Greetings!

The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting longer (obviously), and if you’re sitting and asking yourself whether you should enter the Agincourt A&S competition and display held on October 20, let me answer that: you should! What do you get? You get to have fun, hang out with like-minded A&S people, showcase your work, and educate populace about what amazing things are possible in A&S.

For several years the Agincourt A&S competition and display was ran by THL Sumayya, who, sadly, has moved to the Midrealm earlier this year. It was run ably, admirably, and pretty much perfectly, so this year we are going to try something different.

In an attempt to improve on perfection, we are introducing a brand new martial component. Should you be unable or unwilling to take a swing at it, a stand-in champion will be provided. The winner of the martial component will be determined by skill and luck (but mostly luck) and will receive a small prize. However, no additional points will be awarded to the A&S entry.

As we in the Society are very good at experimental archaeology and making things, the focus this year is shifted, ever so slightly, from things to context – that is, less emphasis on what, and more on where, why, and how does it fits into the grand scheme of things.

In order to encourage the context, here are the categories this year:

• Shipwrecks
• Things that never were
• The Romans did it better
• Fit for a king
• And, in honor of the battle of Agincourt, Projectiles.

The vast majority of A&S projects can fit into the first four categories, the rest will fit into the fifth, as, with enough thrust, anything is a potential projectile. Each category will have a winner who will receive a scroll to commemorate the occasion. (For example, if you decide to submit a scroll blank featuring the grotesques from the book of hours of Joanna the Mad of Castille, you can enter it either under “The things that never were” because of the grotesques or under “Fit for a king” because of royal affiliation.)

If you feel that your A&S awesomeness cannot be contained by a mere category, the Traditional Agincourt Triathlon is still on! To qualify, please submit three entries in three different categories. No entry can be entered in multiple categories. The only exception is the entry that fits in all five categories, and it has to be approved in advance. (So if you have a perfect model of a mythical royal ship that was sunk by a Roman projectile, please contact me.)

Artisans are welcome to enter all kinds of creations; food is perfectly acceptable, however, a list of ingredients and potential allergens is requested. Research papers are welcome and encouraged. Documentation is encouraged, but not required. Novice artisans are encouraged to enter. Those who do not wish to compete may display their entries.

And, remember, our Known World just got bigger! The entries are no longer limited to Western Europe, so if you want to share your Japanese, West African, or Inuit entry, as long as it’s pre-1600, it’s fine.

The same rubrics as for the A&S faire will be used, and are available on request.
Most people entering the A&S competitions know what their deficiencies are, and unfortunately, it seems to be the rubric that tends to attract most comments. Unless the judging is face to face, which is not always feasible, it is rather frustrating to get back a sheet of comments which, while correct, are not particularly helpful. So, to make things more straightforward, you get to drop a rubric of your choice. The rubrics and the scoring sheets will be available at the A&S desk, and you get to cross out the one you feel is not helpful. (For example, if you always get dinged on use of correct materials and are tired of explaining that the price of gold is prohibitive, mercury salts are a health hazard, and grave digging is illegal, just drop that rubric. If documentation is your nemesis, and you have an exemplar, but not the 20 page paper on the history of the thing, feel free to drop the documentation rubric, with one caveat – you still need to provide enough information for the judges to know what is it they are judging. Very basic documentation blank sheets will be provided.)

However, if the scores are tied, the dropped rubric may be scored for the purposes of tie breaking only.

What do you get if you win? Glory. Huge amounts of high quality unadulterated glory you can bask in like Godzilla on the beaches of Tokyo. In fact, as such huge amounts of glory cannot be possibly carried by hand, it will be packaged in a Shiny Scroll and, to make the burden of winning easier, the grand prize (a $50 Amazon gift card).

If you feel that glory is not for you, consider submitting your work to the display or judging the entries. Judges are requested to: be nice, have grant of arms or higher A&S award, have an open mind, and be willing to drink tea and eat cookies (the latter is not a requirement )

If you have any questions, please contact me. Hope to see you all there.

Remember! Glory!!!

Please direct your questions and concerns to Luceta at lucetadicosimo@yahoo.com.