon used, and must strike properly oriented and with sufficient force, to be considered an effective, or a "good", blow.
   1. An effective blow to the head, neck, or torso shall be judged fatal or totally disabling, rendering the fighter incapable of further combat.
   3. An effective blow from an axe, mace, pole arm, greatsword, or other mass weapon which lands on the hip above the hip socket, or strikes the shoulder inside the shoulder socket, shall be judged fatal or totally disabling.
   4. An effective blow to the arm above the wrist will disable the arm. The arm shall then be considered useless to the fighter, and may not be used for either offense or defense.
   5. An effective blow to the leg above the knee will disable the leg. The fighter must then fight kneeling, sitting, or standing upon the foot of the unstruck leg.
      1. Empires may put limitations upon the mobility of such injured fighters.
   6. If a wounded limb blocks an otherwise acceptable blow, the blow shall be counted as though the limb were not there.
   7. Empires may institute a "bleed rule" that would render a fighter who has suffered an effective wound to a limb incapable of further combat after a specified time.
3. All fighters are expected to take into account the nature of the weapon being used by their opponent and the location of the point of impact of that weapon when judging the outcome of a blow delivered. Fighters are also expected to take into account the timing of the blow and the collision of the weapon with any other object other than the fighter's presumed armour.
   1. The fact that a blow struck a shield or another weapon before striking the combatant may be reason why the blow is not effective. However, a blow that strikes with sufficient force and properly oriented shall be considered effective, regardless of what it hit prior to striking the combatant.
4. Sometimes a blow which would normally be accepted occurs at almost the same moment as an event that would cause the fight to be stopped (a "HOLD", being called, the fighter throwing the blow being killed, etc.). If the blow was begun before the occurrence of the event that caused the bout to be halted, it shall be deemed a legal blow, and acceptable if of sufficient force and not blocked or deflected. If the blow was begun after the occurrence of the event that would cause the bout to be halted, it shall be deemed not legal, and need not be accepted.
5. A blow that includes the dropping of a weapon at the moment of impact need not be counted.

Missile Combat Rules

Missile combat falls mainly in to the rules above, except that Rule 9 (which bans projectile weapons) is waived. In addition, the definition of "fully armored" is sometimes modified to make plate (if worn by the combatants) proof against missiles --- because it is difficult to impossible to detect the impact of an arrow on plate armor.

Because of the restrictions which have been placed on missile weapons (i.e. bow draw weight, arrow construction), missiles are not generally required to strike as hard as non-missile weapons in order for the blow to be counted.

Combat Archers (UEMA DOES NOT allow combat archer's in Class 1, or Class 2!):

1. Full-Contact Combat Archers shall meet the minimal Society standards for a fully armoured, Class 3 weapons combatant. The only exception to this rule shall be those archers equipped with the "Archer's Gauntlet" (see point 3 below).
2. Full-Contact Combat Archers shall be Authorized to participate by the Marshall-in-charge, following established Marshall's procedures. During this authorization all Combat Archers must show:

   That they are familiar with the Rules of Combat and all the conventions of combat regarding Combat Archery in their Empire. That they can recognize and accept a killing blow.

   That they are safe to themselves and their opponents.

   That they can keep their bow out of the way during combat.

   An awareness for crowd (spectator) safety.

3. Full-Contact Combat Archers shall wear an "Archer's Gauntlet" on the hand that is used to pick up and draw arrows. The hand that is used to hold the bow shall meet the minimum Society standards for hand protection for a fully armoured, Class 3 weapons combatant.

   The "Archer's Gauntlet" shall be a minimum of a light leather glove which covers the back of the hand and wrist is strongly recommended. Other gauntlets may be used in place of the "Archer's Gauntlet" described above, so long as they provide equivalent or greater protection.

4. A Full-Contact Combat Archer may be killed (i.e.; struck) as is any combatant on the field, in Class 3. In Class 4, a Combat Archer is "killed" if a melee combatant gets within six (6) feet of them. A cry of "yield" shall be accepted, in both classes. Once killed, Combat Archers are treated as any other dead combatant, being removed from combat as soon as practical (thus decreasing the chance that a bow will be stepped on).
5. A Full-Contact Combat Archer may become a regular combatant ONLY IN CLASS 3, and as long as he is Authorized as a regular combatant and does two things:
   1. Discards his bow in a safe manner, removing it from the area of combat, and replaces it with an approved weapon and/or shield.
   2. Either changes his "Archer's Gauntlet" for a combat-legal gauntlet, or places his hand in an approved basket hilt. Approved in this instance means that it vas inspected and approved by the Marshall-in-charge while the Combat Archer was wearing his "Archer's Gauntlet" inside the basket hilt.

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