"Early medieval pastimes," a demonstration of the camp and war art of the early Middle Ages in Mikulčice / "Raně středověké kratochvíle," ukázka tábora a válečného umění ranného středověku v Mikulčicích

After some time we will look again at the excavations of the Slavic settlement in Mikulčice. The Styrke tribal association, which is dedicated to historical fencing, crafts and the life of early medieval society (9th - 10th centuries), presented, as every year, demonstrations of the period camp, domestic work (yarn weaving) and military art of this historical period

On site, you could see how yarn for weaving fabrics was produced at that time

Contrast between peacekeeping and military equipment

The early medieval warriors slowly prepare for action

Putting on armour is not easy.

A shirt like that ringlet won't give in and fit where it's supposed to.

And they're already converging on the site where the martial arts of the early Middle Ages will be demonstrated. Somewhere shady. The temperature is currently in the mid-30s. They must be pretty hot.

The event is accompanied by an expert lecture on the organisation and social status of the fighters at that time. The best warriors formed the prince's retinue. They were called the retinue. They had equipment that distinguished them from ordinary soldiers. They wore a circular shirt and the sword was their badge of social status. They had no other occupation than to ride alongside the prince as he toured the principality and were the striking force of the army.

Ordinary soldiers, who were mostly recruited from peasants or artisans, did not have ring armour; they were often armed with spears or served as archers and had an iron helmet and shield

In combat, there were several formations that the warriors took. When defending or attacking, it was a combat rank

The specially defensive formation was a circle, or at the command of the arrows, took up a formation protecting against arrows

When training for combat, the "circle of honour" method was used, where pairs of fighters fought against each other in practice. Or the "circle of betrayal" method, where everyone fought everyone else and two or more fighters could attack each other.

St. Cyril and St. Methodius watched all the action with us from their roost, as did the circling storks, which have several nests in the area

So here we are again at the end of today's story. I hope you enjoyed the story and the photos. Or even if you have some criticism, I would be glad for your comments.

Translated by DeepL Translate