Welcome to the Far Isles
Our society is one of the oldest and largest independent re-enactment societies in the United Kingdom. We were originally part of the Society for Creative Anachronism but left in order to run our society in a way that is less focused on tournaments.
We do not put on public shows - although we have been known to attend local fetes - which means we do not have to restrict ourselves to one particular period or be completely authentic. This allows our members to choose characters from the dark ages to the death of Elizabeth and to have them interact at events.
Everyone is expected, encouraged and helped to imagine an entire life story for themselves that enables them to integrate into Far Isles history and interact with other characters. We do not allow members to use real or fantasy figures from history or fiction and we check our heraldry to avoid using existing arms.
However, people can choose to be ‘from the court of ‘ a known King [King Richard’s private priest] or ‘an unknown character’ from a saga [One of Beowulf’s unnamed men].
Our guild system offers people the chance to follow their particular interests and rise up through group to the level of Master or to join schools, such as that of the Bards or Heralds, where they can do as much research – or as little – as they wish.
We have members of all ages, some are only just learning to walk and others already have their bus passes! Our minimum required level of authenticity is fairly low but we encourage every one especially in our feasts and clothing.
We try to run an event about every two months ranging from evening feasts in village halls to weekends in an old stately home. We hold feasts, tourneys, guild meetings, courts and themed evenings such as 12th night revels. Any guests/new members may borrow costume and will find plenty of help finding their place in the Far Isles World