A surprising amount of effort goes into creating bucklers. These simple little pieces of defense have highlighted numerous construction features that intrigue me. Whether it is the use of hinged nails for wood paneling or the double rivet I prefer for the handle on my training bucklers, all parts of the buckler are fascinating.
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But what about buckler liners? These prominent buckler features are under-represented in today’s HEMA circles due to the low use of bucklers made of materials such as hardened leather and wood. However, thanks to the buckler project we did last year, I have had a lot of time to observe bucklers with liners. Today, we will explore my observations in buckler liners and some aways.

​Liners on bucklers are a common inclusion in artist representations of bucklers. If we focus on manuscripts around the late 13th century, we can find several examples of what appear to be liners on bucklers:

When looking specifically at the I.33 images, some show a liner while others do not. It is impossible to know what material the bucklers in the illustrations were intended to represent, but analysis of historical examples can lend us more insight.

​Liners were made of many materials, such as leather, rawhide, manuscript paper, and metal. Unfortunately, there are very few examples of leather and rawhide liners due to the passage of time. However, some bucklers made of wood planks can be found with a metal liner. It is also worth noting that many historical leather bucklers fold the metal at the edge of the buckler face, creating a liner-esque feature to enhance the longevity of the buckler.

​One of the biggest takeaways I have on buckler liners is the durability the liner adds. When comparing two leather bucklers, the one with a rawhide liner lasted far longer. Along with deep gouges into the leather face of the buckler, strong attacks cause the leather to bend and warp slightly from the boss. 

​In contrast, while the buckler liner was chewed up from attacks, the rawhide material lasted much longer and protected the face of the buckler. In the image below, you can see the face of the buckler with the liner which was used much longer in sparring than the buckler without a liner shown above. In another example, Jerod’s buckler from the buckler construction project used a leather liner. While his liner did not last as long as the rawhide liner, it equally protected the face of the buckler. For our wood bucklers, liners appeared to be critical in keeping impact against the wood blanks to a minimum. The wood split immediately for several wood bucklers without liners when defending a strong cut. 

​An interesting change occurred to my buckler when I first added the rawhide liner to it. When the rawhide was drying, it shrunk and warped the buckler's face to become concave. This made the buckler effective at catching points of blades during thrusts, allowing the blade to be trapped momentarily, which helped create openings for my sword. We have historical examples of concave bucklers, but it was fascinating to discover a way to create one myself accidentally.  

It is worth noting that I did not test the liner against sharp weapons. The characteristics and durability would dramatically differ if trying to stop axe heads or sharp blades. While we know bucklers were used in combat, it is hard to tell how many fights they could survive before being replaced. 

However, the durability of these bucklers while training is noteworthy. Assuming we train similarly to how they trained in the past, then buckler liners would have extended their usability much longer than without. Furthermore, the buckler liner is an easy enough item to replace (especially if leather or rawhide is used), which makes the bulk of the buckler long-lasting.
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And longer-lasting gear means more reps for practice.

As some of you may know, I recently had to take a break from HEMA due to a much-needed surgery on my ankle. Not being able to participate in this martial art was rather difficult. Along with missing tournaments and events, I missed seeing friends from around the country and catching up on all their adventures.
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That being said, I learned to appreciate and enjoy my recovery time. What better way to restart the blog posts than by reflecting on how I stayed engaged with HEMA while out for an injury? Today, we will discuss some of the things I did to stay motivated. Hopefully, it will help you if you ever need to take some time away from HEMA.

The first thing I recommend is revisiting what got you into HEMA in the first place. For me, it was the Lord of the Rings and video games like the Legend of Zelda. Going on adventures, either through re-reading classics or by virtually exploring the world of Hyrule again, helped me stay motivated, especially early on after the surgery when I was on crutches. 
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I also had the time to play new games like Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 or see the War of the Rohirrim movie (both of which I really enjoyed). It is amazing what you can take for granted when you are in your rhythm, like regular training. By taking the time to remember what got me into HEMA in the first place, I was motivated to focus on the healing process, knowing that even if I was not at practice, I was still taking steps to improve.

Along with re-reading the Lord of the Rings, I took the time to deep-dive some of the sources I had not read in some time. While I.33 is a regular read for me, other sources I study such as Fiore or Ringeck have been more neglected. It was nice to sit down and re-read these sources because certain techniques make more sense now that I have multiple years of practice now. 
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This also helped give me a plan for re-practicing specific techniques once I was able to put weight on my leg again. This little addition to physical therapy helped me focus on the specific muscle groups the technique requires and the muscles that needed healing from the surgery.

There is nothing wrong with taking a break to recharge. HEMA is a demanding activity, both mentally and physically. Sometimes you just need a break. Thankfully, the other officers at Vier Blossen understood why I could not go to practice (both because of the difficulty with crutches and the frustration of being present but not participating).
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 I took the time to learn new recipes to cook, got into new hobbies, and watched more sports. All things that I have wanted to do for a while, but HEMA was preventing me due to the time dedication. Once I returned to my regularly scheduled HEMA activities, I found time to continue the new hobbies and felt rejuvenated overall.

It is nice to be back. However, things feel a little different now than before my surgery. I do not feel guilty about missing competitions or when other obligations prevent me from making it to practice. As a new activity, I started supplementing HEMA tournaments with 5K runs.

And yet, I feel more dedicated to my training than ever. I can feel the difference in my footwork before and after the surgery. I am excited to get back into competing (though I am still taking time before signing up for a tournament again). This time off has given me a nice perspective on why I started HEMA in the first place and broke the rut I found myself in, and I am sure others have as well.
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So, if you ever find yourself stepping away from HEMA for physical or personal reasons, take the time to try new things and re-visit old ones. I cannot wait to see everyone again and look forward to another year of Funky Buckler blogs!

We in the HEMA community love swords, weapons, training, and everything. Many of us even wear historical clothing and partake in living history to capture the look of the time period we are interested in. However, have you ever been interested in capturing the tastes of the periods to immerse yourself in your HEMA training fully?
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Today, we will review Max Miller’s Tasting History, a cookbook for historical interest. For many of you, I doubt Max Miller needs an introduction. However, for those unaware, Max Miller runs the YouTube channel “Tasting History with Max Miller” and makes numerous videos covering historical recipes and the history around them. His videos cover all sorts of periods, from the Roman Empire to the Titanic to World War II and so much more. 

The book is organized into five sections that group the recipes by region. The recipes by region are also organized in chronological order, making it easy to find food from the region and period that interests you. Each recipe in the book begins with a page or two summary of the dish's history. Each recipe's source is included, a fun way to connect the dish you prepare with the history.  
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Given that the book is primarily a cookbook, most of the pages are dedicated to cooking instructions to prepare the food. As someone with little cooking experience, I have found the recipes easy to follow. However, be warned that some of the ingredients are harder to find than others. Fortunately, in many cases throughout the book, alternatives are presented.

​As the book is a collection of modern instructions on historical recipes, the tastes can differ significantly from our modern food. However, this is a feature, not a bug! Other books with a vague historical (albeit fantasy) take on recipes, such as The Elder Scrolls: The Official Cookbook, create modern recipes with modern food tastes in a fantasy-medieval setting. Tasting History is true to its source and includes recipes that taste strange today, such as vinegar candy or parmesan ice cream. Despite staying true to the source and the changes in taste preferences, many of the recipes I have tried are delicious.

So…… as I mentioned before, I have minimal cooking experience. Rumor has it I have burned bowls of cereal. Some may even know I started a fire at my day job by misusing a microwave…. (A story for another day).
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BUT this book started my journey in wanting to learn how to cook. As part of this journey, I wanted to tackle making the precedella or pretzel of 1581. That is when I learned the value of color when it comes to food because my first try with the pretzel tasted great, but I had a bit too much cinnamon, making the pretzel look far less tasty than they were. 

Yes, I know what the pretzels look like. 
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But I kept practicing, and while I was still trying to nail the classic look of the pretzel, I could at least say they looked and tasted better than my first try. 

​That is one of the greatest appeals of trying to learn to cook with this book which is not designed to teach people how to cook. I feel like I have placed myself into a baker apprentice’s shoes in the 16th century and practicing again and again until I can make a pretzel that would be satisfactory to the guild.

This book is truly a gem for history enthusiasts who want to use their sense of smell and taste to experience the periods they study. However, this may not be the book for you if you are not interested in trying different flavors throughout the ages. That being said, cooking recipes from this book is still an enjoyable experience, and I appreciate adding new recipes to my overall knowledge.

Are you still on the fence about getting into historical cooking right for you? This is where Max Miller goes above and beyond. His website has tons of other historical recipes paired with videos on his YouTube channel. You can try them for free before investing in his book. I particularly enjoy Chewtes on Flesshe Day or meat pies from 1430. His Tang pie even made it into my Thanksgiving feast, though I re-branded it as the Orange-Creamsicle Pie because some people are biased against Tang. I am looking at you, Matt.

If you love history but are hesitant about cooking, I recommend this book. For a price of about $30 for a hardcover book, this is a fantastic book. I cannot understate how much learning to cook has been an enjoyable journey. That dangling carrot of historical context was all I needed to resolve my reservations about trying to cook more than just microwavables.