08-14-2013, 09:37 PM
Salve, omnes!
Peter Nicholson, maker of all sorts of stuff, amateur actor (with special interest in stage combat), martial artist, archer, keen reader of military history and member of too many forums!
Interest in Roman military dates back to reading The Eagle of the Ninth at the age of 8, plus lots of reading since. I'm currently working my way through Anthony Riches' series.
I stumbled across RAT whilst researching for the show just finished: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
Not the most historically authentic of shows, but I had been cornered in the pub after a show last summer, and coerced (OK, plied with beer ) into putting on some street theatre, to whit, a reasonably authentic gladiatorial display.
Retiarius/secutor seemed the obvious combination, so I set about working out what we would need, and how to make it (oh, yes - I never buy it if I can make it! )
I'll put up some photos of the gear at the weekend if I get time...
My interest in re-enactment is more of the stage combat variety, but I always try to make fights accurate to the period - easy with something like the Bard, as there are plenty of Manuals of Arms around from the time, less easy with the Roman period. This became more a sort of experimental archaeology (another fascination) - working out how the weapons are used by using them and exploring the possibilities and limitations of each system. YouTube videos of others doing the same was a great help here!
Finding parallels with other similar weapons systems from other periods was also quite fascinating to my inner historian
Whether I get to do any serious reenactment in the future is a moot point - thus far it has been an offshoot of the amateur dramatic and "making stuff" hobbies.
Peter Nicholson, maker of all sorts of stuff, amateur actor (with special interest in stage combat), martial artist, archer, keen reader of military history and member of too many forums!
Interest in Roman military dates back to reading The Eagle of the Ninth at the age of 8, plus lots of reading since. I'm currently working my way through Anthony Riches' series.
I stumbled across RAT whilst researching for the show just finished: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
Not the most historically authentic of shows, but I had been cornered in the pub after a show last summer, and coerced (OK, plied with beer ) into putting on some street theatre, to whit, a reasonably authentic gladiatorial display.
Retiarius/secutor seemed the obvious combination, so I set about working out what we would need, and how to make it (oh, yes - I never buy it if I can make it! )
I'll put up some photos of the gear at the weekend if I get time...
My interest in re-enactment is more of the stage combat variety, but I always try to make fights accurate to the period - easy with something like the Bard, as there are plenty of Manuals of Arms around from the time, less easy with the Roman period. This became more a sort of experimental archaeology (another fascination) - working out how the weapons are used by using them and exploring the possibilities and limitations of each system. YouTube videos of others doing the same was a great help here!
Finding parallels with other similar weapons systems from other periods was also quite fascinating to my inner historian
Whether I get to do any serious reenactment in the future is a moot point - thus far it has been an offshoot of the amateur dramatic and "making stuff" hobbies.