Category Archives: Arts & Sciences

Call for Letters of Intent – Kingdom Minister of Arts & Sciences

26 Tuesday Sep 2023

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Greetings Æthelmearc,

Time flies and it’s been some time since we announced a call for Letters of Intent for the Kingdom Minister of Arts and Sciences office. We are still open for letters, but time is running short with our term ending at Kingdom 12th Night. We’d like your involvement in planning the next A&S Champs and planning and preparations are in full swing!

If you are interested in the KMoAS office, please let us know! Copies of your letter should be sent to Their Royal Majesties at king@aethelmearc.org and queen@aethelmearc.org, to our Kingdom Seneschal at at seneschal@aethelmearc.org and to us at ans@aethelmearc.org.

YIS,
Hrólfr and Elska á Fjárfelli

The Æthelmearc Moneyers Guild

25 Tuesday Jul 2023

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In July A.S. 58, the Æthelmearc Moneyers Guild finished assembling the kits for our Baronial Coin Project. As part of this project, we thought we would let the populace know how it came to be and what we hope it achieves.

How it began
The stated goals of the Guild include “We… strive to make recreated medieval currency ubiquitous in the Sylvan Kingdom, and to include as many gentles as possible in the process of coinmaking.” That’s a heck of a challenge! Although we have a solid core group in the Debatable Lands, we felt strongly about getting more people throughout the kingdom making coins, because the more people are making coins, the more coins there will be!

But it’s not enough for coins to be made; they have to get out to the populace, too. The Royalty already help with this by handing out their own coins, so expanding this to the Baronies felt like a very natural approach.

The project was announced by Duke Byron during his reign in the summer of 2022.

Historical precedent for Baronial coins

In our modern age, we’re accustomed to thinking of currency as something controlled by a central government, but that’s a post-medieval reality. Pre-1600’s Europe, with the exception of Britain, didn’t centrally control their currencies the way we do today. A monarchy might use its political power to influence monetary policy, but the mints themselves were usually owned and operated by local governments, and sometimes even by private individuals.

What are coins used for?

This is easily the most common question we’re asked, and the answers can range from simple to philosophical.

The most common uses for the coins are to give them as favors and use them for playing betting games at events. Glückshaus is easy and fun, so it’s not hard to find somebody up for a game.

More philosophically, coins are a profound medium of communication. Symbols and words on the coin can communicate ideas for as long as the coins are around, and can tell you a lot about the person or people who made them. When given freely, they embody kindness and generosity, so when somebody gives you a coin, you learn something about that person as well.

An economy of gifting

Most importantly, coins are meant to be traded through the populace. The word “currency” even comes from the Latin “currere” which means “to run” or “to flow.” When somebody gives you a few coins as a favor, you might keep one for yourself but the rest can be passed along. This constant giving to one another is already common in the SCA, and this Gift Economy is one of the things that makes our community so special. Coins are one more easy and fun way to boost this very special part of the SCA experience.

Critical mass quantity

One thing that makes giving away coins easy and fun is having lots of coins in the first place. That’s why one of our goals is to make coins ubiquitous in our kingdom. The Guild has been working hard to produce as many coins as possible and get them out to the populace. We strike no less than 240 coins for each reign, and 600 coins for use in betting at each Crown Tournament. That’s 1,680 coins every year! Not bad, but it’s also not enough.

In each kit, we included 300 coins for a total of 2100 coins, a 25% increase over the Guild’s current annual production, just for this project alone. Although it will take time for these coins to be distributed to the populace, moneyers across the kingdom can use this experience to begin producing their own coins for their Barony, for themselves, and for others.

How you can participate

The kits will be going out to one volunteer from each Barony, but there’s still room for everyone to participate. First, reach out to your Baronage and get in touch with the volunteer from your Barony. There may be opportunities to help design the coin, helping with the actual striking of the coins, or just focus on learning the process so that you can start making your own coins right away.

You can also join the Guild! We have other projects running constantly throughout the year, and we need more moneyers to help. For example, we are always looking for new people to design and carve dies for the Crown Tourney betting coins. The betting coins are an easy way to get involved because we only need one die carved (the other face stays the same from tournament to tournament), and there is lots of flexibility in the design.

We look forward to a day when coin pouches are a standard part of everyone’s kit, and the jingle of coins a commonplace sound. We don’t want the populace to feel like they’re losing something when they give away a coin, but rather that they’re gaining a shared experience unique and special to the SCA. In this way we aim to achieve our most ambitious goal: to enrich the SCA life for everyone who loves the dream.

If you have questions or would like to know more, you can reach the Guild via our website or Facebook Group.

Ask Another Laurel: The Humoral Theory

18 Tuesday Jul 2023

Posted by in Arts & Sciences, Esoterica, Research

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Quinta Essentia (Thurneisse) illustration; Alchemic approach to four humors in relation to the four elements and zodiacal signs

Caleb Reynolds answers questions no one asks.

Isn’t the humoral theory of disease just horse-hockey that should be ridiculed?

Not necessarily, would be the quick answer.

In reality, the humoral theory was the predominant medical theory and practice used in medieval Europe. The theory divides human health into four humors, which corresponded to the four elements. Blood was hot and wet like air (the theory originated in Ancient Greece). Phlegm was cold and wet like water. Yellow bile was hot and dry like fire, and black bile was cold and dry like earth. One was healthy when these four humors were balanced in all things, including diet and temperament. Pain and disease are caused by an imbalance of the humors; there was an increase in disease in the hot summers and cold winters because of the imbalance of nature: hot summers bring heat stroke, hay fever and malaria; cold winters bring frost bite, flu and pneumonia.

To our minds, living in the 21st Century, it sounds like a joke; crack-pot ideas masquerading as medicine. If you were to walk into my office and I were to tell you, “You are too sanguine. All of that beef is heating your blood, boiling your yellow bile, and throwing off your humors. You need to cool your blood with fish, which are cool and wet and will bank the fire inside of you. Also, avoid red wine, it is adding too much heat to your blood, I can see the fire of your blood in your face.” You would call me a quack and walk out.

But if I were to tell you, “You have to cut down on the red meat, it’s driving your blood pressure and your cholesterol up through the roof. Cut down on fatty meat and eat more fish, and not fried fish. And all that wine you’ve been drinking? It’s making it worse: you can have one, small glass of wine at dinner. We need to get your blood pressure under control before you have a stroke or a heart attack.” You might not like the advice, but you would accept it as proper medical advice.

People make fun of the humoral theory because it doesn’t use modern medical language, but, people of the classical and medieval world didn’t have the medical language that we have today, and they certainly didn’t have the tools and techniques that we have today. Most people today have little knowledge of what the numbers in one’s blood pressure actually mean, but we all learn something about fluid dynamics in high school, so we understand the concept that there is a certain amount of fluid pressure exerted on the vascular system whenever the heart beats. If you would bring a sphygmomanometer and stethoscope back in time and show it to Galen of Alexandria, you would have to bring a couple of physics and medical textbooks along just to explain to him how the things actually work and how they can be used to treat a patient.

For centuries, doctors used the humoral theory to treat their patients in the best way possible. Since this theory was formulated by Hippocrates and Empedocles in the 5th Century BCE, and refined in the 2nd Century AD by Galen for a more practical medical audience, most medieval doctors were using the same written works describing the theory. This meant that most doctors were making very similar decisions on how to treat patients based on balancing the humors. While we must admit that some of the decisions, and the treatments, were wrong and probably caused more harm than good, the doctors, the ones that were actually trying to help their patients, were using this theory to the best of their ability and they used language that their patients would understand.

Looking at some of the treatments for diseases that we can recognize as gout, hypertension, diabetes, or acid reflux, sound like very reasonable treatments that don’t require modern medication. The use of small doses of arsenic to treat stomach ulcers, gangrene, and leprosy, or the use of belladonna to treat asthma and hand tremors, or wormwood to remove intestinal parasites, tell us that medieval doctors understood the cause and effect nature of medication, even if they used a more simple vocabulary and didn’t adhere to modern scientific methods.

We can also state with certainty that many medieval doctors confused causation and correlation in a lot of their writing and practice. We must also acknowledge that many of the “cures” were nonsense that were passed down from doctor to apprentice over generations. There is a certain recipe for the removal of warts that can be found in medical manuscripts for a solid 500 years that involves mashing up worms and making a thick soup out of it. Now, it is possible that the original cure called for a particular species of worm that contained purpuric or salicylic acid in its digestive system, both of which are used today to remove warts topically. However, if the recipe started out as an external poultice, it appears to have migrated into a soup that could be tailor made for an individual; adding white wine if the patient was too phlegmy, or beef broth if there was too much black bile.

Then we have to contend with the fact that before proper identification and certification, anyone could call themselves a doctor and treat any person by whatever means. Literary and musical sources are filled with families paying loads of money to doctors only to receive little to no actual medical help; just empty words and empty pockets. Having a patient make and drink worm soup to remove a wart on their foot just sounds like the doctor isn’t even trying to give good value for the shilling.

So, on the one hand, quacks and pretend doctors certainly used the humoral theory to bilk their patients out of their money (the humoral theory was still being used in various forms well into the 19th Century in Europe and the Americas); but on the other hand, it was used by doctors who might not have understood the underlying principles of how the human body and diseases work, and were going solely off of what they learned by rote; and on a third hand it was used as a common medical language by doctors to describe problems and create solutions for their patients.

Pennsic for Newcomers Guides Updated for Pennsic 50!

20 Tuesday Jun 2023

Posted by in Arts & Sciences, Camping, Newcomers, Pennsic

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Are you a Pennsic “virgin” wondering what you are getting yourself into and how to prepare?

Wonder no more! Our series on Pennsic from previous years has been updated for Pennsic 50! Click the links below to access each article.

Enjoy, and have a blast at Pennsic!

Photo from A Night-Owl’s View of Pennsic, a shot of the Midream Kingdom encampment at Pennsic.

A&S Faire at dripping wet site this year!

06 Thursday Apr 2023

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This years’ Æthelmearc Arts & Sciences Faire and Queen’s Prize Tourney will be hosted by the Shire of Nithgaard (event details) Saturday, April 29, 2023. The format will be, as has been in the past, to have room for all who choose to display their works as well as enter in the Queen’s Prize Tourney. This sure will be a day to celebrate the artisans of our Sylvan Æthelmearc!

To show her appreciation to the artisans entering the Tourney, Her Royal Majesty Kallista will honor her favorite entry with the Queen’s Prize.

And by special request of our ÆthelBrewers, we were able to find a site that is dripping wet this year! You have no idea how excited and happy I am to accept alcoholic beverage entries on-site at this (any!) event – parking-lot car trunks and off-site hotel rooms are *something* but ideal it’s not!

(Then) Royal Majesties Byron and Ariella showing quite an interest in Lord Snorrie’s metal stamp project (or perhaps it was the coins?) at the A&S Faire and Prize Tourney in Blackstone Raids, 2022.

How does the A&S Faire differ from traditional competitions?

In contrast to the Kingdom A&S Championship as well as regional A&S competitions, the Æthelmearc A&S Faire is not a judged competition. It does not include judging rubrics nor a populace vote. The A&S Faire and Prize Tourney is set up with two components: an A&S display for anyone to share their amazing work with our populace and the Queen’s Prize Tourney, where, in addition, entrants are offered an opportunity to meet face to face with a panel of advisors. The A&S display is open to anyone who likes to showcase their work. No requirements, no theme, no pre-registration required.

The Queen’s Prize Tourney is intended to provide a platform for anybody to receive constructive feedback on their work in a friendly and non-competitive environment and to stimulate enthusiasm and motivation within our A&S community by sharing our art. It is an excellent opportunity for up-and-coming artisans to show their work and get to be known by more experienced artisans, as well as an opportunity for more experienced artisans to gain meaningful feedback about their projects.

Sponsors

The populace enjoying the A&S Faire and Prize Tourney entries, this one the Kievan Rus outfits by Lady Aurelie de la Rose, at Blackstone Raids 2022.

Participants in the Queen’s Prize Tourney must register ahead of time and must be sponsored by a Laurel or Fleur (or the equivalent to the Fleur from another kingdom), who should provide meaningful mentorship to the entrant. This can take many forms, and is dependent on the entrant and their sponsor. Some entrants seek a mentor who is much more engaged, with regular check-ins leading up to the Faire. Some entrants may not feel the need for in-depth engagement. This should be discussed before a sponsor/entrant agree on the sponsorship.

If an artisan wishes to enter but does not know of a sponsor to approach, we are glad to help match them up; likewise, if anyone would like to be a sponsor and is seeking an artisan(s), we will work to pair folks together.

Each sponsor is asked to bring a gift for each entrant they sponsor, so that each entrant receives a prize.

Entrants

Queen’s Prize Tourney entrants are allowed up to three items which should show a cohesive body of work. Entrants will have one or two groups of reviewers, scheduled for one hour each, who will ask questions about the item(s), documentation, the research process, etc. After each review session, the entrant will receive feedback forms from each reviewer. Written documentation is encouraged, but not required. To facilitate multiple advisors per review session, we ask that entrants bring three copies of their documentation. We encourage entrants to sit with their display for most of the day to give Their Majesties and the populace a chance to chat with them as well. We ask you to register via our online entrant form and to securely upload some basic info, some photos, and your documentation.

Youth artisans are highly encouraged to enter the display and/or the Queen’s Prize Tourney! The comment sheets for youth entrants will be different from those for adult entrants, designed with their age group in mind. Ideally, a youth entrant should be able to express how much of the project they did alone and how much they had help with, what the project is, how it works, and what they believe they learned throughout the process.

Advisors

We will need advisors for a successful A&S Faire. Advisors must be Fleurs or Laurels and are expected to spend a good part of the day in face-to-face advising of the entrants. In order to prepare for the day and match advisors with entrants, we ask that advisors preregister. Likewise, we ask sponsors to sign up via our form.

THLady Astridr vigaskeg chatting virtually with advisor and fellow cook Mistress Katja, at the Blackstone Raids A&S Faire and Prize Tourney, 2022.

Feel free to approach us with any questions you may have by email or by finding us online. The registration deadline for in-person entry, advising, and sponsoring is April 27. The registration for online entry, advising, and sponsoring is April 20.

We hope to see many of you at the Arts & Sciences Faire and Queen’s Prize Tourney!

In service,

Hrólfr and Elska
Kingdom Ministers of Arts & Sciences

New Competitions at A&S Faire Announced

01 Saturday Apr 2023

Posted by in A&S Faire, Arts & Sciences, Bardic, Brewing, Poetry & Prose

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The autocrat for the A&S Faire in Nithgaard on April 29th has announced two new competitions in addition to the already scheduled Arts & Sciences display, Queen’s Prize, rapier tourney, and heavy weapons tourney.

The Beer Pit Tourney

This contest will occur after the rapier and heavy weapons tourneys are completed. Judges are requested; we will need at least one judge for every six entrants for reasons that will become evident.

Each entrant is expected to being a six-pack of some potent potable and a designated driver. One can/bottle will be given to the judge. Contestants will then consume however much of the remaining five bottles or cans they desire while they regale the judge and the audience with tales of their derring-do, martial prowess, and ability to best the other entrants. While alcohol is expected to be consumed, this is not actually a drinking contest. It is a storytelling contest, lubricated by some adult beverages. Points will be awarded for a good story, good kit, and good contributions to the judge’s cup. Extra points will be awarded to entrants bringing their own home brew.

While telling their tale, contestants may swing a stick to demonstrate their smooth striking, their majestic might, or their focused fury. However, actually striking another contestant or the judge will result in immediate disqualification.

Designated drivers will then be available for both the contestants and the judges.

Asked about this new competition, Master Morien McBain said “It’s about time that we had a contest recognizing both bardic and drinking prowess!”

New A&S Category

A prize will be awarded for the best entry that was completed on the car ride to the event. This will include the drive from wherever you slept the night before to the site, or for larger projects the drive from your home to wherever you crashed the night before the event. Entries must be accompanied by an attestation from the driver of the vehicle in which the entry was completed. Drivers are not allowed to enter physical items as we do not sanction unsafe driving. Spoken word or sung entries may be entered by drivers, but they will need an attestation from a passenger that they heard the driver rehearsing their entry.

THLady Fede di Fiore lauded this new contest as right up her alley, but lamented “The drive from my house to the event site is too short to get much of anything done, especially with the baby wailing in the back seat. Why couldn’t they have held it at Ice Dragon?” Her husband, THLord Cassiano da Castello, grumbled that brewing in a car would be quite hazardous, but agreed that this was a competition whose time has come.

The autocrat, Baroness Elena de la Palma, hopes contestants and spectators will enjoy both of these new activities.

Display at the Ice Dragon Pent!

03 Friday Mar 2023

Posted by in A&S Competition and Display, Arts & Sciences, Æthelmearc History, Ice Dragon

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Did you know there is more to the Ice Dragon Arts & Sciences Pentathlon than the competitions? The Pent area hosts the competition entries and judges, of course, but it also makes room every year for general A&S displays. Not everyone is interested in judging feedback, and to accommodate those artisans the Pent organizers will reserve several tables, to display with pleasure, without pressure!

One display which had everyone a-buzz – and not only because one of the shoes had a honeycomb pattern – was set up by Master Robert of Ferness (then THLord Robert) at the 2019 Ice Dragon Pent. Master Robert brought a plethora of medieval shoes of all different styles; needing to use three tables to set them all out! His display drew the attention of all those visiting the Pent area, as well as some gentles who came especially to take a look at this famous Flight of Shoes.

The Flight of Shoes A&S display by Master Robert of Ferness at the 2019 Ice Dragon Pentathlon

Not everyone realizes the Pent has two types of Display. One is meant for our dearest works in progress and treasured works of art. The other is meant for A&S disasters we’d honestly rather quietly bury in the backyard…

Quite a few years ago, Master John Michael Thorpe started the Failure Display at the Ice Dragon Pent. As the then-Kingdom A&S Champion he had been asked by a Crown Tournament autocrat to enter something in their A&S tournament. He felt it would not be appropriate to enter his Champs project, but that he could bring his current project that had just been placed into the kiln for display: thinking if the experiment worked it would be a fun display, and if it failed he would display the failure. Master Thorpe, the then-Kingdom A&S Champion, ended up displaying a failure – which contrary to expectation was very well received! Many gentles talked about how important it was to make it acceptable to sometimes fail, and this sparked the idea to add a Failure Display section to Ice Dragon, and to encourage Fleurs and Laurels to display their failures as a source of inspiration – and fun! – to the Kingdom at large.

Failure: a necessary part of the research and learning process.
by Master John Michael Thorpe

One concept most often left out of the A&S display and competitions is the process of learning, especially re-creating lost techniques and arts, and the failures that are a necessary part of true physical research. Over the years as I have taught people crafts and arts, the one thing that seems to come up over and over is the implication that my ability to do things comes from a talent that mysteriously sprang fully formed out of the void. That couldn’t be farther from the truth! I find that people who are new to arts and sciences (especially those outside of the normal A&S genres) look at the work on display at Ice Dragon, and similar venues, and then try their hand at what they saw and become discouraged. The point of this display is to highlight the work that nobody ever sees, the learning and discovery process.

My goal in what became this failure was to try to recreate period casting techniques for high temperature metals (silver and bronze) using clay molds as described in Theophilus (lost wax, Theophilus chapter 30: Casting the Handles for the Chalice: Theophilus, On Divers Arts,Translated with introduction and notes by John G. Hawthorne and Cyryl Stanley Smith. New York: Dover Publications,1963) and Dress Accessories (ceramic mold for mass production of buckles pp122, illustration 80 – Egan, Geoff, and Frances Pritchard . Dress Accessories. London: The Boydell Press. 1991). My process for the lost wax mold was to follow the directions in Theophilus, carving a chalice handle in beeswax (darned impossible stuff to carve, I need to see if sun-bleaching it makes it less sticky). I figured that a clay with a low vitrification temperature would be susceptible to thermal shock when the metal was poured from the burnout process vitrifying it, so I chose a high firing clay to avoid vitrification. I followed the instructions in Theophilus, coated my wax and the vent and sprue, then as they dried built up more layers.

I kept getting shrinkage cracks, so I figured that I should support and encapsulate the mold in powdered clay so that any leaking would be contained. I made the mold for multiple castings shown in Dress Accessories from 2 slabs of the same high fire clay; carved sprues, vent risers, mold cavities etc. in the clay, and let it dry. As it dried I got shrinkage, and cracking, ultimately one side of the mold split in half right at the main feeder sprue. The next morning I put both molds in a bread pan of powdered clay and put them in a kiln for preheat (and burnout of the lost wax) When I went to check on them at lunch time the big mold had shattered spectacularly all over the inside of the kiln, and although the lost wax was not yet fully burned out, it was missing it’s top.

The exploded lost wax clay molds in the kiln.

My friend ABS Mastersmith Kevin Cashen once said that you can tell more about a knife maker by the pile of blades under his workbench than you can by his display pieces. The experiments that didn’t work are often more valuable to the craftsman than the easy successes.

The next step is going to be trying to figure out what I can do to the clay to minimize the shrinking and cracking as well as figuring out a way to keep the whole thing from blowing up when I heat it. I have bounced one idea off of a couple of potters and they think it might have possibilities: elsewhere in Theophilus (Bell casting I believe) he mentions including dung in the clay mix, and in a documentary I watched on church bell casting they mixed horse manure in their casting sand as a binder, and have been doing it that way since the early 1800s, so the next experiment will be mixing some strained horse manure into the clay. I am hoping it has the same effect as the chopped straw I mix into the clay I build my smelters out of. So far I have learned that my off-the-shelf high fire clay does not work. That failure means that I will have to explore other materials and techniques. Sooner or later I will hopefully find a mix that holds it’s shape and doesn’t crack in the drying process, then I will work on modifying that until I have a mold that survives the casting process. Typically, a process oriented project like this will take me 2-5 years to develop.

Would you like to display a work in progress, an unassuming, or even spectacular failure, or two? There is no sign up or pre-registration required for the Displays – although if your display will take up a table, or three, it might behoove you to let the Pent coordinators know beforehand!

For more information on the Pent, take a look here

Have questions? Need three tables?! Contact Cori or Elska by FB or email.

Het Brugghetje cash prize for Research at the Ice Dragon Pent

01 Wednesday Feb 2023

Posted by in A&S Competition and Display, Arts & Sciences, Competitions, Ice Dragon, Research

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Meesteres Odriana vander Brugghe is proud to announce that at this year’s Ice Dragon Pentathlon, she will be awarding Het Bruggetje prize for Research. The prize will be $100 in cash, which the winner will receive when the results are announced in Ice Dragon court.

To win the prize, you must have the best documentation in any category of the Pent.

  • The choice will be based on the documentation portion of the judging criteria that is included in each category.
  • You will be entered automatically when you submit your entry to the Ice Dragon Pentathlon unless you would prefer to opt out.
  • Pentathlon judges will be asked to bring any excellent documentation to the attention of the judges’ panel.
  • The award will be decided by a panel of five judges drawn from the pool of Ice Dragon judges.

This prize is meant to encourage entrants to submit high-quality documentation along with their entries. If you need more information about the prize, or about how to increase the quality of your documentation, please contact Meesteres Odriana vander Brugghe via email at and she will connect you with resources. While she can not help you directly with your documentation, she would be happy to provide you with direction.

Meesteres Odriana very much looks forward to reading your research, and would be elated to award one of you The Prize! Not sure if you know Meesteres Odriana? Read more in her Populace in Focus article.

 

Anyone entering the Ice Dragon Pentathlon is automatically entered, you can decide to opt out but no further action is needed by the entrant. For more information on the general Arts & Sciences Pentathlon competition, please visit the Ice Dragon Pent website here.

 

Court Report: Kingdom A&S Championship October 22, 2022, AS 57

02 Monday Jan 2023

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Here begins the Report of the Court of Their Majesties Arnthor and Ceirech, King and Queen of Æthelmearc at the Æthelmearc Arts and Sciences Championship event in the Barony of the Rhydderich Hael, joined by Their Excellencies of the Rhydderich Hael, jorundr hinn rotinn, Silver Buccle Herald, reporting.

Their Majesties gave leave to Their Excellencies of the Rhydderich Hael to conduct Their Court.

Their Majesties thanked everyone for inspiring them to learn about and try new things with the displays and entries this day.

Their Majesties invited Master Hrolfr a Fjarfelli and Mistress Elska a Fjarfelli, the Kingdom Arts and Sciences Ministers to discuss the competition results. The overall winner, and new King’s Arts and Sciences Champion, was THLady Fede di Fiore, for her maternity dress project. There were two youth who participated this day, John Robert, the overall youth champion, and Charlotte, both were presented with tokens to commemorate their participation. The populace choice was Baron Snorri skyti Bjarnarson.

Lady Marguerite de Neufchasteau was called before Their Majesties to discuss her actions on the fields of fencing, archery, and thrown weapons. Her growing skill has been brought to Their Majesties’ attention, thus They inducted her in the Order of the Golden Alce. Scroll illuminated by Arianna of Wynthrope, calligraphy by Jonathan Blaecstan, and words by Sadira bint Wassouf.

Their Majesties called for Lord Meuric ap Gwillam to present himself before Them. They had heard much of his artistic endeavors. Most especially his research into period hide glue. Thus they inducted him into the Order of the Sycamore. Scroll by Gesa von Wellenstein.

Mistress Cori Ghora was summoned before Their Majesties. Mistress Cori never stops. She is constantly serving the Kingdom of Æthelmearc, supporting the scribes, and serving as seneschal. This pleases Their Majesties, and with utmost gratitude They bestowed on Cori an Augmentation of Arms. Scroll by Sophie Davenport with words by Pádraig Ó Branduibh and Juliana Rosalia Dolce da Siena.

Her Majesty called Charlotte to attend Her. Her Majesty commended Charlotte’s skill and courage in playing the harp all day long as well as entering the competition today. For this Her Majesty named Charlotte Queen’s Inspiration for the day and gave her a token.

Their Majesties thanked the cooks for providing a tasty lunch and persevering through equipment issues. They further thanked those who helped dress Them for the event.

Court Closed.

Scroll & Scribal Gallery: Open to Both New & Old Art

19 Monday Dec 2022

Posted by in Arts & Sciences, Awards, Scribal

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Does everyone know that we have a group for JUST pictures of scrolls? No scribal announcements or cool art tips – there are other groups for those important things.

The Æthelmearc Scroll and Scribal Gallery is just for pictures of scrolls. The initial premise was that it was for the recipient to do the posting, but it is okay if the artist does so instead. However, let’s look at the benefits of having the recipient do it.

First, the scribe knows you got it and love it! Second, the artist may not have gotten a picture and if they did, their picture may not have royal signatures or even calligraphy on it. Third, you get to brag on their work for them.

Oh shoot, you might be thinking, I didn’t know about this back when I got my award last year. Or 5 years ago. Or 20 years ago. It doesn’t matter! Put a picture here! I was thrilled to once see a scroll pop up that I had never photographed. If you put each scroll in its own post, then when people go to the photo gallery it is just example after example of what we do.

So if you are of a mind, go to the page and post those scroll pictures: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1404103652940207.

from Duchess Dorinda