The Oakeshott Institute

07/22/2024

Our friends at the HIGGins Higgins Armory Collection are doing some great work!

11/18/2023

we will be going live shortly here

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11/17/2023

Join us tonight at 6:30 pm Central!

Here at Arms and Armor we have been pioneers in researching historical swords and other weapons for decades. Indeed, our research partnerships have been an integral aspect of our process since at least the 1990s when, in the course of pursuing new knowledge about how medieval and Renaissance swords....

11/15/2023

Anyone in the Minneapolis area who is interested in taking Jess Finley's two day workshop this weekend at the Center for Blade Arts should drop Brandon an email to get signed up, [email protected]. Cost is $150, which includes Friday 11/17 lecture at the Oakeshott Institute (6:30 pm, 1101 Stinson Blvd NE, Minneapolis), Saturday 10:30-1:30 workshop on thrusting with the longsword at the Center for Blade Arts, and Sunday 10:30-1:30 workshop in the same location focusing on wrestling at the sword. If you only want to go to the lecture there is a $10 suggested donation and we will have some beverages for sale to help raise money for the The Oakeshott Institute.

11/13/2023

We have heard from many of you that you plan to attend Jess Finley's Fashion for Fighting lecture this Friday night at 6:30 pm at The Oakeshott Institute. If you are please comment below, we are trying to gauge a head count in case we need to find a larger venue.

Details here https://www.arms-n-armor.com/pages/fashion-for-fighting

11/06/2023

"Fashion for Fighting: Fabric Armor in the Latter Middle Ages"
In this talk, we will discuss some of the types of defensive garments that existed in the 15th century through discussion and analysis of five different extant examples. Modern reconstructed samples of the garments will be available at the talk, which will help inform our exploration of the different construction methods that were used in the period.
Nov 17th 6:30 pm - online and in person

Jess Finley has been studying the martial arts of medieval Germany for more than twenty years.

Currently the head instructor at Ritterkunst Turhalle in Lawrence, Kansas, she began training Medieval Swordsmanship under Christian Tobler of Selohaar Fechtschule in February of 2003, and has achieved the rank of provost.

While Jess has experience teaching every weapon in the medieval German arsenal, she is perhaps best known for her knowledge of unarmed combat through her study of medieval German wrestling. She has published a book on the fifteenth century German Master Ott's wrestling treatise under the title "Medieval Wrestling," and also has a background studying Judo under the tutelage of Arden Cowherd of Topeka Judo Club.

Jess has taught and competed internationally at events like the Western Martial Arts Workshop in Chicago, USA; Paddy Crean International Workshop in Banff, Canada; Swordfish in Gothenburg, Sweden; and Longpoint in Baltimore, USA and has taught intensives at various events and schools, as well as weekend private intensives at her home.

In addition to her scholarly work on medieval martial arts, Jess also researches medieval clothing construction and fabric armor, and has presented her findings at the International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo, and has published an article in Medieval Clothing and Textiles (Boydell and Brewer) on her study of a 15th century quilted armor.

She currently lives in Lawrence, Kansas with her family. In-between family management and remodeling her house, she writes books and struggles (largely in vain) to get those around her to complete their assigned physical therapy exercises.

10/27/2023

If you missed our lecture on Wednesday evening you can check it out here and see how we explored the use of worms and rutting buck's blood to heat treat steel like a medieval smith.

https://www.youtube.com/live/ufpOe4BnMQc?feature=shared

10/25/2023

Here is a link to tonight's Lecture it should start about 6:20 PM Central Standard Time.

rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2

10/15/2023

A lecture/interactive workshop to share the results of collaborative research between The Oakeshott Institute, Arms and Armor, and University of Minnesota materials science & engineering. Looking at two recipes for medieval quenching liquids. These liquids -featuring such ingredients as crushed earthworms and mealworms and blood from a rutting buck - were used to quench steel.

Details: Wed 25th at 6:30 The Oakeshott Institute 1101 Stinson Blvd NE Minneapolis MN 55413 -live online details to come

More info here https://www.arms-n-armor.com/pages/tempera-in-questa-aqua-experimenting-with-impact-of-medieval-quenching-recipes-on-steel-hardness

03/11/2022

One of our Fellows wrote a great article for the Arms & Armor Blog today check it out here

Swords are cool for many reasons. They are combative tools that require great skill to master as much as they are works of art and masterpieces of metallurgy. Writers all over the world for centuries have celebrated swords for these reasons and beyond. Given the nature of premodern warfare, it is no...