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Dagorhir. The Art of Medieval Combat in Modern Times. History Behind the Madness that is Dagorhir. In '77, a madman named Bryan Wiese was reading Lord of the Rings and watched a romantic adventure film called "Robin and Marian"
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Dagorhir The Art of Medieval Combat in Modern Times
History Behind the Madness that is Dagorhir • In '77, a madman named Bryan Wiese was reading Lord of the Rings and watched a romantic adventure film called "Robin and Marian" • He wanted to capture the essence of adventure that came with wielding a sword or bow, but had never heard of LARP, medieval re-enactment, or Dungeons and Dragons • He ran radio ads on Maryland's underground radio station saying, "Anyone wanting to fight in Hobbit Wars with padded weapons call Bryan at the following number," and so the initaition of Dagorhir had began • For the first two years of its existence, all battles were held in the woods and generally had a camp-out the previous night
History Behind the Madness that is Dagorhir • In '78, the modern Dag weapon (a "blade " of closed-cell foam glued to a fiberglass rod or PVC pipe shaped to look like the weapon it resembled) was created • The D.C. chapter, Bryan's, was challenged by the Illinois chapter, The Realm of Middle Earth, to fight the Great War half way between the two in Ohio; this was the creation of Ragnarok I • In Rag I, the D.C. chapter named itself the Aratari Tribe (Aratar was the leader, named themselves as his children) and fought The Realm of Middle Earth and Pent Wyvvern in Ohio. • Rag II-IV was held on a private campground
Dude, seven hits to the torso is DEATH! ~Unknown Famous Dag quote that sprung up at Rag II
Weapons • Dag is a combat sport, and throwing punches is illegal, so there's some kind of weapon used, right? • Five weapon types: • blue (short sword, axe, flail) • red (broad sword, axe, mace, glaive) • green (one-handed or two-handed; spears, daggers, sword points) • yellow (javelins and arrows) • white (rocks)
Weapons • Blues are shorter hacking and smashing weapons • Reds are longer hacking and smashing weapons, and must be used with two hands • Greens are striking weapons • Yellows are projectile weapons • Whites are blunt-force projectile weapons • Each weapon has different effects on different strike zones…
Weapon effects on strike zones This is the Dagorhir Combat Quick Reference Chart, which states the damage done by each weapon type to a specific strike zone. “Not Allowed” in some boxes indicate that hits to the head with any weapon other than a rock is illegal. There are various loopholes to weapon effects.
Garb • Garb is your Dag costuming • Basic garb is a tunic, sandals, and fabric (non-denim or khaki) shorts or pants • At an official event, such as Rag, all participants are required to wear legal garb • At unofficial practices, realm leaders decide on garb, no garb, or some garb • Illegal garb is anything modern, so your band merch t-shirt can’t be worn outside-out, but could be worn outside-in as long as all traces of modernism is concealed • A part of garb is armor • There is leather, plate, chain, and chainmail armor that is worn over basic garb
Realms and Chapters • In the last 37 years, Dag has had an extensive nationwide growth, expanding to an international membership of over 100 chapters with a membership in the thousands • Chapters are generally considered tribes that are the major realms for a particular region • Realms exist less publicly and generally have less members • The first-ever chapter was called the Aratari Tribe which still exists today in the D.C. area
Realms and Chapters • The first 3 official chapters, in order of creation, are the Aratari Tribe, The Realm of Middle Earth, and Pent Wyvvern • Local realms are Glasslands Defenders (Elwood) and Goons (Anderson area) • Indianapolis has one of the two state chapters—Mittel March • One can make the creation of their own realm official by printing out the application on the Dagorhir website, completing all of the required fields, and sending it in to headquarters to be authenticated
Major Events • Ragnarok is the largest annual Dagorhir event out of them all • This year’s Rag is XXIX (29) and will be held June 21-29 • Rag I was known as the Great War • Some Dagorhir events coincide with Wiccan holidays, like Beltane In the first 6 months of the year: January • Father Christmas Feast – New York • Battle for the Ring – California
Major Events February • Winter Invasion – Pennsylvania • Coronation – New York March • Ides of March – Georgia April • Olympics – Indianapolis, Indiana • Gates of Fire- Pennsylvania May • Beltane – Tennessee • Mayhem - Maryland • Gates of Summer – Missouri June • Ragnarok - Pennsylvania
Major Events In the last 6 months of the year: July • Allthyng – Maryland August • Summer Slaughter – Florida September • Equinox – Tennessee • Battle of Badon Hill – Pennsylvania • War of the Iron Fist - Missouri October • Here There be Dragons – Illinois • A Clash of Kings – New York November • Winter War – South Carolina
Major Events • Major Dag events occur based on cosplay (costume-play) and chapters in a region • There are hundreds of other minor events, such as Glasslands vs. Mittel March at the Elwood Glass Festival
Dagorhir documentary Click here to watch.
