Kings Landing braces for Norman conquest of Calvert

Writer'S NOTEBOOK

Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009

The battle was the decisive victory of the Norman invasion of England in 1066 A.D. and had a transformational effect on Europe and, eventually, the world.

"It reflects in things like our current laws and our concept of democracy to the languages that we speak," said Bruce Blackistone of Oakley. "The world would be a very different place had things been a little different" at Hastings.

Blackistone is president of The Longship Company and founder of the Markland Confederation. Both organizations are cooperating to stage the re-enactments, which will be held at 2 p.m. on both days. The Markland Confederation is a non-profit umbrella organization focused on educating the public about medieval culture. The Longship Company, one of several non-profits affiliated with the confederation, specializes in the reconstruction and experimentation of medieval ships, Blackistone said.

For Kings Landing Park, the re-enactments are a first. Previous staging grounds include the University of Maryland's College Park campus and the Marietta Mansion in Glenn Dale.

But this year marks the event's 40th anniversary, and Blackistone expects it to be bigger than usual. In addition to the re-enactments, over 100 participants and six horses will participate in cavalry and maritime demonstrations, said Blackistone, who works for the National Park Service.

In fact, the park was chosen because it allowed for demonstrations of both ships and cavalry, which following the real battle replaced infantry as the dominant military unit for generations, Blackistone said.

The event is free to the public. Participants are paying collectively to rent the park's facilities for the weekend.

"Usually people pay them to come and do this sort of thing, but they want to do a good job and part of our mission is to educate the public," Blackistone said. "There's a lot of bad movies…and most people, they read about things like plate mail in [fantasy game] Dungeons and Dragons, which is fine for fantasy, but not for history."

Two Longship vessels — the Sae Hrafn, pronounced "Sea Raven," and Gyrfalcon — will be on display as well. While the Gyrfalcon is usually kept in Blackistone's barn in Oakley, the Sae Hrafn is docked in Solomons.

While Sae Hrafn can be rowed or sailed up the Patuxent River to the park by Longship members, doing so would take about two days, said Howard Booth of Huntingtown, a Longship member who performs maintenance on the boat. Members are considering having a third party tow the vessel upriver, a process that would only take a few hours, Booth said.

"When you do this you gain insight into why things happened the way they happened," Blackistone said. "And after eight or so hours at the rowing bench, you begin to appreciate things like the internal combustion engine."

Northern to host battle of the bands

The 16th Annual Northern High School Patriot Classic will be held on Saturday, Oct. 10 at Northern High School in Owings. Gates open at 4:30 p.m., and the show is set to start at 6.

Numerous high school marching bands from surrounding counties will participate, including three from Calvert County — Northern, Calvert and Patuxent High Schools. Cost is $6 per person, but county students will be granted free admission if they present a flyer that will be given to them during school. Refreshments will be on sale.