First, an introduction to a real life knight, described by himself and interpreted by me!

To Mr. Hansen Hoffman, Mayor of Hailbron and Steffan Feyerabent, the right licentiate and syndicate of this city. 

Especially dear sirs, good patrons, and friends! There have, before you, been other good sirs and friends of mine who have, for many years, asked that I bequeath to my honorable and good children and descendants what I did in my days as a young noble knight and poor horseman in wars, feuds, and actions. On behalf of his Roman Imperial Majesty, prince electors, my good friends, sirs, and myself, I describe with the quill my experiences of their and my own feuds and actions against those of high and low standing, as you have both also requested of me.

Therefore, I thought that I (should God the almighty give grace to my soul), to honor and favor you and your city, my heirs, descendants, and other good sirs and friends, want to briefly pull together my drama and actions, as I have recalled them, in the briefest way in writing.

Part 1: Upbringing 

Firstly, from my blessed father and mother, my brothers and sisters (the ones older than myself), as well as all the servants and maids who served them, I heard that I was one wonderful young boy. This shaped and influenced my childhood such that I was advised to be a war-man or cavalryman. For many reasons which are too long and unnecessary to explain, if it were not told to me many times, 

I would not have known that I requested of my blessed mother to send me away to foreigners so that I may learn something from them. It then so happened that in my youth I followed hosts back and forth as needed. 

And so this way I initially went to Nidernn Hall am Kochenn for one year in the school at my cousin’s side.  His name is Konntz von Newenstein, and he had a house built at Niedern Hall. But I did not like school; horses and riding suited me and I found diligence there. I therefore immediately followed my blessed cousin, Sir Conrad von Berlichingen, who I stayed with for three years as a page boy.

The first ride with my cousin happened when Margraff Friederich von Brandenburg at Onoltzbach, prescribed and sent him as a princely advisor to the Great Day of the Realm in Worms in the year 1495, and I was to ride with him. We arrived in Worms the first week of Lent, and was his first ride from Onoltzbach to Schrotzberg in his home, and from Schrotzberg one day to Mospach, from Mospach to Haidelberg. In the morning we ate at the Stag, and after this snack we rode the same day to Worms. I reckon we went eight to nine miles each day.

I thought at the time, as I was a journeyman, that this was far and much, but since then I have become accustomed to this. In a few days and nights I have traveled while eating or drinking nothing. It could not be otherwise.

An then, a brief description of the rules we’ve been using for our historical group skirmishes. More to be written about this in another issue, after all, it is over eight years in the making!

Kburg is all about encouraging historical choices in arms, armor, and behavior that reflect given pressures. What is the most important aspect you are trying to recreate? Be intentional though, the truth is, you don’t get to choose them all.

With more accurate weapon simulators and usage of them comes the need for ahistorical protection. In other words – steel swords require fencing mesh, plastic protection, etc. that our historical counterparts wouldn’t have worn but enable us to safely stab each other in the face, just like they did. But you know, in a notably unsafe way.

Conversely, Using foam weapons allows your armor and clothing to be completely indistinguishable from the OG stuff, but being unable to safely stab your friends in the face necessarily means the combat bears less fidelity to what the evidence suggests.

Speaking of evidence, join us in creating our own at the Spring Field Day Battle Event! In controlled scenarios, we will record our “wound data” and compare it to what is found in archaeological remains.

Are we doing historical combat right? If our “wounds” end up matching the archaeological record, then we might be getting close!

• “Health points” or “HP” are the numerical substitute for a fencer’s survivability; not all wounds are equally nor immediately terminal. One is lost each time a fencer is struck in a vulnerable area, and tracked by the fencer announcing how many HP they have lost beginning at one, counting up until “dead!”.“
• “Vulnerability” is determined by the armor a fencer wears. Armor and weapons will correspond with each other on a spectrum of “heavy”, “medium”, and “light”, with each weapon defeating armor of the same category and those below it (heavy defeats heavy, medium, and light, medium defeats medium and light, light defeats light).
• “Complications, courtesy and conduct” are special mechanics which are not easily defined, and not applicable to all skirmish contexts. Best to keep these limited lest fencers forget. 

Kburg Classic: Straightforward and balanced, this makes for a satisfying squabble in any scenario.
Hit points: 3
Weapon Types	All actions executed with caution and patience.	Armor Types
Heavy – Polarms	Heavy weapons defeat all armor	Heavy – Plate armor
Medium – Two handed thrusts	Medium weapons defeat medium and light armor.	Medium – Maille armor
Light – Cutting attacks	Light weapons defeat light armor.	Light – Clothing
ContactThrows disallowed – controlled wrestling-at-the-sword actions allowed.
CourtesyShout “Enough” when in dangerous or questionable situations to halt actions of those nearby. Resume when an “all clear” is given.
ComplicationsFencing mask with overlay/back-of-head protection is considered a helmet, and therefore “heavy” armor

Tune in next time for more Kburg facts!