Martin Luther (born 10 November 1483) nails his 95 thesis on the church door in Eisleben in the evening of 31 October 1517, because the next day, 1 November, is All Saints’ Day, when everyone would come to church.

In the 95 theses he explains his view based on the Gospel that salvation is a free gift from God and cannot be earned by good deeds or purchased by buying indulgences . This is often regarded as the starting point of the reformation.  While his original aim was to reform the church, the Pope saw it differently, which ultimately led to the split with the Catholic church.  As Luther was of the opinion that the Bible was the only source for knowledge of God, he translated it into German to make it accessible to everyone.

31 October is celebrated in the Lutheran church as Reformation Day commemorating Luther’s stand.

Tags: Church

Coronation of Henry Tudor as Henry VII

Tags: Henry Tudor

Readeption of Henry VI

Tags: Henry VI

Death of King Alfred ‘The Great’, king of the West Saxons and of the Anglo-Saxons.  Alfred was born in 848/49, the son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex (d. 858) and of Osburh, daughter of Oslac, the king’s butler.  He was the youngest of at least six children.

He was eventually succeeded by his son Edward. About two years after his father’s death, Edward buried his father in the New Minster at Winchester.

Source: ODNB, ‘Alfred (848/9–899)’, by Patrick Wormald, online edition Oct 2006.

Tags: Anglo Saxon

Birth of George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, third of the four sons of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York,  and Cecily Neville who survived to adulthood.  He was born in Dublin, as his father was at that time lord lieutenant of Ireland.

Tags: Family, George of Clarence

The Annual General Meeting of the New South Wales Branch of the Richard III Society was held on Saturday, 11 October 2014, at the Sydney Mechanics Institute.

Opening remarks were made by Chair Judith along with a warm welcome to all the members and visitors present. Thanks were expressed for the work of all the committee members throughout the year.

All of the officers then gave reports for their areas, and then officially stepped down. Margaret conducted the election process for all of the officers of the branch with most returning unopposed to their roles: Judith continues as Chair, Jacqueline as Deputy Chair, Judy as Treasurer, Dorothea as Webmaster, Lynne as Sales Officer, Joan as Tea Lady, Rachel as Secretary, and Leslie & Doug as Editors of the Affinity newsletter.

The program consisted of three ‘Scrabble’ speakers, giving separate presentations on different and very interesting topics.

Maggie told us of her experiences during her recent trip to the UK during which she laid the wreath on behalf of Australian Branches of the Richard III Society during the Bosworth commemoration ceremonies. Afterwards, she informally showed us interesting photos she had taken during the trip.

Dorothea had the letter ‘Y’ and shared her well-illustrated research about the history of the ancient church of St Mary de Castro in Leicester, which has been in existence for more than 900 years. Richard, duke of York, had in 1426 been knighted in this church.

Rachel spoke on the letter ‘R’ for rehabilitation. In an interesting talk entitled “Was Joan of Arc a Witch?” she addressed the charges raised against Joan, her astute responses to them, and the arguments for her defence that could have been made if her trial had been a fairer one, conducted in less prejudicial circumstances.

Our next gathering will be our Christmas meeting scheduled for 13 December 2014, when our guest speaker Wendy Schmid will be discussing medieval embroidery. All of the 2015 speakers will be listed in the next issue of the branch newsletter, Affinity.

Tags: Bosworth, France, Leicester, NSW Branch, Richard III

Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III), is made Constable of England.

Tags: Richard III

Last weekend, 20/21 September 2014, the Inaugural St Ives Medieval Faire took place in what the organisers named the Kingdom of St Ives (at less feudal times known as the St Ives Showground) on Sydney’s North Shore. The Showground was the perfect setting for this event.

The day started with a Grand Parade in the Jousting Arena, in which all participants took part. During the two days, visitors had the opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of displays to get into a medieval mood. For those interesting in browsing and shopping (and be honest, who isn’t?) the stalls, offering mainly items inspired by the middle ages, were a must. This was in some instances combined with a display of medieval techniques, like wood turning or blacksmithing. The 15th century encampment was the home of various retinues. Here, a lady of one the groups explained how bread was baked in a medieval oven – I can now understand why bakeries were such a fire hazard.

However, the main attraction were the display of medieval prowess in various arms. Whether it was combat like in the Viking wars, or the archery display (visitors also had the opportunity to try out their own skills) or the firing of the trebuchet. As it shot watermelons, it probably kept the local birds happy and well fed.

Talking about birds, we should not forget the birds of prey. They performed at 1.30 pm, but could at other times be admired from a closer distance.

For me the main attraction were the jousting sessions, with knights in full armour on their magnificent horses. The jousts were presided over by the King and Queen of St Ives with their lords and ladies. The crème de la crème of the world’s jousting knights took part in the sessions and it was easy to feel transported back to medieval times.

It was a marvellous day and it is to be hoped that the St Ives Medieval Faire will become a fixture in the North Shore calendar.

Tags: Jousting, Medieval Life

Just a short reminder for all our members and friends in the Sydney area. This coming weekend the St Ives Medieval Faire will be taking place. It should be a spectacular event.

Among the attractions are ‘The Jousting Knights of the St Ives Tournament’, including our own Knight in Shining Armour from the 2013 Australasian Convention, who will be matching his skills with the cream of the world’s jousting knights.

You can experience living in the middle ages in the Medieval Encampment. If your interest extends to an earlier time than Richard III, you may be interested in the Viking war. We all have heard about trebuchets, but what do we actually know about them? Here is our chance to learn more. And Full Flight Birds of Prey will recreate medieval hunting and falconry scenarios to demonstrate how birds of prey were used to hunt in Richard’s day.

Should you get exhausted with all these fascinating attractions, a visit to the Medieval Tavern might refresh you. A special medieval beer, called Sir Andrew’s Gruit, is on offer. It is brewed using herbs and roots instead of hops just like in medieval times.

You can still pre-book tickets and save on the website of the St Ives Medieval Faire, but you can also buy them at the gate.

An event not to be missed!

Tags: Fair, Jousting, NSW Branch