Tradition at Notre Dame takes a new spin
The usual aspects of a Notre Dame tailgate were all present at the Medieval Institute’s gameday festivities on September 20—food, drinks, fans, and sword fighting.
The Medieval Institute hosted a tailgate before the Purdue home game that offered students and fans a glimpse into the Middle Ages. In addition to food and drinks, the event featured Medieval combat by the Theatrica Gladiatoria, whom the institute hosted for the fourth consecutive year. The tailgate allowed attendees to learn about different types of swords, attacks, and methods of fighting.
Notre Dame’s Medieval Institute was established in 1946 by then-Dean of the Graduate School Father Philip S. Moore, C.S.C., who sought to “provide a locus for the activities of campus scholars interested in the study of the Middle Ages.” The largest center of its kind at an American university, the institute’s graduate and undergraduate programs incorporate the studies of literature, religion, theology, language, Christian history, and other subjects.
Beyond the classroom, the Medieval Institute hosts activities and lectures that bring the Middle Ages to the broader Notre Dame community. Theatrica Gladiatoria, founded in 2020, is a stage combat company located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The group provides instruction in combat fighting and choreography, with a specialization in sword fighting.
Theological studies graduate student Alexander Catanio expressed his love for the Medieval Institute to the Rover, saying, “I think the Middle Ages are an extremely valuable and sometimes overlooked era of history. The Medieval Institute allows for a space of interdisciplinary study that brings together different departments, allowing students to take classes across the board and get a more cohesive picture of the Middle Ages.”
A Theatrica Gladiatoria representative, Joe Wright specializes in sword combat and is a certified director in the American Fight Society, as well as a certified fight instructor in the Fight Directors of Canada. Explaining his job for the afternoon, Joe told the Rover, “We’re going to be going through various types of plays from historical manuscripts, demonstrating them live without armor and without protective equipment, utilizing stage techniques to show how the actual historical technique would work.”
Undergraduate and graduate students, professors, relatives, children, and even Boilermakers attended the tailgate. When asked about what he was most excited to see in the performance, Notre Dame fan Steve Clark enthusiastically responded, “Maybe a lost limb or two!”
The Medieval Institute’s next gameday tailgate is scheduled on October 18 before Notre Dame plays North Carolina State. Details for this event and more can be found on the Medieval Institute’s website.
Joseph DiFranco is a freshman studying business management and liberal arts. While still adjusting to the dining hall food and dorm party music, he enjoys cooking and listening to classic rock. You can reach him at jdifranco1@hcc-nd.edu.
Photo Credit: Matt Cashore
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