The Viking Celebration of Yule

25 Wednesday Dec 2019

Posted by aethgazette in Brewing, Esoterica, Food

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By Elska á Fjárfelli, of the Dominion of Myrkfaelinn

Going down the rabbit hole can result in some interesting finds. During my digging into historic brewing techniques, I came across the following story. I thought it offered a nice peek behind the curtains into the life of the modern Viking — what is Christmas without a ghost story — which is why I am sharing it now with you.

Historians believe that the way of life of rural Scandinavians did not significantly change for hundreds of years, if not more, and that many of the traditions and techniques as found in the 19^th and early 20^th century could even go back as far as Viking times. The following account is called “Christmas preparations and Christmas” and is written by Norwegian Guro Hoftun Narum. The chapter is part of the book Livet i en fjellbygd omkring århundreskiftet (Life in a mountain village around the turn of the century), which was published in 1965.

In the good time before Christmas, the pigs were slaughtered. As a rule, it was the wife of the garden who cooked the cracklings and made pork stew and meat baskets (sausages). In part of the Christmas baking, they used pork dumplings.

One time before Christmas they bought a bunch of lutefisk, which had to lie [soak] in strong ash [potash lye] until it had swelled. New water had to be refreshed until the water was completely shiny and the fish was light and glossy as well.

Then the containers of Christmas beer were prepared. First, they sprout barley grain with some water. The grain grew, sprouted, then became lofty. They had it in a big wooden tray inside the living room, because it was warm. While the grain was growing, they sometimes touched [checked] it, and when it was fit, they dried it in the sauna. From the sauna they put it in the mill and got it roughly ground.

The women brewed beer from the malt. […] The beer fermented a little in the barrel as well, and there was some yeast on the bottom of the barrel. When the beer was drunk, they emptied the yeast into a dish and let it dry out, and when this yeast had dried out, they kept it until they had to make bread dough. Before it came from the cookers [could be purchased], baked fermented bread was preferred only for Christmas.

It’s Christmas Eve I remember best of the days of Christmas. Early Christmas Eve morning, we dragged the children into [listening to] a lot of Christmas [stories] around our kettles. We had the fireplace full and even something beside the fireplace. Most days, father set up one or more Christmas nights.

I can’t remember we had Christmas trees, and we didn’t get gifts outside of new clothes.

The evening meal was the same every Christmas Eve as long as I was a kid, namely lutefisk, a little fried pork and “dipping”, which was thick white sauce of good milk. Mother probably had some cream in it. Furthermore, there were peeled potatoes and beer in coffee mugs. Every day, the potatoes had to be peeled.

At Christmas, the adults talked about Christmas ghosts that came out of Hahaug during Christmas Night and came back on the thirteenth day. Hahaug is a large mound in the garden of Viko. There were many legends about undead (underground) people living in this mound. It was the legend of Christmas Eve, and I will bring you a couple more.

When the undead people in Hahaug were visited by other undergrounders, they held feasts. The music-man sat on top of the mound and played, and the others danced a kind of ring dance around the mound. Some of the people kept burning torches in the room.

Another legend is about a man who rode away to Hahaug on Christmas Eve. He saw a light shine inside the mound. The man greeted and called out Merry Christmas, and then he asked for a Christmas story. “It’s old custom and use here,” he said. Many women and men came out of the mound, and one of them handed the man a silver-plated drinking horn. He accepted the horn, but sprinkled its contents behind him so some of it hit the horse, and the horse was scorched on both hair and skin where the contents hit it. He should not have taken the drinking horn.

Behind the Scenes – Kingdom A&S Championship: The Gough Map Decoded, PART II

22 Sunday Dec 2019

Posted by aethgazette in A&S Competition and Display, Arts & Sciences, Esoterica, Scribal

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A&S, A&S Champs, scribal

PART II: The Material Science and Execution of the Gough Map

by THL Máirghréad Stíobhard inghean uí Choinne

The map was created in three phases starting in 1360 c.: first, the outline of Great Britain/ Scotland, second – other towns, and lastly London.

Recent Useful Learnings about The Gough Map – Materials and Non-destructive Tools
What is “digital restoration”? It is a rapidly growing group of techniques employed since the mid-1990’s by universities / museums to restore and study manuscripts / historical documents damaged by fading, fire, water or creation of a “palimpsest”. A palimpsest is when original text / illumination is removed mechanically from the media (i.e. parchment/papyrus) and overwritten with new text / illustration.

The Gough Map has been digitally surveyed by laser, Raman spectroscopy and most recently hyperspectroscopy and fluorescence by the R.I.T. team. Hyperspectral imaging entails hundreds of colors of light as opposed to the red/blue/green light that your digital/phone camera employs and sophisticated mathematics while consulting with the greater team determining the materials of the map in specific areas (see image of Pigment analysis tool for hyperspectral images). The University of Rochester R.I.T. team traveled to the Bodleian Library at Oxford in 2015 and 2019.

The hyperspectral analysis determined that Hadrian’s Wall is not composed of the same material as the red place name text writing. Both contained vermilion but in different amounts. Five unique red pigments were identified in use on the map. Pigments also appear different on the various substrates such as sheepskin vs. lambskin parchment. Five unique green pigments were identified by the R.I.T. team for the open waterways and five more fore inland waterways. Were they used to denote tides? Crossing spots? River depths? The answers to these questions remain unknown today.

One green pigment was shown to be a mixture of indigo (woad) and a yellow pigment. Analysis showed it to not be orpiment but an organic. It was not believed to be saffron due to the expense but possibly buckthorn yellow. Further analysis discovered verdigris (copper-based green) pigment. Similar analysis will also be used to determine which map areas employ iron gall and carbon inks. I will exclusively use iron gall ink.

A typical system is the University of Rochester (R.I.T.) multispectral system. The R.I.T. hyperspectral system has an enhanced light source subsystem (see difference between images of text from Rediscovering text in the Yale Martellus Map, Spectral imaging and the new cartography). Multispectral imaging is used to recover lost text in damaged and illegible manuscripts. Researchers photograph the object under several different wavelengths of light. The images, when processed and combined, allow the researchers to see material undetectable by the naked eye (see image Illuminating the Past). They are portable and have been brought to many international locations: university libraries, museums, monasteries, and archives to name a few.

Recreating the ‘London Vignette’ from The Gough Map
What/Why: My desire to recreate a portion of the Gough Map using period materials, techniques and tools resolved into choosing the London Vignette “Plus” (LVP). London is a well know place in Britain including gold leaf (the name “London”, palace spires) and silver leaf (round windows, battlements) adding to the complexity. The palace roof, appearing green, was originally blue woad. Recreating this portion using the latest scientific research, allowed sharing the exciting new field of digital restoration.
To fully use the piece of parchment donated, I enlarged the London Vignette (LV) from the image on the website to the slightly larger image calling this “The London Vignette Plus”.

Parchment: Gail Kelloge Hope (Mistress Abigail, my parchment mentor) donated the 5 by 7-inch sheep parchment she prepared to this project. I have participated in workshops preparing it as well.

Stylus: According to the British Library and Portable Antiquities Scheme, solid lead styli were used for ruling lines/sketching in the medieval / post-medieval periods. A holder called a ‘plummet’ may have been used to hold the stylus. Images are in Christopher de Hamel’s “Scribes and Illuminators (Medieval Craftsmen). Carbon graphite was not used before the seventeenth century. Due to health hazards, a graphite pencil stylus was used.

Templates: An inquiry was made to The Manuscripts Reference Team at the British Library, Randy Asplund (Master Ranthlfr) and via social media A&S site to Mark Calderwood, noted calligraphy expert, regarding images of templates used. The BL and Mark Calderwood directed me to model books. However, knowing the model books existed did not explain exactly how the models were transferred to the parchment. This is explained in “Introduction to Manuscript Studies” by Raymond Clemens and Timothy Graham. As early as the eleventh century, “pouncing” (not pouncing for preparing parchment) was used. A copy from a model book was selected. Another piece of parchment was placed beneath the original. Pricks with a knife point/needles penetrated both pieces of parchment outlining the figure. The parchment underneath was removed, placed over new parchment and rubbing with a cloth bag filled with chalk/ powdered pigment. A sketchy outline was left on the parchment below. Simply connecting the dots completed the duplicate model. Since the single buildings on the Gough Map only have four pricks, lines were most likely hand-drawn to complete the building. I developed a parchment template for use with a bag of pigment/needles to reproduce the repeating single buildings.

Binders/Mordants for Metal Leaf and Calligraphy: Reflectance FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Analysis) and hyperspectral analysis has been unable to determine the difference between egg white glair and gum arabic in period samples/modern control samples. In the areas identified by the R.I.T. team as using a binder, I used gum arabic for both gouache and ink. Cennini’s classic recipe for gesso mordant for metal leaf may very well have been used on the Gough Map as it was certainly in use during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Without the mordant identified, Cennini’s slaked plaster recipe was used which is a combination of honey, slaked plaster, hide glue, Armenian bole pigment and water. It was prepared by my Laurel, Roberta McMoreland (Pam McDermott) and me.

Gold Leaf: The gold leaf used for the gold elements is 24 carats as was used in period. Shell gold I prepared in the medieval manner was used to touch up to the edges of gold leaf in the medieval manner as described in my paper “Preparing Shell Gold”. (image Gilding before cleaning – photo by author)

Silver Leaf: The silver leaf used on elements such as the battlements about the London palace or “castle” tarnished with age. This is a well-known phenomenon for silver gilding. It will not appear tarnished in the reproduction – at least not initially.

Pigments: A table included in the full paper was devised showing how many pigments were identified by scientific analysis by the R.I. T. team, which pigments were identified in the LVP, their modern substitutes if used, binder used, and some additional notes. A nominal ratio of 1:10 with enough water to make a preparation roughly like melted ice cream was used for gouaches. Some pigments must be mulled with water using a glass muller against marble before use as was the case with the woad (indigo) pigment.

Preparing to mull the woad (indigo) pigment and gum arabic with glass muller against marble slab. (Photo by author)

Pigments: mixed into gouache with gum arabic with burnisher. (Photo by author) Note that disposable gloves and a disposable mask were used when preparing the vermilion and for post-drying handling due to toxicity.

Pens/Ink: Undoubtedly quills were used to prepare the map which was attached to a stretcher when being worked. I am using goose/crow/turkey quills prepared by Robert Meyer (THL Robert L’Etourdi) or myself. I am also using oak gall ink prepared also by Robert Meyer since the complete study of the inks used on the map is incomplete. However oak gall ink is one of the inks common to the era. “Vermilion” red ink was prepared by mixing gum arabic with vermilion pigment in about a 1:20 ratio then with 30 parts of water. As discussed by Christopher de Hamel in “Illuminators and Scribes”, since making quills was such a common and oft used skill in the middle ages, no known primary source documentation is known describing the process.

Burnisher: When burnishing the gilding, I used a dogtooth burnisher with an agate tip – very hard and smooth and shaped like a dog’s tooth with wooden handle. This approximates the tool used in period except the burnishing tip was actually a dog’s or a cow’s tooth.

Calligraphy Hands: T. M. Smallwood noticed that the revisor scribe of the map uses Secretary letter forms. He made this part of his argument for a new, later date of the map. The Secretary letter forms do show up only in the revised part of the map and not in the text in the original scribe’s hand. They do not appear in place-names in Scotland for example. The LVP is from the part of the Gough Map that included revisions. The Anglicana script was used by the first scribe/calligrapher. The place names that are on the LVP were all overwritten by the revisor and have letters characteristic of the Secretary hand such as the “R” in Reigate.

Parchment: Needlework as determined from inquiries to the Bodleain, the library took possession of the map when the material joining the lambskin and sheepskin was already missing. The seam is not part of the LVP. Using the “Ask a Librarian” at Bodleian Library to find out about the seam-joining material and the exact size of “The London Vignette (LV)”. I interacted with Drs Nick Millea, Oxford Map Librarian at Bodleian Library, renowned expert on the Gough Map and author of The Gough Map: The Earliest Road Map of Great Britain and Marinita Stiglitz, Head of Paper Conservation at the Bodleian to determine this information. Unfortunately, they did not have the dimensions of the LV, so I interpolated the size using a poster from the Bodleain.

What Went Well and Not So Well

Well
• Drawing on the sheepskin parchment went smoothly. Once the parchment was pounced with gum sandarac, it accepted pencil, quill ink and gouache most readily. Pencil and ink were easily removed by scraping.
• Initial mixing and testing of the vermilion ink were successful when used with the quills but the ink was unstable.
• Finding the place names using the interactive map was successful but time-consuming. Understanding that you could search on part of a medieval place name i.e. “gate”, and the map would display all the locations including those letters in the name place on the map, I was able to identify the places in the LVP thus making sense of the calligraphy identifying familiar locations such as Rochester Cathedral. When a place name could not be located, it was omitted for future addition. Place names used are included in the full documentation.
• Mixing the pigments with dry gum arabic and water went very well. Mulling the woad (indigo) pigment with gum arabic using a glass muller against marble slab resulted in much finer pigment particles. The vermilion pigment required a drop of isopropyl alcohol to reduce the surface tension allowing particles to mix with water.

Not so well
• Drawing small figures with quills being left-handed and not yet having perfected beveling was a challenge. Blotting ink in roof corners for example was corrected by scraping excess ink and burnishing the parchment laying the nap flat.
• Although initial mixing of the vermilion ink tested successfully, overnight, the ink settled. Perhaps additional gum arabic /egg glair or a drop of isopropyl alcohol would have helped. In the future I would experiment with formulations and vermilion hues to match the color better perhaps using spectral data from the actual map analyses.
• Gilding in low humidity conditions is always a challenge and with period style a greater challenge. The gold leaf adhered better than the silver leaf despite attempts to increase the humidity in the room using steam. Given the dry, cold weather and impending snow, this was not unexpected. If time allowed, I could have scraped the gesso off, added a drop or two of honey to it and started over.
• Knowing how much sap green to mix with the woad (indigo) to achieve the green for the hills was a challenge. I matched the color as best I could to the poster in tests, but that does not mean it reproduces what was originally used. Controlled tests of various mixtures submitted to simulated aging might be able to spectrally find the original mixture. An inquiry to Dr. Messinger regarding the green pigment analysis was not answered until after completion.

Conclusion
The Reproduction:

Image: My reproduction of the Gough Map London Vignette Plus (Photo by author).

Further Developmental Studies
There are years of analysis and discovery to be done on the map and other historical documents including: minimizing imaging light exposure to avoid possible long term damage, spectrally “unmixing” pigments, recovering text and damaged areas using fluorescence, automating identification of pigments and creating an affordable imaging system (the R.I.T. systems cost about $50,000 – the goal is $2,000 each).

Rochester, N.Y., located in the Barony of Thescorre, is establishing itself as the world center for recovery of historical documents – whether they have been damaged by age, smoke, water or are palimpsests. The R-CHIVE (Rochester Cultural Heritage Imaging, Visualization and Education) group centered in Rochester meets (also online) alternately at R.I.T. and the University of Rochester and is a collaboration of university researchers, volunteers and students from across the globe. They have held conferences for the past three years in Rochester.

A UNESCO UK Memory of the World Treasure
Cultural heritage imaging is increasing in importance each year. The Gough Map is an excellent example. On 5/23/2011, the Gough Map was added to the UNESCO United Kingdom “Memory of the World Treasures” register. “The UK Memory of the World Programme is part of a worldwide initiative established in 1992 to ‘guard against collective amnesia, calling upon the preservation of the valuable archive holdings and library collections all over the world ensuring their wide dissemination.’.”19

Future Opportunities for Me with the Gough Map
This project was about the journey through using period tools, methods and materials augmented by modern scientific analysis of the materials not about the appearance of the finished map segment. I do hope to at sometime in the future reproduce the entire Gough Map including delightful elements such as the ship off the Orkneys. Not only does the reproduction improve my cartography/illumination skills, but the associated research broadens my understanding of the history, paleography and codicology of the exemplar, its preparers and users.

I continue my volunteer opportunities with R-CHIVE which assists me in accessing information on recent discoveries. Last year I was able to engage Dr.’s Messinger and Easton with personnel at my company, L3Harris Technologies, to discuss beginning enhancements for this use to the ENVI ™ software my company produces. This software is used to “stitch” all the images together for the non-invasive analyses. My dream is after training at the 2020 conference that R-CHIVE will host, to be able to assist in a hands-on fashion in addition to my current discussions as a volunteer with R-CHIVE for future analyses.

Interactive Website
The Gough Map Project developed a wonderful interactive website where users can explore physical aspects of the map itself as well as access papers, presentations, articles and links to other research material about the map. During the A&S competition, I shared access allowing judges/visitors to experience the interactive site onsite.

Image: The Gough Map Decoded entry at Kingdom A&S Championship by THL Máirghréad Stíobhard inghean uí Choinne, member of the AEthelmearc Parchmenters’ Guild.

This article is an abbreviated version. The full documentation, including the full bibliography, can be downloaded from here.

Abbreviated Bibliography

1. Bai, Di; Messinger, David; Howell, David, A Hyperspectral Image Spectral Unmixing and Classification Approach to Pigment Mapping in Historical Artifacts, Journal of the American Institute of Conservation (JAIC), pp. – (March 10, 2019)
2. Cennini, Cennino D’ Andrea. Il Libro dell’ Arte (The Craftsman’s Handbook. Trans. Daniel V. Thompson, Jr. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1933.
3. Delano-Smith, Catherine, Understanding the Gough Map: an application of physics, chemistry and history, accessed 9/24/19
4. Easton, Roger L.; Sacca, Kevin; Heyworth, Gregory; Boydston, Kenneth; Van Duzer, Chet; Phelps, Michael, Rediscovering text in the Yale Martellus Map, Spectral imaging and the new cartography, 7th IEEE International Workshop on Information Forensics and Security, Rome, Nov. 19, 2015
5. Kelloge Hope, Gail, Parchment – Making Basic Instructions, 10/2019
6. Messinger, David, Hyperspectral Image Analysis of the Gough Map of Britain (1410): Who? What? Where/ When? Why? And How?, Chester Carl Center for Imaging Science Lecture, R.I.T., 1/23/2019
7. Illuminating the Past, Rochester Review March–April 2017, Vol. 79, No. 4
8. A pigment analysis tool for hyperspectral images of cultural heritage.
9. Vetter, Wilfried, Latini, Irene, Schreiner, Manfred, “Azurite in medieval illuminated manuscripts: a reflection-FTIR study concerning the characterization of binding media” Heritage Science volume 7, Article number: 21 (2019)
10. Wilcox, Margaret, “Preparing Shell Gold”, Class Handout College of Three Ravens 2010; Fall Academy 2010; Pen V. Sword 2014, Summer Academy 2014; 2/15

Winter Solstice and The celebration of Yule

21 Saturday Dec 2019

Posted by aethgazette in Arts & Sciences, Esoterica

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Viking, Yule

The Viking origins of our modern Christmas
By Elska á Fjárfelli, of the Dominion of Myrkfaelinn

We’ve all been to a Yule-themed event at some point. And most of us are aware there is some sort of connection between Yule and Christmas. What I was surprised about is how many of our Christmas traditions hail back to Dark Age customs! All the way back to its roots, Yule is a mid-winter festival celebrated by the Germanic people. The winter and summer equinoxes, as well as the autumnal and spring equinoxes, played important roles in many pre-Christian cultures. The celebrations were a way of marking time, as well as a way to honor the ancestors and the gods. And at first, the time of yule, called Yule-tide, lasted somewhere around two months between mid-November and early January.

One of the most recognized solstice monuments, the Neolithic Stonehenge and its partner Woodhenge, are physical remnants of such time-marking celebrations. The wood circle was oriented towards the setting sun on the midwinter solstice, opposite to the stone circle, which was oriented towards the midsummer solstice, and both are linked to each other by a processional route. It is speculated that woodhenge, which had no evidence of human burials but plenty evidence of copious feasts, represented a “land of the living” while Stonehenge, with evidence of human burials and built of ever-lasting rock, represented a “land of the dead.” While Stonehenge and Woodhenge are quite unique, structures to mark the solstices have been found throughout the ages and in many cultures, including in Scandinavia. Not all that surprising: Scandinavian winter days are rather short and winter nights very, very long, making winter solstice celebrations seem like rather a good idea!

https://deepfriar.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/viking-solstice-9.jpg?resize=529%2C233

Illustration by Deep Friar, December 23rd, 2009.

Viking Age Scandinavian festivals included many different rituals and celebrations, many of which are still around today. For instance, the Vikings has festivals resembling our Halloween – well, more like the Mexican Day of the Dead or the Irish Samhain than our modern Trick-or-Treat kid’s Valhalla, but you get the gist. Viking Halloween consisted of Alfablot, a private celebration for the family’s ancestors and the family’s life force, and the public feast Disablot. The Disablot festival happened during the “three days prior to winter” and is believed to have been held to wish for prosperity for the upcoming season. The Vikings also celebrated a festival known as Yule. Many customs of the Yuletide tradition are quite similar to our Christmas.

And this is not a coincidence, as many of the customs and traditions celebrated under the umbrella of modern Christmas in fact originated from the Yule celebrations of the Vikings. To make it easier to convert pagans, the church declared the Birth of Christ to have taken place during the Roman holiday of Saturnalia, to help smoothen the transition to Christianity. As the holiday or Saturnalia coincided with the winter solstice, this also happened to be the time the people of Scandinavia celebrated Yule. The winter solstice marked the longest day of the year and the slow returning to light and the winter solstice celebration lasted for twelve days. The Christian Christmas celebrates mankind’s movement from darkness into the light, and the twelve days of solstice celebration became the twelve days of Christmas.

Let’s take a closer look at those iconic Christmas symbols, starting with the Christmas tree:

The Christmas Tree
Because evergreens were still green during winter where everything else is dormant (visually dead), evergreen trees embodied the life of the forest, the country, and reminded the people light would return. Vikings would display the still-green tree during the Yule festivities and often decorate it with statues of gods, food and bright colored clothes, in an attempt to appease the spirit of the land so it would return to green again.

The Christmas wreath
The Yule wreath was not the gentrified home-décor accessory it is today. A Viking Yule wreath was a giant wheel that would be set on fire and rolled down a hill, to wish for the return of the sun. Depending on geography, this would be a literal appeal, as in certain parts of Scandinavia the sun literally does not rise for several weeks in winter. How intimidating this darkness must have been!

A chocolate Yule log cake, Christmas 2004, from Wikimedia

The Yule log
We might only know the Yule Log as a delicious rolled cake, meant to resemble a wood log. In Viking time (and quite a bit after) the Yule celebration included a symbolic fire, the burning of large logs on the central hearth of the longhouse. The yule log symbolized the continuation of light despite darkness – thus, obviously, the bigger the better. The Yule log was meant to burn for days throughout the Yule celebration, and was often made of oak and draped with evergreens like holly and fir. The log could be carved with runes to wish for protection of the gods and a piece of the log could be saved to start the house fire in the new year, to protect the house and household.

A straw Yule goat ornament from Poland, Wikimedia

The Yule Goat
A lesser known custom of Scandinavian Yule is the Yule Goat. In modern tradition it is often artfully crafted from sheaves of wheat and makes a perfect decoration for the Yule tree. In the Viking Yule the Yule Goat was rather important and personified the pair of goats belonging to Thor, god of thunder and lightning. The harnessed goats pulled Thor’s chariot through the sky, making the sound of thunder in their wake. Another incarnation of the Yule Goat tradition sounds more like Halloween meeting Christmas: young men would wear goat skins and go from house to house, singing. In return, the goat-men would be rewarded with food and drink.

The Christmas Ham
During the Yule celebrations various plants and animals were sacrificed to pay tribute to the gods. The sacrifice and eating of a boar to appease Frey, who together with his sister Freya symbolized fertility, is thought to have inspired the traditional Christmas Ham.

Santa and Odin – Christmas and Yule; from Sons of Vikings

Old Man Winter
Although the modern incarnation Santa Claus has more in common with the Dutch winter celebration Saint Nicolas, both seem to harken back to the Scandinavian Old Man Winter. In Norse tradition the gods frequently came down from Asgard to fraternize with the locals, mostly in disguise. Thus, Vikings always welcomed Old Man Winter – a dressed up local, or perhaps not? – into their home when he visited and he would join them in their feast. Many would think, or perhaps hope, the Yule Old Man really was Odin in disguise, traveling around wearing a hooded cloak, riding around on his majestic white horse Slepnir.

Mistletoe
Scandinavian mythology tells the story of Frigga, the mother of the slain Baldr. Thought to be the most beautiful and blessed of the gods, Baldr was protected by a spell against all weapons. In a devious scheme orchestrated by Loki, he was killed by a branch of mistletoe. Frigga resurrected her son Baldr when her tears over his demise stained the then-red berries of the mistletoe white; her tears providing the “kiss of life.”
Recently, the theory has been put forth that Christianity was relatively assimilated by Scandinavian culture as the story of Christ’s resurrection and that of Baldr, the beautiful and blessed son of the All-Father, was so much alike.

Halloween and Christmas are two of my favorite family traditions of the year. I think it is wonderful our modern society, often so distanced from our agricultural roots, still celebrates the bounty of the harvest, the shortest day, the end of yet another growing season. I enjoy the traditions’ ancient roots, and the deep connections between different cultures. Even our languages are connected: in Old Norse, the Yule festival was known as “Jól,” with variations. Etymologists surmise the English word “jolly,” meaning festive, has its roots in the Norse word “Jól!”

Therefore: Jolly Holidays, to you and yours!

Behind the Scenes – Kingdom A&S Championship: The Gough Map Decoded PART I, by THL Máirghréad Stíobhard inghean uí Choinne

12 Thursday Dec 2019

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PART I: The History behind the Gough Map

What was it like to be a medieval cartographer? And how did I come to be interested in “The Gough Map”? The R. I. T. (Rochester Institute of Technology) Center for Imaging Science hosted a lecture on January 23, 2019 given by Dr. David Messinger, PhD, Director of the Center and his PhD students: Di Bai and Morteza Maali Amiri. I attended this lecture which I discovered through volunteer activities at the R.I.T. and the University of Rochester with digitally archiving historical documents.

The Gough Map shown in Figure 1. is the first known surviving map of Great Britain and has been dated to approximately 1410 c.b.e. (completion date). Earlier maps exist such as Matthew Paris’ map held at the British Library and made in the early part of the 13th century. However, it is much less geographically correct than the Gough Map.

The lecture discussed recent work performed to learn more about the origins, materials and tools and uses of the map. It has been a collaboration between the R.I.T. team and David Howell of the Bodleian Library at Oxford University where the map is housed, Andy Beebe of the University of Durham and Catherine Delano-Smith and Damien Bove of the University of London among others – a group composed of physicists/image scientists, a chemist, a material scientist and two map historians respectively. “This unique collaboration includes researchers from the fields of Imaging Science, Conservation Science, Chemistry, Materials Science, Geography, and History.”

Here, the Gough Map is shown alongside a current map of Great Britain for orientation purposes (Britain; Project Britain). I have also displayed a poster produced for the Bodleain Library that is nearly the same size as the Gough Map (the poster is 17.5” by 35.5”) for reference as well in the A&S competition display site. This lecture led to my additional research on the Gough Map and ultimately the desire to reproduce part of the map, The London Vignette, in an authentic manner. Since the map is roughly 4 feet by 2 feet, bankrolling enough parchment to reproduce the entire map was not feasible.

Background
The Gough map shows all of England and Scotland and part of Ireland. It was bequeathed in 1809 to Oxford Bodleian Library by the antiquarian, Robert Gough (pronounced “guff”). He first encountered it in 1774 and acquired it from the estate of Thomas “Honest Tom” Martin for two shillings and six pence. It measures about 115 x 56 cm or about 45 x 22 inches. This is very large for a manuscript of this era. The parchment is about two thirds sheepskin and one third lambskin. The needlework seam joining the two can be seen running across Scotland. The large size also made the map awkward to work on for the scribes.

The map was extensively revised after about 100 years of use. This was determined from the modern study of the map spearheaded by Catherine Delano-Smith who is also editor of the premier cartography magazine Imago Mundi, starting in 2011. Phase 1 of the modern study of the map was the initial analysis of the material and physical composition of the map. Phase 2 focused on the compilation of the map where three distinct map-making episodes were determined:

Layer 1 – showing the whole of Britain from the English Channel to Scotland
Layer 2 – a reworking of the map south of Hadrian’s Wall
Layer 3 – re-inking of place-names in the southeastern/central quadrant of England

Phase 3 of study will be aimed at in-depth topographical analysis. Currently Phase 1 is continuing with determining what materials appear to be different due to aging of the original materials or because they were added during later revisions and/or are indeed different pigments or inks. The R.I.T. team introduced new scientific tools including hyperspectral analysis to further the Phase 1 study starting in 2016.

During the 1600’s, there was some damage to the map. The owner was told the text would be restored if he applied a mixture of oak gall and red Madeira wine on a sponge to those areas. This approach worked for a few weeks and then due to chemical reactions – resulted in complete destruction of the text and images on those area of the map. This hyperspectral analysis technique was used to reveal the text and illumination that has been chemically removed from the map manuscript.1

King Henry IV was reigning when the map was put into use. It includes 654 place names shown as text alone or in boxes or cartouches and 200 rivers. Other physical features are identified by symbols, with trees locating Sherwood Forest and other wooded areas. What originally appeared to be roads on the map has been suggested to be distances between these places. However, this theory is in dispute and the reason for gathering this data and how it was used remains a mystery. There are red Roman numerals next to these red lines but again the complete reason for these remains unknown.

Image: The Bodleian Library, Oxford, Duke Humfrey’s Library reading room (DeHamel).

What do we currently know about the Gough Map?

The Scribes
The text on the Gough map was executed by at least two scribes: the original 14th-century scribe and a second 15th-century scribe who was a reviser. The text by the original scribe is best observed undisturbed in Scotland section and north of Hadrian’s Wall. The text calligraphed by the reviser is located in south-eastern and central England. The majority of Wales and portions of the Midlands and Cornwall are damaged and faded extensively. Due to this, it is often impossible to be certain currently which scribe is responsible for this text.

Uses of the map
The movements or interests of the unknown map’s owner may well be represented by the selection of lines on the map. The lines between places were originally thought to represent distances with an unknown unit of measure, but that is not now believed to be true. Theories for the meaning of the lines include tax collection. The uses of the map are still simply not fully understood.

Materials and techniques
Town names are in black ink (oak gall ink was a common ink used during this period; carbon black ink came into use at a later time) and red ink. Districts, areas and lines between places are in vermilion red ink. Districts such as “Essex” are in cartouches or boxes. However, none of these districts are included within the London Vignette Plus. There are various characters on the map including fish, sea monsters, boats, and ships and the text such as “where King Arthur landed”. These objects and text can be seen in detail at the website. Places again can be searched for on this interactive map using modern or medieval names or partial names among many other features.

All the churches and buildings on the map are identical and are illuminated over four pin holes as the example shown in Figure 3. It is surmised that a template as was common in monastic illumination was used to draw them and held in place by the holes or perhaps a poncing technique using pricked holes with a template was used. An example would be the identical churches and a single building near London drawn most likely using a poncing template by one of two scribes, the 15th C. revisor (image from http://www.goughmap.com).

The quote below from “Leather, Vellum, Parchment, Drawing and Copying Maps and Charts” gives further detail regarding the use of templates in cartography:

“Exactly how were coastal outlines transferred from the model to new work in the 14th century and what traces can be seen of that (or those) process(es)? Answer; with a template laid on the basic forma of the wind rose. There would then be no trace of the work except the pin holes to hold the template in place (as has been noted).” (citation)

The map was created in three phases starting in 1360 c.: first, the outline of Great Britain and Scotland, second – the other towns, and lastly London.

For more on how Máirghréad deconstructed the materials and constructed a vignette simile keep tuned for the next installment of Behind the Scenes – Kingdom A&S Championship: The Gough Map Decoded Part II!

THL Máirghréad proudly presents the Gough Map Decoded – and won the privilege of becoming the Queen’s Champion for her extraordinary efforts. She is a member of the Parchment Guild.

Interactive Website
The Gough Map Project developed a wonderful interactive website where users can explore physical aspects of the map itself as well as access papers, presentations, articles and links to other research material about the map.

This article is an abbreviated version. The full documentation, including the full bibliography, can be downloaded from here

Abbreviated Bibliography

• De Hamel, Christopher, Scribes and Illuminators (Medieval Craftsmen), British Library Press
• Delano-Smith, Catherine, Understanding the Gough Map: an application of physics, chemistry and history, accessed 9/24/19
• ‘in, or close to, the reign of Henry V (1399-1413)’, Smallwood, T. M., ‘The Date of the Gough Map’, Imago Mundi 62 (2010), pp. 3-29, at p. 23.
• Smallwood, T.M. “The Date of the Gough Map”, Imago Mundi, May 2009, accessed 11/4/19
• Messinger, David, Hyperspectral Image Analysis of the Gough Map of Britain (1410): Who? What? Where/ When? Why? And How?, Chester Carl Center for Imaging Science Lecture, R.I.T., 1/23/2019
• Millea, Nick, The Gough Map: The Earliest Road Map of Great Britain, 2007 by Oxford University Press
• “The Future of the Past” Rochester Review March–April 2017 Vol. 79, No. 4
• Wilcox, Margaret, “Lecture on the Gough Map”, Aethelmearc Gazette, 2/2019 online publication

What Happens When Things Go Wrong? A Look at Grievances and Sanctions

25 Friday Oct 2019

Posted by Krista in Esoterica

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Expulsions, Grievances, Law, policy, Procedures, R&D, Sanctions

The SCA is an amazing place to find the things you love to do, and the people you love to do them with – all in a context of shared interest and values, and in a framework characterized by courtesy, responsibility and recognition. It’s a great place to play and grow.

But in the end, it’s a community made of humans, and sometimes things aren’t as they should be. What happens then? A lot of folks may not realize that the SCA has a structure in place for when things go wrong. This article will try to demystify that structure and associated process, and maybe even give some guidance to you if things go wrong in your corner of our shared hobby.

Before we get into the nitty gritty, understand that the SCA has rules. They come in the form of laws and policies and other sorts of governing documents.

The top document is the Organizational Handbook (https://sca.org/docs/pdf/govdocs.pdf), which includes Corpora. These are the basic rules. Section X of Corpora deals with grievances and sanctions.
The Society Seneschal’s Resource Page (http://socsen.sca.org/kingdoms-and-seneschals/seneschal-resources/) has some great resources, too, including the Seneschals’ Handbook (sanction information spread throughout but see especially V.D. and XXII and XXIV.4 (Harassment and Bullying Policy)), and the Sanction Guide, which includes the Code of Conduct.
Our Kingdom’s Procedures are outlined both in Kingdom Law (Article X: Grievance Procedure), and in Kingdom Seneschal Policy (VI.A.), although mostly just referenced Corpora, X.B.2, which is the Society Grievance Procedure. Here’s the repository for Seneschal documents. (http://docs.aethelmearc.org/index.php?d=Seneschal&s=n&o=asc)

Wait, we have a Code of Conduct?

We do! It applies to everyone, on any SCA issue regardless of forum, including in person (events, practices, meetings, phone calls, etc.), and online (email, social media, etc.). This also means that the Code of Conduct applies whether you are on SCA official outlets or your own personal social media outlets, if discussing an SCA matter.

It is expected that participants in the SCA shall treat each other with respect and civility and this extends beyond SCA gatherings. Participants expressing themselves in any forum on an issue related to the SCA shall likewise maintain civility and courtesy. When considering sanctions in response to behavior, the sanctioning authority shall consider the extent of the public comment as well as the gravity of injury done to an individual local branch, Kingdom or the SCA. Behavior that is disruptive to the peace and well-being of the SCA is subject to sanction from an expulsion to Revocation of Membership and Denial of Participation (R&D) especially where there is a continuing course of conduct.

What if I have a dispute with someone about an SCA matter?

If it’s a modern legal matter, none of this applies. Go to the modern legal authorities/resources. The SCA will not get involved in modern legal stuff. Period.

If it’s not bullying or harassment, you should follow the grievance procedure. You can read the full grievance procedure in Corpora, but here’s the condensed version:

1. Understand the basic principles. There are lots of ways to approach our activities; as long as it’s legal and follows SCA rules, be understanding of each other, and communicate. Look for common ground, as compromise may be possible. Keep a sense of perspective; there are always two sides to any issue. Go through the chain of command/authority without skipping anyone, and without spreading laterally. Be circumspect and polite. Be patient and allow each level time to deal with the situation.

2. Try to work things out face-to-face. Explain your point of view and listen to theirs. If direct communication isn’t possible, find a respected moderator between you. Don’t go to the officer in charge of the area yet. Hopefully this resolves the issue. If not:

3. Write to the person you’re having difficulty with. Describe (politely) the way you feel you’ve been damaged. Ask for the action you feel would make things right, and suggest a time frame in which you want that to happen. This could be a series of letters and/or conversations, and if there is progress being made, continue with this.

4. If this doesn’t resolve the problem, write a formal letter to the other party. Outline new points and refer to previous correspondence. Send a copy to the officer in charge or the Royalty or Royal representative at the next higher level than the one where the dispute exists. Continue at this step as long as there’s progress or it resolves. If not…

5. Write directly to the officer in charge of the area, copying the subject of the dispute, the next higher officer, and the appropriate royalty or royal representative. Include the entire previous correspondence. Explain what help you need. Allow time for response. If it doesn’t resolve:

6. Repeat the last step, moving up the organization, including everyone on your copy list. Once you get to the Kingdom Officers, the Kingdom process kicks in. See below.

7. If it’s still not resolved, the Board of Directors will find a solution. But! You may not like the solution, and this is the final resolution. In addition, whatever the resolution is, may very well affect the entire Society. Be careful. The idea is to get to a resolution, not get to the Board.

What happens if I get to the Kingdom level with my dispute?

First, you have to provide written proof that you tried to resolve it already. If you haven’t done that, you’ll be asked to go through the steps above, although the Kingdom Seneschal can change that on a case-by-case basis.

If you have gone through the procedure, you can petition the Kingdom Seneschal for formal arbitration within 30 days of the stalemate. Note that formal arbitration is VERY rare, and usually the informal process works well.

In formal arbitration, both sides pick an arbiter from the list of names the Kingdom Seneschal provides. The arbiter conducts formal interviews of the people and officers involved, and hopefully can resolve the dispute in the course of these. If not, the arbiter makes a recommendation within 90 days (can ask for an extension). The options are: drop the case, hold a Court of Chivalry, or proceed with another action without a Court of Chivalry. If anyone is unhappy with the recommendation, they can petition the Crown for a Court of Chivalry.

Hey, what’s a Court of Chivalry? How does that work?

It’s the process by which the Kingdom is empowered to investigate grievances that can’t be settled through the grievance or arbitration procedures. It is NOT for modern legal stuff, modern legal crimes, bullying or harassment, or hate speech. It’s for SCA only disputes.

Our Kingdom hasn’t had any in more than a decade. That doesn’t mean we can’t. You can read about the process in Kingdom Law. It’s a process that takes some time (weeks), and involves the Kingdom Seneschal, the Crown (who must attend), and a panel, which is 5 people plus two alternates. The panel votes on a finding, and may recommend a resolution or action. Any sentence is the prerogative of the Crown.

What kind of sentence? For that matter, what kind of repercussions are there for rules violations, at any level?

The Crown can remove or suspend any officer for just cause at any time. The above process could be, but doesn’t need to be, followed first. (That isn’t considered a “sanction”, though.) A couple types of sanctions include administrative, where the Kingdom or Society officer can suspend or remove lower officers in their area of authority, or a revocation of authorization to participate in that area (this sometimes takes the form of revoking a warrant).

Another category of sanction is a Royal Sanction. There are several types, including a Banishment from the Royal Presence (not allowed to attend Royal Progress events), being prohibited from wearing any display of kingdom badges or armory (i.e.: kingdom award medallions, etc.), being prohibited from the privileges of rank (e.g.: not being able to participate in an Order poll, etc.), being prohibited from taking part in any official business in the Kingdom, and Exile from the Realm, which means they cannot attend events in Kingdom. Royal sanctions either have a specific time frame, or they end at the end of the Reign.

For the really bad stuff, you can be expelled from the SCA (Expulsion), and/or have your membership revoked and denied (R&D). See below.

Sounds like Royalty does a lot of the sanctioning. What if they break the rules? Are they immune from repercussions?

No, the rules apply to everyone, including the Royalty. In fact, Corpora explicitly states that Royalty are subject to all current Society rules and Kingdom Law. The Board of Directors reserves the right to discipline people that break the rules while on the throne. However, resolutions must be sought directly with the Crown and the relevant Kingdom and Corporate Officers before the matter will be heard by the Board.
That all covers regular disputes, but what I feel that there is situation that is bullying and/or harassment?

Any bullying and harassment concerns should be reported directly to the Kingdom Seneschal. If you’re not comfortable with that, report it to the President of the SCA or our Board Ombudsman. The grievance procedure does not need to happen first for bullying or harassment situations. If you become aware of a situation like this, whether the subject of the behavior is you or someone else, the correct procedure is to report it. This one deserves a direct quote from Corporate:

The SCA prohibits harassment and bullying of all individuals and groups.

Harassment and bullying includes, but is not limited to the following:

offensive or lewd verbal comments directed to an individual;

the display of explicit images (drawn or photographic) depicting an individual in an inappropriate manner;

photographing or recording individuals inappropriately to abuse or harass the individual;

inappropriate physical contact;

unwelcome sexual attention;

or retaliation for reporting harassment and/or bullying.

Participants violating these rules are subject to appropriate sanctions. If an individual feels subjected to harassment, bullying or retaliation, they should contact a seneschal, President of the SCA, or the Kingdom’s Board Ombudsman. If a participant of the SCA becomes aware that someone is being harassed or bullied, they have a responsibility pursuant to the SCA Code of Conduct to come forward and report this behavior to a seneschal, President of the SCA or Kingdom’s Board Ombudsman.

Don’t be shy here. Bullying and harassment is not to be tolerated. Retaliation for reporting bullying and harassment is not to be tolerated.

What about hate speech and symbols?

We do not tolerate hate speech or symbols in the SCA at all. Not at all. If you see someone using them, report it to the Kingdom Seneschal, the Society Seneschal, or the President of the SCA. Yes, really. From Corpora, X.A.4.:

Hate speech is not tolerated in the Society. Hate speech is speech or symbols that offend, threaten, or insult individuals or groups, based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability or other traits. Such symbols and speech have no essential part of any discussion of ideas and are of so little value to the Society that any benefit that may be derived from them is clearly outweighed by the harm caused. The use by any participant in the Society may result in possible sanctions up to and including revocation of membership and denial of participation.

How do I get a hold of Kingdom and Corporate officers if I need to?

Corporate Officer contact information can be found here: https://sca.org/officers/directory.html

Kingdom Seneschal contact information can be found here: http://socsen.sca.org/kingdoms-and-seneschals/

Ombudsman listing and contact information is here: https://sca.org/BOD/omb.html

What about other sorts of bad stuff?

Rarely, some really nasty stuff goes down in the SCA, like serious violations of the rules, things that could put people in harm’s way, things that could endanger or negatively affect the SCA. Every now and then, really nasty stuff goes down in someone’s modern life that could put people or the SCA at risk, like being convicted or violating some civil or criminal laws, or a situation where someone is under criminal investigation and could be a risk to SCA participants.

These people are expelled from the SCA. They are prohibited from participating in the SCA in any way, including attending events, other gatherings, online forums and websites, and social media. The Kingdom can initiate these via the Kingdom Seneschal and the Crown, or the Society Seneschal can impose an emergency expulsion, with the ratification of the Chairman of the Board. Emergency expulsions can also be issued by the Crown and Kingdom Seneschal together. Expulsions can even happen within just the space of a day or two in special cases.

Expulsions are temporary until the Board has a chance to review the situation. Upon review, the Board can choose to make the expulsion permanent. The is known as Revocation and Denial of membership, or an R&D.

The Board will also consider an R&D by petition from the Kingdom, either 30% or more of the member population, or a majority of the Kingdom’s Great Officers and Peers who are members. They’ll also consider an R&D via a recommendation by a Kingdom Court of Chivalry or other Corpora-defined recommendations. Other notes: R&Ds can be appealed if there’s new evidence, and an individual member can agree to a voluntary R&D.

There’s a very specific sanction process in the Sanction Guide that needs to be followed to protect all the people affected by the situation, other SCA folks, and the SCA itself. The procedure covers roles and responsibilities, notifications, confidentiality, Royal Court and publication requirements, a review process, an appeals process, and other guidance for SCA investigators. Only modern and SCA names, the sanction type, and the sanction term can be shared with the membership at large, although individuals directly affected by the situation may be contacted by the appropriate people.

That’s… that’s a lot…. Does this really happen?

The SCA has a lot of people in it. Our Kingdom alone has about 1,700 members, and that number doesn’t include participants that don’t have memberships. Pennsic has 10,000 attendees, and not all of them know or understand the Code of Conduct. Other than Pennsic, it’s pretty rare that our Kingdom needs to do an expulsion, but it does happen.

Bullying and harassment allegations happen, too. It’s unpleasant to think about, but humans are humans everywhere, even here in our hobby. Our Kingdom Seneschal is a safe person to report to, and will listen with compassion and discretion, as well as act within their authority to resolve the situation. If you don’t feel comfortable going to the Kingdom Seneschal, you should report to the Society Seneschal, President of the SCA, or the Kingdom Board Ombudsman.

Understand that the leaders and officers of our Kingdom strive to keep us all safe to the best of their ability, and that includes issuing sanctions when needed, or finding informal resolutions, or a combination of both. Keep in mind, too, that just because a dispute may have happened in a public or public-like setting, doesn’t mean that the public will hear about the outcome. This is for everyone’s protection. The parties that are directly involved know the outcome. This may not be broadcast publicly, but working toward resolution happens in every case that’s reported. If the involved people aren’t happy with it, there is always a way to appeal, up to the Board level. It is of utmost importance that all the people in the SCA feel safe.

Last words…

Serious matters, especially regarding bullying and harassment, should go directly to the Kingdom Seneschal.

As for the less serious disputes and disagreements, please talk to each other. The very best thing to smooth ruffled feathers and come to agreements is simply to communicate. You may just find that the source was a simple misunderstanding, and that there’s lots of common ground.

And if you find your anger rising because of someone else’s actions or words, always assume ignorance rather than malice. It’s possible they just don’t understand their impact. Talk to them with an open mind. If you find yourself on the receiving end of anger, take a moment to examine why, including your own actions and words. Take a breath and respond with an open mind. Remember that sincere apologies, both giving and accepting, go a long way.

We’re all in this together.

Combat Archery as Community

05 Thursday Jul 2018

Posted by aethgazette in Combat Archery, Esoterica

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combat archery, community

A young gentle who wishes to remain anonymous was asked to write about “community” for her college entry essay. Her story reminds us of why we all love this hobby.

An arrow whizzes past my right ear, and I am thankful to have dodged it. I automatically nock a projectile of my own and select my target, a spear-wielder fifteen feet in front of me. The heat from my helmet draws sweat from my face; my body is weighed down by my armor. Fighters shout all around me, falling in battle, calling targets, and dealing blows. The ruckus of swords on helmets threatens to fill my head. My concentration remains. I focus in on my target and release the string. My arrow flies. The shot yields yet another kill.

I have been participating in combat archery in the Society for Creative Anachronism since I was sixteen, and I have never felt so truly perfect as when I am on the field fighting with my friends. I have done fiber arts in the SCA before, and still do, but it is nothing compared to the allure of combat. There is something magical about being in battle with one’s closest family and friends. We arrive together, armor together, and fight together. No one is in it for himself- it is truly a team effort. The spears and archers need shield carriers to protect them, and the shield carriers need the spears and archers for ranged support. Fighters block strikes for each other and archers time shots with one another to allow reload time. The greatest feeling of community, however, is the discussion after the battles. A combatant is never talking about himself. Conversations always center around what others on the team had done well that round, incredible feats that another has done, and how well the group fought together. Win or lose, neither side is bitter. Sports where enjoyment is valued above ranking are very difficult to come by, but when they are, they are truly magical.

When I am in armor on the field, the fight is all I am concerned about. I can forget about all the stresses at school and home. I can really put myself into the shoes of my persona. I am an archer, a weaver, a servant, and truly in a medieval battle. The excitement and rush of charging into a battle, hearing the clash of swords and shields, and fighting until the death is the greatest experience I could ever ask for. It is frightening to feel the blow of a sword and terrifying to be pushed along in the swarm of the battle charge; it seems real and is such a wonderful feeling to realize at the end that it was all pretend – and even more wonderful once you realize how much fun you were having.

As eccentric of a hobby as it is, I would really be in no other place than on the field in battle with my father, brother, and friends. It is the one place where I truly feel community, and the one place where I can feel genuine excitement without being in any true danger. It is a place where, regardless of the outcome, nothing has changed between me and my opponents. It is a place where I can truly be myself. I often find others asking me if I’m one of those weird people in armor in the park; and every time, without missing a beat, I respond with a proud “Yes, I am”.

Combat archers at Pennsic. Photo by Lord Ursus.

Æthelmearc Rocks!

20 Thursday Jul 2017

Posted by aethgazette in Esoterica, Youth Activities

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Æthelmearc Rocks

Rocks 1 By Dame Aoife Finn

This summer across the country and around the world, people in random communities are sharing a hide and seek art project with complete and unknown strangers, to delight and support one another. A seemingly simple idea has had far reaching consequences. For some, it is a fun game. For some, an act of mindfulness. One participant just last week posted a message on Facebook telling her story, that she suffered with a chronic pain disorder, and had found a little painted stone in a public place with a simple but direct supportive message. That stone interrupted her thoughts of self-harm. You never know who will find your work, or what it might mean to them.

This whole movement, of leaving painted or decorated rocks for others to find, began in memory of two small girls from Oregon, aged 6 and 11. You can read the story of Anna and Abigail here. But it blossomed from there. My own town, Honesdale, PA, participates in a big way, an estimated 10% of the population following the Facebook page. Towns and cities outside the county began to join in. Soon, people traveling began painting and hiding and moving found rocks to other communities, sometimes many hundreds of miles away as they traveled.

As I watched my little town embrace the larger ideal, the sharing of mutual, anonymous delight and art and love for fellow humans that Love Rocks has become, an idea was born. You see, the issue being expressed in the Love Rocks movement is that love never dies. Perhaps your love is for your art, or for your dog, for your favorite shoes, for your past-times, for your kids or spouse or ancestry. Or maybe your love is for the annual vacation you take at Cooper’s Lake Campground in Pennsylvania every year.

One of the biggest acts of love, for lack of a better phrase, that happens every year, is Pennsic. Volunteers, attendees, and merchants from around the globe all come here, to the sponsoring Kingdom of Æthelmearc, to participate in something they love to do with the people they adore, in ways that are difficult to explain to the world. That’s okay, we do it, we work and volunteer and welcome the world because we love it, too. From no kingdom are there more participants and volunteers than here at Pennsic’s home, Æthelmearc, though it’s often a very close race. Thinking about our hard-working kingdom, often dubbed “The Friendliest Kingdom in the Known World,” the idea of Æthelmearc Rocks was born. If folks can leave Love Rocks in Greece, in Paris, in Africa, and on the Great Wall of China, why not at Pennsic? It’s all about our love of the unique community we purposefully create every year at Cooper’s Lake.

Isabelle and Elizabeth Von Halstern model the Æthelmearc Rocks they created to bring to Pennsic. (Photos courtesy of their mother, Duchess Ilish Von Halstern). Rock-painting will be just one activity available at the always-awesome Æthelmearc Children’s Party on Sunday August 6th in Æthelmearc Royal Encampment, from 5:30 to 7:00 PM.

What is Æthelmearc Rocks? It’s two things, actually. It’s an artistic hide and seek game at Pennsic, and it’s a Facebook page dedicated to the game.

Who can play? Anyone who wishes can play. Any age, any interested, any family-friendly message or artwork or sentiment.

How do you play? Anyone who happens upon a decorated rock at Pennsic can relocate that rock, and the hope is that they will be inspired to decorate another rock in family friendly style (children will be playing, too) to hide in whimsical places in plain sight for others to find. Every other part of the game is optional. People are free to keep one or two of their favorite rocks, and should feel free to post selfies with a found rock or hints about new locations. Anyone can create decorated rocks, as many as they want, at any skill level of decoration. Rocks should be placed in public areas only, and should be out of the common footpath to avoid falls. There are no prizes, it’s all about sharing appreciation and art (and bragging rights). For a better description, see the FaceBook page, “Æthelmearc Rocks!”

How do you make the Rocks? Rocks may be any easy to carry size, and can be decorated in many different ways from paint to permanent marker to decoupage to incised. You can decorate rocks at home to bring, or paint some at Pennsic while you’re there. Rocks should be weather-resistant enough to stay colorful for the 2 weeks of Pennsic. Many people find acrylic paint an inexpensive medium for their rocks.

We ask two items be included on every rock:

Any skill level of decoration is welcome.

1. As a thank you to the Kingdom of Æthelmearc for hosting Pennsic and its citizens for working so hard every year, please make an Escarbuncle a part of the design in some fashion, large or small. An Escarbuncle looks a lot like an eight armed snowflake (or the Chaos symbol) when big or an asterisk when small. Find an Æthelmearc banner, and you’ll find an Escarbuncle. Other than that, decorate as you wish in some sort of SCA or related historical style, but please keep it PG-13. If you want your rock to live on after Pennsic, a light coat of clear acrylic, polyurethane, or clear nail polish would be a good idea. That rock may travel to other kingdoms!

2. On the back or side of the rock (marker may be easiest), please write “Facebook: Æthelmearc Rocks!” so folks have a chance to look up the game if they don’t know about it and happen upon your decorated treasure. Small rocks may need the word Facebook abbreviated to “FB.”

What happens to the rocks? Most rocks go unsigned, so artists may have posted their works on the FaceBook page as well, hoping to follow their progress from hand to hand. At the end of Pennsic you can leave your rocks in place or take some home. It’s up to you.

These rocks await a clear coat to protect the art from the weather.

Pin Down the Dead! Or, how to protect against zombies and the evil eye…

11 Wednesday Jan 2017

Posted by aethgazette in Arts & Sciences, Esoterica

≈ 1 Comment

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blogs, magic, Viking

By Elska á Fjárfella of the Dominion of Myrkfaelinn, 2016

As part of my Viking persona the need for some sort of magical amulet devolved into another research project. I had heard about thunderstones, and straightforward that I am, assumed those would have been made out of fulgurites, which form of melted sand from lightning striking the beach. But just to be on the safe side I looked into these fascinating talismans and found that throughout history many, many objects had been perceived as thunderstones. For a very long time thunderstones were believed to be the physical remains of thunderbolts or lightning strikes endowed with the power to avert evil or bad luck, and to protect the house, property and family against lightning and by association, storms and fire. In the words of 17th century Adrianus Tollius “Thunderstones are generated in the sky by a fulgureous exhalation (whatever that may look like) conglobed in a cloud by a circumfixed humour, and baked hard, as it were, by intense heat”…

As much as that almost seems plausible, what did they expect those exhalations to look like? Most thunderstones seem to fall into one of three categories: they look like weapons (the sky gods used lightning as a weapon, like Thor’s hammer Mjöllnir), they are associated with thunderstorms (for instance resemble hail) or have lightning like properties (spark fire). Preferably they are found in conjunction with lightning storms and lightning strikes: objects that were not there before the storm but were there after – washed out of the ground by heavy rains but attributed to having fallen out of the sky; like stone objects with a peculiar shape, with holes in them or sharp ends, polished, chipped (proof they fell from the sky), perfectly round, smooth, with a projectile shape, like pointed, arrow like etc…

Thunderstone amulets could be categorized in three classes: the minerals, the fossils and the ceraunia. Examples of minerals would be those unusually shaped stones; fire sparking stones like flint, iron pyrite and bog iron; fulgurites (found by digging out the lightning strike site, looking for the magical core) and meteorites, especially those with remaglypts which do kinda look like fingerprints of the gods! Only a couple types of fossils are considered thunderstones: sharks teeth and Belemnites (squid) resemble weapons, and Echinoids are rather round with a, to us, familiar five pointed pattern. But the most interesting are the ceraunia. These stone age tools were crafted by early man, but as this knowledge had been forgotten, the sometimes abundantly found stone weapons became part of thunderstone myths instead!

In archaeology, thunderstones are most often found in grave finds and in house foundations. This is interpreted as a wish to protect the dead and help them into the afterlife, and to protect the house and family from lightning strikes and fire. As thunderstones were seen as the manifestation of lightning strike cores, and throughout history the myth (hope) of “lightning/disaster never strikes twice” prevailed (even today, as shown by the Norse disaster protection rune on our modern day ambulances), having a thunderstone in your house or on your person would, therefore, exempt you from being hit. elska-1

The connection between thunderstones and burial could come from their connection to faeries. The Fae were thought to be the inhabitants of a mystical, enchanted world, with plenty of honey and wine, feasts, playing and drinking, and where you’d never grow old (sound familiar?). The Celts believed that this Otherworld could be accessed from the real world through Neolithic and bronze age barrows – which would have stone tools – and thought that Otherworld was the land of the dead. Placing echinoids (called faerie loaves) or stone tools in burial sites would help guide the spirits of the dead on their journey into Otherworld, or the afterlife.

In Norse mythology Thor’s hammer Mjöllnir was thought to have the power to call up the dead to renewed life and placing the sign of Mjöllnir, either as a fossil echinoid or a stone axe, in burials can therefore be seen as an act of symbolizing rebirth after death. Thunderstones were believed to fall from the sky during thunderstorms; missiles hurled by Thor to keep the wandering trolls under control. If a thunderstone struck a troll careless enough to be out in a thunderstorm, instant death followed. If it were not for Thor’s missiles, the Norse believed, the trolls would have spread across the earth like a plague! Thor’s hammer Mjöllnir also represents the lightning as when thrown it magically returns to Thor’s hand, just as natural lightning is seen to strike the earth (leader) and then fly black to the skies (return stroke).

There is also a connection between thunderstones and the use of iron. Revered for its transformative qualities by way of smelting and smithing, the transformation of iron into a new state could be regarded as a parallel for the path of the body and soul through burial rituals and might seem as a good catalyst to assist the dead to do the same, similar to the believe of stone tools and echinoids. According to Norse belief, placing objects of iron in and around the grave site is a most reliable way of ensuring the dead stayed bound to their proper place (the Norse draugr are zombies, apparently risen from the grave due to lack of iron, or thunderstones!). Iron is also used to wire wrap thunderstones to wear as amulets as iron would trap the magic and keep the thunderstone ‘loaded’. Popular myth also mentions faeries can be deterred/trapped or hurt/killed with pure iron, which concurs with thunderstone myths.

Apparently thunderstones were seen as pretty darn useful: tools & echinoids would be included in graves to protect souls, guide travel into the afterlife and keep evil spirits away. They would be placed inside walls, under the floor or the threshold or kept under eaves or staircases of buildings to protect the owner and his house from being struck by lightning, fire and storms, and would be worn to avoid dying at sea, losing in battles, and to guarantee good sleep at night.

Echinoids placed on shelves in the pantry would keep the milk fresh and cause plenty of cream, and were hung around the necks of cattle. They guaranteed good breeding luck and good hunting & fishing luck. And thunderstone echinoids made the beer ferment.

Who finds a thunderstone should not give it away, otherwise he loses his luck. In Norse mythology they were thought to keep trolls and witches (or general evil) away, and bring good luck. They were also thought to protect the unchristened child against being “changed”. And thunderstones were considered to be good protection against elfish malice, the evil eye and especially, the Devil. elska-2

Thunderstone echinoids were even assimilated into Christian culture as a protection sign against evil. In some parts of England, openings like doors and windows on the north side of a church, which in medieval and earlier times was known as the Devil’s side of the church, would be rimmed with echinoids (called shepherd’s crowns), all with the five pointed side visible. Echinoids naturally display a five pointed star, the forbearer of the pentagram, which became symbolic of the power of good over evil!

To keep up with demand, objects that looked like magical items became regarded as similar, and were believed to take on the same magic, which is called the Theory of Similars (or Sympathetic Magic). This explains the prevalence of manmade Thor’s hammer amulets in later period, from very crude (as part of iron amulet rings which were believed to keep the spirits of the dead confined to the grave) to elaborate jewelry pieces, all used as protection amulets and talismans. And how the five pointed star of the echinoid likely evolved into the powerful symbol the pentagram, which took with it several of the thunderstones protections, including safeguarding brewing (Scandinavian), protection against witches & general evil and especially protection against the Devil.

Interestingly, the word “urchin” for modern sea urchins likely came by way of thunderstones: fossil echinoids, often called fairy loaves, were associated with the Fae, and another word for these creatures was “urchin”. And ironically, it took until contact with Native American Indians in the 16th CE, who at that time still used stone tool technology, for the European scientific community to realize ceraunia were actually stone tools made by an earlier kind of people!

Over time, the powerful thunderstones devolved into no more than talismans, or lucky stones. But remember, next time you find a stone with a hole in, and you just have to put it in your pocket – you’re just following in your ancestors footsteps and there is nothing superstitious about that! Or is there…

The inspiration amulet, my amulet and part of my Thunderstone Amulet display at the Yule Peace Tournament this December. In the foreground is a striker (to demonstrate how well flint sparks fire) and a piece of naturally found flint from England (shaped like a tube as the flint formed in a prehistoric animal seafloor tunnel). Thank you, Angelika for loaning the striker and the replica stone tools, Edward Harbinger for the real stone arrow point and Artemius of Delftwood for the belemnite. The rest of the collection comes from my personal stash collected during years of wandering all over the place picking up whatever looked unusual!

Bibliography

McGinnis M., Meghan P. Ring Out Your Dead. Stockholm: Stockholms Universitet, 2016

http://www.archaeology.su.se/polopoly_fs/1.288568.1467018819!/menu/standard/file/Mattsson_McGinnis_Meghan_Paalz-Ring_Out_Your_Dead.pdf Fig a & b are attributed to this text.

Johanson, Kristiina. The Changing Meaning of ‘Thunderbolts’.

https://www.folklore.ee/folklore/vol42/johanson.pdf

McNamara, Kenneth J. Shepherds’ crowns, fairy loaves and thunderstones: the mythology of fossil echinoids in England. Myth and Geology. London: Geological Society, 2007. Fig 4 & 8 are attributed to this text.

http://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/273/1/279.refs?cited-by=yes&legid=specpubgsl;273/1/279

Report of the U.S National Museum, Part I. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1899.

Ravilious, K. “Thor’s Hammer” Found in Viking Graves. National Geographic News, 2010.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/08/100810-thor-thors-hammer-viking-graves-thunderstones-science/

Seigfried, Karl E. H. The Norse Mythology Blog. 2010

http://www.norsemyth.org/2010/04/mighty-thor-part-one.html

Dian-stanes and “Thunderstones”. Orkneyjar, the heritage of the Orkney Islands.

http://www.orkneyjar.com/tradition/dian.htm

Sibley, Jane The Divine Thunderbolt USA: XLibris, 2009

Extant piece found at http://www.geolsba.dk/echinoids/dan/Galerites-vikingesmykke.html

See Elska’s blog here.

Dragonship Lands in Delftwood!

22 Thursday Sep 2016

Posted by Krista in Esoterica, Gaming & Fun

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Delftwood, Dragonship, Viking

Enjoy this account of a Viking ship that visited our lands, submitted by Lord Snaebjorn inn Danski, of the Barony of Delftwood:

In the final weekend of August, the shores of our fair Barony of Delftwood were subject to a surprising sight, one of the fierce dragonships of Viking raiders at our shore! Though we are used to seeing Viking warriors and tradesmen amongst us, never before has such a mighty vessel as the Draken Harald Harfagre been seen in our waters.

Sunday, August 28th, found many of the citizens of Delftwood heading to the pier in Oswego, NY, to look upon and take a tour of this long traveled craft. Joined there by friends from Thescorre, Coppertree and other groups throughout the northern lands of our fair kingdom. Many, if not most, even turned out in garb for the occasion and there are rumors of a betrothal as the ship was exited as well.

An impressive sight it was, as the magnificent craft was 114 feet in length from her fierce dragon headed prow to the very stern of the ship, and 26 feet wide at her widest point. Round shields adorned her rails, and the top of her mast stood nearly 80 feet. Built in the same manner as those ancient ships which once sailed the seas, she was even finished with a mixture of linseed oil and pine tar. Christian, the ship’s engineer and one of its longest serving crew members, told how the ship had been built as faithfully to the originals as possible with the exception of using saws to cut the planks instead of axes, and the careful hiding of a few modern additions such as an engine below deck for emergency use or, as would later become necessary during its trip through the New York canal system, when the sails could not be used.

The Draken Harald Harfagre (Har-fog-ra for those who may have trouble pronouncing such names) was built and launched 4 years ago by a private owner who wished to test the seaworthiness of the famed Viking longships. For two years it sailed along the Norwegian coasts before following the Viking raiding and trade routes to Ireland. It was then decided to recreate the famed voyage of Leif Ericsson from Greenland to North America.

Launched on April 26th from its homeport in Norway, the Harfagre followed the traditional routes westward to Greenland and from there followed what is believed to be the same route Leif Ericsson would have taken. On June 1st the ship reached Saint Anthony, Newfoundland, and proceeded up to land in L’Anse aux Meadows, just as Leif Ericcson had over one thousand years ago.

Since then it has traveled down into the Great Lakes and competed in a series of races and port visits as part of the Tall Ships Challenge. She then headed down through the canal system to Albany, where she once more had her mast set and her sails opened to sail down the Hudson to Kingston and New York City. She is now heading to her winter berth in the lands of our Eastern cousins within the Barony Beyond the Mountain (Mystic, CT).

It was during this trip down the canals though that the Draken Harald Harfagre met another ship on its own journey to test the capabilities of its ancestors. On the shores of Coppertree’s Sylvan Beach, the fierce dragonship docked side by side with the Hokule’a, a replica catamaran built in the style of those ships used to settle the Pacific islands such as Samoa or Hawaii. The Hokule’a, is a much smaller craft and contains no engine at all, but is nearing completion of an even more impressive journey.

Launched in May of 2014, the Hokule’a has been circumnavigating the globe for over 2 years. Sailing west from Hawaii it has made stops in Tahiti, Samoa, New Zealand, Bali, Mozambique, South Africa, Brazil, and the Virgin Islands. It has sailed the entire eastern seaboard and is now heading up through the canals to the Great Lakes and St Lawrence Seaway before it turned around and headed back down through the canals and began the final leg of its journey down through the Gulf Coast and Panama Canal to get back home.

For further information about either of these ships, their routes, or their missions you can visit their websites; www.drakenexpeditionamerica.com and www.hokulea.com

Lady Ghita Rinaldi de Amici and Bella de Amici, of Delftwood

Photos courtesy of Lord Snaebjorn

Who Owns Me? The Answers

26 Tuesday Apr 2016

Posted by aethgazette in Esoterica, Fencing

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Quiz

By Caleb Reynolds

The following (the answers to His Excellency’s latest quiz) is a list of the real swords and their real owners:

Tizona – This is one of the swords carried by El Cid. It’s currently on display at the Museo de Burgos in Burgos, Spain.

Durandal – Roland’s sword, as mentioned in the Song of Roland.

Grus – Belonged to Boleslaus the Wrymouthed, also known as Boleslaus III, the 11th century Prince of Poland.

Joyeuse – Charlemagne’s personal sword, on display at the Musée de Cluny in Paris, France. It was also the coronation sword of the kings of France up until Napoleon. (This was a two-fer.)

Legbiter – Magnus Barelegs, otherwise known as Magnus Olafsson, King of Norway at the end of the 11th Century.

Skofnung – Hrólf Kraki, the 6th century Danish King.

Zulfiqar – Ali ibn Abi Talib, who said it was given to him by the prophet Muhammad. Its image was used on banners and flags of the Ottoman Empire.

The Sword of Goujian – Goujian, King of Yue, a state in Ancient China. This bronze sword was discovered in 1965 and dates back to the 6th century BCE.

Curtana – The coronation sword of the monarchs of England, also known as the Sword of Mercy. It is on display along with the British Crown Jewels at the Tower of London.

Koryû – Kusunoki Masashige, a 14th century samurai. Koryû means “little dragon.” This is considered one of the national treasures of Japan and can be seen at the Tokyo National Museum.

Dyrnwyn – Rhydderch Hael. Dyrnwyn is Welsh for white hilt; the sword had an ivory hilt.

The Sword in the Stone – San Galgano. This is currently lodged in a stone inside a glass case in a round chapel on top of Montesiepi in Tuscany, Italy.

Dôjigiri Yasutsuna – Minamoto no Yorimitsu, a 10th century samurai. Called Monster Cutter, this tachi is currently housed at Tokyo National Museum.

Murgleys – Ganelon’s sword, as mentioned in the Song of Roland. This was called Mulagir in Germany and was described as having a carbuncle on the pommel.

Lobera – Ferdinand III. Called Wolf Slayer, St. Ferdinand’s sword is currently housed at the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See in Seville, Spain.

And the fictional people and swords I added as red herrings?

People:

Damocles was tested by a sword of Dionysius, which apparently did not have a name.

Amir Arsalan – Shamshir-e Zomorrodnegar, from Persian legends.

Sigurd – Hrotti was the sword Sigurd claimed from the Dragon Fafnir’s horde, from Norse/German mythology.

Richard Cypher – carried the Sword of Truth, from the fantasy series of the same name.

Michael Moorcook’s sword & sorcery character Elric of Melnibone was cursed to wield the soul-drinking sword Stormbringer.

William Wallace – History does not record if William named his sword. (No, William Wallace was not a fictional person, but he is on this list anyways. Freedom!)

Fergus mac Róich – wielded Caladbolg in Welsh mythology.

Derfel Cadarn – the champion of Dumnonia, in the Arthurian legends, wielded Hywelbane.

Arya Stark, from A Game of Thrones fantasy series, wielded Needle.

Bastian’s sword, from The Neverending Story, was Sikanda.

Swords:

Narsil – The sword of Elendil, the shards of which were broken and later reforged into Anduril, wielded by Aragorn, son of Arathorn, etc. in the epic fantasy The Lord of The Rings.

The Master Sword – Link’s sword, from the Zelda video game series.

The Vorpal Blade – The sword of Gary Gygax in Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying games… +5 against Jabberwockies!

The Sword of Omens – Lion-O from the cartoon Thundercats.

Shannara – the uber sword from the Sword of Shannara fantasy books.

Fragarach – Sword of Manannan mac Lir in Irish mythology.

Eckesachs – Belonged to the legendary hero Hiebschwert of Germanic legends.

Arondight – Lancelot’s sword of the Arthurian stories.

Gram – Odin’s sword, broken by Sigmund of Norse mythology.

Cthrek Goru – Torak’s sword from The Belgariad fantasy series.

How did you do?

If you took this quiz, then you are a SCAdian. Hooray! You won.

The Æthelmearc Gazette

~ Covering the Kingdom of Æthelmearc of the SCA

Category Archives: Esoterica

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