[Bryn-gwlad] Archery and the Moustache War

[James Crouchet]

As I recall, we had 15 archers to their 3. They did not see that as
significant and it might not have mattered much but their archers had
only a few arrows each. We spent weeks building dozens of arrows for
each archer. Steppes plan to stand off just close enough to tempt the
archers into using up their arrows might have worked if we had only had
a few arrows each as their archers did. The surprise was that the arrows
kept flying. For our part (yup, I was one of those archers) we had LOTS
of time to aim each shot.

So, why did they not charge us when the arrows kept coming? They had no
idea how many we had killed. It was one here, another there, a couple in
the back and so on until their formation looked like swiss cheese.
Standing in the front rank looking right an left it was not obvious to
their commanders. When they finally realized something was amiss and did
a head count it was already way too late. They charged but had lost too
many and most of their top fighters.

Of course, that was just one scenario. There were other reasons why
archery worked so well in other scenarios but that is another story...

It was that day when Ansteorra began to realize just how effective
archers could be. Many bad feeling toward archers lived on for years
after that we also remembered we wanted the archers on OUR side. That is
a lesson we should never forget.

BTW, at the time I was cadet to Don Robin (the opposing baron). I was
also a member of the Bryn Gwlad Baronial Guard and so with an oath to
defend my barony there was never any doubt in my mind that I would fight
for Bryn Gwlad. In spite of this I was flat out called a f***ing
traitor, I was told in all seriousness that I had no place here and
should move to the Steppes. Baron Johann came to my defense and made it
clear that was unacceptable and that our forces had no place for someone
who would treat their fellow SCAers that way, no matter where they lived
or who they fought for.

If you ever wonder why we so often remind one another that the
Trimarians are our opponents, not our enemies and at the end of the day
we are all friends, perhaps that too is a legacy of the Mustache War.
And that, perhaps, is the most important lesson for us to never forget.

Christian Doré


Stefan li Rous wrote:
> On Sep 1, 2006, at 6:43 AM, Chris Zakes wrote:
>   
>>> Thanks for telling me about the story and I look forward to hearing
>>> the rest of it.
>>>       
>> I can give some more details on this.
>>
>> At the war, the Steppes had recruited quite a few "hotshot" fighters,
>> most notably Duke Inman who was probably the best fighter in
>> Ansteorra and one of the best in the entire SCA. Bryn Gwald, on the
>> other hand, had mostly mid-level and beginner fighters but lots more
>> archers with *lots* of arrows. In each melee, as soon as "lay on" was
>> called, our archers started by picking off the top-level folks on the
>> other side, and kept shooting until everyone on the other side was
>> dead. I wasn't keeping score, but I'm pretty sure that Inman was
>> killed within the first thirty seconds or so of *every* battle, and
>> I'm not sure if he ever got to throw a blow all day. He was,
>> understandably, *not* happy.
>>
>>          -Tivar Moondragon
>>     
>
> I believe the Moustache War was my third SCA event (Yule Revel,  
> Candlemas, Moustache War).
>
> Yes, as Tivar mentions, some folks took the "war" way too seriously.  
> Friday night I wandered over to the Steppes encampment. Since I'd  
> grown up in Dallas I wanted to see what the folks there were like and  
> perhaps make some new friends. The guards at the gate would have  
> nothing of this and proceeded to let me know that since I was from  
> Bryn Gwlad, I wasn't welcome there. Being new, I left. Now I would  
> likely ignore them and walk on in or find another way in.
>
> I don't remember the archery being as completely effective as Tivar  
> relates. I certainly don't remember it being anywhere near one arrow  
> shot, one less fighter on the other side or completely devastating a  
> side before the lines engaged. I remember most of the arrows being  
> rather ineffective, whether due to outright misses, deflections with  
> shields or simply them being ignored by the fighters I don't know.  
> However, Steppes had decided to simply stand there, figuring the Bryn  
> Gwlad archers would simply run out of arrows and then Steppes would  
> attack. Bryn Gwlad had a lot of arrows. And ever so often, one would  
> connect and another Steppes fighter would go down. Meanwhile, since  
> the two sides weren't close enough for the shieldmen or polearms to  
> engage, few from Bryn Gwlad were being killed. Steppes had a few  
> archers, but nowhere near the same number of arrows and their archers  
> soon ran out.
>
> I had hoped to have my armor and crossbow ready for this event, but  
> like many of the archers are finding out in regards to the Bryn Gwlad  
> Fall event, it takes a fair amount of time to get a full set of armor  
> and archery equipment together along with all the qualifications needed.
>
> Stefan
> --------
> THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
>     Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas           
> StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
> **** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****
>
>
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