A full weekend of high medieval tournament befitting nobility drew kings, squires, lords and ladies to the Bungendore Showground – proof that chivalry is far from dead.
With sun beating down on their heavy armour, combatants tested their mettle in a range of skills at arms including jousting, archery and armoured foot combat at the Fields of Gold tournament, hosted by The Barony of Politarchopolis
This extraordinary world of history come-to-life is well-known to Claudia Linder who travelled from Adelaide to compete.
Known within the Australian and New Zealand Kingdom of Lochac as Baroness Eva Von Danzig, she is just one of the more than 30,000 members who participate in Society for Creative Anachronism across the 19 kingdoms of the "known world".
"My partner and I have travelled all the way to San Francisco to fight in large tournaments there as well as in New Zealand and all over Australia," she said.
On the field, the clash of steel earned gasps and groans from the hundreds of spectators clad in detailed ages and renaissance costume.
Linder is known for her prowess on the battlefield but said it was her knowledge of medieval art and chivalrous qualities that caught the attention of the Kingdom's Knights Council.
"I am a countess, which means I have been queen in the past, but I am also a baroness which is sort of like a local representative of one of the state groups," she said.
"Today I was asked to be a knight so I will have a knighting ceremony early next year."
Linder will be the 41st female to be knighted since the society was created in 1966 by students at UC Berkeley.
Mari Joy was the 40th
By day she works as a wound care specialist, but said in any kingdom around the world she had a place and was with "her people."
"When I was queen in 1992 Australia, which we call Lochac, was still a principality of our kingdom so I came here to visit as their ruler," she said.
"We take away the harsh realities of the medieval period and capture the magic and beauty through the pageantry, nobility, the gentry and the fighting - it really is the best of all worlds."
Alongside the spectacle of tournament artisans showcased their fine works and held sessions of instruction in medieval art and science.
Flagons were raised to toast the day and competition was set aside for a time-honoured feast, dance, merriment and a requisite suckling pig.
Jousting takes place at 12.30pm on Sunday as part of the tournament's second day.
