I am thinking about buying the Black Prince 5 finger gauntlets from HF armory for heavy fighting. I have done both rapier and C&T as well as HEMA over the years, in my area there is no HEMA and the SCA people hear are genuinely some of the best people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.

They are kind welcoming and supportive, they really really care about Safety which is awesome! However it does sometimes feel like safety is being safe for the sake of safety not looking at a product to see if it will work or not.

The Black Prince gauntlets have some of the best reviews of any HEMA gauntlets I’ve heard of or seen. I have tried on my friends who lives in a different town who does use them for HEMA, these gloves are rated for HEMA long sword so they seem very very durable. However they are made of a polymer and I was told that plastic gauntlets will not work for heavy?

So if anyone has any information on using plastic/polymer gauntlets or better yet using these specific products I would be very interested in hearing from you about your experience thanks again

I'm just getting into SCA with a friend and I keep telling him that I've practiced longsword at home I know most of it in concept and a lot of it in practice I just need some training but he keeps pushing a basket Hilt rattan but the only thing I want to do is longsword and I don't even know where to start on convincing him to just let me do what I want to do or am I just crazy and I should really start with s and b even though I really don't want to

Greetings good gentles!

I have a cloak/hood combo that I purchased years ago at an event, but I haven't had occasion to wash it because I don't wear it often. However, I am attending a non-SCA fantasy event next week, and would like to take it with me. It's been in storage for quite a while, and it's currently in the washing machine on cold. My question is the title of this post lol, as I'm not certain what the hood part is actually made from. It looks and feels like wool, but it isn't scratchy or irritating like wool, which leads me to believe it's either a blend, or synthetic look alike. Help a lady out?

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

https://www.culina-vetus.de/2026/05/11/sweet-sour-chard-salad/

I got home a little earlier than expected, so here is another brief recipe from the Solothurn MS:

https://preview.redd.it/n3kcyjap4k0h1.jpg?width=404&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd7aff444d7ec1b96b411b0fc8686bccd1218ad8

A4 Cold chard as a dish

Take chard that is young, with the root attached. Boil it in a courtly fashion (brüwe es hofelich) in a cauldron or a pan, then pour it out on a sieve and let the water drain off. Take it and cut it up on a serving tray. Salt it lightly, pour on vinegar that is mixed with fresh wine, and sprinkle it with sugar. This is a lordly dish for the evening meal, the colder, the better et caetera.

This is one of the relatively rare vegetable recipes surviving, and I find it a little hard to envision, but it is interesting: Cooked chard seasoned with vinegar and sugar and served cold. The closest analogy I can think of is a salad, though it is not called that. The recipe includes both the root and the leaves which with chard, a variety of Beta vulgaris, absolutely works even with the modern versions bred to produce almost only leaves. Historically, we should probably imagine a plate full of fairly solid pieces, chopped root and thick leaf stems, to make bite-sized morsels. With a sweet-sour dressing, this seems an interesting idea.

The recipe collection I am currently translating is part of a manuscript now held at the Zentralbibliothek Solothurn as S 392. The entire manuscript looks fascinating, a collection of craft recipes for things like dyes, stains, paints, vanishes, and parlour tricks, but I will limit myself to the culinary recipes in it. The majority of them are in German and were edited and published in Brigitte Weber: Die Kochrezepte der Handschrift S 293, Transkription und Untersuchung einer spätmittelalterlichen Kochrezeptsammlung aus der Zentralbibliothek Solothurn, Gießen 2026.

The manuscript dates to the period around 1490-1510, based on watermarks and handwriting. There is no internal date. The recipes are an eclectic collection, which is not unusual for the medieval manuscript tradition. They were most likely written down in Baden. Some refer to Italian customs which were fashionable at the time while others are solidly in the German tradition.

The collection is sometimes called the oldest Swiss cookbook, a title that is contested because of its origins north of the modern border. The designation makes little sense at the time anyway, given how closely connected the cities of the Confederation were with their neighbours at the time. The recipes clearly were valued in Solothurn, most likely because they were useful.

I'm the SMO of my local group but I don't know what to actually do for the social media side. I am in the early stages of getting a baronial Instagram but that is about it so I'm wanting ideas from y'all EDIT: didn't make this clear initially, this is more focused on what to post to recruit and get people hooked on the SCA. Though any advice on how to SMO is appreciated

Hello!
I’ve spent the last few days trying to find something like the Rapier Rose fencing shirt. I don’t know where to look or what to look for. The rules seem pretty complicated too. I’ve googled things but they’re all like 5 years old.

Any help? I don’t have the ability to modify or know anyone else either.

Could anyone suggest resources how to make my first set of heavy armor? I have a blue barrel, and seatbelts for straps, and rivots, so building it is just an issue of a template

My husband asked me to get a fencing bag to put his swords and fencing mask and gloves and other gear. What should I be searching to find one of those and what is a good bag that you recommend?

Hello! I’m looking to finally submit a dish for an event now that I’ve got the lay of the land. Do you all frequently see batch food options to serve from, or are the food submissions usually ready-made single servings?

I have full legs for armored combat and I had a C-Belt to tie my legs to to help suspend them from. The c-belt falls from waist to the point all the weight ends up resting on the straps on the top of my feet. I have added extra holes to tighten the buckle to as well as disassembled the belt to be tighter. It still falls down. Any suggestions on how to keep the belt up or another way to suspend the legs?

How was it built? How was it used? Did you see anything clever?

I know you can basically take a length of rattan and add a thrusting tip and your mostly good but has anyone seen anything more added on?