NOTICE
I will be out of the state from
July 19 through the 26th. Don't bother to call me or email
me!
My email backlog will be bad enough as it is...
FIRST TRUMPET: FALL ENCAMPMENT
On September 25-26 the Legion
will once again be encamped alongside La Belle Compagnie, our buddies
from
the 14th century. The place will be Marietta Mansion, of course,
and it will be open to the public from 11 AM to 4 PM. Good event
for newcomers, even if you have little or no gear--borrow a tunic and
come
on out! There is no set schedule, but we can practice drilling
and
pilum-chucking. It's our "laid-back" weekend, so don't expect
another
Roman Days. Contact Quintus with your plans and needs, as usual.
ALBION UPDATE
Well, I think all of you got the
word about the new helmets from Albion armorers, so I'll just give a
summary.
These helmets are produced in India and were developed under the
direction
of Dan Peterson, commander of Legio XIIII in Germany. (It is not
the stuff that I've been working with Albion to produce, nor the same
manufacturer.)
Most of these helmets look quite good overall, but some of the little
details
are probably incorrect. Albion doesn't have any samples in their
Maryland HQ for me to look at, so I only have the little pictures to
judge
by. Now, these helmets are not "pre-approved" for Legio XX use,
but
I believe that several of them will be fine with only minor
corrections,
such as crest fittings. Three of them also seem to be lacking
their
brow reinforces, which is odd, but we can even add those if
necessary.
Helmets that are ordered before the end of July are supposed to be done
in September (at which point I can give you more details on their
details).
The best of them are the "Special
Command" helmet, Imperial Gallic H and G, Italic D (I can live with the
decoration being riveted instead of soldered), and Coolus E. The
Gallic type I and "Acquinson" helmet (also a Gallic I) are pretty good,
just the cheekpieces are the wrong style. I noticed at second
look
that the Coolus C seems to have earguards, which is wrong and not
really
fixable, as well as its unnecessary crest attachment and over-wide
neckguard.
The Italic G also has the wrong style cheekpieces and the brass
decoration
is not quite right, but this helmet is later than our period
anyway.
The Italic C should not have riveted-on earguards and the neckguard is
too steep, and the cheekpieces don't seem right.
Now, be aware that there might
be slight differences between these pictures and what actually arrives
from India. Some of the little flaws might have been corrected,
other
details could be different--I don't know if Albion will have any
control
over that. And there might be things wrong that can't be seen in
the pictures. So once I get my hands on these I might say, "They
got that little piece wrong but we can slap a new one on," or
"Oh,
that's better than it looked, no problem." It is clear that the
overall
outlines and the crucial parts like the eyebrows and neckguard ridges
are
all very good, except those with the wrong cheekpieces (and maybe those
will change?). It's not likely that we'll find that the things
are
made of aluminum or don't fit an adult head or something that bad.
Therefore, it is time to say
Goodbye
and Good Riddance to the Museum Replicas "Troopers" helmet and
"Officer's"
helmet, and all their mutant clones that have been pouring out of
Asia.
Albion's new helmets, even with any flaws, are now by far the best
available
"off the shelf". A few armorers that we know of can do better,
but
will take a lot longer and charge a lot more. They won't go out
of
business, by any means, as there will always be plenty of custom work
for
them. Albion's email is --,
and their website has changed slightly: http://www.albionarmorers.com/home.htm
.
FABRICA
There will be a Legion Workshop
session at Matthew and Jane's house on August 14, from 10 AM to roughly
5 PM. The usual yakking and puttering around, cheap lunch,
etc.
Contact Quintus for details or directions.
HACA MEDIEVAL LONGSWORD WORKSHOP & EAST COAST GATHERING
By Howard Waddell, Albion Armorers
Albion Armorers is proud to
announce
that in addition to a Gathering of the East Coast Forumites, we will
also
be hosting a workshop presented by John Clements, respected director of
the Historical Armed Combat Association (HACA), and well-known author
of
"Renaissance Swordsmanship" and "Medieval Swordsmanship."
We would like to invite anyone
who wishes, to attend the HACA Medieval
Longsword Workshop and/or the East Coast Gathering. The Gathering will
take place in a park across the street from the workshop, and has no
schedule
- arrive after 10am, and stay until you want to leave. The workshop
schedule
is as follows.
Schedule of Events:
9:00 - 9:30am- Background lecture, Demonstration
9:30 -11:30am- Hands-on exercises and drills
11:30am -12:45pm - Lunch
Lunch will be provided by
Albion, and will include a show and
tell
for those who have brought
their own swords, and several
Japanese-style cutting
stands with wara will be available for
those who wish to test their
blades.
1:00 - 4:00pm- Personal instruction by Mr. Clements, and Free Sparring
4:00pm - Everyone gets to go home (or across the street to the
Gathering)
sore and tired, but hopefully with some great information, good
pictures
and
even better memories.
** Unfortunately because of the amount of personal instruction
needed,
we
have to limit the class to 20 active participants. *Those who only
wish to
sit in for the lectures and observe, are not counted toward the
participation limit.
The workshop will take place in
the auditorium of Seneca Valley High School in Germantown, MD - 40
minutes
from downtown Washington DC. Directions are available from Albion
staff.
Though not "open for business,"
Albion Armorers will have, at the workshop, examples of swords and
armor
from our many fine makers... such as Iain
Macallen, Jim Hrisoulas, Al Massey, Del Tin Armi Antiche and others...
Fees for the Gathering and HACA
workshop will be as follows:
$65 for full hands-on participation in the workshop
$30 for lecture and observation
$10 for Gathering picnic and show and tell
All fees include food, beverages,
and use of the available cutting stands
and targets. Albion Armorers is not making any profit off of
these fees - they merely
cover costs. Albion holds education in high regard, and we wish to
share any educational opportunities that we can, with sword enthusiasts
everywhere.
If you have any questions
regarding
this event, feel free to e-mail
To Register, simply go to http://albionarmorers.com/register.htm,
and fill out the registration form. In the comments box, please
indicate
what level of participation you wish, and any previous experience you
have.
You can pay via check, money order, MC, Visa, or American Express.
Charge
card payments can be arranged by noting this method of payment &
your
phone number in the comment box. An Albion staff member will contact
you
to take the information.
Make checks payable to:
Albion Armorers
11113 Sceptre Ridge Terrace
Germantown, MD 20876
Registration and payment must be received by Aug. 5, 1999.
CALENDAR
July 31-Aug. 1 --Military Time
Line event, Ft. Malden, Ontario (just over the border from
Detroit).
Bit of drive for most of us, but definitely a good time of year to head
north, eh? George Metz is planning to go as Legio XXIV, is anyone
else interested? The event coordinator is John MacLeod, 100
Laird Ave., Amherstburg, Ontario N9V 2Z2 Canada, phone 519---
Aug. 14 --Legio XX workshop at
Matthew Amt's house, 10 AM to 5 PM.
Sept. 18-19 --Legio III Gallica
encampment, New Orleans, Louisiana. Contact Darren Nunez for more
information: 504---
Sept. 25-26 --Legio XX encampment
at Marietta with La Belle Compagnie (14th century), open to public 11
to
4.
Sept. 24-26 --Roman Military
Equipment
Conference, South Shields, Eng. See the ROMEC website for
details,
http://pobox.com/~jrmes/romec.htm
Fall, 1999? --Possible display
at Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA, as part of a classics
fair. Still in the planning stages.
Oct. 2-3 --"Preserving our
Military
Heritage" at Fort Washington, MD, another timeline event. Perhaps
we can spread ourselves across several eras.
Oct. 30-31 --Dionysia of
Massilia.
Games and rites in honor of the god Dionysos, Australia. Contact
Mark Kelly
-----------------------------
ADLOCVTIO is the official monthly newsletter of the Twentieth
Legion.
No time for a joke, so you'll have to make one up for yourself.
Contact
for the Legion and Adlocvtio is Matthew Amt, aka Quintus. Valete!