Meet the Members
Meet some of our key members and see what roles they play within the Red Wyvern Society. If you attend any of our events you can be sure to see many of these faces taking part.
The Flower Of Craven
Leading members of the Flower of Craven here - Lord Clifford's elite fighting force - Sir Adam, Sir Dan and Sir Newton. See more on each of them below!
For the clanky nerds amonst you from left to right Milanese armour (Italian), Gothic armour (German) and finest Greenwich armour (English).
For the clanky nerds amonst you from left to right Milanese armour (Italian), Gothic armour (German) and finest Greenwich armour (English).
Master Dan Nelson - Cordwainer and Vintner
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Charged with the training of the men mustered from across Lord Clifford's lands, into a formidable force.
Around the camp he can be found plying his trade making shoes. |
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Master David Murray - Man-At-Arms
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Master David Murray is another of the Clifford's elite retainers, those who have the nerve to refer to him as a 'Jack of all trades' have reportedly been left with broken thumbs for he is in fact a master of many:
Hailing from the lands of Cumbria he is responsible for training new recruits into the Clifford's private army from their holdings in Appleby having been a seasoned veteran of many conflicts along the Scottish border. With bow and arrow he has struck down many during the tail end of the hundred years war with France and even earned some renown as an accomplished siege engineer during this time. Never growing tired of the blade, outside of battle he is known to some of the Cliffords as a barber surgeon removing arrowheads and treating wounds where he can, a profession he often leaves in his daughter's capable hands. Woe to whoever mistakes his quite demeanor on the battlefield for passiveness! |
Image taken by 'David' on Flickr- https://www.flickr.com/photos/anubis11/sets/72157630082001848?fbclid=IwAR0NZIIjVPPW5hS4iatYFm57saKtqhKXTTY4unAmP8Lo3fSvc7kidNx-cFI
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Master Jules Fitton - Blacksmith and Archer
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Master Jules is one of the Clifford Household’s most seasoned and experienced bowmen capable of taking down an enemy with either longbow or crossbow with deadly efficiency.
When not peppering the Yorkist vanguards with arrows he can be often found hammering away at his forge and anvil to ensure that the Lancastrian forces are well supplied with good quality arrowheads and that local tradesmen can have tools of their trade made and repaired. He is extremely popular amongst the more heavily armoured soldiers of the Clifford Household as he is skilled in making essential repairs to their armour. |
Image taken by Chris Wood: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kumbrian1954/36054228673/in/album-72157685710664504/
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Mistress Mary - Apothecary and Billman
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A great many nay-sayers have been put in their place with the well-placed butt of a polearm or a sharp glare from Mistress Mary for suggesting that women have no place in war.
Far from the contrary, they are some of the most cruel and callous creatures on god’s earth (words from our own Vintner himself!) and Mistress Mary is no exception, perfect candidates for a 15th century battle. In times of peace she plys her trade as an apothecary offering poultices and ointments to soothe aches and pains as well as selling spices and herbs which are in high demand. In times of war, she dons her helmet and answers Lord Clifford’s summons to take the fight to enemies of the Lancastrian cause in the same vein as the Italian mercenary Onorata Rodiani or Joan of Arc. Few question her prowess in combat and even fewer bare witness to her granting mercy on the battlefield. Hell hath no fury like an apothecary expected to do all the cooking! |
Image taken by Thomas Eagle: http://thomaseagle.com/
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Master James Hodgson - Captain
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Master James Hodgson is one of the Clifford's more sprightly combatants who is normally found wherever the household sets up their armoury where he spends his spare time repairing and maintaining the household's arms and armour.
Armed to the teeth and versed in the ways of crossbows, hammers, bow, billhooks and a variety of weapons, he is also a student in the ways of the German style of longsword combat under the tutelage of some of the Clifford's more experienced knights and men-at-arms. Having recently been appointed a Captain of the household's retainers he is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the household and the defence of Lord Clifford's property in his absence. No pressure eh? |
Image taken by Chris Wood: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kumbrian1954/36466650750/in/album-72157685710664504/
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Master Tom Bibby - Billman
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A fresh-faced and eager new recruit to the ranks of the Clifford Household, Master Tom Bibby is a recent addition to the growing ranks of the Lancastrian army.
Hailing like many of the other Clifford retainers from the lands of Penrith he is trained and versed in the arts of warfare to take the fight to the Yorkist traitors. The joys of being among the younger and more agile members of the Clifford retinue! Although he is under the Clifford’s employ as a guardsman, he has been seeking additional work as a dyer’s apprentice whilst he studies the combat manual known as the ‘walpurgis manuscript’ to better himself in combat with sword and shield. |
Image taken by Thomas Eagle: http://thomaseagle.com/
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Mistress Ginette Murray - Billman and Barber Surgeon
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Manning the stall of the Barber Surgeon in absence of her father, Miss Ginette Murray is not only present to offer a quick trim in times of peace but also to offer medical aid in times of war.
While physicians tended to the more wealthy, Miss Murray tends to those from all walks of life be it in the form of simple leechcraft to the more risky side of things with amputations. When not acting as an assistant to the Barber Surgeon, she helps out where she can around the camps and castles of the Cliffords which has provided her with plenty of free time to seek tutelage in the way of the sword from her father and the other swordsmen in the Clifford household. Though she is far from a knight or a high ranking man-at-arms, she is more than capable of taking care of herself on the battlefield. |
Image taken by: Unknown
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Sir Adam Hughes - Knight
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Clad in the sleek and smooth Italian armour straight from the armouries of Milan, Sir Adam Hughes is another of the Clifford’s elite fighting force: The Flower of Craven.
A force to be reckoned with and skilled in an array of arms makes Sir Adam a human wrecking ball on the battlefield and able to dispatch his foes with whatever weapon he may come across. Hailing from the ribble valley alongside his brother Sir Daniel, he strides alongside Lord Clifford across the country whilst championing the Lancastrian cause. As with his armour his fighting style also originates from the same part of Europe, following the works of masters such as Fiore Dei Liberi and spending a great many nights lit by candlelight studying ‘The Flower of Battle’ whilst in the day he perfects his already lethal skill with the blade. Although his armour is primarily intended for horseback combat, that doesn’t make him any less of a challenge in a melee especially when he gets that pollaxe swinging! |
Image taken by Five Rise Photography: https://www.flickr.com/photos/104061754@N02/28164094972/in/album-72157670884111276/
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Mistress Alicia Fitton - Mistress of Narrow Wares
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Possessing all the equipment and know-how as befitting a mistress of narrow wares, Miss Alicia Fitton is an expert in the usage of thread and needle. Whilst her husband is more at home striking metal on the forge, Alicia would rather ply her trade to produce garments and designs from the mundane intended for common folk to clothing befitting lords and ladies.
With a large scale loom and smaller, more portable devices, she is able to demonstrate her intricate and detailed works wherever the Clifford household make camp. That having been said like most of the women in the household she gains ample amounts of practice with a longbow on a regular basis for recreation, hunting and should the need arise: defence of Lord Clifford’s domains. Though if the Yorkist armies should come knocking on the castle walls, it is the copious amount of sewing needles they should be worried about! |
Image taken by Five Rise Photography: https://www.flickr.com/photos/104061754@N02/28267815145/in/album-72157670884111276/
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Sir Daniel Hughes - Knight
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Armed and armoured in an exquisite fashion and capable of using any weapon at his disposal to brutal efficiency, Sir Daniel Hughes is one of the elite fighters of the Clifford Household and a member of their elite force of horseback fighters the ‘Flower of Craven’ who fight directly under Lord Clifford.
Hailing from the lands of the Ribble Valley in Lancashire alongside his brother Sir Adam Hughes, he leads Clifford’s men into battle across the length and breadth of the country usually at the forefront of the vanguard in his elaborate armour of a germanic gothic design, this has raised some eyebrows in both the household and at court as the armour he wears is an extremely close imitation of that worn by Archduke Sigismund of Austria which reveals a great deal of the knight’s ambitions. Fiercely loyal to the Lancastrian cause and first to enter the fray, this deadly knight is a force to be reckoned with on both the battlefield and in melee tournaments having gained a reputation as a fine swordsman. |
Image taken by Chris Wood: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kumbrian1954/36466654350/in/album-72157685710664504/
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Master Neil 'Thumbcrusher' Tranter - Archer and Billman
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Found bruised, battered and semi-conscious on the floor of of a pub in craven surrounded by several others in a likewise state, Master Tranter was initially destined for the gaol (after being scraped off the floor) but one of Lord Clifford’s retainers stepped in and provided him an opportunity to get involved in further and more lethal ‘brawls’.
Affectionately given the nickname ‘Thumbcrusher’ by the rest of the Clifford fighters (the less said the better) he is not only savvy in the melee brandishing a small warhammer but also educated in the ways of warfare from afar through the usage of a bow… contrary to what he states a flagon of beer is -not- a weapon. With master Tranter and his young lad master Finn in tow with the Clifford retinue the yorkist vanguard have to be fearful of not only being beaten on the battlefield but also fleeced of their earnings or deprived of all drink in the county. |
Image taken by: Unknown
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Mistress Alison Sauer - Arquebusier
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Mistress Sauer is one of the Clifford’s relatively new ‘recruits’ into the household staff.
Although not armed up, she looks after the welfare of all of Lord Clifford’s retainers to the best of her ability. Having lost her husband in one of the many conflicts of the Wars of the Roses she has garnered a status of respect following her loss, as a widower with a daughter she does what many can in this civil war which has gripped the county. According to the rumors overheard by the household’s retainers, Mistress Sauer’s late husband was savvy in the usage of black powder devices that are being deployed in the war… and that she may have picked up a thing or two. |
Image taken by Thomas Eagle: http://thomaseagle.com/
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Master Kenneth Morrison - Reeve and Billman
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Master Kenneth is another of Lord Clifford's men of some long standing having been appointed by the locals of Appleby as a 'Reeve' which is effectively a manager of the Lord's estates, as such he is eagle-eyed and aware of all that goes on within Lord Clifford's estates and where every penny goes.
This does not however defer Master Kenneth to being a quill-scratcher of an accountant, in times of war he dons his helmet and rallies the locals to the defence of the Clifford Lands as he is not only a capable archer but is skilled with polearms, swords and is even learned in the ways of operating siege weapons. |
Image taken by Chris Wood: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kumbrian1954/36863037485/in/album-72157685710664504/
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Master Matt James - Moneyer and Arbalist
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With both halbard and bow, Master Matt is another of Lord Clifford’s loyal troops.
Whilst injuries gained from fighting the Lancastrian cause have left him unable to enter the melee he is far from harmless, armed with a crossbow he patrols the clifford fortifications across the north-west keeping a sharp eye out for marauding Yorkist forces. Rumors amidst the household suggest that Lord Clifford himself has appointed the keen arbalast as a moneyer to stamp out coinage for the king… good thing he has that crossbow close at hand… |
Image taken by Adrian Waite
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