If on Saturday you saw people dressed in medieval combat garb hitting each other with padded medieval weapons, you weren't hallucinating. Grinnell's Dagorhir chapter was hosting a battle on South Campus. Dagorhir is a nationwide, non-profit organization that promotes interest in medieval culture, especially medieval combat. In Dagorhir, different parts of the country represent different realms. Grinnell has had a Dagorhir group for three years.
Participants usually take battle names.
One woman from the Kansas City team went by Dagmar. She has been with Dagorhir from its beginning. Dagorhir originally emphasized combat from the Dark Ages of Europe but has come to encompass combat from all pre-gunpowder medieval periods. According to participants the main appeal is the fun of battle. Sword fighting is good for that.