Black Spear knights bring medieval history to life
By Lethbridge Herald on May 13, 2025.
Company of the Black Spears members Brian Boisson, left, and Collum Terry practice at Henderson Lake.Joe Manio
Lethbridge Herald
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
They meet weekly near the eastern shore of Henderson Lake, dressed in shining armor and wielding a variety of authentic weapons including hand axes, falchions, arming swords, sabres, longswords, greatswords, polearms and a variety of two-handed axes.
The only things missing are armoured horses, damsels in distress and perhaps a castle. They are the Black Spears of Lethbridge.
“We have dedicated ourselves to the art of knightly combat, we meet weekly to practice our skills and train our newer fighters,” says 38-year-old founding member, Brian Boisson. “We also participate in many tournaments here in Canada, many of which are local to Alberta.”
Medieval re-enactment is a form of historical re-enactment that focuses on European history in the period from the fall of Rome to about the end of the 15th century. The second half of this period is often called the Middle Ages.
The Black Spears are members of HASCA, a National Federation of Canadian Armored Combat Teams. HASCA Fighters compete in Historical Medieval Battles (HMB) a.k.a. Buhurt, Armoured Combat. HMB is a modern full-contact fighting sport with steel blunt weapons characteristic of the period.
“We typically train in armored combat (Buhurt) for one on one duels but we also train in other historical European martial arts (Hema) and base this off of surviving medieval fighting manuals.”
Boisson founded the club along withseven other friends in 2016, all of whom are still in the group. The Black Spears range in age from 17 to fighters in their mid-40ss, but the oldest fighter in HASCA is in his 60s. There’s currently one active female fighter in Lethbridge, but Boisson says there are many in the league.
“I love history, teaching, and doing a martial art that is divorced from all the negative connotations of real violence, “ says 32-year-old founding member Graham McBean. “Plus nothing is cooler than wearing a suit of armour and being a knight!
One of the newest members is 26-year-old J.R. Delamarter, who works in child care by day. He has been in the group for about a month.
“Other sports hadn’t really held my interest, but this one did,” says Delamarter. “And much like other sports, I get the benefits of meeting and getting to know other people and getting plenty of exercise.
Because HMB is a full-contact sport, using authentic and often very heavy weapons, injuries can and do occur from cuts and bruises to sprains and broken bones.
“We try to be as safe as possible but things like sprains and bruises can happen in the dueling categories…sometimes something more serious like a broken bone,” says Boisson. “The worst injuries I’ve seen are broken ribs, legs, wrists or ankles from the melee fights.”
Boisson says that most tournaments have no major injuries though and it’s somewhat uncommon, because the armor worn by participants does its job and keeps the participants safe, says Boisson. “Concussions are also something we do our best to prevent and we have very specific standards for acceptable helmets.”
The Black Spears participate in numerous tournaments throughout the year, but host one local tournament, the Coulee Clash, which will take place on May 24 at the Cavendish Farms Centre on the West Side.
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