Membership of Regia Anglorum

Finding a local group

Regia Anglorum is comprised of many Local Groups situated through the British Isles, and some in North America. We recruit geographically and have groups scattered the length and breadth of the country from the far tip of Cornwall to the Isle of Thanet in Kent and from Weymouth to Glasgow, Edinburgh and beyond.

All members must belong to a Local Group.

Each Local Group is situated within an area known as its Land Grant.

Within this Land Grant, a Group may recruit, hold Local shows, or ‘area shows’, battle practices, civilian training days, banquets and training weekends. If a National Show falls within a Group’s Land Grant, then generally that Group will host the show.

Applicants should note that persons can only join Regia Anglorum through the group that recruits in their area.

How do the groups operate?

Different Groups have their own individual rank structures. Generally, each new person can expect to start at the bottom, whether civilian or military, and work their way up through the ranks. In other words, don’t expect to join a Norman Group and begin as a knight!

When you are at a show you will probably tend to fight, pitch a tent and eat with members of your own Group, but Regia is a pretty gregarious Society and it won’t be long before you’ve been killed, woken up by, or bought a pint by a member of another Group.

As well as the Group Leaders there are several Officerships in Regia. The Group Leaders, the Officers and the Eolder gather together at least twice a year for what is known as the Witan - the council of Regia Anglorum. The Witan discusses and may vote on proposals made by Group Leaders. The Witan decides who will fill the various Officerships, when they come up for re-election, and may also amend the Constitution, or the Practice and Procedure document of Regia Anglorum. You will receive a copy of this document (normally called the code of law), and the Officers’ Regulations at some time. Before you join you will be shown the Code of Law; its quite a big document - and chunks of it are not particularly relevant to everyday membership of the society - however you will be shown the relevant sections of the document and should read these before signing the membership form. [A copy can be found on the members website].

As well as the Witan, there are a number of other smaller Councils within Regia. [These are groups of interested members of the society who assist the various officers in their rôles. They meet when necessary and normally communicate via email; if you wish to become involved in these then feel free to contact the relevant officer; see the members website for more details].

Membership.

In the Autumn of 2003, our membership remains healthy and is rising year by year; being well in excess of 500 members. Click here for a map of current local groups established in within the United Kingdom.
Regia requires a Capitation Fee of £15.00 from every adult member, but this is usually increased to £25 at local group level. Some charge a little more and some a little less. These fees at local level are there to help run the individual groups and cover mailing costs etc.
There are concessionary rates for junior and un-waged members
You will find no downloadable membership form on the site - that can only be obtained from (and submitted to) a Local Group Leader as we insist on meeting people before they become members! We have no "national" members.
We particularly welcome families with children. Most big events have around twenty children of all ages in costume on the Living History Exhibit.
To join Regia in your own right you must be at least sixteen - however - until you are 16 you may join as a free family member alongside your parent(s), though you will be expected to be in the charge of your parents at events.
About 10% of our membership live in North America. If there is not already a group operating in your state then you could always form a new Regia local group along with a few friends. Click here for a map of current local groups established in North America.
The minimum age for combatants in Regia is sixteen, but we set stringent conditions which must be followed.
We have members in other countries of the world.
Everyone gets their own membership document, a passport-like booklet that carries a photo of the member plus all sorts of details about events they attend, skills they acquire and personal information. It is so impressive that it has enabled a UK national to re-enter the UK from France when supported by a gas bill!

Overseas membership

We have an ever increasing international membership with people currently situated in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, USA, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Holland and a lonely ex colonial in Hong Kong!

What do I do now?

So I haven't put you off yet - good. The next bit is quite easy - you can contact us in one of four ways:

By email: Drop us a note at membership@regia.org - make sure you tell us where you live as we will pass you on to the relevant local group.
By phone: My contact details are on the bottom of this page; a quick call to directory enquiries should give you my number.
By letter: Send a self addressed envelope to the address at the bottom of the page - make sure you clearly state what you are interested in.
At a show: Come along to an event - talk to us - and we can take it from there.

Feel free to browse our main site (www.regia.org); or return to the membership menu.