The Knights Templar is no longer just a historic group shrouded in mystery. A violent Mexican drug cartel has been founded under the same name, and espouses its own code of conduct and chivalry.

Thegn Grimmund Blackwing reports that Amazon.com is offering free downloads of several books of interest to medieval scholars. The downloads are available for the Kindle or for other e-reader apps.

Lillias reports that Chum McLeod, an artist from Barrie, Ontario, has created a blog featuring illuminated capitals blending modern watercolor techniques with familiar medieval designs.

Mana Borisova Tchekrygina is seeking a few good skaters for a Pennsic XL skate up to take place offsite during the War.

Sunday morning, under an unseasonal July drizzle that brought mist rising from the hills, Viscount Sir William MacBrennan, inspired by Maestro Eduardo Francesco Maria Lucrezia and Mistress Ariel de Courtenay, fighting for her lady Sarah Patrick Stewart, Defender of the West, proudly entered the Champions list of An Tir.

Students at Liberty Common High School in Fort Collins, Colorado, are not totally taking a summer break from their studies. Marques Kem's Latin class will meet over coffee to discuss The Aeneid by Virgil.

Baron Dahrien Cordell reports that a group of friends from the Barony of Three Rivers in Calontir plan to build an entry for the Wings of Hope charity cardboard boat race. Their entry: a Viking longship, of course! (photos)

The fighters of the Barony of Flaming Gryphon, in the Middle Kingdom, are organizing a Pennsic fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® breast cancer research foundation.

For a few hundred people in the Czech Republic, summer means donning armor and staging battles, much like members of the Society for Creative Anachronism, but these armored combatants are participating in a re-enactment of the Lord of the Rings. (photos)

Members of the Canadian Parliament may want to think twice before they tangle with Mathieu Ravignat, the newly-elected member from Western Quebec who is a martial arts specialist and a member of the Ottawa Medieval Sword Guild.

MGM has teamed up with the creator of "The Tudors" and "Camelot" to create "The Vikings". The show will follow Ragnar Lodbrok, a real-life legendary Norse hero who has his own saga.

Medievalists with lots of battery life on their phones will want to download a new app from the British Library, Treasures, which offers viewers "over 100 highlights, including literary, historical, music-related and scientific documents - alongside illuminated manuscripts and sacred texts."

The San Jose Mercury News catches up with Sedania De Corwin, Radnor of Guildemar, and friends as they attend a fighter practice in the same parking lot in which the group has been meeting for 35 years.

The SCA was one of several groups to take part in the 60th annual 17th of May Norwegian Constitution Day Parade and Viking Fest. The SCA contributed a precession of historic arms to the event.

Fans of the Ozark Medieval Fortress, or fans of castles in general, may wish to help make the site the best attraction in Arkansas by voting online. Voting ends June 8, 2011

The (alleged) severed head of St. Vitalis of Assisi, a 14th century Italian monk, is being put up for auction in Ireland. The relic has been owned by a prominent Irish family since the 18th century.

Canada's famous Stratford Festival will present Lerner and Loewe's musical Camelot the summer of 2011. Take a behind-the-scenes look at the jewelry designers for the production. (photos)

Miriam von Schwarzwald reports that armor was stolen from Ruaidhri ua Ceallaigh's truck in the Midtown/Westport area of Kansas City, Missouri on May 9, 2011.

Vikings and Viking-wannabes may want to consider enrolling in a course in rowing and sailing square-sail boats to take place May 26-29, 2011 in Skudeneshavn, Norway.

The College of Arms in London has announced that a coat of arms has been created for Kate Middleton, Prince William's bride-to-be, in time for the royal wedding. (photo)

Leslie Luther-Fulton, Executive Assistant to the Board of Directors, has published an announcement of a membership fee increase approved by the Board recently.

Reality meets fantasy in Jeremy "Boo" Rochman Memorial Park in Carbondale, Illinois where kids and adults alike can experience the Dungeons and Dragons fantasies come to life.

Jewlery designer T. Shamir has given the assasin's crossbow new meaning with these palm sized, fully functional crossbow and cannon.  The two videos depict the weapons in action.

The economic downturn has left many European properties, including castles, available for purchase at bargain prices. (photo)

Douglas Hulick (Master Simon Morcar of the Kingdom of Northshield) has published his debut fantasy novel Among Thieves, a Tale of the Kin.

In an article for the Guardian, culture reporter Charlotte Higgins explores mistakes made in the recent film, The Eagle, based on the book The Eagle of the Ninth, about the search for the lost legionary standard of the Roman Ninth Legion.

Monty Python - or maybe pirate - fans will revel in the "Best race horse name ever!" in a race video posted to YouTube.

In a move ostensibly aimed at closing a budget deficit, SCAtoday.net Publisher Justinos Tekton has signed an executive order eliminating collective bargaining rights from SCAtoday.net staff members, and cutting their wages significantly.

The beaver, extinct in Wales since the 12th century, is being reintroduced to Machynlleth, Wales. The European beaver was prized for its fur and the medicinal qualities of its glands.

Midrealm Kingdom Chronicler and librarian geek, Mistress Siobhan O'Neill, shares a longed-for method for organizing your bookshelves. (video)