The Early Medieval Alliance, or EMA, (not to be mixed up with eMJay/Mattinho) is one of the largest medieval reenactment umbrella groups in the United Kingdom.
Originally founded by the three British groups Harlech Medieval Society, Crimdon Sword & Shield and The Swords of Albion, the EMA now have 17 member groups from all over Britain
The EMA organises several events across the United Kingdom on a regular basis and EMA member groups attend most of the major events in the region. For events organised by the EMA, a ruleset based on tried and tested methods, such as the Fast Accurate Safe Technique (FAST) for swordsman, was created to promote safe, fun and competitive fighting across a range of weapons, styles and periods. Most member groups have adopted the ruleset or a variant thereof for training sessions and private events and it is even the basis of systems used outside of the EMA.
The EMA, which is run by volunteers from the member societies, also acts a support organisation and pressure group for its members, helping them with everything from best practice to lobbying on new legislation.
Famous quotes containing the words early, medieval and/or alliance:
“An early dew woos the half-opened flowers”
—Unknown. The Thousand and One Nights.
AWP. Anthology of World Poetry, An. Mark Van Doren, ed. (Rev. and enl. Ed., 1936)
“Our medieval historians who prefer to rely as much as possible on official documents because the chronicles are unreliable, fall thereby into an occasionally dangerous error. The documents tell us little about the difference in tone which separates us from those times; they let us forget the fervent pathos of medieval life.”
—Johan Huizinga (1872–1945)
“In short, no association or alliance can be happy or stable without me. People can’t long tolerate a ruler, nor can a master his servant, a maid her mistress, a teacher his pupil, a friend his friend nor a wife her husband, a landlord his tenant, a soldier his comrade nor a party-goer his companion, unless they sometimes have illusions about each other, make use of flattery, and have the sense to turn a blind eye and sweeten life for themselves with the honey of folly.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)