Jess Winans

The Kingdom of Terre Neuve is not your average nonprofit

The Kingdom of Terre Neuve is not your average nonprofit organization — with its swords, knights, squires, kings, queens and costumes serving as a stark contrast to the traditional buttons, fliers and catchy logos of other charitable groups.

But under all of the armor and intricate costumes lies a simple intention — to educate others about the history of the Renaissance period, 793 to 1624 A.D., and give back to the community while doing it.

“We are about service to each other, to ourselves, chivalry, honor, teaching and learning,” said Queen of Terre Nueve Rebecca Bayliss. “We’re about becoming a good member of society.”

Bayliss and King of Terre Nueve Jason Steele ascended to their thrones after a series of tournaments and battles called “Crown Wars” were held in April to pick who would lead the Kingdom. Both will be monarchs for the year.

To give back to the community, the Kingdom performs demonstrations at the Hillsdale Middle School in El Cajon and for boy scouts and girl scouts, where group members explain Adrianic principles, discuss chivalry, perform combat in a combat ring and allow kids to shoot bow and arrow with supervision.

“We want to see what can help the kids and what they’re learning,” Steele said. “If we know a boy scouts troop is trying to earn a certain badge, we will cater our demo for it.”

They’ve also held various fundraisers, recently collecting makeup and jewelry for a women’s shelter, and holding a fundraiser for the Terry Foundation — an organization which provides educational scholarships to students in need in Texas.

“We like to ask our members what they want us to do,” Steele added. “We will ask them if there’s a charity or demo they want to see put on, and figure out who we can contact and what we can do.”

Each month, the Kingdom holds a tournament, typically at Morley Field but occasionally at the Allied Gardens Recreation Center. At the tournaments they hold opening court and combat, arts and sciences and archery tournaments. They also hold educational classes on papermaking, block printing, needle work and other Renaissance-era dancing, costuming and leatherworking.

“I think there’s more exposure at the Allied Gardens Recreation Center to the community and a lot more people,” said Allied Gardens resident Jessica Neinast. “It’s more hands-on to the community because the community is right there. You’re driving by it and see all the pavilions. It’s more accessible to the public and that’s why I like hosting events there. Morley Field is so big and we’re so obscure but at the rec center, we’re right on the street in Allied Gardens on Greenbrier Avenue.”

Being family-oriented, the Kingdom also holds children’s activities such as miniature jousting and adult supervised combat.

“The kids grow up with it, do art projects and learn how to be really proper men and women.” Neinast said. “I think it brings so much to the community culturally. The kids in the group are always doing research on their characters and by doing so, learn so much every day. Joining the Kingdom is a great way to do things as a family with cool friends in a safe environment.”

The Kingdom is the San Diego and Imperial County subdivision of the national Adrian Empire, Inc. and uses a multi-hierarchical system with king and queen at the top in four areas: Archery, Combat, Arts and Sciences, and Ministry.

While archers shoot bows and arrows, combaters reproduce combat competitions in rapier-style. The Arts and Sciences sector serves as a sort of historical home economics club, re-creating historical arts and sciences including costuming, cooking, needlework, drawing and wood and metal working. Finally, members who belong to the Ministry sector are the administrative component of the Kingdom and track event attendance, monitor combat, and review projects from the arts and sciences sector.

Within each sector is a separate hierarchy which places knighthood at the top then page, then squire — each with three levels of ascending power.

“Everyone starts as a normal person, on the same level, but depending on what your interests are, whether it be combat, arts, ministry-administrative, and archery, you can pursue those to a greater degree in a knighthood,” Steele said. “Knighthood is a status symbol where it [demonstrates] I participated x amount of time, did x amount of demos and won x amount of tournaments. Each level means longer and more participation.”

San Diegans interested in joining the Kingdom can attend a monthly event or stop by their booth at Comic-Con on July 19-22 at the San Diego Convention Center and purchase a $30 year-long membership or a $300 life-time membership.

“Originally when I first started, I was a 19-year-old punk kid who thought it was cool to wear armor and fight, have a good time with people and at the end of the day learn something new,” Steele said. “I came to an event with my friend who introduced me to people and that’s when I signed up.”

On May 19, what started for a “punk kid” as a hobby will become a responsibility to rule over a charitable organization, albeit a different sort of one, when Steele and Bayliss will rule the Kingdom of Terre Nueve event as new monarchs at an event at Morley Field.

For more information about the Kingdom of Terre Neuve or to see their event schedule, visit bit.ly/2IfupZv.

— Jess Winans is editorial assistant at SDCNN, parent company of the Mission Times Courier. Reach her at [email protected].