| (Okay, it's corny. YOU think up a better name for a now-official newsletter!) The Now-Official Newsletter of Das TeufelsAlpdrucken Fähnlein. Published monthly, or whenever I get around to it. The opinions contained herein are strictly my own, as are any typographical errors. Not to be taken internally. Entire contents copyright 1995 by Paula Peterka. Yeah, like you'd WANT to steal anything out of here! Void where prohibited by law. |
| Volume 2 | Issue 2 |
Date Unknown | |
Winter Campaign a Cold Success
On February 18 and 19, visitors to the Marietta Mansion Historical Site saw eight enthusiastic, albeit occasionally shivering, Landsknechts encamped on the upper level grounds. The first ever (and possibly annually hereafter) Winter Campaign of Das TeufelsAlpdrücken Fähnlein was well underway, and for the unit, at least, a rousing success.
Conspicuous by their absence were other reenactment units, who were possibly intimidated by the cold. A few members of the Fifteenth Century Camp came out for a few hours to play on Saturday, but after brief skirmishes with our soldiers, they were on their way.
The five soldiers and three campfollowers kept themselves busy during the day with drilling, cooking, wood-gathering, dish-washing, more drilling, story telling, more cooking, bed-building, tent-raising, singing, more dish-washing, and, yes, more drilling. There were also many visitors to the camp in a slow but fairly steady trickle over the course of both days.
"We are a very small unit, right now", explained one of the campfollowers, when questioned, "but we hope to gain more recruits as we move further north, toward Vienna. Here we have only the Hauptmann Manferd, Andreas, our Leutnant, Friedrich, Heinrich, und Siegfried. Und, of course, Cölina, Johanna, und meinself. But we will have more, soon". These Landsknechts, and hopefully more of their comrades, will be encamped again at Jamestown Historical Settlement, on March 18 and 19.
Military Through the Ages: We're In!
Pack up your kit in an old troubled bag, we're goin' to Jamestown! In a move that could only be explained by the phrase "He don't know us very well, do he?", the director of the Jamestown Historical Settlement's annual military reenactment competition, Military Through the Ages, has approved our application, and allowed our Fähnlein to participate in this year's event. Unnamed sources have indicated that this may well be the first time a Landsknecht company has ever participated in MTA. The basic rules and regs are as follows:
The event promises to be a good one. At present, we have eleven people planning to take part, as well as a few friends of the unit for moral support. If you haven't signed up yet, but want to go, call Larry, Paula, or Drew as soon as possible.
At the request of the membership, many of whom called and said "Do you have so-and-so's phone number? The one I have isn't any good. Have they moved again?", I am publishing a address list of the members and friends of the Fähnlein. This list includes active members, inactive members, probationary members, thinking-about-becoming-members, and really-interested-in-how-you-guys-are-doing-and-if-we-lived-closer-we-might-be-members. This list is enclosed with this mailing. If there are any corrections, please call me so I can update my master list, in preparation for the next round of phone calls.
Our Chief Financial Officer (Drew) has requested that all members pay their yearly dues no later than April 1st, earlier, if possible. That's $20.00 for individuals, $30.00 for families. Thank You
"Pikes, we got yer Pikes! And Haddock, an' Eel, an' Cod, an'..."
What would Landsknechts be without pikes? Um,...Swiss?...um,... English guards? no, no, no, ... um... Dead? Well, that's one question we will no longer have to worry about. Thanks to Bob Kriner, we will have pike heads, and thanks to the persistence and tracking skills of Drew Jones, we will have shafts to mount them on. The poles, which will be 12' ash, tapered from 1 1/4" down to 1", were ordered on March 3, and should be ready for pick up around March 10-13. This will give us just enough time to affix the heads before Jamestown.
The price will be $70.00 per pike ($20.00 per head, since we're helping Bob make them, and $50.00 per pole). The poles are more expensive than we originally planned on, but they are historically accurate, and might give us an advantage in competition, since we may be the only group with tapered poles.
All soldiers are required to have a pike as part of their basic kit. Campfollowers may also buy pikes if they wish, as long as they realize that they will be used as extras in camp, and for loners. The only time a campfollower would be able to use her pike would be at non-period drill practices, or for very special occasions. (Nevertheless, Paula will be buying her own pike, just as she owns her own halberd, and encourages other campfollowers to do likewise, to help out the group.)
Please pay Larry or Drew as soon as possible, so that they don't have to dip into their own pockets to pick up the poles. If you are interested in helping make the heads, contact Drew or Bob.
A Million Stories in the Naked City. .
In 1520, after fighting heroically in the east against the Turks, Leutnant Manferd Blöde of das Kannonenfütter Fähnlein was recalled to the Empire, and the Imperial presence. Accompanying him on the trip were Andreas Grabstein and Heinrich Dreiswert, weibeln of the Fähnlein who had distinguished themselves by defending the Hauptmann when his trabanten broke and ran. The soldiers and their families caught up with the Imperial Court as it moved into the City of Worms. After considerable waiting at the Imperial Pleasure, one of Charles V's ministers awarded Blöde with a commission as Hauptmann, and instructed him to raise a Fähnlein as quickly as possible, under the direction of Kriegsherr Otto von Bremerhaven. Thus was the Devil's Nightmare regiment born. Charles V was seeking to uphold his claims to the burgundian territory held in right of his grandmother, Mary, against the wishes of Francis of France. In chief dispute: the City of Milan. In 1522, von Bremerhaven set out for Italy.
NEXT MONTH: The Italian Campaign and the Battle of Pavia!
Once more, in response to requests by the Hauptmann, this time accompanied by chocolate, Landskonnections is publishing, in both German and English, yet another period Landsknecht song. This month's is a preview in song of the story to be told in next month's issue: the Battle of Pavia.
| Landsknechts von Pavia (Georg von Frundsberg) | |
|
Music and Lyrics Traditional English Translation by Paula (Smith) Peterka | |
|
Kaiser Franz, von Frankenland
Alle Blümlein standen rot,
Als die Nacht an Himmel stund'
Der mit euch dies Liedlein sang, |
English Translation:
Georg von Frundsberg leads us on.
King Francis left France's Lands,
All the Fields will be red for years,
As the nights pass, we all grow numb,
He who joins in our little song, |
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