UWF King's Guard
The University of West Florida King's Guard is a special function of the UWF Fencing Club, performing at the Mobile and Pensacola Renaissance Faires as escorts for the King and Queen.
History
The UWF Fencing Club [LINK NEEDED] first became involved in the Pensacola Renaissance Faire in February of 2005. The club's influence was limited to only standing next to the king during the jousting activities, as well as a few pre-joust demos.
The following November, during the Mobile Renaissance Faire, the club began what is hoped to become a long tradition of accompanying the king throughout the entirety of Faire activities. Duties range from keeping the king and queen company, greeting guests, to fighting demonstrations.
List of Appearances
Pensacola Renaissance Faire: 2005, 2006 and 2007
Mobile Renaissance Faire: 2005 and 2006
The King
The King of the Pensacola and Mobile Renaissance Faires is known as King Allyn the Only. He is played by Mr. Allen Khal. Mr. Khal believes that the essence of performing at a Renaissance Faire is to be spontaneous, cater to the guests' needs, and to be humorous. Thus, he will go out of his way to assist any visitor to the Faire having difficulties. He also does not like scripted acts, and therefore most of his dialog is ad-libbed, allowing for easy adaptation to a particular event.
Style of Garb
The garb worn by the King's Guard is simply black pants (either period, or whatever looks good) with a white shirt. (Again, either period or closest to it). Black shoes/boots are worn, and a black tabard is worn over the shirt. Cavalier hats with feathers finish out the uniform.
Most of the members strive for authentic-looking, period-style clothing, but as the group is made up of college students, most budgets allow only for the "most economical option." Despite this, the group has received high praise for looking uniform, unique and professional.
Squire Names
A running source of amusement within the group is the bestowing of "Squire Names" upon various members of the group. All members during a Renaissance Faire are referred to as "Squires," despite the literal definition of The Title, and whether or not the King has "knighted" any of the members.
===Current Squire Names Bestowed===
Squire Line-Stealer
The first bestowing of a Squire Name upon a member of the Guard was done at the Mobile Renaissance Faire in 2005. It was given to the member named Jason Chandler. During the closing ceremonies of the first day of the Faire. While the king was addressing the crowd, he paused for a second to wait for the crowd's reaction. Without thinking, Jason interjected into the King's speech, and a small exchange of lines were shared between him and the king, much to the amusement of everyone present. This has since become a fixture at the closing ceremonies, and for this, Jason Chandler was given the name "Squire Line-Stealer."
Squire Mopar
The day before the Pensacola Renaissance Faire in 2005, Thomas Smith, along with some of the other guards, were at the Fairgrounds to help set up for the weekend's activities. When Thomas approached the king to offer assistance, the King noticed that Thomas was wearing a shirt with the Mopar logo On It. Since the king seems to have somewhat of a liking for the Mopar name, Thomas was instantly given the name "Squire Mopar."
Squire Tent's Bane
On Sunday morning, the second day of the 2006 Mobile Renaissance Faire, Jeremiah Pureber was standing guard outside of a merchanting tent while the king was trying on a pair of pants. Several guards were inside the tent at the time, so Jerry was standing watch on his own. It was at that time a huge gust of wind came and literally lifted one of the merchant tents off the ground and sent it into the air. The tent happend to fall almost on top of Jerry, who's inistinctive response upon seeing the tent falling towards him was to go on guard and draw his sword. After showing such bravery in the face of very real personal injury, Jerry was given the name "Squire Tent's Bane." Although one of the original three squires, it took the King over a year to think of a name due to the squire's flawless character.