Chivalry, craftsmanship and chaos: Inside Qld’s thriving medieval scene
They walk among us as colleagues, neighbours, teachers and friends. They might not tell you, but they are part of one of the most unique communities in the state.
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It’s a subculture that many may have seen or heard of, but only the chosen ones thrive.
The Sunshine State will be at the centre of the medieval world when it hosts the Abbey Medieval Festival from July 12-15, with the popular event sold out.
But the obsession with the medieval era doesn’t stop there, as those within the community will tell you it’s anything but stuck in the past - it’s a living, breathing celebration of chivalry and craftsmanship.
These are the tales of the people behind the events and festivals that have contributed to the medieval culture and scene in Queensland.
The Lord and Lady who built a medieval village in the bush
Terence Blake and his wife Tonya Blake, who are also known as Lord Terry and Lady Tonya, moved to Queensland and established Victory Village at Riverbend, a 14th-century medieval-themed village with cottages, workshops, and gardens nestled across 28 acres in the bush between Gympie and Maryborough.
The village provides a space for people to re-enact life as if they lived in medieval times, predominantly members of the Riverbend Medieval Society Reenactment group, and is as close to a working village as you can get.
Starting with a 14th century manor house and a few medieval buildings, the couple have grown the village to such a point that they now have 90 buildings and require council approval to operate as a tourist attraction.
Mrs Blake said the village offers a chance for people to escape the pressures of modern-day life.
“Life was a little simpler back then, knowing that you had certain obligations to fulfil for a day,” she said.
“My 14th century self, I like to be a cook. I enjoy researching old recipes, nothing modern, but using old ways to create food.
“I have a butter churn that is just fabulous, it’s been handmade by a member of the Riverbend Medieval Society and I use it as often as I can.”
As for Mr Blake’s 14th Century self, he is the Lord of the village and an experienced swordsman.
“I’m Lord of the village and I do archery, and even though I’m retired, I still fight,” he said.
“I still put on the armour and fight, I just love being part of it, love having a go and training the young guys that want to have a go.”
Swords, shields, and gumtrees: Armoured warriors turn forests into a battlefield
Deep in the bush and clad in armour, Queensland’s most dedicated medieval enthusiasts regularly take part in epic simulated military battles.
Call to Arms Australia is an immersive living history event focused on the military aspect of the medieval ages.
Established by the founder of the Gryphon Company and Red Hart Reproductions Luke Binks, the private events which can last up to four days see members of the reenactment community gather in the bush, set up encampments, before heading into battle on horseback and in formations with shields and weapons drawn.
“Call to Arms is like a medieval video game, but in real life, it is a military simulation, historical reenactment, living history, all of those things rolled into one event,” he said.
“It’s basically war gaming in medieval costumes with medieval weapons and tactics.”
Mr Binks said Call to Arms is about simulated fighting and involves a lot of strategy to gain an advantage on the battlefield.
“The main objective of the event isn’t actually to spend the whole time slogging each other,” he said.
“Commanders and sub commanders in the field have to make real time strategic and tactical decisions that can impact the event.
“It’s actually more about the strategy and the tactics and the actual military simulation, more so than constantly spending time going toe to toe at somebody with an axe.”
In addition to the simulated military combat, Mr Binks said the Call to Arms event caters for all aspects of medieval culture.
“There’s people that participate in different avenues and different aspects of medieval life around the military simulation,” he said.
“We actually do have a lot of people that come along that don’t actually fight and fill in more civilian roles.
“Whether that be people who bring goods to sell as traders, we have an economy that happens within the event.
“All these mercenaries get paid in medieval coins that they can actually use in various different ways throughout the event.”
Outside of Call to Arms, Mr Binks actively takes part in jousting and armour-making.
“I’ve been completely involved and heavily involved in the medieval scene, specifically jousting and armour, since I was 21,” he said.
“Jousting is the one sport I’ve stuck with, and I think it’s because it constantly challenges me.
“I started crafting historical replicas of medieval armour out of my need for armour to join these reenactment groups.
“It all just snowballed from there.”
The medieval era isn’t dead - it’s alive, armoured, and marching
Re-enactors are vital to bringing medieval history to life, with Queensland having a thriving reenactment community at an estimated 3000 people.
There are numerous reenactment groups that participate and recreate different periods of European and Middle Eastern culture and history, everything from belly dancers and crusaders to vikings and medieval jousting.
The people involved in the scene come from all walks of life and various professions, but share a common love and interest of history.
Antony Laing has been involved in the re-enactment community in South East Queensland since the early 1990s.
“My friend and I had just been binge watching medieval movies, we’re both rather big history buffs, so we decided to make ourselves suits of armour and go and beat each other up,” he said.
“It was around the time of the early Abbey Medieval Festivals and we thought, ‘oh, let’s go check that out’.
“Basically we met a few people up there and have been going at it ever since.”
A metal worker by trade, Mr Laing enjoys making suits of armour.
“I’m a mechanical fitter, I’ve always enjoyed blacksmithing and playing around making things, so I like the craft aspect of it,” he said.
“If you’re doing something like Call to Arms and you’re wearing all their plate armour, you’d be looking at anywhere from $5000 to $20,000 for a suit of armour, depending on how far you want to go down the rabbit hole.”
Mr Laing said he enjoys the sense of community he feels being part of the scene.
“We all have common interests,” he said.
“We come from very disparate backgrounds, so people I wouldn’t have necessarily met anywhere else, but the common love and interest of history and wanting to share the knowledge is what keeps us going and what keeps me going back is just the good people in the community.”
Historical fencer Nicola Williams has been involved in the medieval scene with the Gryphon Company for about four years.
“I started out with a mounted fencing clinic with a jousting focus and that kind of sparked my interest in medieval horsemanship, fencing, and sword fighting,” she said.
“I enjoy the combat and the horses, but the mounted fencing is definitely my biggest interest.”
Ms William’s interest in medieval culture has also taken her overseas to take part in a live-action siege event based around a medieval castle.
“I went to Germany in 2023 to take part in Feldlager, a living history wargaming event,” she said.
“We had people from lots of different countries and we split into two teams that were fighting against each other at a castle.
“The organisers built a castle gate and blew it down with artillery, there’s people with guns, artillery, cannons going off and we had to siege the castle.”
Ms Williams said the medieval community in South East Queensland was enthusiastic and dedicated.
“It’s very close, everyone is very enthusiastic, there is a lot of passion and creativity,” she said.
“People like to create their own things and share knowledge on different skills, like armour making, letter crafting or making clothes.”
Ms Williams encouraged people interested in joining to reach out.
“I hear a lot of people saying they really want to get into it, but they don’t know where to start,” she said.
“I would suggest having an interest and be really keen to learn, learn the values of that time.
“Have an open mind towards experiences and talk to people as much as you can.
“There are so many roles for people within the community, there is something for everyone.”
Take a step back in time at the Abbey Medieval Festival
Queensland’s premier medieval event, the Abbey Medieval Festival, is the largest showcase of medieval culture in the state.
Held near Caboolture, the showcase is the southern hemisphere’s largest celebration of medieval Europe and Australia’s largest living history medieval festival - bringing together thousands of reenactors to create a living history and reenactment of medieval times.
The festival was established in 1989 by a group of re-enactors coming together on the grounds of the Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology.
Now in its 34th year, the festival has grown to have its own dedicated field and permanent infrastructure to help create the medieval village and regularly attracts a crowd over 20,000 people - with last year’s event generating almost $5m for the Queensland economy.
The Abbey Medieval Festival features re-enactors, jousters, and performers who provide a showcase into medieval culture, with popular aspects of the festival including archery, bird of prey displays, cannons, dance workshops, jousting, medieval combat, and live medieval guns and weaponry displays.
The festival also provides an insight into what life was like in the Middle Ages, with medieval cooking, farming, and music displays, as well as a marketplace with medieval merchants.
Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology Marketing Manager Kellee Neville said the event held historical authenticity.
“We’re really proud to recreate a living history experience for people,” she said.
“Attendees really love the immersive experience and getting to see unique entertainment, like the jousting, the cannon fire, and just stepping away from modern-day life, putting on a costume and connecting to their heritage.”
Ms Neville said the event was very carefully curated to be a representation of a snapshot in history.
“All of our stalls are carefully crafted to contain items or fare that you might buy back in medieval times,” she said.
“We ban certain things across the site that you wouldn’t find in history, so there’s no potatoes, no chocolates, because they didn’t exist in medieval times.
“We aspire to deliver a truly medieval, authentic experience for people to just step back in time and unwind from modern life and enjoy a little bit of history.”
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