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Experimental Archaeology and Ancient Arts, Martial and Domestic
500 BC to 1815 AD
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Western Martial Arts
Hoplologia members take part in a variety of martial arts as a segment of their activities in recreating the past—from re-inventing the Pankration-based sword and chlamys fighting of late Archaic Greece to learning to throw a tomahawk, fencing according to Angelo’s methods with a period small sword, or fighting with sabers on horseback in period tack. 
Martial arts not only help keep people fit and interested in the competetive parts of living history, but they also help us to better understand the cultures that gave birth to these arts. As an example, it appears to us that ancient Greek martial arts were probably taught through structured training dances, and we are slowly evolving our own Pyrrhic Dance to reflect this.
Archery has become a favorite Hoplologia activity, with 5th C. BC Scythian bows, Roman cavalry bows, and other horse-archer weapons, on foot and mounted. Javelin throwing is another very popular Hoplologia sport—again, mounted and on foot.
In preparation for Agincourt in 2015, we’ll be experimenting with the English War Bow—the heavy longbow of the late Middle Ages.
And most recently, members of Hoplologia have been experimenting with the manuals of Fiore di Liberi, a late 14th c. Italian knight who left us not one but three copies of a thorough martial arts manual covering all forms of combat—unarmed, armed with knife, stick, longsword, poleaxe, or lance, on foot or mounted, armoured or unarmoured. Liberi’s work may be one of the most outstanding artifacts of the history of martial arts, and Hoplologia is looking at working towards an ability to experiment with the more advanced armoured plays of the manual—on horseback!