Mark Your Calendar Contents of my sword case Hello fellow fighters, sword enthusiasts and living history experts, I’ve just returned from a wonderful sword-and-shield weekend in Berlin, training at the 24th Berlin Buckler Bouts with around forty dedicated practitioners from all over the world. As one of the organisers, I’d like to express my gratitude for a cheerful and safe training environment. It was a physically demanding two days — yet I enjoyed each of my 500+ passes. Thank you all! The...
20 days ago • 2 min read
Final Event Info Dear fellow buckler fighters, This weekend, we will gather for the 24th Berlin Buckler Bouts — hurrah! We anticipate 35 dedicated fencers from the Czech Republic, the US, Poland, Denmark, and Germany. If you’d like, you can watch my video of the BBB XI, which nicely captures the atmosphere. The event logo is available for download. Additionally, you’ll find links to a great article on slow fencing and another video on the BBB here. These two texts are also highly recommended:...
27 days ago • 2 min read
The Pen and the Sword—and the Buckler My I.33 character sheet Hello fellow medievalists and sword enthusiasts, As many of you know, I’m both an illustrator and a researcher/instructor of historical combat with sword and shield. To help promote the unique I.33 online courses I’ve developed with top swordsman and scholar Cornelius Berthold, I’ve created a series of comic characters to bring a little extra fun to our upcoming campaign. Want to meet the I.33 cartoon crew? Join the waitlist and...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Viking Age come to Life ... Rowing into the morning mist Hi Viking enthusiasts, sword people and time travellers, I’ve created this piece of concept art for a new video that my fellow illustrator Oliver Wünsch at HistoRealities and I are currently working on. See the full image on my Patreon, watch previous videos here. Winter is coming to the Ribe VikingeCenter Frosty Nights and Daily Fights at Ribe Previously, I shared with you images from Arttu's spear workshop at the recent Ribe Bouts....
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Close Combat with Shield and Short Spear The threat of a throw is how Arttu dominates an opponent at wide range Hello historical martial arts enthusiasts, What happens when a professional dancer, researcher, and martial artist explores the dynamics of spear and shield combat? At the Ribe Bouts 2025, Arttu Peltoniemi shared fifteen years of study on how javelin-sized spears and sharp spearheads behave in close combat — with impressive precision and physical control. The Ribe class also...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
HistoRealities.com — Authenticity Animated Our new project: Historical accuracy meets cutting-edge animation Hello history enthusiasts, Regular readers will recall recent editions of this newsletter discussing both the exciting possibilities and the frustrating absurdities of AI image and video generation — particularly when it comes to creating animated depictions of historical figures and settings. The conference took place at Augsburg University on 9/10 October I’ve just returned from a...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Fall for Swords: From Viking Shields to Bronze Blades On the training field in the Ribe VikingeCenter Hello fellow sword enthusiasts, Autumn has arrived, and the calendar is brimming with exciting events. The Ribe Bouts are now fully booked. I am delighted by the event’s popularity and look forward to welcoming Viking re-enactors from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Finland at the wonderful Ribe VikingeCenter in just two weeks. Attendees will receive final information by email...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Wolf Hall — The Mirror and the Light: A Review Historical paintings come alive Dear fellow history enthusiasts and film fans, I recently watched the second and final season of Wolf Hall, and it reminded me why the first has long been my favourite historical drama. The storytelling, cast, and visual style remain extraordinary, and I even learned something new about Tudor England from the inclusion of an extra based on historical trumpeter John Blanke, a musician of African descent at Henry’s...
3 months ago • 1 min read
When History Gets Distorted – And Bucklers Get Raised Train, Fence, Connect – Berlin Buckler Bouts 24 Await! Dear fellow history enthusiasts and sword-and-shield fighters, in this edition, I invite you to take a closer look at how history is sometimes bent out of shape—whether in glossy TV dramas or even academic projects—through my two recent posts on Distorted History. At the same time, I’m delighted to share that registration is now open for the 24th Berlin Buckler Bouts this November—our...
3 months ago • 2 min read