The names of the brotherhoods of knights as a building block of the image of the historical reenactment group

Abstract

The paper presents names of the brotherhoods which participate in the movement of historical reenactment. Those brotherhoods reenact the Middle Ages and their names, by means of various stylistic devices, bear resemblance to that period. Those stylistic devices are: 1) the use of historical collectivum bractwo together with an adjective rycerskie instead of contemporary terms like grupa rekonstukcyjna or grupa rekonstrukcji historycznej 2) the use of historical names of the orders of knights, like chorągiew, hufiec, rota, drużyna, zastęp, kompania, zakon, etc. 3) introduction of historical names of territorial units to describe contemporary settlements or areas, e.g. ziemia, księstwo, komturia; 4) referring to historical figures as leaders or owners of the orders of knights, for example Janusz Brzozogłowy; 5) introduction of historical names of clans or coats of arms, for example Ród Gryfitów, Herb Wieniawa; 6) embedding names of the saints into the name of the brotherhood – it was a common practice in the medieval period, for instance Chorągiew Świętego Jerzego. All the above-mentioned stylistic devices, similar to the use of other historical re-enactment elements, such as historical outfit, armour, or the camp gear, are employed to facilitate imitating knights. The names of the re-enactment groups are prominent symbols of the groups who assume those names. A proper structure of the name presents the brotherhood as a professional historical re-enactment group.