A Few Sites to Check Out for Archery and SCA/Medieval Information and Merchandise This part I'm still working on... A never-ceasing endeavor! 1) An interesting and entertaining catalog of Ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance clothing, accessories, and weapons. Museum Replicas Limited 2) Oooooh... Sharp and pointy things from Museum Replicas' sister company Atlanta Cutlery 3) Hmmm... So you want to join in the adventure, fun, and comradeship enjoyed by thousands across this faire land? Be it knowne weapons and fighting are only part of the entertainment. There are many enjoyable and educationally creative aspects, as well. All manner of sewing, dance, music, cooking, printing, art in all forms, metal working, leather crafts, poetry, and literature abound! There is a niche for everyone to fit comfortably into. Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) "Long live the King and Queen of Atenveldt!" 4) A nice group of people who help keep our dream alive with clothing (garb), music, books, and accessories. Chivalry Sports aka The Renstore a wee bit south of me in sunny Tucson, AZ 5) Rapiers, fencing gear, and basic SCA equipment. Nice people...reading their catalog is a hoot! I had contacted a few other fencing companies when I needed gear and they never returned any phone calls nor letters. Apparently, I wasn't an Olympic contender with these other snooty people. Triplette will talk to you. Lots of nice sharp 'pointy' things... with safety tips on them so the fun never stops. Triplette Competition Arms in Elkin, North Carolina, the 'Paris' of the Piedmont. :-D 6) An archery shop with great on-line and mail order service. Catalog is colorful and complete in all types of archery. They make GREAT arrows if you don't want the hassle. Kustom King Traditional Archery... Be sure to get their catalog. The website is topnotch, too. 7) Traditional Bowhunting Magazine has a lot of archery resources even if you don't hunt. Well, hey, you can't call loosing arrows at mounted knights hunting... That's merely sport! Traditional Bowhunting Magazine up in Boise,Idaho 8) Archery supplies from F&S Discount for quick mail order. F&S Discount Archery in Tustin, CA 9) Asiatic style bows at a reasonable cost. Magyar, Mongol, and Hun configurations. Developed by Lajos Kassai from Hungary. You should see this guy on horseback in action! He is promoting the return of sporting horseback archery as seen in them 'olden days' when horse archers conquered the western world. The Horsebow website...Really nicely set up with great pictures. Lots of options in your bow selection. 10) The Krackow Company... What can I say? One of my all time favorite sites and catalogs. Beautifully pictured bows of Ancient Europe, North and South American native style, Asiatic, and traditional. A history magazine as well as a catalog. If you like archery worldwide with top-of-the-line artistic presentation, visit this site. Oh, by the way... These bows are fully functional as well. The Krackow Company 11) Lark in the Morning music catalog lives up to their ad 'An out of this world music catalog'... It really is. Have you ever wondered how and where to get those wooden and stringed instruments played all over the world by different cultures? If you're the type of person who can't walk by the washer and dryer combo at the appliance store without checking out their different percussion ranges-much to the annoyment of people around you-this is the catalog for you! An endless array of Medieval and Renaissance period instumentation and 'How To' books and tapes. Lark in the Morning traditional musical catalog 12) The Costume House in Mesa, Arizona has some fine garb at reasonable prices. These guys are at our local multikingdom fighter practices on Wednesday nights at Encanto Park in Phoenix. If you see them with their colorful wares for sale, ask them about their tried and true haberdashery technique for fitting hats... :-) It's a private little joke between us...
Alas, they only have a colorprint catalog available by phone or mail. The Costume House, Inc. 202 West Main Street, Mesa, AZ 85201 (800) 923-3339 13) Some kingdom sites to get you familiar with Arizona's brand of medieval playing... Barony of Sun Dragons (Phoenix Metro West) Adrian Empire Kingdom of Umbria Kingdom of Atenveldt Kingdom of Atenveldt Archery Criteria 14) Medieval garb and lots of accessories. Pretty good site and quick mailing of merchandise. Gryphon's Moon Medieval and Renaissance Accessories 15) A wonderful Asian traditional archery site. Great information on Japanese kyudo, Korean kung sool, and Mongolian equipment and techniques. Asian Traditional Archery Website (ATARN) 16) The SCA's archery handbook for general governance The SCA's General Archery Rules 17) A super place to get high quality rapiers and the service to back it up. Hey, you can't always have your bow with you when someone incipient, foul smelling cretin blemishes your honor... Scottie Armoury at Rapiers.com 18) A wonderful place to get traditional bows at reduced cost. I got an excellent light longbow that really improved my scores. It's pictured in my images page with the arrow array. Bowsite Auctions-click on Traditional 19) If you want a real 'kick', literally, try using a Medieval or Renaissance crossbow. They are allowed in the various kingdoms along side the archers. It's not as easy as you think! You'll get a workout drawing and cocking them, especially during speed rounds. Period crossbows from New World Arbalest 20) If you REALLY want to be old-fashioned, as in no fiberglass, no synthetic materials... like...Neolithic!!! Ah, then, you need to check Primitive Archer Magazine. These guys are probably laughing at the geeks on the TV show 'Survival'. Excellent magazine for authentic archery tackle and the lifestyle. Primitive Archer Magazine... Hey, all you need now is to have 'Aila' from 'Clan of the Cave Bear' tag along on your next elk hunt. :-) 21) Another source for some very pretty and smooth 'shooting' Asiatic style bows. Their 'Grandeur' line of bamboo laminated longbows are something to see also. They put a lot of work into the artistic look of the bows as well as the performance. Saluki Hand Crafted Bamboo & Asiatic Composite Bows 22) Before the bow and arrow there was the 'atlatl' (Aztec word) or the 'woomera' (Australian Aborigine) spear thrower. Not as fast as the arrow, their length and mass more that make up for velocity. Deadly and capable of deep penetration, even through armor (the Spanish found out the hard way), these weapon systems just may have been responsible for the drastic reduction of Neolithic Age large mammals. If you really want to enjoy the historical aspects of Neolithic Man, these sites have tons of material. Here are a couple of awesome websites to get you introduced to this really fun activity. Please note: These are WEAPONS SYSTEMS!!! Like the bow and arrow, these are dangerous if not supervised and handled in a nice WIDE OPEN EMPTY place. Unlike the bow and arrow, the 'darts' (spears) can punch through things like 55 gallon drums, garage doors, and car doors. Anyway, go see Bill Tate and his friends Susie and Charlie on their sites. 
World Atlatl Association site from Susie and Charlie World Atlatl Magazine, (WAM) lots of links Kevin Callahan from the University of Minnesota Anthropology Department shows you how to 'toss a dart'. If you download a 'Quicktime' free viewer beforehand, there's a short clip of the action. 23) Australia's SCA members might be conjuring up some interesting events... Australian SCA sites... Great looking SCA national map of Australia |
