Sunlight shimmers off of duct tape battle axes. Armor-clad students dart around Myers Quad, brandishing assorted medieval weaponry. The grunts and screams of the epic battle echo throughout campus.

The Medieval and Renaissance Society is at practice.

The group, a smattering of 17 history buffs from all over campus, is unique. Students from all echelons of University society – including freshman girls majoring in animal health and recently graduated veterans who fight with the nickname “Engelbrecht Wandelber” – come together on Monday evenings to revel in medieval culture and expand their knowledge of the past.

For them, it’s not only about the fighting.

“We’re not out there just playing around and horsing around,” said Kristy Kemp, a freshman from Grayson. She said she is thrilled to have found a way to combine a great group of people with an enjoyable recreational pastime.

“We’re out there learning how period knights fought. We’re actually learning medieval stuff as we go.”

In fact, Kemp is making her own suit of armor in her Church Hall dorm room. Her endeavor, which will take between a month and a month and a half to finish, is common in the medieval world, she said.

And Kemp is not the only woman getting in on the festivities. There are about as many females in the group as males.

“It provides an opportunity for a bunch of people to actively explore medieval fighting styles,” said group member Amy Harding, a freshman from Taylorsville. “It’s not just people getting together and beating the crap out of each other.”

Harding said she always has enjoyed all things medieval. Her membership in the group lets her dive deeper into the medieval world with like-minded individuals. But her interest doesn’t stop there.

The Medieval and Renaissance Society is a branch of a larger organization called the Society for Creative Anachronisms.

SCA has about 30,000 members and hosts events frequented by Medieval and Renaissance Society members. These events, which occur several times a semester, have workshops including armor-making, dancing and jewelry-making.

Experienced members can get certified to participate in the fighting.

“You get certified by a knight to show you’re proficient with sword and shield,” said Ben Coffee, a freshman from Alpharetta who goes by “Mace-breaker.”

Coffee’s weapon of choice is the glaive, a spear-like weapon he uses to eradicate his enemies. Also available in the arsenal are swords, axes, round punch shields, great swords and tridents.

Add in some armor, weighing anywhere between 25 to 60 pounds, and there is little wonder as to why the group can attract crowds of students on their way to class.

“Most people I tell think it’s pretty cool,” said Coffee, eager like other members of the group to invite students to participate in their weekly practices.

For those who are apprehensive of the weapons, rest assured that even if attacked, a gruesome and sudden death does not await. The group’s weapons do not violate the University’s weapons policy. Even the sword that Kemp kept in her dorm room was allowed because it was not made of metal. Most of the weapons are make of rattan wood.

“The best way I could describe it is the love child of bamboo and oak,” Lou said.

University Police Chief Jimmy Williamson said the weapons are allowed if they are only used on participants voluntarily. Crossing the line could be easy and unintentional.

“We try to be very open to that,” he said. “I’ve never had a call on them in the past, and I don’t think I ever will.”

But for the students in battle on Myers Quad, computers are a millennium away. For an hour on Mondays, everyday stresses at school and work melt away as they don their armor and raise their swords.

The unofficial motto describes it best.

“All of your problems go away, and the only problem you have left you get to hit with a stick.”