Othello's Tower

The castle overlooking Famagusta Harbour is popularly known as "Othello's Tower", since the majority of Shakespere's play "Othello" is set there. More than a mere tower, it is an actual castle.
In the above picture, (if you click on the image) you can see the Lion of St. Mark over the iron shod main gate. Thats because the Venetians repaired Guy de Lusignan's castle in 1492.

The central courtyard is just big enough to parade the troops. It is now used as a theatre where they show Shakesperian plays... The wall you see in the picture above is many rooms thick...the main gate is to your right...and is very defensible with many places where stones and such can such be used to injure an invader. Directly ahead is a great room where cannon balls and other ordinance were stored. Most cannon balls were the light marble balls so beloved by mortar men...they could drop a 40 pound one foot diameter marble ball on any ship in the harbour. The ordinance was different on this side because it was the harbour side. The other towers, on the landward side, use steel cannons with iron cannon balls. Too heavy and numerous to pack out, they are all still there.

I like the above picture because the weather has worn the sandstone in organic fashion. The stones at first glance look like piled skulls. Or maybe that is just the ghosts in the castle which are influencing my vision.



Above...the corbels which must have held up a magnificent room.

And the courtyard is littered with remnants of statues.

This is Guy de Llusignian's great hall. Magnificent groin valted hall, once upon a time covered with marble bas relief carvings.

The above and below pictures are of that great hall as seen from outside. Above the hall were the apartments...many of which must have been very comfortable, with window seats and cool stone ceilings. I fear the apartments have been sheared off about the six foot mark. Below, you can see the lintel-less window openings, where the ladies would have sat on window seats, and admired the soldiers drilling in the courtyard below. The modern stairs in back are greatly appreciated, the original stairs are very steep!


As usual, I urge you to click on the pictures to see them a little larger. Because of the amount of detail available, I made these pictures rather larger than the usual ones I post here.

I am planning a walking tour of this tower, which I'll put up on these pages when I find my round tuit.

Vienna Armour

above is the famous Golden Armour in vienna. A fairly standard armour, but heavily decorated with bas relief. This is parade armour at its best.

The mechanism worn under the armour. Below is the description.

spring mechanisms for jousting armour. The right spot gets hit, the armour goes flying and the crowd goes wild. Below is the plaque which goes with the above armour.


above is authentic jousting armour padding. As far as I know,the only surviving examples. They are clearly removable from their helms and have brow and chin ribbons. They would probably drop a chain mail hood over the cloth and just slide the helmet on.
The above VERY unusual piece is a practice armour. The arms are just incredibly detailed!

and lastly, here is one of the armours from the back. You almost NEVER see an armour from the back. Good details to spot are the hammer marks in the neillo (blackened) depressed area, and the leather straps underneath the shoulder guard.

New course in the new year

This is the emails I got from Algonquin College. As you can see...there WILL be courses back to back in the new year...basic and advanced. Then concurrently in the Spring.

cut and paste follows. My request is below the answer (in typical email fashion! grin!)

Hi Bill,
Close but not quite.....

Basic Course ---- Algonquin Woodroffe Campus
Course Code GEN0088 Fee is $171 incl HST
Course runs from 7 - 9:15 p.m. for six weeks then 7 - 9:30 p.m. on the last week
Dates are correct.

Advanced Course --- Algonquin Woodroffe Campus
Course Code GEN0105 Fee is $171 incl HST
Course Dates: March 4 - April 15
Course Time: 7 - 9:15 pm. For six weeks then 7 - 9:30 on the last week

In the Spring Semester these two courses will run concurrently (Wednesdays and Fridays)

Flo

Florianne (Flo) Gauthier
Personal Development
Tel: 613.727.4723 ext 5079
Fax: 613.727.7727


-----Original Message-----
From: William Fedun [mailto:stag@southtower.on.ca]
Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 11:16 AM
To: Florianne Gauthier
Subject: RE: FW: Chilvalrous Swordhandling and Advanced Chivalrous Swordhandling -- Spring 2011

Now this is what I have sent out to my students. Is this correct?
There have been so many emails that I admit to being a bit confused.



Basic Course....Algonquin Woodruff Campus, the gym in the "P" building.
Course Code GEN0088. cost for this course is $160.57 incl HST

Its a go! seven until nine thirty Wednesday evenings in P-121
January 19th until 2 March 2011. Seven week days of 2.5 hours per
night. We are trying a "combined" class, just as an experiment.

Advanced Course .....Algonquin Woodruff Campus (16 hours Friday
evenings 7 to 9:30 in the "P" building.

Course Code GEN 0105 Cost for this course is $160.57 incl HST
There is not a course scheduled on Fridays in January unless y'all get
together and ask for one. If there are enough signups, we'll do it.
The next scheduled advanced course is
Fridays, May 6th to June 17th.


Algonquin College Registrar's Office is 1385 Woodruff Ave, Rm. C150,
Ottawa Ont., K2G 1V8. tel 613-727-0002, or 1-800-565-4723,
fax613-727-7754 email AskAlgonquin@algonquincollege.com

Sword Arts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpSvotuJA1k&feature=related





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP1yyQQJGFM&feature=related

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8339305234510333885&ei=bMuASbPkF5aWiQL80MGmCw&q=circassian+shashka&emb=1#

Plante Bath Grads.

Armouring AS a business

The South Tower Armoury is more than a business, more than a hobby. In many ways it is a lifestyle choice. I mean, in what other business can you run where you can travel to Europe every winter just to visit museums!

Watching the "Dragons Den", a reality show dealing with inventors coming into meet the "money lending Dragons", I was struck by the reality that my business, the South Tower Armouring Guild had been sort of spinning its wheels. Not growing, really, and certainly not collapsing backwards! What it HAS been doing is getting better and better at quality and beauty. I am certainly not getting ready to retire, in fact the opposite, I am getting ready to really get some great things going!
The fact that my bread and butter, the basic "beginner's" helms and such can no longer be made economically has caused me to re-evaluate the direction I am going in. There is still tremendous future in custom work...both medieval and in the Anime and fantasy worlds. And there is still a future in running all this AS a business.

A business is not a difficult thing to create. I ran mine for 18 years without so much as a business plan. A fellow who was in here t'other day (a banker) wants me to create a business plan, and a set of goals. He didn't really contribute much, but then he was not being paid to contribute much. My business is my life, and I won't take life coaching from anyone!!! (That's the problem I guess...grin!)

Normally a business has human resources which come together to create something. I watched a movie one time that had these immortal lines it. The girl was flirting with the guy, and said to him....
"So you are a business man. What does a business man do?"
"Fills orders"
"Well I have an order for you to fill..." she said as she twirled a lock of hair around her finger.

Cute. And what a concise statement THAT is! A business exists to fill orders. Not to play back biting politics, not to hang with cool people, not to drink coffee in the break room all day, not even to build or do great things. A business needs to have a buyer, a salesman to find the buyer, a producer or creator of the goods, a facilitator (the businessman) to bring them together!

I like running a business because all successful business persons have to be goal oriented. A successful employee's goals pretty much extend to "treat me like a human being and pay me a living wage". A successful boss's goals are "we have a product which needs to be sold/made/moved, and will motivate the workers to do that. A successful business man has to bring the goods to the customer, he or she needs not be a good employee OR a good boss to be a good businessman. Three different goals, three different philosophies.

As a businessman myself, I find that the greatest difficulty is the lack of sure knowledge of exactly what I am doing, with what and to whom! Even after 18 years, I feel like the Newfie going into the ditch, you know, the one who says "Here, hold my beer boy, and watch dis then!" I may not know what I am doing, but by George, it'll get done somehow!

I hate the term "Just Do It". It sounds so trite and mundane. But the fact is, if you don't Just Do It, you will always fail. It is shorthand way to overcome the natural timidity. I know you don't normally think of Bill as timid kind of guy, but there are times. I need to "Just Do It" every day! Most people are timid. They play a game called the "Yes But" game. I find myself doing it from time to time. (Oh you know that game..."Why don't you get a good job", "Well YES I suppose I could, BUT I need the education", "Can't you get the education at the High School? "YES BUT I need money to pay the tuition". Well, you have a job right now don't you? "YES BUT its not enough to pay tuition".) (All this is a distillation of "Transactional Analysis", a much overlooked field IMHO.) Justification for timidity is not appropriate for a businessman. But it is a natural thing, not to be ashamed of. It is our natural timidity which keeps us from driving into ditches "just to see what will happen".

So, if your goal is to become a businessperson, you MUST not be timid. On the face of it, this seems to fly in the face of common sense and advise. The usual naysayers all say the same thing..."if there was a market for that product, there would a hundred people selling it, and of course, there is the corrollary....a hundred people are selling that product, what makes you think you can sell it as well?" Well, I notice that cell phones are still selling like hot cakes even though most people now have them.

All business people are flying by seat of their pants with insufficient information and no resources. You HAVE all the knowledge and resources to run a successful business just like this one now! So, for the coming year, let me just say this...

Hang onto my beer, and watch this!!!


Bill

Quinn's Armour

I'm breaking a rule about "web marketing" here in that I am putting up some pictures of armour which are not quite finished, and not quite ready to put in the box and ship. On the other hand, it shows some of the construction details, and thats what it is all about eh? By now, they have been detailed and warped and added to, and are ready to ship.
Above is a full frontal. ( This armour does SO NOT fit my top apprentice, it would have almost been better to hang it on a stand. But, at least you can see that it does all fit together.) Quinn wanted a subtle line up the middle of the plaquart, which I had forgotten about until it was all assembled. The process of beating that line in there spread the placquart open a bit. It is all closed up now, but it gives you a chance to see the picadills (leather strips) just inside the top edge. Out of site, normally. Of course, by now, the plaquart has been warped back into place and it fits as well as the middle piece fits the breastplate.
The top buckles are solid brass with one inch buffalo leather straps. They will hold up better than most.

The side view shows that I have to make some belt holes which are a bit tighter, to pull the breastplate up higher towards the neck. And the startling lack of belts to attach to the buckles I cleverly installed on the back. When the belts are tightened on, the individual plates front and back will match up, and overlap. The slightly unusual nature of this armour is immediately apparent...the plaquarts are nearly flat and all the space in the breastplate is taken up by the chest. This armour will make Quinn look really trim and fit. If you look closely at the bottom flange, you can see the armour point eyelets which will lace the faulds into place.


Above you can see the back plate. Fairly standard backplate, with space for the shoulder blades and a dome over his spine up top where it might be vulnerable. Hard to see in that harsh shop light, it looks like a zebra! But the vertical zebra stripes are all carefully sculpted in and serve a purpose. The bottom of the back is a simple roll, instead of a flange. A flange simply makes it impossible to sit down on a chair with a back to it, and a roll is perfectly period and acceptable, though admittedly, a flange (or flare such as you see on the bottom edge of the breastplate) might be a bit more comfortable after an hour of standing.
The side buckles are made from zinc 3/4 inch buckles on 7 oz straps. A good place to use the less expensive zinc since they never get hit! And if they DO get flattened (once in a while, that happens), well, they are cheap and easy to replace.

And these are the faulds and tassets. Sharp eye'd visitors will notice that the straps are cinched up too tight! Oh well, easily fixed. The pelvic arch should have been more continuous instead of placing his genitals into parentheses like this. Dooh! Teach me to rush the picture portion of the job!
The faulds all neatly fold up to three inches, the width of one of the fauld lames. They are made with the english wheel to form a gentle 12 inch diameter globe. This will provide a good solid lame which should stand up to years of even heavy SCA combat, though as we all know, nothing will last forever. They will fit Quinn's hips perfectly, still allow him movement, and the tassets are rounded and the flare will ensure they won't dig into his thigh. The points match up to the breastplate. And the nice thing about tassets is that changing out the tassets can change the whole look of the armour.
These buckles are 3/4 inch solid brass with 7 oz leather straps, the heavy brass is good for a place which will get stressed a lot. And tassets get stressed a lot.

Roman Army Multi Tool

From the web site http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/11/2000-year-old-roman-multi-tool/

This is just too cool for words. Lets see...there is a spoon and a blade, making this clearly a mess kit, a hoof pick, and two tools I have no freakin' idea what they are for!

More on the FitzWilliam Museum web site...

http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/opac/search/cataloguedetail.html?_function_=xslt&_limit_=10&priref=70534

Reginald's suit

Here is Reginald's suit. It has very clean lines, and the pecs are sculpted in. Well made from sixteen gauge cold rolled steel.
You can see the thousands of hammer marks which remain even after the irons have rolled them out. The marks by this point don't exist as "marks" but rather variations in surface texture. If I was to paint it at this point you would not be able to see a single hammer mark.

As you can see, Reginald is a very fit and solid individual...he has a barrel chest and a reasonably slim waist. The chest is easily pulled out or pushed in as required if Reginald desires to wear padding underneath the armour or not.

The back is pretty. See how I shoved it up a bit...there is plenty of room for mobility.

Nothing fancy, just simple curves. But it IS made from 16 gauge steel.
From here, things are going to get a little more interesting since Reginald is actually not getting me to make medieval armour at all, but rather an interesting personal design.

More as I make it....

Algonquin Grads, 2010 Basic course

Iron

Pure iron is barely harder and stronger than copper. Impurities are to iron, what paint is to an artist's canvas.

Red Ochre is Iron

The problem with iron at this level of purity is that it is too soft and too ductile for most commercial uses.

This means that the iron products that we know and recognize are relatively and deliberately impure.

Iron also has three allotropes or crystal forms, delta iron (body centered cubic) gamma (face centered cubic) and alpha, body centered cubic. I was originally taught* that delta and alpha iron were the same allotrope, a distinction that now appears to be a charming sign of old age… and the addition of impurities (alloying elements) have different solubilities based on these forms.

It is the addition of carbon and other elemental impurities which alter these allotropic forms that gives commercial iron and steel products their diverse properties.

When we look on the material certs that accompany our steel products , the first element that is reported is carbon. Carbon is ubiquitous, and has the dominant effect on the behavior of the iron based product to which it is part, even in the presence of large amounts of alloying elements.

What is implied by the certs is that after adding up all of the elements reported, the balance of the material is "iron."

In 2009 world Iron and steel production was estimated to be 1,219.7 million metric tonnes.

Physics trivia: Iron is the heaviest atom that can be made by the fusion of stars. Iron is is the 'ash' of stellar nuclear fusion. Iron is abundant- the fifth most abundant element on earth, and sixth most abundant in the universe. Our blood is red because of iron, and since iron is an essential part of our bodies, we can truly claim that we are "Stardust."

The preceeding is written by Miles Free on the Engineer's Blog. More on this topic here...

http://cr4.globalspec.com/blogentry/14418/Iron-The-Implied-Element?frmtrk=CR4digest

Fight Books

(click on the above images to enlarge.)

When you get two or three sword trainers together, you get disputes and opinions. The task of a historian is to cut through the opinions, and determine the underlying truth in order to form your own (no doubt disputable) opinion. In the case of sword fighters, the opinions usually come down to "which school or style is better". Mr. George Silver, a sword fighter who bitterly opposed the "new fangled Italian style" wrote two books. The first was an off-putting non-stop diatribe against the Italians, the second is much harder to find but is more useful in that he discusses the "Englyshe Style of Broad Swerd" with great thoroughness and depth, a worthy sucessor the Marxbuder German style popularized by Talhoffer and Meyer. DeGrassi discusses the introduction of rapiers and the desire to not lug a shield around all over the place. Savolio is often considered the genius behind the creation of a foil and Achille Morozzo is considered the first codifier of cuts, guards, wards and parries.

The book by Egerton Castle referred to above is a wonderful compilation of these opposing viewpoints! Mr. Castle created a history of the art of sword fighting and has strenuously declined to determine "which is better". He and I agree that a fighter who is poorly trained in a superior style will lose against a fighter who is properly trained in an inferior style. Rather like the question "what sword is best in a fight", the answer of course is "the one you brought with you, not the one you left at home in the closet", the question of which style or school is "better" can be answered simply by observing which school trains their students daily, which school is more intuitive, which school is more capable of training folks who really have no knack for sports, and which school teaches techniques which can be transfered to other weapons easily. And perhaps, in this modern age, which school can stay interesting enough so that even the most jaded belt hunters will come back to it again and again.

Take a week of evenings, and read Castle's dissertation. I will guarantee that you will be the better for it.

http://www.archive.org/stream/schoolsandmaste00castgoog#page/n3/mode/2up

Scale Tunica

The light from the flash can pick up the plastic scales, but in normal day to day light, you can't tell the difference.
There is a plastic row of scales forming a kidney belt, and hard scales covering his spine and menubrium. The rest is nice soft leather scales.


Click on these to see them full size. These pictures were painted by an artist in the fourth century on the walls of a small church on the slopes of Mount Olympus. (that would be central-west in the long skinny island that is the birthplace of Aphrodite...among others. Including my personal goddess...Nemesis.) (Google it Dude!)

I figure that the artist was actually painting from life. The Tunic was short for a horseman, when I made my interpretation for Lou, I made the tunic longer.