Medieval Sword School (HEMA)

German Medieval Martial Arts

Stuff We Like: Theatre of War Clothing

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I wanted to introduce a new series I want to run on the site, called “Stuff We Like”. I will be interviewing business owners that have cool stuff we like. Simple really.

In my first email interview, I grill Adam Wilkes at Theatre of War Clothing.

Tell people a little about yourself

My name is Adam Wilkes and for 15 years now I have been involved in museums, archaeology and living history societies. I have studied with two universities and have several published papers on European history. I started Theatre of War to create a medium where I could illustrate my passion for history through visual representations taken from actual artefacts

What is your favourite design?

My favourite design has to be the Nordic boat Petroglyph, it was one of the very first sketches that I did and still remains one of the most popular sellers. Even though it is fairly simplistic it reminds me of the early days of Theatre of War and the scary venture in business!

Can people request their own designs?

Custom work is something I enjoy a great deal as it not only presents me with new challenges but gives me the opportunity to research different areas of history I may have otherwise overlooked or not been aware of. Customisation came about initially in the early days of TOW when I began doing bespoke designs for reenactment groups, admittedly I hated doing it in the beginning! But eventually I honed my craft and now it is an aspect that differentiates my work from other companies and had meant I am able to create one off motifs for use in museums and commercial settings.

Do you just sell clothing?

I mainly sell clothing and patches however I would very interested in doing tattoo designs as for years I drew tattoo flash and wanted to pursue this profession as a career however this wasn’t to be and here I am involved in history and archaeology.

Where can people buy your items?

For anyone interested in purchasing items should visit my official website at theatreofwar.bigcartel.com but also I have an Etsy store at https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TheatreOfWar.

If custom work is required customers should contact me directly on any of my social media platforms or via email at zoskiacultus@hotmail.co.uk.

Medieval Combat in Colour

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Now for most of you following this site, Hans Talhoffer should be someone one you know. Perhaps my favourite author of this period, Talhoffer has blessed us with some of the best imagery and manuals on medieval swordmanship.

And it must be said, some of the wackiest too! Have you seen those duelling shields? and duelling onesies!

Anyways, this book in right in our wheelhouse and is a must read and resource for anyone practicing the german Leichtenauer tradition.

The first thing I love about this book, is it’s size.

It is clearly meant to be used as a training resource.

The second thing I love about this book, is they take one image per page and give a “simple” interpretation of what is going on. Not overly flowery but basic follow along guidance. It is a great book to open you up to the world of Talhoffer.

I love this book and every one in our school needs to own it. We use Talhoffer for Messer and will introduce Talhoffer dagger into practice too.

The book itself is almost a complete curriculum including wrestling, unarmoured fighting with the long sword, pole-axe, dagger, sword and buckler, and mounted combat.

You can buy the book here from Pen and Sword books.

Please note I was not paid to write this review but was sent a review copy of the book. All comments are my own, and the publishers have not amended the review in any way.

The Ismaili Assassins

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Just reading the back cover of this book had my jaw dropping. I haven’t heard to these guys before. But sounded like a cross between ninjas and something out of Assassins creed.

What is interesting is that in a time of political and religious upheaval, this organisation seemingly didn’t pick sides and would assassinate anyone. They functioned across the Middle East, yet even had Mongol chiefs fearing them.

The book itself has a really useful set of resources for those not familiar with this history, from a timeline of key events , to succession tables and maps.

This would be a great opportunity to build and play small level skirmishes or games. It is a fascinating read, and I will look at this some more.

The quotes that open each chapter are really interesting and certainly reinforces the author view that written Middle Eastern history of this period was written by warriors not statesman.

The book also has some amazing colour plates from the period which help paint a picture of intrigue.

If you have any interest in clandestine military history, this book will be a revelation to you if you have not looked at this region of Medieval history.

This is a great overview of the period and a detailed look at this secret organisation.

You can buy the book here from Pen and Sword books.

Please note I was not paid to write this review but was sent a review copy of the book. All comments are my own, and the publishers have not amended the review in any way.

ps. I did notice the author has referred Assassins Creed in the book too.

About Us

KDF Broadstairs (Thanet Fecht Schule) is a German Longsword HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) Group based in Broadstairs, Thanet.

Canterbury Medieval Combat is a HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) Group based in Canterbury, Kent.

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