[Ansteorra] Pandybat at Festival of Fools

[Melissa Baxter]

During the weekend of March 30th thru April 1st the Barony of Bjornsborg is
hosting the Festival of Fools.  One of the many activities will be the
Pandybat Tournament sponsored by Mistress Adelaide de Beaumont.  

 

Hear her words:

 

The pandybat is a weapon whose wielding is as likely as not to result in the
demise of the wielder rather than the opponent.  Weapons must meet
tourney-legal standards, i.e. striking and thrusting surfaces must be safe
according to the normal marshallate rules.  However, the considerations of
authenticity and handling need not be applied to their design; in fact, such
considerations may be considered an actual detriment to this particular art.


 

The tournament will be a challenge format; prizes will be awarded to the
victor as well as the wielder of the finest pandybat (who will, by
definition, be unlikely to win the tourney).  Group entries are allowed; if
your pandybat is of sufficient quality (sic), it should be perfectly
possible for a four-man team to lose to a single opponent.  

 

Inspiration may strike from many sources.  Here are a few general classes of
pandybats...

 

Thrusting pandybats: have included the thrusting crutch, thrusting
breastplate, thrusting helm, and thrusting codpiece.  Where can you put a
thrusting tip to make it most comical and least effective?

 

Modified weapons you may already have: like the "turnpike", two normal pikes
(with butt spikes) lashed together and wielded by a four-man team like a
revolving door; or the "repeating spear" wielded slingshot-like through a
tube tethered onto the wielder's hand.  How about Florentine shields?  Look
at your weapons in a new way!

 

Culture-specific: the "whirling dervish blade", a modified hula hoop
(surprisingly effective), the "pandy bolo" made from duct-tape covered
tennis balls, or the "French tickler", which I am going to leave to your
imagination...

 

Pun-ishing weaponry: "turnpike", "shield hook", "(can of) mace", "butt
spike", "broadsword", etc.  Don't ignore siege weapons like "battering ram"
and "catapult" (not to be confused with the hand-held weapons, the kat-ana
and the moggy-nada).  Let your mind run wild.

 

Implements of war: there is a long and honorable (sic) tradition of turning
almost anything into a pandybat by adding the word "war" in front of it,
like the "war spoon" and the "war sofa".

 

I didn't think they'd let me on the field with it:  most fighters have had
an idea for a weapon that they knew the marshals would never go for.

Here's your chance! 

 

You should be prepared to present your weapon and explain its function to
your potential opponents.  A herald will be on hand to assist you in
introducing your weapon to the populace at large.

 

Some of the rich history of the form can be learned here:

 

http://history.westkingdom.org/TheSillySide/TheSillySide.htm

 

Lady Branwen le Baxtere

Event Steward, Festival of Fools

Barony of Bjornsborg