What we do
Who are the Medieval Combat Society
The society is run by the members for the members who have fun taking part in reenactment shows in the UK and further afield. Members come from all walks of life and enjoy different aspects from living history displays through to fighting with sword, axes and maces, or it may be the archery, dancing or banqueting.
Where to see us
Book the Medieval Combat Society
01
Displays
Archery, combat, dancing, Living history, have-a-go archery, set to a display of living history and medieval tents.
02
Entertaining
More than just a display, we engage with the crowd to have them cheer for their favourite knight or boo the bad.
03
Experience
We practice all the off season and have many years of experience in hundreds of bookings, and tailor each show to its setting.
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Medieval Combat Society
(opens in a new tab)The Medieval Combat Society (MCS) is a 14th Century Re-enactment Group, active since the 1970's. Welcome to the Medieval Combat Society Facebook page.
29 August 1350: The Battle of Les Espagnols sur Mer. Also known as the Battle of Winchelsea. Edward III and the Black Prince led a fleet that intercepted a Castilian fleet in the English Channel. It was a rare, brutal naval victory involving ship-to-ship boarding and hand-to-hand combat.www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LeR1IbMyUAwww.youtube.com/watch?v=nXLfUwMFTm4
28 August 1349: The Death of Thomas Bradwardine. The "Profound Doctor" and Archbishop of Canterbury died of the Black Death just weeks after his consecration. He was one of the century's greatest mathematicians and theologians, showing that the plague spared no level of genius.
28 August 1320 Pope John XXII responded to the papal letter regarding the treaty of Arbroath. He was moved by the letter, and temporarily suspended the papal sanctions against Bruce, and wrote to King Edward II of England urging him to make peace with Scotland. Bruce Fummey at Arbroath Abbey tells the story of the treaty of Arbroath www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI1EpIBTQe4
27 August 1346: The "Second Day" of Crécy. English forces fanned out to engage French reinforcements that had arrived late to the battle. Several thousand more French troops were killed in the morning fog, bringing the total French death toll to an unprecedented level.www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR3eQb5ASmg
26 August 1346: At the Battle of Crécy on 26 August 1346, King Edward III of England deployed primitive gunpowder artillery, marking the first documented use of field cannons in a major European pitched battle. While the legendary English longbowmen won the battle, these early weapons played an important psychological role by terrifying the French cavalry and Genoese crossbowmen. The English army deployed somewhere between 5 and 22 artillery pieces, utilizing two distinct types of early gunpowder weapons:Ribalds (Ribauldequins): Also known as "organ guns", these consisted of multiple small, iron gun barrels bound together in a fan or parallel configuration on a wheeled cart. They fired metal bolts, arrows, or small lead balls in single, broadside-like volleys to shred advancing infantry.Bombards: These were flask- or pot-shaped iron barrels ("vase guns"). They were loaded with rounded stones or forged iron balls roughly 80 to 90 millimetres in diameter.Because of long reload times, the artillery only managed about three volleys during the entire battle. Their actual physical damage was minor. However, the smoke, flash, and thunderous booms severely panicked the French horses and broke the cohesion of the enemy lines.The most famous account comes from Florentine banker and historian Giovanni Villani. Writing in his Nuova Cronica shortly before his death in 1348, he noted that Edward III mixed "bombards" among his archers. He explicitly described them as throwing "little balls to frighten and destroy horses" while making a sound "like thunder" English government ledger records from the mid-1340s provide definitive proof that Edward III's administration planned for artillery use. Surviving records from the Tower of London detail the procurement of ingredients to manufacture gunpowder—specifically sulphur and saltpetre—and the dispatch of these stores to the King's army in France just months before the invasion.www.themcs.org/weaponry/cannon/cannon.htm