Historic Replicas

During college, I lived a bit of a double life. There was the side that everyone saw – the friend who went out to bars on weekends and played pick-up games of basketball a few times a week. But then there was the gaming side. I would spend hours at a time playing videogames. You could name any role-playing game from the last five years on any platform, and I’ve probably played it and beat it.

Recently I’ve decided not to hide my passion for fantasy games any longer. I outfitted my apartment with an assortment of medieval replicas and dragon décor. My friends sometimes jokingly refer to me as the Dungeonmaster, but I couldn’t be more proud of the way the decorations turned out. Most guys my age lack any semblance of design sense, so who are they to judge?

For Halloween every year, my brother and I coordinate our costumes. A few years back we went as Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and last year we were the Blues Brothers. We have quite the backlog of innovative ideas, and every year there is some argument about what we should be.

At a renaissance fair I attended last week, I picked up a set of replica medieval armor. The Knights of the Round Table has been on the list for sometime, and I think that the armor will be perfect. My brother is campaigning to go as Tom and Jerry, but I have a feeling that I will be able to persuade him.

We are entering into the time of year when you don’t have to be a diehard football fan to be interested in the NFL. With just a handful of teams left in the race for the Lombardi Trophy, cities that still have a team left in the playoffs are galvanizing their citizens to support their squad. Nowhere is this more evident than in Minnesota.

Although the city has hosted what will be their only playoff game of the season, the Viking fans showed their unwavering support. Not only were loyalists decked out in purple and gold attire, but there were also several members of the crows donning a variety of Viking replicas. Even if fans are still coming out of the woodwork late into the season, it is exciting to see people show such enthused support.

When many people hear the term “chain mail” it conjures up images of inbox spam and annoying chain letters. In actuality, chain metal is an ancient form of armor that is constructed of small metal rings that are linked together. These rings formed a mesh pattern that protected soldiers from a variety of medieval weaponry.

While today we refer to this armor as chain mail, the people who actually wore it as early as in the 4th century BC referred to it simply as mail. With the significant advancements in weaponry, there are few—if any—areas in the world where chain mail is still a viable option for protection. Most of the medieval chain mail on display today is found at Halloween parties and Renaissance fairs.

In ancient times, just as in modern times, the outcome of battles was often decided by which foe had the superior weaponry. In the Age of Steel, soldiers, knights, and warriors wielded medieval swords made from steel. While the weapons were all made with the same blacksmithing techniques, the length and width of the blades differed greatly. The effectiveness of a blade often depended on the foe it went up against. A long blade, for example, would be suitable for cutting down several enemies with medium length blades. The tradeoff with a long blade was its weight, and the effort required to swing it. If the first swing missed with a long blade, an opponent with a short blade might be able to close the gap to strike before the long blade wielder could swing again. With medieval swords, most blades were about 24-28 inches in length. A short blade would be 12-16 inches, and a long blade would be in excess of 36 inches.

Armies of soldiers clashed wielding these blades, and the outcome of many battles was decided by the technique of warriors and the quality and length of their blades.

If you want to impress your friends with cool headgear, try putting on a war helmet that will really catch everyone’s attention. Medieval helmets available in the market today are mostly replicas of the original items. Companies that make these often sell them to film makers and prop experts in theater plays. They also sell these to schools for stage play activities or as teaching tools.

Manufacturers spend time to do research on each helmet so that the products get the best quality replication. Some medieval fanatics use these helmets as additional articles to their collections. Medieval helmets can also be used to decorate a restaurant aiming for the medieval look. Add some spears, swords and shields to complete your awesome wall displays.

Swords have long been the most famous and highly regarded weapons in human warfare.  Our site features replica swords from many different historical eras, and I thought it would be cool to take a look at the way they’ve changed over time.  The development of new and more effective weapons was dependent on man’s ability to work with metal.  The first bladed weapons were daggers, short, knife-like weapons used at close range.  As Bronze Age blacksmiths gradually uncovered the secrets of metallurgy and the forge, they found they could make longer, more durable blades. The sword had obvious advantages in battle; it was balanced, relatively lightweight, and could be used both to attack and defend.  It’s no wonder, then, that peoples across the globe eventually learned to craft and use them.  The oldest known swords were discovered in Harrapa, Pakistan, and were made around 2300 BC.   Smiths who worked with bronze faced a common obstacle:  these were no replica swords, the metal would bend and even break if its shape was too long and slender.  Bronze age swords were usually between 20 and 35 inches long, and in Turkey and the Middle East, sword makers overcame the durability problem with a clever design.  Bronze age swords had broad, leaf-shaped blades, wide in the middle tapered to a sharp point.  The weapons were sturdy, effective, and exquisitely beautiful.  From then on, swords were more than mere instruments of war; they were works of art.

…Many scholars believe that the birthday cake took shape in Germany in the heart of Renaissance Europe.  The Germans baked sweet round cakes in the shape of baby Jesus to celebrate his birthday, and eventually the birthdays of their young children dressed in what we would consider Renaissance costumes.  The Germans were also the first people to consistently light birthday candles, which probably grew out of candles placed on Christmas trees (another German first!).  Candles, of course, have a VERY long history in celebrations, back to the Ancient Greek costumes and beyond.  So when your birthday comes around, have a happy one, and remember that yours is a party thousands of years in the making.  

Renaissance costumes  and Medieval festivals commemorate an era that was famous for its great minds and is remembered as a time of widespread cultural evolution.  Brilliant painters like Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci created some of history’s most famous works of art.  Dante Alighieri wrote The Divine Comedy, his epic saga of a mortal’s journey through the afterlife.  Philosophers Niccolo Machiavelli and Michel de Montaigne were making giant leaps in political and social thought, gradually reshaping European notions of society and the human condition.  The image of the Renaissance in the history books is overwhelmingly positive, a shining beacon of progress and civility that emerges like a lighthouse from the roiling black sea of Europe’s Dark Ages.  So much good was done that it’s easy to overlook the darker side of life during the Renaissance. 

While Europeans were liberating themselves from the cruelty and superstition of previous centuries, they were rediscovering slavery.  It had been declining gradually since the reign of the Romans soldiers, and had been almost completely abolished in Northern Europe by the end of the Viking Age in 11th century- think horned Viking helmets.  When the Renaissance got going, though, a lot of people were getting rich, and slaves were a mark of status.  Explorers were also discovering new lands across the sea, and when they encountered the Natives, turned to classical philosophers for insight into how to deal with them.  According to Aristotle, slavery was part of the natural order, a suitable form of government for people who were mentally incapable of governing themselves.  With that, the Europeans could justify human bondage, and slavery found new life in an otherwise enlightened era. It became an enduring part of their legacy, to the detriment of all mankind.

You may have noticed our site’s authentic Renaissance costumes, and wondered, why all the fuss about wealthy Italians who lived 500 years ago?  Well, the Renaissance marked Europe’s emergence from the Dark Ages, a time of widespread ignorance and superstition, into the Enlightenment Era, when that continent’s great minds and wealthy patrons inspired a revolution in philosophy and the arts.  Italy played a pivotal role in this period of cultural evolution, and of the noble families involved, none were more crucial to its success than the Medicis. 

This exceedingly wealthy family assumed control over their home city of Florence, transforming it into a haven for artists and architects.  The most beloved and famous of the clan was Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449-1492).  He devoted himself to making Italy the cultural center of the world.  The Medicis commissioned some of history’s greatest works of art, most notably Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling. They were active in the advancement of scientific thought; in a way, we owe the Medicis our understanding of the Solar System and the revolution of the planets, because they supported Galileo in his study of astronomy. Ironically, their greatest contribution to modern society was unintentional.  The devoutly Catholic Medicis actually helped start the Protestant Reformation!  They used their vast resources to install Popes Leo X and Clement VII on the Vatican throne, men who were incapable of suppressing Martin Luther’s radical teachings, and in turn the rise of the Anglican church. By both action and accident, the Medicis were one of history’s most influential families.  

Learn more about the Medicis, Italy and Roman Replicas on the Historic Replicas recommended site list.