Compaignye du Chalis 1370-1420

In the early 14th century, the English King, Edward the Third, made claim through Salic Law to the kingship of France, a claim which the French King refused. This resulted in over a hundred years of conflict, misery, glory, profit, and eventually, the strengthening of both English and French national identity. In fits and starts, knights and men at arms from England sought relief from pressures at home, criminal penalties hanging over their heads, and renown for feats of arms in destructive and daring mounted rids called chevauchees, which burned swaths across bleeding France and extracted great sums of coin and other wealth from an increasingly degraded civilian population. The few pitched battles were remembered and sung: Poitiers, Crecy, Sluys, but much more common were raids, little sieges, burnings of towns, and the long drag of garrison life.

In the middle of the 14th century, the bubonic plague slew perhaps a third of the populace of Europe, shaking society and presenting opportunities for ambitious men to grasp reins left untended by the dead. Companies led by knights contracted by Barons, Earls, and Dukes to prosecute the claims of the English monarchs to France debarked on shaky cogs and pursued profit and glory anew. Within this framework, the Compaignye du Chalis seeks to further the claims of England in France, while seeking renown for its Captain and profit for its Soldiery…


	The Compaigye du Chalis is the public demonstration entity of Medieval Recreationists of Nevada, representing the retinue and encampment of an actual but obscure English knight, Sir John Strother (who is always “away on business”), who lived in the latter part of the 14th century. Composed of persons interested in faithful portrayal of medieval martial and traveling camp life, The Compaignye du Chalis prepares material culture displays and then executes vignettes at venues appropriate for such material. Featuring four fully armed and armored men at arms of the gentry estate, their well-appointed ladies, a traveling entertainer, a tinkerer, a 1/3 scale swinging counterweight trebuchet, an alestake, and all of the tentage appropriate for commodious living, Compaignye du Chalis can add a striking presence at any medieval event. Members manufacture some of the equipment and trappings seen at their displays, and purchase those items which are either beyond their capabilities, or which are easier to buy. The group features skilled joiners, a professional-quality home brewer, a welder, seamstresses, metalworkers, and researchers who contribute to a high degree of capability and the means to execute a high quality portrayal. The Compaignye is always looking to sign on Compagnons who have an interest in faithful portrayal of the late 14th century in Western Europe and who aren’t afraid to work. Please take a look at the photographs and the other materials on the site. If you’re interested in participating, by all means email the.company@mron.org and let us know a little about yourself.



Medieval Recreationist of Nevada, Inc. info@mron.org