Knights of Canterbury

On this day, 26th March 1351. Thirty English knights rode out to face thirty French knights in hand-to-hand combat to the death. No army. No siege. Just sixty men, real weapons, and a field in Brittany.

The Hundred Years' War had rotted into stalemate in Brittany. Two garrisons — English-backed Ploërmel, French-backed Josselin — sat fifteen kilometres apart, raiding each other, bleeding the countryside dry, neither able to finish the other.

So the two captains made a proposal. Thirty men against thirty. Halfway between the castles, at a great oak tree known as the Halfway Oak. Real weapons. No retreat permitted. Fight until one side cannot continue.

Both sides accepted.

On the morning of 26th March, sixty men heard mass, pulled on their armour, and rode out to the appointed field. Before the fighting began, the two sides exchanged formal greetings — as the code demanded. Then they backed away from each other, drew their weapons, and closed.

What followed was four hours of close, savage, exhausting combat. Swords, axes, daggers, spears. Men went down and were dragged clear. At one point both sides paused by agreement — to bind their wounds, to rest, to drink — before returning to the field and beginning again.

Beaumanoir, the French captain, was badly wounded and crying out for water. His comrade Geoffroy du Bois looked at him and said: "Drink your blood, Beaumanoir. Your thirst will pass."

He picked up his sword and kept fighting.

When it was over, nine of the English-backed force were dead. The rest were taken prisoner — ransomed, in keeping with the customs of the age, and released. The French lost three.

The result changed nothing. The war ground on for another fourteen years. But the story of the Halfway Oak spread across Europe — copied by chroniclers, sung by troubadours, celebrated in paint and verse for centuries.

Jean Froissart wrote that the men on both sides had fought "as if they had been all Rolands and Olivers."

They came to kill each other. They agreed on the rules first. In a war defined by plague, famine, and slaughter, sixty men chose to settle it with honour.

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After a hiatus of a few years after Covid shutting down our public events, the Knights were back in form demonstrating tournament skills and a Joust (A' Pleasance) for crowds and historical living participants at the 6th annual harnischfecten event in Oklahoma over the weekend. Sir Aaron met challenger Sir Lonnie Colson in the tiltyard, while Sir Kyle took on some fierce cabbage heads!

“La Campaigne du Château 2026", hosted by the Company of the Lynx Argent, was a great experience this past weekend.
The walls of Red Rock Canyon Adventure Park in Hinton, Oklahoma made for an incredible backdrop, like the walls of a ruined castle. Jousting was introduced to the event for the first time this year, which drew a number of spectators from around the campground.
Thank you to organizers Ryan, Jon, Austin, and all the other members for inviting us to join their ranks. We want to give a special thanks to the ground crew for making the fights and jousting possible. When the call arose across the land that the men of England needed to rally to the banner to defend against the invading French, the Knights of Canterbury answered the call to battle!

Here at Knights of Canterbury we'd like to welcome our newest member, and introduce him to you all... but this time it's not a person but the handsome warhorse, Draigo Darkstorm! He is a Percheron cross acquired and owned by Sir Guiverre de Carcassonne. Could there be some jousting in store in the future? Let the training begin!

What’s the deal with tiny shields? (If you want one, you can find a link to these CSUK bucklers in my bio) . #buckler #shield #fantasy #nerd #history #combat

How devastating was Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries? What did it mean for ordinary people that 850 religious houses across England were closed in just four short years? I’m so very excited to share that, available to stream @historyhit now, is the first part of our new series: A World Torn Apart: The Dissolution of the Monasteries My superb team on this were @bill.locke.58, Laura McMillen, @tommya13, @jackbradleyfilms and Levi Teixiera de Sousa. I hope you love it as much as we enjoyed making it.

Celebrating Irish history this St. Patrick's Day at Castle Falls in OKC, and remembering fond memories of past parades, fun shenanigans, and all that malarkey! 🍀

Very decent explanation on some historical examples of tents vs the practical modern "historical" tent used at many re-enactment events these days.

What's up with those deeply exaggerated Meyer guards? Watch to find out... ;D

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