Click here for our events calendar

Events

Weekly meetings
The club meets every Thursday night in room #3125L South Campus Dining Hall on the University of Maryland, College Park campus.  Activities include frat and rec fighting practice, garb making, armor making, leather working, historical lectures, event planning. 

Frat Wars
Frat wars are the most popular events in Markland.  They usually last an entire weekend from Friday night to Sunday morning.  Fighting usually occurs only on Saturday afternoons.  Although frat fighting is the main activity, there is also camping, singing, and other forms of entertainment, and sometimes workshops and feasts to fill the weekend.  Frat wars generally are made up of multiple battles with different scenarios such as limited resurrection battles, timed unlimited resurrection battles, last man standing battles, and battles that have some objective such as kill the king or hold the temple.  One of our sites even has a wooden castle to battle over and in.  These are generally not public events, therefore garb and authenticity standards are low.  Popular wars include Celtic Fire, which is held eight miles from campus; Crown War, in which two armies fight over who gets to be king of Markland for the next year; and Fall War, which is the last war before it gets too cold to fight.

Reenactments
Reenactments are rec battles that try to recreate actual historical battles on a smaller scale in order to educate and entertain.  Because these are public events, participants are expected to wear their most authentic garb, armor, and accessories to put on a more accurate show for the spectators.  Rec battles are sometimes paired with other events such as frat wars and living history camps.  Some of the battles reenacted include Hastings and Agincourt. 

Living History Encampments
Living history encampments are events where we strive to accurately recreate life in a historical period.  Authenticity standards are strict because they are public events intended to educate people.  Two major living history events that we participate in are Military Through the Ages in Jamestown, Virginia, and Marching Through Time in Glendale, Maryland. 

Feasts
There are several Markland feasts held throughout the year.  Feasts may be public or private so there may be a mix of people in medieval garb and plain street clothes.  Foods may or may not be from medieval recipes.  Generally, we try to maintain a medieval atmosphere with a rustic setting, candlelight, wooden dishes and cups, music, and entertainment.  Sometimes feasts are combined with other events such as frat wars and althyngs. 

Althyngs and Council Meetings
Markland holds four corporate meetings every year:  Summer and Winter Althyngs and Spring and Fall Council Meetings.  At these meetings, the Fyrd (a term that refers to all paid Markland members) elects officers, discusses business, and votes on rule changes and other things important to the organization.  These meetings are often combined with other events such as feasts and frat wars to encourage attendance.

Workshops
Workshops are events where arts and crafts classes and demonstrations are offered.  The variety of arts and crafts include, but are not limited to, sewing and garb making, leatherworking, chain mail and other forms of armor, weaving, forging, metal casting, cooking, music, brewing, and woodworking.  Workshops may be combined with other events such as althyngs, feasts, and wars.


Melting bronze at a metal casting workshop