| Our Inspirations from History |
Leonidas I of Sparta - 5th century
B.C.E. Greek king. Fell with three
hundred of his soldiers at the Battle of
Thermopylae in 480 B.C.E. against the
Persian army under King Xerxes, at
least five hundred thousand strong.
Wikipedia article on Leonidas I
Gates of Fire, Steven Pressfield's
amazing novel, recounting the
Spartans at Thermopylae (not
appropriate for kids younger than sixteen)
B.C.E. Greek king. Fell with three
hundred of his soldiers at the Battle of
Thermopylae in 480 B.C.E. against the
Persian army under King Xerxes, at
least five hundred thousand strong.
Wikipedia article on Leonidas I
Gates of Fire, Steven Pressfield's
amazing novel, recounting the
Spartans at Thermopylae (not
appropriate for kids younger than sixteen)
| statue in modern Sparta of Leonidas |
| tomb effigy of William Marshal |
| statue in Dinan of Bertrand du Guesclin |
| coat-of-arms of Geoffroi de Charny |
| manuscript painting of Salah al-Din |
Our martial art has many worthy people in its history to inspire us with their stories of how they showed their quality
when it really mattered. This in not meant to be an exhaustive list of inspirational people, just a few names to look up to
from our past, and some links to more information about them.
Our list of heraldic tinctures is at the bottom of this page. Enjoy!
when it really mattered. This in not meant to be an exhaustive list of inspirational people, just a few names to look up to
from our past, and some links to more information about them.
Our list of heraldic tinctures is at the bottom of this page. Enjoy!
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| coat-of-arms of Radnor of Guildemar |
| coat-of-arms of Paul of Bellatrix |
| coat-of-arms of Jade of Starfall |
| painting of Jeanne d'Arc, circa 1485 |
| The Heraldic Tinctures In the Middle Ages, our ancestors used heraldry in order to identify friends and foes on a battlefield that was most likely dirty, foggy, full of smoke, chaotic, or a combination of all four. Heraldic designs, called coats-of-arms, were limited in what colors could be used, which they called tinctures. The seven heraldic tinctures, which are divided into five colors and two metals, are described below, along with the names that our ancestors used to describe them. |
Five Colors:
GULES = red
AZURE = blue
VERT = green
SABLE = black
PURPURE = purple
Two Metals:
OR = gold/yellow
ARGENT = silver/white
GULES = red
AZURE = blue
VERT = green
SABLE = black
PURPURE = purple
Two Metals:
OR = gold/yellow
ARGENT = silver/white
Boudica, Queen of the Ikeni - 1st
century c.e. British/Celtic chieftess.
When her husband, Prasutagus, died,
Boudica's kingdom was overtaken by
the Romans, who did not recognize
her or her daughters as proper heirs of
her realm. When Boudica protested,
she was flogged and her daughters
assaulted and defiled. The queen then
led a revolt against the Romans,
amassing an army of 20,000 Celts and
leading it in destruction of several
Romano-British towns. Eventually,
the Romans rallied against her and
destroyed her army, but Boudica
inspired many others to resist tyranny
and oppression throughout history.
century c.e. British/Celtic chieftess.
When her husband, Prasutagus, died,
Boudica's kingdom was overtaken by
the Romans, who did not recognize
her or her daughters as proper heirs of
her realm. When Boudica protested,
she was flogged and her daughters
assaulted and defiled. The queen then
led a revolt against the Romans,
amassing an army of 20,000 Celts and
leading it in destruction of several
Romano-British towns. Eventually,
the Romans rallied against her and
destroyed her army, but Boudica
inspired many others to resist tyranny
and oppression throughout history.
Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc) - fifteenth
century French patriot and heroine of
the French people. Joan had visions
she claimed were sent to her by God to
raise the spirits of the French people,
who were being scourged by the
English occupation during the
Hundred Years' War. Captured and
tried for heresy by the English, she
was burned at the stake in 1431, at the
age of 19. Defiant and intelligent, Joan
raised the fortunes of her country and
her king, and made an indelible stamp
on the history of the Middle Ages and
chivalry itself.
century French patriot and heroine of
the French people. Joan had visions
she claimed were sent to her by God to
raise the spirits of the French people,
who were being scourged by the
English occupation during the
Hundred Years' War. Captured and
tried for heresy by the English, she
was burned at the stake in 1431, at the
age of 19. Defiant and intelligent, Joan
raised the fortunes of her country and
her king, and made an indelible stamp
on the history of the Middle Ages and
chivalry itself.
Jade of Starfall (aka Jade Dauser)- 20th/21st century knight and duke.
Duke Jade is considered by some to be the best fighter that our sport has
ever seen; he has won the most challenging tournament our sport has
to offer, the West Kingdom Crown Tournament, a total of fifteen times.
Duke Jade is also the inventor of both the "one-through-six" targeting
system and the "one-one-through-six-six" drill that all of GKA's
students are familiar with.
Duke Jade is considered by some to be the best fighter that our sport has
ever seen; he has won the most challenging tournament our sport has
to offer, the West Kingdom Crown Tournament, a total of fifteen times.
Duke Jade is also the inventor of both the "one-through-six" targeting
system and the "one-one-through-six-six" drill that all of GKA's
students are familiar with.
| coat-of-arms of Joan of Arc |
Radnor of Guildemar (aka Daniel Hunter) - 20th/21st century knight
and duke. Duke Radnor is one of the great innovators of our martial art,
and he continues to influence the way our sport is fought to this day. A
multiple Crown-tournament champion, Duke Radnor happened to be the
victor at the first tournament that Sir Bjorn ever saw, in the Santa Cruz
mountains in 1988. Among other things, Duke Radnor popularized the
"century drill," or "doing the hundred," meaning swinging one's sword
one hundred times a day for one hundred days, and if a day is missed, the
drill is started over!
and duke. Duke Radnor is one of the great innovators of our martial art,
and he continues to influence the way our sport is fought to this day. A
multiple Crown-tournament champion, Duke Radnor happened to be the
victor at the first tournament that Sir Bjorn ever saw, in the Santa Cruz
mountains in 1988. Among other things, Duke Radnor popularized the
"century drill," or "doing the hundred," meaning swinging one's sword
one hundred times a day for one hundred days, and if a day is missed, the
drill is started over!
Paul of Bellatrix (aka Paul Porter) - 20th/21st century knight and
duke. Duke Paul essentially invented our medieval martial art in the
early 1970's; he already had achieved black belts in four Asian martial
arts by the time he took up sword-fighting! Duke Paul founded the
Bellatrix Fighting School of medieval sword martial arts to further
the teaching of the art we practice, and he has traveled to all corners
of the world with his armor to pass on his knowledge.
Duke Paul visited Green Knight Academy in July of 2007; we hope to
be lucky enough to have him back again soon.
The Bellatrix Fighting School
duke. Duke Paul essentially invented our medieval martial art in the
early 1970's; he already had achieved black belts in four Asian martial
arts by the time he took up sword-fighting! Duke Paul founded the
Bellatrix Fighting School of medieval sword martial arts to further
the teaching of the art we practice, and he has traveled to all corners
of the world with his armor to pass on his knowledge.
Duke Paul visited Green Knight Academy in July of 2007; we hope to
be lucky enough to have him back again soon.
The Bellatrix Fighting School
Salah al-Din, aka Saladin - 12th century
middle-Eastern sultan and general. Though
Saladin eventually assumed the title of sultan of
Egypt, and ruled the city of Jerusalem, he was
born in the city of Tikrit, in what is now
modern-day Iraq. Saladin was famous both for
his skill as a military leader and as a knight who
understood chivalry better than his European
crusader rivals did. When his nemesis Richard I of
England, known as "the Lionheart," was
unhorsed during a battle against Saladin's forces,
Saladin immediately sent one of his own finest
horses to Richard, for Saladin felt that it was
unseemly for a king to be on foot before his own
army. At another time, when Saladin heard that
Richard had fallen ill with fever, the sultan sent
runners into the mountains to fetch cups full of
snow. When they returned, Saladin had the
snow soaked with orange juice and sent the
frozen concoction to Richard, as a gift to ease his
fever, which the English king accepted. Saladin
was respected by Muslim and Christian forces in
the Holy Land alike, renowned for his mercy and
compassion as well as military prowess.
Wikipedia article on Salah al-Din
middle-Eastern sultan and general. Though
Saladin eventually assumed the title of sultan of
Egypt, and ruled the city of Jerusalem, he was
born in the city of Tikrit, in what is now
modern-day Iraq. Saladin was famous both for
his skill as a military leader and as a knight who
understood chivalry better than his European
crusader rivals did. When his nemesis Richard I of
England, known as "the Lionheart," was
unhorsed during a battle against Saladin's forces,
Saladin immediately sent one of his own finest
horses to Richard, for Saladin felt that it was
unseemly for a king to be on foot before his own
army. At another time, when Saladin heard that
Richard had fallen ill with fever, the sultan sent
runners into the mountains to fetch cups full of
snow. When they returned, Saladin had the
snow soaked with orange juice and sent the
frozen concoction to Richard, as a gift to ease his
fever, which the English king accepted. Saladin
was respected by Muslim and Christian forces in
the Holy Land alike, renowned for his mercy and
compassion as well as military prowess.
Wikipedia article on Salah al-Din
| coat-of-arms of Salah al-Din |
Geoffroi de Charny - 14th century French knight and author of The
Book of Chivalry.
Wikipedia article on Geoffroi de Charny
full text of The Book of Chivalry
Book of Chivalry.
Wikipedia article on Geoffroi de Charny
full text of The Book of Chivalry
Bertrand du Guesclin (pronounced
"du-gecklin"), - 14th century French
knight. Also reportedly known as "l'
Crapeaud" (from the French: "the Toad")
for supposedly being the ugliest man
in France, he was arguably her
greatest knight.
Wikipedia article on Bertrand du
Guesclin
"du-gecklin"), - 14th century French
knight. Also reportedly known as "l'
Crapeaud" (from the French: "the Toad")
for supposedly being the ugliest man
in France, he was arguably her
greatest knight.
Wikipedia article on Bertrand du
Guesclin
| coat-of-arms of Bertrand du Guesclin |
William Marshal - 12th/13th century
English knight and baron.
Abandoned by his father at the age of
five, the Marshal rose to become the
greatest knight in English history,
with over five hundred tournament
wins in his career, and exemplary
service in war and in peacetime to four
English kings.
Wikipedia article on William Marshal
Georges Duby's book William Marshal:
Flower of Chivalry
English knight and baron.
Abandoned by his father at the age of
five, the Marshal rose to become the
greatest knight in English history,
with over five hundred tournament
wins in his career, and exemplary
service in war and in peacetime to four
English kings.
Wikipedia article on William Marshal
Georges Duby's book William Marshal:
Flower of Chivalry
| coat-of-arms of William Marshal |
| shield representing Leonidas from the GKA Arms of Heroes display. The symbol is the Greek letter "lambda," which all Spartans displayed on their shields, representing their country's name in Greek: "Lakedemonia." |
| At left is the shield representing Boudica in the GKA Arms of Heroes display. Above is an early-twentieth century statue of the Ikeni queen. |
| icon representing Boudica in the Arms of Heroes display at GKA. She was known both for her fiery red hair and for riding a chariot into battle at the head of her army. |