Brotherhood of the Blade
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 From left to right is Hugh the Undecided, Martin the Temperate, Neptha of Thebes, Charles of Dublin, and behind Charles is Morven of Carrick. | ||||
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| Heraldry | ||||
 Gules, a base Or, overall a sword inverted counterchanged. |
The Brotherhood, based in the Barony of the Angels, was a warband of like-minded fighters, organized under a single banner, in service to the King of the West. (though mostly to the Prince of Caid) The Brotherhood was the organized core of the Caiden army in its day. It was believed to be the first organized fighting group to practice, arm, and go to battle together. The Brotherhood remained active after Caid became a Kingdom.
History
Ranks were assigned according to finish order in melee tournaments held for the specific purpose of determining rank. The lists were limited to Brotherhood members but the challenges were open to all. There were four offices to be won - Captain, Vice-Commander, and two Sergeants. The Brotherhood also held prize tournaments that all authorized fighters were welcome to enter.
The First Brotherhood of the Blade Melee Tourney was autocrated by Charles of Dublin and Robear du Bois. There were 10 melees held, with a total of 20 fighters on the field. Teams were picked by the lists using a random draw, with the first one picked being the captain. There was a wild variety of tactics tried that day, from a hollow square with 2 polearm men inside (which worked well if your opponent spread out around the square and attacked in a dis-jointed fashion), to a swarm of skirmishers fighting individually (which worked well if you had the better fighters). Points were also given based on what you fought with...such as a large shield was -2 points and a pole arm was +3. There were about 6 Ladies at the Lists table, as each fighter had to check in after each battle and a separate score sheet was kept for each fighter. This was really good practice for wars and a lot of fun.
Maihie McFergy won the Brotherhood Melee Tournament in April 1976. The scoring took into account how big your shield was or if you did not have one by giving extra points for smaller shields & weapons or polearms. Points were also given for being on the winning side even if you were dead, more for being wounded and the most for being unwounded. In addition the losing captain was penalized a point while the winning one got an extra.
Members
- Hugh the Undecided - Founder and Grandmaster
- Martin the Temperate
- Morven of Carrick
- Charles of Dublin
- Robear du Bois
- Maihie McFergy
- Phillip Sprague
- James the Inconstant
- Guy of Castle Kirk, then known as Guy Marchand de Montvert; aka Guy de Montfort
- Thomas the Merciless
- Patrick of Innisfree
- Gregory of York
- Balin of Tor
- Einar aus Enwelt
- Duryn the Red
- Damon of the Lake that Flames
- Auberon Cirin
- Hrorek Halfdane of Faulconwood
- Theodric Pendar of Faulconwood
- Jason Griffiths of ShadowHyrst
- Muis the Insane, then known as Muis Negra Khan
This is a partial list.
Photos
Hugh the Undecided -- in a Brotherhood of the Blade tabard.
More Information
- Talk to Charles of Dublin
