Frequently
Asked Questions
How do you pronounce Gaddgedlar and what does it mean?
It's amazing how many people find it
difficult to say Gaddgedlar. Split
it into three syllables - Gadd - Ged - Lar - and put the emphasis on the last
syllable - GaddgedLAR. Easy !
The meaning of the name is a bit
more obscure and most of the group members aren't even sure about this one.
We think the name comes from an old term for the hybrid offspring of the
native Celtic people and the incoming Nordic people in Scotland.
The term means "foreign Gael" and in the Celtic language would
be "Gall Gael". This name
was the name of a re-enactment group in Scotland in the 1980s - some members of
the Gall Gael went on to form Gaddgedlar. The
term "Gaddgedlar" is simply the Norse form of "Gall Gael".
As Gaddgedlar started as a Dark Ages re-enactment society the
Norse/Viking name fitted well. When
we changed to the Medieval period, we were already established with the name
Gaddgedlar and we like it so we didn't change it!
What is "Living History"?
Living history is the accurate portrayal of everyday life and work in the period you are depicting. Some popular living history activities are spinning, weaving, fletching and mail making. It is not to be confused with battle re-enactment.
So what is "Battle Re-enactment"?
As the name suggests, its a portrayal of the weapons, armour and combat
techniques of the period that you are depicting.
Why aren't you wearing kilts?
Because medieval Scottish people
didn't wear kilts. The earliest
references we've been able to find of people in Scotland wearing plaids or kilts
are all 1500s and Highland. We
portray a Lowlands Scots army of the 13th/14th Century,
like Wallace or Bruce would have led and there's absolutely no evidence for
Scots of this time wearing kilts.
What was wrong with Braveheart?
It'd be quicker to tell you what was
right! No, seriously,
whatever you think of Braveheart there are certain things that just didn't
happen.
¨
Wallace was a Lowlander, born in Elderslie (either in
Renfrewshire or in Ayrshire depending on which side of the debate you're on).
¨
He wouldn't have worn a kilt (wrong time and place - see
question above) and he didn't live in the highlands.
¨
He wasn't a peasant - his father was a landowner and his
mother was the daughter of a knight. Wallace
didn't qualify as nobility, but he would have been a "gentleman"
rather than a peasant.
¨
He didn't paint his face blue - This is a practice
traditionally ascribed to the Picts who occupied Scotland in the first Millenium.
However, even this has been challenged and virtually disproved in recent years.
In short, the whole thing is nonsense.
¨
Wallace never had an affair with Isabella of France - in
fact, she was only a young child at the time.
¨
Wallace did raid into England but he never took the city
of York.
¨
The Battle of Stirling Bridge - where was the Bridge?
This might seem a silly point, but it was Wallace's use of military
tactics at the bridge that won him the battle.
¨
Edward I didn't die until 3 years after Wallace was
executed. Incidentally, he died on
his way north to invade Scotland again.
¨
One of the main players in the fight against the English
was Andrew Moray. Moray led a
highland uprising against Edward I at the same time as Wallace was leading his
lowland army. They met up and their
combined forces smashed the English at Stirling Bridge. Moray died shortly after
the Stirling Bridge from injuries sustained in the battle.
He is one of the greatest unsung heroes of this campaign.
¨
At one point in the film, Wallace accuses the English of
terrorising the Scots for "a century". In fact, the two countries had been at peace for most of this
time.
¨
The best line is where Wallace asks Bruce to help him
achieve "something we've never had - a country of our own".
Yikes! In the 1290s Scotland
was, and always had been, an independent country - this is precisely what
Wallace was fighting to keep.
Are those real swords?
The swords are reproductions of
medieval swords, which are blunted for safety purposes.
We try to keep our fighting style as close to authentic medieval fighting
styles as possible (with allowances for safety and additions to make it more
exciting) and if you get hit with one of our swords then it would hurt - no
doubt about that!
Where do you get your kit?
Most of our costumes are handmade by
members of the group. The tents,
weapons, armour and a lot of the "props" in the camp (pottery, cooking
range, furniture etc) are made by specialist re-enactment suppliers.
There's a whole industry of people supplying authentic kit for
re-enactors of all historical periods.
Is chain mail heavy?
YES!! Alan's mail hauberk weighs around 35 lbs (16 kg).
Many groups compensate by wearing aluminium chain mail or even
loosely-knitted woollen jumpers sprayed silver but unfortunately for Alan we
believe in getting it as close to the original as possible.
If you come to one of our shows, you get a chance to feel the weight of
the chain mail yourself.
Why do you have women fighting?
Because they want to!
There are accounts of medieval women fighting although in most cases they
were defending castles or towns when the army of men were away at battle.
There are some details of women leading armies in battle although these
are more unusual (e.g. Joan of Arc). Women
did not tend to fight with the standard army but for our show's purpose we don't
discriminate. The only concession
is that our women fighters should wear male costume while they are fighting -
this would probably have been the case for any women fighting in medieval times
anyway as it's more practical.
How do you get into this? Can anyone join?
If you want to get into
re-enactment, you should go and see a few different shows first to work out what
period you're interested in and check out all the groups on the go.
Once you've worked out what groups you want to approach, you can either
ask them at one of their shows, or try to get a contact number.
They'll probably ask you along to a couple of training sessions to see
how you get on and most will have a provisional period of two or three months. At the end of the provisional period you decide if you like
them and they decide if they like you. For
more details about how to join Gaddgedlar, go to our How
To Join page.
I take it you all vote Scottish Nationalist?
We don't discuss politics within the
group - we're all too busy training, fighting or going for nights out.
Although the era we portray is a time of turbulent politics and national
struggles, this is not reflected in the organisation of the group.
We are a non-political organisation and each member's political views are
their own business. Gaddgedlar does
not support one political point of view and you will never hear any member of
the group making a political statement on behalf of the group.