Support The Oakeshott Institute

The past 18 months have been a challenging time for The Oakeshott Institute. Due to COVID restrictions and public safety concerns we have been unable to host our usual fundraising activities such as our annual masquerade ball and summer pig roast that together pay the rent on the room where we store, preserve, and research the sword collection of Ewart Oakeshott. We had been limping along with personal donations and financial help from our sister organization Arms and Armor, but then we were the victim of an arbitrary decision by PayPal to seize our funds, leaving the Institute with essentially no money.

If you aren't familiar with the Institute, we are a 501c3 educational non-profit located in Minneapolis, MN. USA that was founded by Ewart Oakeshott and Arms and Armor President Christopher Poor. Our mission is to promote interest in ancient arms and armor though a hands-on approach to education using the historical swords that Oakeshott collected during his career as one of the world's pre-eminent experts on medieval European weapons. In pursuit of this mission we curate a collection of nearly 200 historical artifacts that are used for research and education. Our primary educational activities include events at secondary schools, universities, museums, and historical martial arts organizations where people are allowed to handle real historical swords in conjunction with expert lectures on the objects and their history.

This debacle started six months ago when Arms and Armor received an email from PayPal alerting us that we could no longer use the payment service and that all funds in the Arms and Armor account, Oakeshott Institute account, and our secretary's personal account would be held for six months pending an investigation of whether our sales violated their terms of service. We were shocked because many makers and sellers of historical arms use PayPal, and because The Oakeshott Institute has nothing to do with any weapons sales aside from financial donations that Arms and Armor makes whenever the Institute has a shortfall. At first they told us it was because we were selling gun parts, which we have never, ever done. Then they decided it was because we were selling a replica viking period axe -- which is just an axe. The whole episode is clearly ridiculous, but PayPal does not allow appeals of their decisions, even when they are self-evidently without merit. To add insult to injury, after the six month investigation period PayPal gave Arms and Armor back the funds it was holding, but ruled that the Oakeshott Institute's money was forfeit as a fine.

Needless to say we were floored by this and are convinced that this action was both arbitrary and totally unjust. Unfortunately, after consulting a lawyer and talking with some friends who have also been victims of this type of action, it looks like we have little recourse. The amount of money they seized was not vast, but it was really the only cash we had to float us through this time of plague-induced financial austerity.

Any money we can raise will go toward paying rent and the dehumidifier/electrical bills that provide the foundation of our preservation efforts. Donations of $100 or more will get you a 1 year membership with the Institute, which gives you access to our four annual lectures. This membership will begin when we are able to resume these events, which we anticipate occurring early in 2022. Donations of any amount are greatly appreciated. For more information about our research initiatives please check out our 3D modeling project, which has slowed during COVID, but will likewise be publishing more models soon.

We also recognize the irony that many folks will donate to this using PayPal. Dr. Nathan Clough, who organized this effort, is a governing board member of The Oakeshott Institute and this fundraising campaign has been approved by the full board of directors.