So, what do we call you? Sir Cynara?

Sigh. It inevitably rolls around to that, sooner or later.

I've been fighting for around six years now. My knighthood was conferred after year two because I demonstrated the appropriate amount of skill, had my own garb and weapons, had contributed to the group, and so on, but greatly, I think, due to my enthusiasm. I don't profess to be an expert in any way, but I love it.

Usually I take the field surrounded by a bunch of mostly guys, and mostly younger than I am. I have fought with the S.C.A., with Amtgard, with Parable, and of course, with our own Mercenaries group. To all of you wonderful guys, my friends and my husband, who have always treated me as an equal within the group, a fighter like any other fighter--I extend my gratitude. It isn't always like that, though. If you are another female fighter, you will probably recognize this scenario: You win a bout. The eyes widen a bit in disbelief. You can almost hear the mental reaction: !! trounced by a female, must have been a fluke and they test their sword to see if, maybe, it's broken? Yeah, that must be it. If one of them trounces you, however, there is that quick glance as they turn away to find a more worthy opponent that clearly says, . . . as it should be.

Like my husband, Ser Maelgrim, I grew up on the tales of Tolkien and the legends of King Arthur and Robin Hood. I avidly watched the original Robin Hood movie (with Errol Flynn) on T.V. at every opportunity. One of my earliest memories - at perhaps age 3 or 4 - was of making my own "arrows" out of tinker toys and firing one through my father's slide screen. This earned me a spanking and banishment to my room, but it was too late; the seeds had been planted. I have eagerly nursed a passion for all things Medieval ever since. A few years later I had a little brother. Younger siblings are handy to have when you need, oh say, Indians to shoot when you are the Cowboy, or evil Sheriffs to conquer when you are Robin Hood. I enjoyed being Maid Marian on occasion as well and traipsing about in flowing gowns, but let's face it - her part was boring.

As a teenager I read everything I could get my hands on, but my favorites were always the medieval epic fantasy adventures. You know the kind - where typically a band of friends embark on an innocent adventure but end up saving the world. The greatest thing I could imagine was to magically find myself a part of adventures like these, wielding a sword and throwing myself into the fray.

It wasn't until I had moved to Colorado and met Maelgrim (then known as Rillion) that the opportunity to recreate my own little piece of the Middle Ages came my way. Maelgrim had started a sword-fighting group, a group of friends who shared his interest in history and fantasy adventure. After a short tutoring session with one of the two-handed "great swords" that were in favor at the time, I was declared "fit" to join. My first sword-fighting experience involved some hours of running through the forest wielding my sword and throwing myself into the fray. I was hooked.

A female fighter in a world of mostly male fighters has some unique concerns. Consider that all of the traditional stances and strokes that are taught are based on a man's form, reach, and movements. A female has, for one thing, a lower center of gravity and must adjust her stance and strokes accordingly. Rarely do I have the reach of a male opponent, or any advantage in height. Then there is the matter of chest shots. Unless you wear some form of protection, a badly aimed killing blow to the torso can be, well, rather killing. Would any guy encourage you to take aim with intent to blast him in his, er, sensitive areas? And then there is the matter of chivalry. The battlefield is not a place where you want some nice guy "taking it easy on you" if you truly want to improve your fighting skills, but it happens. I personally hate not knowing if I really won the spar, or if my opponent balked at "hitting" a woman. And as described earlier, there is sometimes the "Conan-man" attitude that women fighters are not to be taken seriously.

True, there is little historical precedent for a female knight. Most women of the time were treated as possessions, their dowries and family connections bartered for gain. I will list here a few noteworthy exceptions. You all know about Joan of Arc. In addition, there was "Black Agnes," Lady Agnes Randolph who successfully held her castle during a siege of over five months; Brilliana, Lady Harley Nicolaa de la Haye, who was made sheriff of Lincolnshire in 1216; Isobel, Countess of Buchan, who fought for Robert the Bruce of Scotland, and Queen Eleanor, wife of Henry III, who followed him into battle and commanded her own army of mercenaries.

The correct term, by the way, is Lady Cynara, or Lady Knight. For those of you other ladies who may dream of wielding a sword and dashing into the fray, I have this to say . . . see you on the battlefield!