About Us

What is Terre Neuve?: The Sovereign Kingdom of Terre Neuve is a geographic chartered subdivision of the Adrian Empire Inc. As a kingdom we must maintain a membership base of at least 100 people to continue our status. As a member of the Adrian Empire Inc. we are a 501(c)3 non-profit, educational organization. Now, that's the technical definition. To most of us living here, Terre Neuve is much, much more. Terre Neuve is strength on the battlefield, talent on the arts table, accuracy on the archery range, and the blood, sweat and tears of our Ministers and Estate holders. The Terre Neuvian people make us what we are, and what we are is Fortis et Fidus, “Strong and Faithful” to the end.
What is the Adrian Empire Inc.?: The Adrian Empire Inc. is the corporation that gives us the framework within which we play. There is a set of by-laws, manuals, and forms that are used universally throughout the Empire and give a certain amount of conformity amongst the subdivisions. However, as a Sovereign Kingdom, Terre Neuve has the ability to create its own set of laws and codicils that tailor the organization to the way we play. As long as we don't conflict with the by-laws of the parent corporation we have some freedom in the way we run things.
So, what do you do?: The purpose of the Adrian Empire is to re-create the period of history from 1066-1603 AD and, in the process, we educate others. Basically we learn by doing. We re-create history by becoming a character that could have lived during our time period. We choose an area from the known world at that time and create our character based on what we know about the people that would have lived there. Then we interact and educate by holding monthly tournaments, school and public demos, feasts, faires, wars, classes and more. We learn how to fight with real swords in real armor, learn about the arts and sciences of the time and how they really did it, and learn how to be an archer, shooting with traditional style bows. These activities allow our members, both men and women, to earn a knighthood based on their experience and skill in the activity. Members may also earn a knighthood by serving the organization either as a waterbearer, marshal, minister, or estate holder. Whatever the path to becoming a knight, our people learn what it is to be a knight. Chivalry isn't just a word we use, it's an ideal we live.
What kind of activities do you have?: As a kingdom we are required to hold at least one crown-sanctioned tournament a month for the purpose of accruing points towards knighthood. To this end we hold tournaments in each of the 3 styles of combat: shinai, renaissance, and steel. We also have tournaments for the arts and sciences and archery. Along with the tournaments we have educational classes such as papermaking, block printing, recorder, fiber and needle arts, dance, costuming, character development, and leatherworking. We also have excellent children's activities such as miniature jousting with carved wooden knights on horseback and adult supervised boffer combat. There's something for everyone at one of our events! Outside of our monthly events we have demos where we educate the populace at large, feasts with food and entertainment, wars for fun or to determine who will be our next ruler, and fighter and archery practices to hone our physical skills.
Where do I sign?: While we do not require paid membership in order to attend our events, you must be a paid member in order to participate in our activites, tournaments or wars, accrue points toward knighthood, hold an office, or register heraldry. If you would like to join, you need only fill out a membership form (click here for the Imperial Membership Form) and send your check or money order to the address on the form, or bring it to our next event and turn it in to our local steward. Once you're paid you can be on the road to becoming a knight.

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