My Close Encounter with a Crossbow at Monmouth Medieval Festival

When I enjoyed a day out at the Monmouth Medieval Festival a few weeks ago, I was surprised to come across the murder weapon used in my new cosy mystery novel, Death at the Village Garden Party: a crossbow. (Pictured with my husband, above.)

Fortunately, in this case, the crossbow was not in the hands not of a killer, but of a very pleasant fellow sharing his expert knowledge of medieval weaponry.

stall with medieval weapons and shields — More medieval weaponry, with the crossbow in pride of place between the two shields

A Trip Back in Time

To reach the Festival from our home in the Cotswolds, we drove along the Wye Valley, stopping for lunch at Tintern Abbey – always inspiring and restorative. Well, if it was good enough for Wordsworth… (See Lines Composed A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey)

Then a road closure diverted us along a narrow lane through ancient woodland. Arriving on the outskirts of Monmouth, we had to negotiate a rough track to reach a secluded meadow.

By the time we reached the Festival, we felt as if we’d genuinely travelled back in time.

Fittingly, the only evidence of modern life apart from parked cars was a bank of plastic portaloos whose company branding – Space Mobiles – made me think of Dr Who’s Tardis.

green portaloo with company name Spacemobiles on the side — The perfect vehicle for a 21st century timelord?

Otherwise, the meadow was filled with re-enactors sharing their enthusiasm for different aspects of medieval life.

Medieval Scribes

Among them I was pleased to find two longstanding writer chums.

Rory Marsden, writing as R. Marsden, is author of the addictive Tales of Castle Rory historical fantasy series. Also a professional musician, he’d brought along his replica medieval gittern.

Rory Marsden plays his gittern in front of his bookstall — Rory’s gittern was reproduced by a craftsman after one in a medieval painting.

picture of medieval axe head found on the field of the Battle of Lewes — Rory’s stall featured an original medieval axe head found on the site of the Battle of Lewes, one of the settings of his novel “The King’s Ransom”.

Glynn Holloway, as GK Holloway, writes detailed, meticulously researched historical novels about the Norman Conquest. He’d made his stall stand out with an eye-catching replica of part of the Bayeux Tapestry.

The author GK Holloway at his bookstall with a reproduction of part of the Bayeux tapestry — Perfect timing for G K Holloway that the original Bayeux Tapestry was just about to arrive on loan at the British Museum.

I’m lucky enough to have seen the original Bayeux Tapestry in its entirety in the Bayeux Museum, currently closed for renovation. Being close enough to see the individual stitches made me imagine the women who created it all those years ago. Suddenly the centuries between our lives seemed like no time at all.

If you’re within reach of the British Museum, the Tapestry’s temporary home during Bayeux Museum’s renovation, it’s well worth going to see it, but you’ll need to book well in advance. Find out more here.

A Pictorial Tour of the Rest of the Festival

While a few of the other stallholders were selling their wares, others were taking part for the sheer love of the medieval era. It looked as if they were planning to camp overnight there too, in tents evocative of an army’s camp on a medieval battlefield. Their costumes and props were pleasingly authentic, albeit it rather cleaner than they might have been back in the day. They were helped by it being such dry weather: there was not a spot of mud in sight.

My husband and I spent a long time touring the Festival grounds, learning about everything from what a knight wore under his armour…

A reenactor models the linen tunic that a soldier would have worn beneath their armour — So that’s what stopped the armour chafing a medieval soldier’s skin – a linen tunic.

… to the ancient art of falconry. This huge, enigmatic owl was my favourite of the birds of prey on display, though I went off him a bit when I learned he could seize a cat.

Falconer allowing a member of the public to hold his owl — The owl’s huge, powerful talons make leather gauntlets an essential accessory for the falconer.

Here are some of my other favourite displays.

Reenactor with display of swords — Yet more medieval weaponry – a fine collection of swords.

chainmail armour and helmets — If only the victim in *Death at the Village Garden Part*y” had been wearing protective Champlain armour like this, he might have lived to tell the tale.

medieval style jewellery stall — Phew, something more peaceable at last: medieval-style jewellery and bags.

a medieval lady and friar having a rest in their calligraphy tent — I think this couple had been demonstrating medieval calligraphy earlier, judging by the box of parchments and the manuscripts on the tables behind them. But I love this shot of them contentedly taking a break, watching the medieval world go by.

Mead stall — No prizes for guessing what’s on sale here. Mead, distilled from honey, was a popular sweet drink before sugar arrived on our shores.

Some Medieval Souvenirs

We stayed until the Festival closed, and I returned home with a couple of medieval-style souvenirs – a beautifully-presented bottle of local mead by local company Hive Mind Mead …

bottle of mead by Hive Mind — Distilled from honey made by bees in the Wye Valley

… and a couple of Champlain bracelets – one for me, one for my daughter, who was off to a medieval ball in a French castle shortly afterwards.

Actually, make that chainmaille – the technical term for modern jewellery made using Champlain techniques, linking together numerous tiny metal circles, but using alumni instead of the iron or steel of medieval armour for a lighter weight.

chainmaille bracelet made in rainbow colours — My little piece of chainmaille jewellery pays homage to medieval chainmail

Who knew chainmaille was a thing? Not me, but I’m very taken with it!

Here’s the Facebook page for the lady I bought it from, if you’d like to see more of her work, or buy some for yourself: https://www.facebook.com/HeartsDragonfliesChainmailleJewellery

More importantly, I came away refreshed and inspired by an afternoon’s immersion in an event filled with positivity and passion, surrounded by unspoiled nature.

One day, I shall write a lighthearted mystery story about historical re-enactors, and now I know just where to go when I’m ready to research it!

For More Medieval-Inspired Fun

If you fancy a taste of medieval life, the books mentioned above by R. Marsden and GK Holloway will transport you to the Middle Ages any time, wherever you are in the world. It’s also well worth joining Rory’s “Household” mailing list to receive fascinating fortnightly blog posts about the various aspects of medieval society that inform his fiction.
And of course, if you want to know how a crossbow turns up in the otherwise safe and modern world of Little Pride, the setting for my Cotswold Curiosity Shop series, you can order Death at the Village Garden Party wherever you like to buy your books, in ebook, paperback, hardback and audiobook. (But, sorry, not in medieval manuscript form!)