Medieval armed combat? We knew it’d end in tears
IT wasn’t quite a fight to the death but blood was certainly drawn as fearless knights clashed on the battlefield yesterday.
Organisers of the Tournament Of Destiny medieval warfare event at Scone Palace in Perthshire had warned it would be no mere re-enactment.
One fighter suffered a cut to the eye during a group bout, while another was stretchered off the field with a suspected back injury.
Last week The Scottish Mail on Sunday sampled the new form of martial art ahead of yesterday’s contest.
Those taking part in the tournament are trained fighters skilled in ancient forms of combat and took to the arena to test their skills in endurance, speed and bravery.
They took on other knights from England, Ireland and even Canada, using a range of lethal-looking medieval weaponry, from swords and axes to crossbows and maces.
Scotland’s national captain, Euan Campbell, was left with blood gushing from a cut to his eye during the five versus five match – but the brave knight was back in the arena within minutes.
‘Nothing compares to the rush of adrenaline I feel when I’m out in my armour,’ he told The Scottish Mail on Sunday.
Mr Campbell’s team-mate Ryan Fitzgerald said the fighting was as close to the 14th Century reality as it can get ‘except we like to walk out with all of our limbs still attached’. In the five versus five match, the team known as ‘The North’ was awarded gold after the knights successfully won two out of three rounds. As the team from ‘The West’ pushed the Scots into third place, one combatant was knocked to the ground with such ferocity that paramedics had to carry him away with a suspected back injury.
The Scottish Knight League plans to fight on at the World Championships held at Scone in May next year.