Joining the Paladins frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to join?

The cost of joining the group is very low: £36 (per adult) for 1 year. The cost for children aged between 13-16 is £18 per child per year, and for children under 13 a token payment of £1 must be made. This entitles you to train at the club every Tuesday for a year, and also means you are fully covered by the Paladins’ public liability insurance of £5 million whilst at group events.

In addition, when you are at an event most of your food will be provided free of charge by the Paladins. If you are on a low income, we can always be flexible, and you could for example make payment at £2 per week.

Is re-enactment an expensive hobby?

No more so than any other hobby which requires specialist equipment. We recommend that you outfit yourself in authentic, appropriate costume as soon as possible (ideally before your first event), although sometimes a limited amount of ‘loaner kit’ may be available. Most of your costume can be made quite cheaply if you can use a sewing machine or can sew by hand, and items such as shoes or belts can be purchased relatively cheaply from re-enactment traders and markets.

We ask that you do not purchase or make any costume (or armour, or any other item) without first having it approved by our Authenticity Officers, as it is much more costly to buy the wrong thing first time round, then re-make or replace it, than to get it right in the first place! In general, if you are able to sew then you should be able to initially outfit yourself for around £100, including the cost of buying material to make costume, buying shoes etc.

Bear in mind however that most people soon get ‘hooked’ on the hobby, and you will almost certainly end up buying more and more kit!

Is the hobby restrictive?

Not at all. We are open to people of all ages, backgrounds, races and abilities, and everyone has a valuable role to play and an important contribution to make. We do have some rules regarding behaviour but these are largely governed by common sense (i.e. you must not consume alcohol whilst on display to the public; you must not smoke whilst in costume etc), and we also have rules regarding historical accuracy of costume etc, which we ask members to adhere to in order to make sure our portrayal of a medieval household is as believable as possible. Our friendly Authenticity Officers will be very happy to help and advise you.

Do I need to have any prior experience or specialist knowledge?

No prior experience or historical knowledge is required in order to join. We ask that you have an interest in medieval history, but apart from that we can teach you everything else that you will need. Our club training evenings provide the opportunity to learn dancing and sword-fighting, and to gain valuable help with costume etc. You can also learn archery and other skills.

If you do have experience in a related field such as martial arts then you may find this helpful, and if you are enjoy cooking or play a musical instrument, or have any skills such as leather-working, carpentry or sewing, then you will have ample opportunity to use them!

Can I still join if I don’t live close enough to train every Tuesday?

Yes, of course. Our members are quite widely scattered, coming from as far afield as Hampshire, Kent, Buckinghamshire, Somerset and Leicestershire! We arrange several Saturday training sessions each year for those members who cannot train regularly at the club, and we ask that everyone makes an effort to attend these. The events at which we perform tend to be concentrated in the south-east, but usually you won’t have to travel too far.

Is re-enactment a family-friendly hobby?

Definitely! We welcome families and children, and promise that you will all have a great time. There will always be things for children to do, although we need to point out that any children you bring to an event will be your responsibility and must be supervised at all times. We do have children within the group and they contribute a great deal to our portrayal of a medieval household. Re-enactment is a great way for kids to develop confidence, social and communication skills and to learn interesting and fun things such as dancing, medieval games or sword-fighting (if appropriate), and we have found that schools are often very understanding and even enthusiastic about children taking part in medieval events.

For legal reasons we require that any child under the age of 16 is accompanied at all times by a parent or guardian over the age of 18, and children under the age of 16 will not be able to take part in combat displays.

I’m not sure about ‘performing’, do I have to be able to act?

Nobody will force you to ‘perform’ if you aren’t happy doing so. Not all of our members are drama queens or attention junkies! At our events there will inevitably be some interaction with the public (after all, we are there to entertain them) but you can limit this if you wish by, for example, portraying an attendant to a more experienced member who can field questions for you, or by helping in the kitchen where other kitchen staff can help you out. You will find that you very quickly pick up enough knowledge to carry on a conversation with a member of the public.

We do ask that members construct themselves a ‘persona’, i.e. your character will need a name, an occupation, and a reason for being included within our household. This helps to give you a focus to your research. Many members choose to portray an historical character, and spend time researching their life in order to portray them realistically, but this is not mandatory and you can often construct a simple but plausible character history from your own or a family name, connections within the group (e.g. family or spouse) and life experience.

I’m female and I’d like to learn to sword-fight. Can I?

Yes, of course! Most of our members learn to fight, although this is by no means mandatory and you will not be forced to fight if you do not wish to – we understand that people may prefer more peaceful pastimes! However, sword-fighting is accessible to everyone and a great way to keep fit and improve your posture, coordination and stamina. We are happy to train women to fight, although for reasons of historical accuracy you will not always be able to fight at events.If you do fight at an event, we require you to have male costume in which to fight.

Please note that children under the age of 16 may only take part in training with written agreement from a parent or guardian, and with an appropriate adult present at all times, and they may not take part in fighting at events until their 16th birthday.