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Surprisingly, there are few serious injuries, probably because of the protective armor, which includes helmets made from steel gas canisters and body coverings ranging from football shoulder pads to chain-link suits that weigh as much as 50 lbs. Each outfit is embellished with the warrior's personal coat of arms; one knight wears a Volkswagen emblem, the "VW" symbolizing his title as Vice Warlord of the Maryland Medieval Mercenary Militia.
The duels are taken very seriously by the society's male members, partly because their rank—from page to king —is determined in true medieval style: trial by combat. To be sure, some of the knights simply like to fight. "Everyone needs some way of letting aggression out," explains the Emir a la Mar (in reality, a Chicago confectioner named David Gelushia), whose favorite weapon is the two-handed ax. "It's a thrill to fight with weapons forbidden by society." Some members, like William of Hoghton, deputy seneschal (historian) of the Kingdom of the West, have even turned their homes into medieval arms factories, manufacturing everything from helmets to menacing-looking maces with Styrofoam-covered balls.
Pedestal. Although they cannot take part in the fighting, women have a special place of their own in the society's feudal social structure: on a pedestal. "When you go out on the field of battle, you are fighting for the honor of your lady," explains Seneschal William (alter ego of Richmond, Calif., Computer Analyst William Rolls). Says his wife, Lady Donna: "We're looked up to, worshiped."
For most of the creative anachronists, the society's main appeal is the opportunity for a temporary escape into a mythical time when causes were just, everybody knew his fixed place in society, and the air was filled with romance. "What's important is that I have the chance to be someone else for a little while," says Seneschal William. Sometimes, however, the transition back to reality is difficult. "When I went back to work on Monday," admits King Andrew, "I was pretty grumpy." Adds his wife, Martha Ann: "When I got home and saw the dishes, I realized that I wasn't queen any more."
* A fourth kingdom, that of Atenveldt, covers the Southwestern U.S.