Welcome

Welcome to Batsoc, the Battle re-enactment society at the University of Birmingham. We have almost finished a busy season, and are now prepering to welcome new members in September. At the moment we are mainly concerned with the period between the 8th and 12th centuries, since we have strong affiliations with Hrafn Broethr and Draum Broedr. These groups allows us to attend many shows the length and breadth of the country, hosted by 'The Vikings!' including the battle of Hastings and Kelmarsh. We welcome all sorts of people, in fact the phrase 'you fight like a girl' has completely lost its meaning. Many of our members and ex-members have been involved with many other periods, and we are happy to accomodate any style we consider safe.

Batsoc is primarily a social society for people with similar interests, namely historical re-enactment and living history. Our affiliations mean that our members have access to weekly training sessions in safe combat at the Guild. We also organise event transport, social events, craft and equipment repair sessions.

It is also a wonderful way of pooling resources; the ability to borrow armour, weapons, clothing etc. is an ideal way to get started in re-enactment. There is also a large knowledge base in the history of the periods we cover, and in the authenticity of the things we use.

Other common interests seem to include ale, mead, monty python, Bill Bailey, dodgy B-movies, wargames, martial arts and lots of food.

Combat Training

We train regularly on Berlin's Lawn and the Underground, under the guidance of Hrafn Broethr. Our training is based on the hit system used by 'The Vikings'; that is 2 hits on a 'hit zone' within 10 seconds, with head, neck and groin shots disallowed by penalty of 'death' and our arbitrary rule of 3 laps. We also use 'pulled blows' and blunt weapons, so that we can make a hit look hard and feel soft.

Training begins with "the 8's", a set of basic attack and defence moves which form the building blocks of combat. We then move onto show fighting- an exaggerated style concerned more with entertaining than winning. This is sometimes scripted, and is the sort of thing you would tend to see in films. We also do drill, mostly in a formation called a 'shield wall', which we also learn to fight in.

Combat training works towards, and in many cases beyond 'The Vikings!' combat assessments, which allow an individual to fight on the field with the weapon or weapon combination you have passed in. Most members are good swordsmen or swordswomen, because we do most work on the 'sword and shield' combination, but we also use single handed spear, 2 handed spear, axe and shield, florantine (2 swords, 2 axes or a mixture), Dane axe (very large 2 handed axe), archery, and very rarely, the half sword.

Living History and Acting

No show is complete without living history; the objects, crafts and characters that would have been found on the sort of encampment we portray. This extends from authentic costume (women get the opportunity to play either gender) to weaving and woodwork, feasting and gaming.

Acting is very important to living history, whether this is simply paying your respects to the King, being blessed before battle, or re-creating the characters of the camp. For example, the backstory of Hrafn Broethr is of mercenary traders from Mercia (the Anglo-Saxon kingdom that included Birmingham). This means we usually have a trading stall with the commodities of the time; spices, silks and skins. Other duties include guarding the camp, and looking after the fire.

In addition there are many authentic crafts, such as woodwork and braiding, which can be used as a 'trade' at events, in fact some re-enactors use events as a good opportunity to sell their wares to other re-enactors.

Committee Contacts

As a part of the Guild of Students, Batsoc has a voice in the Student Council via the committee. The committee also arranges funding and carries out the inventories and risk assessments required by the guild. Our Guild e-mail is batsoc@guild.bham.ac.uk. The current committee is:

Chair - Bob Watson

Treasurer - Ralph Jay

Secretary - Chris Wyre

Quartermaster - Chris King

Social Sec - Vicky Hodder

This Committee is open for re-election in October. A copy of the Constitution and personal contact details are available from the Guild.