The Company of the Sacred Sword meets every weekend to fight and practice medieval crafts. Photo / Ian Cooper
Over yonder dale, past a shoe-strung fence line and a one-way bridge, dwells a medieval kingdom in the heart of Rissington shire.
The fortress of the Company of the Sacred Sword is defended by a barricade of shields, with a gate inscription that reads "Ye olde medieval and dark ages club".
For those fortunate to be granted passage into the heartland of the Sacred Sword, wanderers will note a company of fighters clothed in medieval garb, training for battle in a field that homes an eclectic herd of cows, ducks, and wild turkeys.
While the warriors' guild train, several maidens in hand-sewn garb walk the perimeter of the property, tending to the animals and occasionally stopping to watch the clash of steel on wood.
To one side of the training field, sitting beneath the shade of a tree, the Sacred Sword chieftain admires the skill and dexterity of his warriors.
The Company of the Sacred Sword is the longest-standing medieval club in Aotearoa. The company has been under the reign of its founder and chieftain Mike Webb since 1984.
Since its founding, the company has hosted thousands of warriors, seamstresses, woodworkers, weavers and forgemen at its Puketitiri Rd address.
"At the moment we have about 20 members from aged 12 up. People that have learned to fight in this club have gone on to represent New Zealand at the Battle of the Nations in Europe," club organiser Julie Joule said.
Joule is of the non-warrior guild as she prefers to cook and sew, though she is quick to assert this does not make her a second-class member.
"The different roles we fulfil in our society is reflective of a typical medieval village; we're all slightly different in our interests and skills," Joule said.
For some, their involvement in the club has given them a new skill set, for others it's offered a chance to reconnect with their roots, and for many, it's provided an opportunity to make history to come life.
"When the East Coast Mercenary Company disbanded in 1984, I decided to establish my own medieval club in Hawke's Bay, based around the era of 1066 and the Battle of Hastings," chieftain Webb said.
"The Battle of Hastings relates to the area we live in, and we aim to dress like any warrior or villager from that period."
Despite his reputation as a history buff, the chieftain is not strict around which era or area of the globe warriors wish to channel in their dress, despite the Battle of Hastings brief.
"We're easy-going compared to some, we're not so stringent on timeline or period. How deep they get into it is up to them. We help them be whatever they want to be," Webb said.
"Viking, Norman, Byzantine - who you are is how you dress. Costumes are history-based rather than fantasy-based," Joule said.
Costumes worn by the company are mostly made from old blankets and cheap linen, but members are able to buy more expensive material like silk, depending on their budget and intended character.
When Hawke's Bay Today visited the company, members boasted their new thread-work from a camp over Labour Weekend.
The camp was held in recognition of a National Association of Ancient and Medieval Arts event that was planned for the same weekend but was cancelled due to Covid.
"We had a couple of visitors from out of the region at our camp, from Wellington and Palmerston North. Our fighters shared techniques and tips with each other and came away with lots of new ideas," Joule said.
Joule, as a self-appointed kitchen wench, ensured the troops were nourished with authentic medieval fare at mealtimes.
"I made Scottish coddle, porridge, and we roasted duck from the property. We made homemade bread, cheeses, olives, and homebrew for the occasion. We were well fed," she said.
The Sacred Sword emulates a medieval live-off-the-land lifestyle, though Joule was quick to assert that there are aspects of modernity that members of the company make the most of.
"Some parts of history are best left unreplicated. Long-drop toilets, cold showers, and the plague are a few of the things that are better left in the past.
"We're not living such an alternative lifestyle, we make the most of modern medicine. We're not a coven of anti-vaxxers," Joule said.
Shieldmaiden Lauren Burgess said one of the better parts of recreating history has been adapting medieval narratives to better suit the current social climate.
"I get empowerment from being on the battlefield, it feels an awesome achievement to be out there and actually doing it," she said.
Burgess has been a member of the club for about three years, with her two teenage boys Danyl, 16, and Liam, 12. She said she keeps coming back to the Company of the Sacred Sword for the sense of community it provides.
"It's like a family here, we're quite the family unit. When you don't really fit in other spaces of society, this is a good place to fit.
For Burgess, an appreciation of history also helps drive her and her boys out to the Rissington property on a weekly basis.
"If you look at history things always repeat themselves, it's not ever irrelevant.
"For Pākehā, Māori, and everyone in between, recreating history enables us to trace our lineage. It's an opportunity to explore your different family roots, to look back and remember where you came from," she said.
The chieftain agreed, saying the historical aspect of the club enables him to connect to his heritage in the United Kingdom, though most of all, it is the comradeship offered by the club's members that have kept him going for 37 years.
"We get to meet people who are the same as us. We fight all day together and drink all night, it's like a big family," Webb said.
In the Sacred Sword family, the chieftain's wife Mary Stephenson is the backbone, who weaves everything and everyone together.
"Mary has a van that she uses to pick people up from town that need a ride out here. She also leads the sewing and fights in battles. If it wasn't for her we wouldn't still be going," Webb said.
Sacred Sword quartermaster Luke Ioane, who lives in Flaxmere, is grateful for the van service, which made getting involved in the company much easier.
"My initial intrigue at a Sacred Sword Facebook post has snowballed into this," he said, gesturing at his traditional fighting garb and chainmail.
"It's good for my head to get out of city life, to breathe the fresh air out here. It's also nice to come out here and work up a bit of a sweat," Ioane said.
The physical aspect of the fighting is appreciated by the warrior guild, who see their craft as much safer than rugby and just as technical as any other fighting sport.
"Nobody thinks anything of anyone going to do Taekwondo or mixed martial arts classes. What we're doing is Western martial arts, it's how we fought in battle," Joule said.
The club runs its own internal grading, like the Taekwondo belt levels, except theirs is based on the feudal system - with entry-level club members starting as peasantry and gradually working their way towards the skills of a Lord or Jarl.
Burgess said despite the training hierarchy, everyone is happy to impart knowledge, share ideas and work together.
"It's a good escape into something I am passionate about. It's much, much more than just a hobby, it's part of who we are," Burgess said.
The company's members recommend that other people come out and give the medieval society a try, as there's something for everybody to enjoy.
"It's $20 for the year and $2 each time you go. We want to keep it as cheap as possible, as we know people can't afford a lot these days.
"We'll fit you up and train you to fight, we have all the gear in our shed. All you have to do is turn up on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon," Webb said.
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