Today is Armour Day. Have you kept your resolution or will you wear the armour?

Armour Day is Coming - Have you kept your resolution?

Stourton revived this old tradition in 1965 and will be meeting on Monday once again to "support  the irresolute".

It might be an idea to take a leaf out of Stourton's book. On Monday the entire village review their resolutions and those who do not meet them are given spiritual and very physical support. For more information read this earlier entry on this strange tradition.

As Armour Day approaches ask yourself whether you have slipped. Has your resolution been so quickly forgotten and abandoned? If this is the case help is at hand. At least it would be if you lived in Stourton, the rest of us will just have to muddle through.

The Armour of Resolve

A replica of the left arm pole of the Armour of Resolve.

The villagers of Stourton took keeping to their resolutions very seriously. One report, written by poet, explorer and folklorist Sir Stanley Coulton in 1887, told of how, on New Years Day, the villagers would gather in the Village Hall to announce their resolutions. These would be written onto parchment and pinned to the wall. 

On the 15th January (Armour Day) the villagers would gather and tell each other of their travails in keeping their resolution. A failure to hold to the resolution would result in that sorry villager being forced to wear the Armour of Resolve. The Armour of Resolve was effectively a series of long poles that were worn by the "Irresolute" by the application of a series of leather straps and buckles. One was attached along the spine from the top of the head to the base of the spine ensuring that the "Irresolute" could not move their head from left to right and only face forwards. The others were attached to arms and legs to keep movement stiff and straight. The purpose of this punishment was to remind the "Irresolute" to keep to the straight and narrow, to not stray from the path they had set themselves. The "Irresolute" would wear the armour for four days and four nights and then report back to the villagers whether or  not the resolution had been adhered to.

In the forthcoming book "Wyrd Kalendar" there is another tale of a strange resolution from the town of Woodchester. You can catch snippets of that tale in this month's mix.