Gregor's Crossing Medieval Faire

King Arthur…

Chatham is located north of Hwy. #401 between London and Windsor. The Gregor’s Crossing Medieval Faire was taking place there and Judi and I were going to visit it! It was a sunny Saturday morning when we started out. We had a 4 hour drive ahead of us! Fortunately the traffic wasn’t too heavy at that time of morning, so we were able to travel through Toronto fairly quickly. It was then westward passed Milton, Cambridge, Kitchener, Woodstock and London. We arrived in Chatham a little before noon. Finding the Faire grounds proved to be an adventure! I had printed off a Google map of the area, but directions did not match the street names! We managed to pass the street we needed to turn west on and drove several kilometers too far north. I finally realized my mistake and turned back. Eventually we found the right road and followed it to the Gregor’s Crossing Faire grounds. The parking lot was in a large grass field located under towering power lines. We parked our car in the field, gathered up our “festival gear” and walked to the main gates. Passing through the gates was like entering a time machine where we were transported back to Medieval Times and the Court of King Arthur!

The Kingdom…

As we entered the Kingdom, a large field spread out before us. White tents and displays were lined up on either side of the field. Each contained something special! Swords and shields were available for Knights looking for the newest innovations in armory. There was Celtic stoneware sculpture ready to add to the decorations of the most discerning castle owner. For lords or ladies wishing to host a large gathering or tournament, there was a company that offered entertainment and catering. If your fair maiden was in need of a new gown or bonnet, they were available too! One could even adorn themselves with fancy jewelry. If one wished, the latest theatrical production could be attended at the open aired stage located near the middle of the field. There were conversation areas for clergy and Knights alike to sit and discuss the day’s activities or the latest gossip. For adults and children there were games of skill for those who wished to partake. Fair maiden Judi tried her hand at a catapult game but unfortunately missed the mark! We saw a knotty girl locked up in a stockade! Other children were there comforting her. We wondered what the girl had done that was so bad! Perhaps she had shot a Royal stag at the nearby archery range! I think we will never know! From the large field we could hear that the tournament was about to begin. We followed the roar of the crowd!

The Tournament…

We joined the Gregor's Crossing Medieval Faire crowd surrounding the Tournament Field. King Arthur and Queen Guinevere were seated on the opposite side of the field. Unfortunately we had just missed the wedding of Lady Richelle (Chelle Cartier, Festival Manager) and Lord Mayor David Davidson. The Tournament announcer, seated on his horse, first introduced special guests in the crowd and then the four competing Knights. Each Knight was then asked to choose a “Fair Maiden” to Champion. With the formal introductions over, the first of the four Knightly challenges was explained. Running up the middle of the Tournament Field was a narrow barrier. Three Squires lined up on either side of the barrier holding a wooden ring in his/her hand. Each Knight then charged with lance lowered on one side of the barrier trying to spear the rings that the Squires held. The Knight would then ride down the other side of the barrier trying to spear the rings on that side (Click HERE to see video of this challenge). The Knight who managed to spear the most rings was declared the winner! The second challenge was spearing accuracy. Two bales of hay were placed on either side of the barrier. Each bale has a “Bull’s Eye” target painted on it. Knights charged down one side of the barrier and then the other hurling the lance at the targets (Click HERE to see video of this challenge). Points were awarded based on closeness to the centre of the target. The third challenge was a little more dangerous, not for the Knights, but for the poor Squire chosen was placed, in full gear (including helmet), in the middle of the Tournament Field. An apple was placed on the top of his helmet. The challenge was for each Knight to split the apple in half as he and his horse charged by (Click HERE to see video of this challenge)! The first Knight taking the challenge successfully sliced a small portion of the apple. The second Knight was about to start when a battle broke out. Apparently Vikings, along with the help of one of the Knights and an evil Squire, planned to kidnap the Bride. Fortunately the King's soldiers and other Knights protected the fair Bride.The battle lasted several minutes. The Vikings were conquered and the Bride saved! (Click HERE to see You Tube video of battle) (used by permission of www.scallagrims.com)

The Joust

With the battle over, the final challenge was ready to take place! The final Tournament challenge was the joust. The joust was a deadly battle between two Knights. Each Knight, in full armour, would line up at opposite ends of the Tournament Field and the spurring their horses and lanced lowered, they would then come charging towards one another. In the middle they would meet, lances would touch metal armour and then shatter into a hundred pieces (Click HERE to see video of joust). The first joust went off as planned with Sir Percival being named the winner. Then second joust was then set. Horses thundering and lances lowered! Both riders reached the middle at the same time! Lances once again hit the metal armour, except that this time one of the lances went high and hit a Knight’s helmet. Time seemed to stand still. The Knight fell from his horse as though it was a film being run in slow motion! Sir Mordrid slide off his horse and lay in a heap on his side, unmoving. Tournament volunteers came rushing to help him. He lay there for quite some time with little movement! A slight rain started to fall. Finally Sir Mordrid started to come around and eventually was able to stand up. He was a bit wobbly, but he seemed to have recovered! By the time the rain was falling heavily. The Tournament announcer told everyone that the remaining challenge had been postponed and would be rescheduled for late afternoon. With that announcement everyone scrambled for cover! Fortunately there was a tent right in the Tournament area and Judi and I found seating there. Entertainment was already in progress!

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Rain Delay…

It seemed to me that everyone from the Tournament had headed for the tent when the rain started falling. Seating was almost impossible to find! Fortunately Judi and I were able to find two seats close to the stage area. On stage performing was Kobbler Jay (Jay's website), who was amazing the audience with his balancing and juggling abilities (Click HERE to see video clip). Once he had finished his performance, Zoltan the Adequate (Zoltan's website) jumped into the stage! Zoltan, amongst other thinks, was a fire eater (Click HERE to see video clip). His fire eating antics won the applause and appreciation of the crowd. With the rain still falling, the stage show continued. Jay was back on stage, this time performing more daring balancing and juggling stunts! The crowd loved it! Then Zoltan returned. Not to be outdone with daring and tom foolery, Zoltan, now the “swallower”, inflated a four foot balloon and then swallowed it, very tasty!? Not everyone was deterred by the weather. Outside the tent two very muddy wrestlers were trying to “best” on another! Finally the rain was over and we were able to continue our tour of the Faire Grounds. In the lower field food booths had been set up. Judi and I purchased a mid-day lunch. On the opposite side of the field temporary stable had been set up for the Tournament horses. This was also the headquarters for the “Knights of Valour” (Knight's website), the group responsible for the Medieval Tournament. The horses were being tended by one of the grooms. Beside this area was a blacksmith’s booth. The blacksmith was hard at work at his portable forge. South of the blacksmith’s area other tents had been erected. As we walked along the row of tents, we passed merchants selling a variety of goods, clothing, musical instruments and medieval banners. There was even a booth called Mr. Pickle selling, what else, giant pickles! We had seen a number of people munching on giant pickles throughout the Faire Grounds! Standing outside these booths was Sir Mordrid. He was talking with a group of people about the Tournament. Close to Mordrid, being interviewed by a television crew was “Sir Ed of Sock” (portrayed by Ed the Sock)! I am not sure why Ed (Ed's website) was there, but he was dressed up in a snazzy Knights outfit! We continued our walk and saw the Canadian Raptor Conservancy (Raptor's website) booth.

Raptors and More…

We found James Cowan, Director of the Canadian Raptor Conservancy (Conservancy website), at the Tournament area. He was in the process of setting up his raptors demonstration. James started off with his Harris Hawk (Click HERE to see video clip). This is the same bird that landed on my head during a similar demonstration at last fall’s International Plowing Match (Click HERE to view article). This time the Hawk not only sat on someone’s head, but stole his hat, for good measure! The second bird that James brought out was the Great Horned Owl. This magnificent creature is able to silently fly as it hunts and captures its prey. The third bird displayed was the Red-tailed Hawk (Click HERE to see video clip). For some time James has been championing the idea of naming the Red-tailed Hawk as Canada’s National Bird! The United States has the Bald Eagle and Russia has the Golden Eagle. Canada has none! Even Canada’s provinces have Provincial Birds. Alberta has the Great Horned Owl and Ontario the Common Loon! To correct the oversight, James has helped develop a Canada-wide survey to ask the citizens of Canada what our National Bird should be. The survey will take about 1 ½ years to complete and then it will be presented to Parliament to consider. Good luck James in your efforts! James' final bird was the smallest of the hawk family, the Sparrow Hawk or as it's also known, Kestrel. This bird may look look like it's taking seed from your feeder. Actually it is feeding, but not on seeds. It's after the song birds at the feeder! After James’s presentation, King Arthur and his Royal Court entered the Tournament area. The final jousting match was about to begin! The combatants entered the field to the cheers of the audience. Squires made sure that each Knight was properly prepared and then the Knights took there places. On cue horses and Knight leaped forward and came together in the middle of the Tournament field. Sir Percival had triumphed once again!
With the Tournament over, we made our way back to our car. As we passed though the Faire gates, we were transported back to reality! We had a 4 hour drive home ahead of us!

NOTE: If you'd like to see more photos of the Gregor's Crossing Medieval Faire, click HERE.

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