SA Medieval Fair at to bring jousting and sword-wielding knights to Adelaide Hills

Australia Broadcast Center

02-05-2025

The weather might be warmer than usual but it won't stop the hearty mead flowing in the Adelaide Hills this weekend as scores of knights converge to battle in Paracombe.
For more than 30 years the SA Medieval Fair has been attracting crowds of people in period outfits and armour for two days of colourful revelry.
Event organiser and lead officer Brigitte Winton said the fair would include a 150-metre-long list field for "real jouster", archers who shoot from horseback and "knights in combat", as well as living displays and handmade encampments that depict "life in the Middle Ages".
"There are some amazing people who are really dedicated and passionate to their craft," she said.
Ms Winton developed an interest in the Middle Ages as a child whose father was "always fond of classics and history".
The knights are highly trained in armed combat.
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Facebook: SA Medieval Fair/Mark Hamilton Photography
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"When other kids were reading different books, we were reading Helen of Troy and history books at home," she told
"So I think I got it from him and once [Ms Winton and her husband] found out about the fair, we thought, 'Oh yeah, we'll go along.'
"He's a bit of a history buff as well."
The couple have been involved for 30 years, having started as "merchants" before becoming performers and then committee members.
"It's kind of like a virus — once you've got it, you don't want to give it up," Ms Winton said.
"Lots of people have been bitten by the medieval bug.
"We have hundreds and hundred and hundreds of participants."
Capturing imaginations
Medieval fairs are increasingly popular across Australia — similar events are held in places such as Mount Gambier, Victoria, Sydney and Balingup in Western Australia.
Professor Louise D'Arcens's main research field at Macquarie University is the Middle Ages, which spanned the fifth to the 15th centuries.
"Re-enactors are often people who have done really interesting, intricate research," she told
The 2024 Blacktown City Medieval Fayre in Sydney attracted fans from as far afield as Germany and the United States.
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Facebook: Blacktown City Medieval Fayre
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But in other instances, she said, the "capacity for the Middle Ages to still be very beloved, and also very inaccurately represented, is one of the really characteristic things about it".
"It's a thousand-year span," Professor D'Arcens said.
"It reached from Ireland across to China — it's a huge span of space and time and I think that gives people the opportunity to really imagine their way into it.
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I think part of its incredible endurance in minds and in our hearts comes from the fact that we can engage in it quite imaginatively.
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Using tools of the era
In Paracombe, participants of a "15th century military" were busy setting up their encampment – including a "gambling house" – using only the tools that would have been available during the era.
"It's all handmade," Ms Winton said.
Grey Company knights wield their weapons at the Balingup Medieval Carnivale in WA.
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ABC South West WA: Ellie Honeybone
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She said this year's fair boasted close to 100 merchant and artisan stalls.
"We've got sword-smiths, people who make bows and arrows, and we've got our own licensed area, which is called the Pale Raven Tavern," Ms Winton said.
"If you want to come and have a mulled wine, you can.
"Our Pale Raven Tavern Queen was quality-control sampling yesterday and says it's a good brew."
The SA Medieval Fair will be held at the Paracombe Recreational Grounds on Saturday and Sunday.