Some people love history so much that they want to relive it over and over again. Have you ever wondered how it would feel to be engaged in a battle re-enactment? They always look like so much fun and serve an important purpose in educating the younger generations about the way their ancestors lived. If you want to know what life was like during events that shaped the world, then these historical societies provide a tangible, visual example.
Such societies are found right across the globe and cover many different periods of history and war. The Sealed Knot are the oldest running re-enactment society in the UK, the largest in Europe and also act as an educational charity. The original idea came in 1968 at a garden party where friends were dressed as Cavaliers to celebrate the publishing of a new book on the Civil War. Two years later, the idea of forming re-enactment armies saw more than one thousand people joining up. Initially there was only a Royalist Army section but there soon followed a Parliamentarian Army and an Army of Scotland and Ireland.
The idea of battle re-enactments is not to glorify war but to pay tribute to those who died during them. It also offers a unique glimpse into the way people lived, why events transpired as they did and to educate people about life during war.
The Sealed Knot set up events all over the country and throughout the whole year so there will always be an event running near to you. Some events are more like festivals and involve camping for the weekend with many displays lasting for several days. As many as over a thousand men and women take part in the battles in an impressive spectacle, with exact replica weapons, clothing and living conditions as they would have experienced during the 17th century.
Whilst every effort is made to keep combatants safe, with horses thundering around, smoke pluming from muskets and soldiers clashing, the occasional accident is possible so they have to make sure there are medical crews on standby. For Events Medical Cover, visit https://www.outdoormedicalsolutions.co.uk/
On a smaller scale, the Sealed Knot also visit schools in period costume and talk about the clothes, weapons, cooking methods and other aspects of daily life during the Civil War. Members of the Sealed Knot can also be asked to fill buildings from that period for publicity events or photographic purposes to recreate what the building would have felt like during that time.
It’s not always history that leads people to joining such an organisation as they might have friends or family who are already members and wish to become involved for the social aspect. You don’t have to have any preferences for which regiment you join, you can just join the local one your friends are a part of. Some people feel strongly enough to want to join a particular regiment as maybe they had ancestors that served in the original regiment. There are also non-army units so if battling isn’t your thing, there are many others way to get involved.