05 Monday Jul 2021
Posted in Heavy List, Officer Announcements
Good Afternoon Æthelmearc!
Reauthorization forms are coming in fast and furious. I put about 20 cards in the mail this morning, so some you should be getting them in the mail late this week or early next week.
In Service I Remain,
THL Deirdre, Kingdom Authorization Clerk
06 Sunday Jun 2021
With great joy, the Shire of Misty Highlands bids the populace of Æthelmearc welcome to the Crown Tournament of Maynard and Liadain as we begin to put the time of the plague behind us and slowly reunite with those friends who have been dearly missed for so long.
The Crown tournament will be held on Saturday, August 21 on the grounds of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, 71 Asylum Drive, Weston, WV. The site will open at 9 in the morning and close at 6 in the evening.
A detailed schedule of the day will be determined by Their Royal Majesties closer to the tournament.
Troll fees will be $5 for members and $10 for non-members, with gentles under the age of 18 attending freely with the welcome of the Shire.
Pre-registration is VERY MUCH PREFERRED via SCARS (link to be posted shortly) but may also be sent to the Reservations clerk, Master Otto Boese (Harry Marinakis) at 329 Sycamore Fork Road, Wallace, WV 26448 and received by August 14th. (Make checks payable to SCA WV Inc. – Shire of Misty Highlands.)
First, Crown will of course follow all coronavirus restrictions as laid out by the SCA, and that means that pre-registration will be required for all who wish to attend, although that number is no longer limited. NO ONE without a pre-registration will be allowed to attend the event. Please follow announcements from the Society Board of Directors as to the latest rules.
Second, the current restrictions on food means there will not be any prepared feast or sideboard offered at the event. The shire will plan to have bottled water available on site for the populace as long as restrictions allow.
Any questions on the event can be directed to the Autocrat, Baron Arias Beltran del Valle (Alex Hines), 301 Arthur Ave. #1, Clarksburg, WV 26301, or at email or by phone at (724) 944-6547 (ABSOLUTELY no calls between 4:45 and 6:15 p.m. weekdays or from 5:45 to 6:45 Fri.-Sun.)
We look forward to welcoming the kingdom to the Shire of Misty Highlands as we once again greet each other in person for a grand tournament and in the fellowship we have long missed!
24 Monday May 2021
Maynard and Liadain. Photo by Duchess Anna Blackleaf.
Greetings unto Æthelmearc from Maynard and Liadain, King and Queen of these Sylvan Lands.
We are thrilled that the date for Our Crown Tournament has been announced for August 21, 2021 in Our Shire of Misty Highlands. Our Seneschal, Master Illadore, has provided an excellent video announcement with details here.
Our greatest wish is to host a grand tournament, boasting a large number of combatants and spectators showcasing and witnessing the prowess and chivalry of Æthelmearc.
However, as you may be aware, we are currently limited to 150 attendees. We therefore strongly request that combatants and consorts only submit a letter of intent for entry if they are confident of being present and participating in the tournament in Misty Highlands on August 21, 2021. Should the current attendance restriction by the BoD not be increased or lifted, this may result in those not running the event or participating in the tournament being unable to attend.
Furthermore, we ask that entrants into the tournament seriously consider what victory and being royalty during a pandemic entails. We encourage you to reach out to us with questions.
In order to get back on track as a Kingdom, the preferred date for Coronation is September 25, 2021. Alternate dates may include September 18 or October 1.
This is a very quick turnaround time, and entrants should consider the following prior to Crown Tournament as Our Heirs will be required to advise Us of their preferred option on the day of their victory; given that events and attendance are limited, Our Heirs may choose to have a virtual Coronation, at an event hosted locally or at another event scheduled on the dates above. Should none of these options be viable, Coronation will occur on the morning of October Crown Tournament.
Letters of intent are due to Us by July 21, 2021. We will limit those requirements outside of Kingdom Law to the following:
Please also review the section of Kingdom law listing requirements included below. Contact us if you have any questions regarding any of these requirements. Be mindful that letters of intent must be postmarked or received by the Crown no later than 30 days prior to Crown Tournament (July 21, 2021). Confirmation of receipt will be provided as received. Please contact us via email if you have any concerns.
Our contact information: TRM Maynard and TRM Liadain
(Postal address included in email missive and available upon request.)
Letters of intent must include the following elements for both entrants:
We would also request that the preferred titles of both fighter and consort are included in letters of intent to ensure accuracy and promote pageantry (ex. Noble, Lord, THLady, Baroness, Sir, Mistress, etc.) There is also an online Letter of Intent Form available on the Kingdom Website here.
For Honor, Glory and Æthelmearc,
Maynard and Liadain
Rex et Regina Æthelmearc
******
Æthelmearc Kingdom Law: Article III: CROWN TOURNAMENT REQUIREMENTS
III-100 Entrants in this section of Law are defined as the combatant and consort entering Crown Tournament.
III-200 All entrants in the Crown Tournament must be members of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.
III-300 All entrants in the Crown Tournament must be 18 years of age or older as of the date of Crown Tournament.
III-400 The withdrawal of either entrant from the Crown Lists shall automatically eliminate both from that Tournament, except as provided below in paragraph III-1100. Either may withdraw at any point in the Tournament by notifying the Minister of the Lists.
III-500 In order to be eligible to fight or be fought for in Crown Tournament, a person must be a subject (as defined in Corpora) of Æthelmearc for one year immediately prior to Crown Tournament and be able to demonstrate a reasonable level of participation in Æthelmearc during that period.
The Crown may waive the above requirements if the entrants are subjects of the Kingdom and able to demonstrate to the Crown’s satisfaction by their own words or by recommendation of peers of the Kingdom that they have sufficient familiarity with Kingdom Law and customs and an acceptable level of participation.
III-600 Letters of intent must be sent to the Crown. They must include the following elements for both entrants: • SCA names • Legal names • Addresses • Telephone numbers • E-mail addresses • Proofs of membership • Age (proof to be supplied at Crown Tournament) • Proof of current authorization for Combatants
To facilitate complete letters of intent, a form is available on the Kingdom website as well as from the Crown and the Seneschal on request. Prospective entrants are encouraged but not required to use this form to ensure a complete letter. Letters of intent must be mailed, e-mailed, or hand-delivered to the Crown no later than 30 days prior to the Crown Tournament. The Kingdom Seneschal shall verify eligibility as defined in the Bylaws and Corpora.
III-700 No person shall enter the Crown Tournament without intending an honorable attempt to compete for the Crown. At the discretion of the Royalty whose Crown it is, the Kingdom Officers who administer Crown may step aside and have their emergency deputy administer the Tourney, so they may enter. In the event a Kingdom Officer should win Crown, the Law regarding Emergency Deputies and office succession will apply.
III-800 The entrants must be acceptable to the Crown or Their representatives.
III-900 No person fighting in or being fought for in Crown Tournament may administer the Crown Tournament.
III-1000 Any two people may champion each other in the Crown Lists (hereinafter referred to as a combatant couple so long as neither is championed by any other person.
III-1100 If one member of a combatant couple is removed from the Crown Lists for marshallate infractions or any infractions of the Rules of the Lists, both members are ineligible to continue in that Crown Tournament. If one member of a combatant couple voluntarily withdraws as a combatant in the Lists, the MOL and Marshal will confer with the withdrawing member to determine if they are also withdrawing as consort or if the other member may continue in the Lists. If the participant withdraws both as fighter and consort, both shall be ineligible to continue in that Crown Tournament.
III-1200 The preferred method of Crown Tournament is a double-elimination format.
III-1300 The winner of the Crown Tournament and the winner’s consort become the new Heirs to the Throne of Æthelmearc. They are each entitled to the Title of Crown Prince or Crown Princess, as appropriate to the individual’s persona.
III-1301 Upon ascending to the Throne, They may rightfully be acknowledged as Monarch and Consort with alternate Titles as appropriate to the dignity of the Throne.
16 Sunday May 2021
This announcement is from the Kingdom Seneschal, Master Illadore de Bedegrayne.
Greetings to the Populace of Æthelmearc!
SHORT VERSION: Crown to be held in Misty Highlands, August 21st , 2021, letters due to Their Majesties by July 21st, Coronation to be held hopefully in September, with an October Crown following. If you plan on entering this tournament, please listen to this video/read this email in full, as it has specific requirements.
First and foremost, Letters of Intent to Their Majesties must be provided no later than 30 days prior to Crown Tourney- so by July 21, 2021. We highly recommend using the online form on the Kingdom website. The form will be turned on within a few days by our Kingdom Webminister. You may also use email or regular mail but we recommend sending that in quickly.
As we are limited to 150 people who may attend an event, pre-registration to Crown Tourney for those other than Their Majesties, required officers, staff, or entrants will open after July 21st date. Pre-registration will be required. Crown tourney will be live-streamed for those who cannot attend. A more formal event announcement will be forthcoming. Please understand that if the BOD does not lift the 150 person rule, if you are not a combatant couple or staff, you might not be able to attend.
Coronation: The preferred date for Coronation is September 25, 2021. Alternate dates may include September 18 or October 1. New Heirs will have the option of having their Coronation online, at a small local event (say in a park), or another event scheduled in September. Should none of these options be viable, Coronation will occur on the morning of October Crown Tournament. Heirs will need to choose which option they would prefer on the day of their victory. This is not the norm as most Æthelmearc heirs have several months to make Coronation happen. This decision was made due to our desire to get back on track as a Kingdom.
October Crown: It is our intent to have another Crown in October, with letters due to The Heirs 30 days prior to the event. The details for October Crown are still being determined but the preferred date will be October 16th or later. The October Heirs would step up in April 2022.
As you can see, Combatants and Consorts who enter the August 2021 Crown tournament need to consider not only what it means to be Royalty during a pandemic but also the time commitment for the quick turnaround for Coronation and the next Crown Tourney.
I know you may have many questions. Please feel free to contact me at seneschal@aethelmearc.org and I will do my best to answer them.
Illadore de Bedegrayne
Kingdom Seneschal
A video version of this announcement is available here.
10 Monday May 2021
Posted in Announcements, Fencing, Heavy List, Officer Announcements
First and foremost, Their Majesties, the Deputy Kingdom Seneschal for Pandemics (Duke Christopher), the Earl Marshal (Master Morien) and I have determined that Æthelmearc can start fighting and fencing again, starting May 10, 2021.
This change is due to the Board of Directors and Society Seneschal’s clarifications on what is allowed at SCA events and gatherings.
To clarify: fencing and fighting can start May 10, 2021. However, all participants must follow SCA guidelines:
The SCA also will not require vaccinations to participate; however, if a site owner (including homeowners) is requiring people to be vaccinated to come to their home, they have the right to do that. Enforcement, however, is on them, not the SCA. It is the homeowner who is responsible for deciding what proof they will accept, for any checking of that proof, and for any enforcement. It needs to be made clear that this is a rule of the homeowner, not the branch of the SCA.
Thank you so much and please contact me if you have any questions.
Addendum
As most of you have heard or seen, we are allowing fighting and fencing as of May 10th and I am so excited to get back out there and stab people. However, I have been asked a few questions about the lifting of the fencing and fighting ban, so I thought I would cover a few of them today.
Here’s what is required by the Board of Directors, the President of the SCA, the Society Seneschal, and AEthelmearc:
For practices: masks must be worn at all times, no food or water will be provided, if you want to consume food or water you must be stationary and follow social distancing guidelines, and all fencing and fighting practices must be outdoors. That last is a change from gatherings like sewing circles and scribal night. These are for small practices. If you have a large regional practice, that is an event.
For events, all of the above is required – PLUS pre-registration is required, and maximum of 150 people.
Let’s talk masks because that is where I am getting the most questions. The Society Seneschal’s guidance is that masks must follow CDC guidelines. That means two layers of breathable cloth fabric, or a disposable medical mask, it must completely cover your nose and mouth, no valves, no see through fabric or the like.
The mask MUST be against your face and cover your mouth and nose – not over your helm or fencing mask. That has been clarified by the Society Seneschal specifically. A plastic shield is not sufficient. However, if you have a new design idea, the Board of Directors is interested, particularly if it has already been fabricated.
Masks are, full stop, a requirement. If someone will not wear one, they must be asked to leave by the Marshal in charge, Autocrat, or local seneschal. Now, masks slip now and then or people are forgetful. We should all be kind and remind each other of the rules. However, if someone won’t comply, they cannot stay at the SCA event. Period. If there is an issue with non-compliance, contact me or your regional seneschal immediately.
Food and water questions: Yes, you can give water to the people you live with and hand a sandwich to your child; however, that’s it. No communal water (and especially no more drinking out of the same tube in a water jug anymore.) We can give out sealed water bottles; however. Just please recycle.
Demos: Yes, we can do demos; however, there needs to be a barrier between the SCA and the rest of the public. Think of two sets of list ropes, an inner rope where we can do our activities, and an outer rope where the public can stand. Also, yes at demos, we must wear masks, in addition to any other state and local guidelines.
Also, when you first get out there, I recommend bringing more water than you think you’ll need. I also recommend bringing several masks to change out, as it gets hard to breath through masks when they get soaked from sweat and heavy breathing.
Illadore de Bedegrayne, Kingdom Seneschal
01 Thursday Apr 2021
Posted in Heavy List, Royalty, SCA @ Home
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Greetings unto all AEthelmearc!
His Majesty after eliminating the AEthelnators
This message is to let you know that His Majesty, King Maynard, has eliminated the high tech pretenders who tried to pass themselves off as “Æthelnet” and “Æthelnators”.
His Majesty wishes to reassure the populace that there will be no takeover by any computer overlords. While events and meetings may remain virtual for a while, our webministers and Zoomerators will continue to do the stellar job they have been doing for the last year, and our leadership will remain human.
Please resume your regularly scheduled activities, secure in the knowledge that our beloved Kingdom is in good hands.
01 Thursday Apr 2021
Posted in Announcements, Heavy List, Tidings
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Most of you followed the predicament of the massive Ever Given cargo ship that was stuck in the Suez Canal until this past Monday.
It carried over 220,000 tons of goods coming from China to Europe, and all of that cargo was left to sit in the Egyptian sun until engineers were finally able to refloat the mammoth ship in cooperation with the Suez Canal Authority. The freighter’s position blocking the canal held up commercial travel for thousands of other ships and affected supply chains world-wide for almost a week.
The good news is that the rattan that was being hauled by the Ever Given and other ships delayed by its mishap is now on its way toward the Netherlands. From there, a supply of rattan will make its way to the U.S., Canada, Australia, and other parts of Europe. So SCA fighters, rejoice! Soon you should once again have enough rattan for all of your fighting needs.
Which are… uh… kind of low until the pandemic restrictions are lifted and we can have events and practices again.
But hey, rattan!
In related news, the following letter to the SCA Board of Directors was made available to the Gazette today for public posting.
Unto the Noble Lords and Ladies of the Board of Directors, Greetings.
Over the years I have been fooled on more than one occasion regarding the activities guided and supported by the Society of Creative Anachronism. For a while, I thought the Society was involved in a new musical style, and enjoyed it very much. Then I found out that what I thought my friends were referring to as ‘SCA’ was in fact ‘SKA’. You can imagine my disappointment. I still enjoy the music though.
However, I have been greatly encouraged that our Society has gone heavily into public good works. The re-floating of the Ever Given by the SCA is a great example of doing good works for the entire world, not just for our members.
I look forward to more good works to support.
Jacque D’Eau
12 Saturday Dec 2020
Posted in Announcements, Fencing, Heavy List, Heraldry, Officer Announcements
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THIS CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT KINGDOM EMAIL AND DOC SERVER. PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO PEOPLE WHO WILL NEED THIS INFORMATION. (Frankly, it is all important!!)
Good afternoon, Æthelmearc Royalty, Kingdom Officers, Guild Heads, Group Seneschals, and all who currently have groups that reside on the Kingdom Web Server, and the Kingdom’s Populace.
This is a VERY exciting time for the Kingdom’s Webministry!! With this said, there is much housekeeping to keep all aware of recent and upcoming changes.
We have been in the midst of setting up our Kingdom’s Google Account. I am very thankful for our team of Google Deputies who have helped brainstorm, write policies, and worked on creating specific Kingdom accounts on the backend of our Google Server.
Soon we will have our first wave of Kingdom accounts set up. These accounts will be for all Royalty, Kingdom Officers, Guild Heads, Group Seneschals, and all who currently have groups that reside on the Kingdom Web Server. If you have had a forwarder in the past on the Kingdom server, it will now be an official email account on the Kingdom Google server. The Kingdom will no longer be forwarding emails and you will need to log in to check your email account. You will be receiving credentials to log in to your Kingdom Google account at the address you have been receiving your Kingdom email. If you are unsure of what email that is, please contact us at ae.google@aethelmearc.org (until the switch, then remove the “ae.”) and one of us will respond with information in a timely manner.
Groups and positions that will have automatic creation of accounts from this move include:
– All Kingdom Officers (that are listed on the AEthelmearc.org website. We will talk about this in a moment.)
– All Group Seneschals
– AEANS
-AELeads
– Chatelaine
– Coins (Moneyers Guild)
– Coppertree
– Heraldry (We will talk about this in a moment)
– Hunters Home
– Kings Crossing
– Marshal (Earl Marshal — We will talk about this in a moment)
– Myrkfaelinn
– Webminister
– Kingdom Announcement and Discussion Lists (We will talk about this in a moment)
Additionally, the “ae.” section of emails will be going away with this move to Google. For example, in the past to reach the King you would type the following email: ae.king@aethelmearc.org. After the move, this will become king@aethelmearc.org. All Kingdom hosted email addresses (as listed above) will follow suit. If an email is sent to ae.****@aethelmearc.org, after the switch, it will bounce. We update all information on the Kingdom Website as quickly as possible after the changeover to reflect accurate information.
In addition, all email addresses that had fencing noted in the address (specifically for aethelmearc.org, NOT for marshal.aethelmearc.net) will be updated to rapier. If an email is sent to ae.region1fencing@aethelmearc.org, after the switch, it will bounce. Everyone will be notified before the switch occurs [which is slated for December 12, but will be reposted next week] and after the switch has taken place.
The AEHeralds site will be joining the Kingdom server and AEHeralds.net will be switched to heraldry.aethelmearc.org. All emails that are associated with aeheralds.net will be changed to reflect the new ending once this change takes place. Please note, after this change if an email is sent to ****@aeheralds.net it will bounce. Everyone will be notified before the switch occurs and after the switch has taken place.
Marshal: The Marshal site will be switching domain endings from marshal.aethelmearc.net to marshal.aethelmearc.org. All emails that are associated with marshal.aethelmearc.net will be changed to reflect the new ending once this change takes place. Please note, after this change if an email is sent to ****@marshal.aethelmearc.net it will bounce. Everyone will be notified before the switch occurs and after the switch has taken place.
These lists are being retired from our longtime host at CMU and will open as Google Groups. We are attempting to move all the email addresses over to the new groups for those who are already members or either or both of the Kingdom lists. The new addresses for sending to these lists will be announcements@aethelmearc.org and discussion@aethelmearc.org. If you are not currently on either or both of these lists and would like to be, please let us know at ae.google@aethelmearc.org (until the switch, then remove the “ae.”), and we will gladly add you to either or both of these lists. You do not need to have an aethelmearc.org email address in order to be on these lists.
For any position that has 2 related positions, which have corresponding emails in 2 separate subdomains: In these cases, we are creating aliases so you can use the same account for either email account. For an example of this, after changes go into effect, region1rapier@aethelmearc.org and region1rapier@marshal.aethelmearc.org will feed to the same account.
For any person that has 2 (or more) unrelated positions: Please note that you will have a separate Google account for each of these positions and will need to log in/out of these accounts to access specific information.
A few quick Q&As:
What if my Group/Order would like email addresses with an AEthelmearc subdomain?
We can do this! Please have your seneschal email ae.google@aethelmearc.org (until the switch, then remove the “ae.”) and we can talk about specifics and work on this.
What about me? Can I get an aethelmearc.org Google Account/email address?
At some point in January we will be opening up our thelmearc Google Account Request Form for all paid members in Æthelmearc to create an Google account on our server. This will allow you to have an email address ending in aethelmearc.org and space in Google Docs. Please stay tuned for more specific information.
What if I don’t know how to use Google?
Please know we have documentation available and we will have online trainings available on Zoom. Please stay tuned for more information.
Can I easily log in and out of “unrelated” accounts?
Yes! We will have documentation available for logging into and switching between multiple Google accounts.
Can I be logged into my personal Google account and an AEthelmearc Google account simultaneously?
Yes! We will have documentation available for logging into and switching between multiple Google accounts.
The second subject of note — the Kingdom Doc Server has been moved to Æthelmearc’s Google Docs account. All Kingdom-hosted documents on the Kingdom website should reflect this change. Please let me know (ae.webminister@aethelmearc.org — until the switch, then remove the “ae.”) if something is not correct so it can be remedied.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at ae.webminister@aethelemearc.org (or during the downtime next week at ae.webminister@apospirit.net).
Thank you and in service to the Kingdom,
Baroness Amalie
AE Webminister
30 Wednesday Sep 2020
Posted in Announcements, Fencing, Heavy List, Officer Announcements
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Greetings AEthelmearc,
Their Royal Majesties have agreed, in consultation with myself, the Deputy Kingdom Seneschal for Pandemics (Duke Christopher), and Master Morien, the Kingdom Earl Marshal, we are continuing the pause on heavy fighting and rapier fighting until at least January 31, 2021.
I know this is not what we want. However, his Grace has indicated that they have been seeing an increase in cases from schools and from sports. That does not bode well for our fighting activities. It is best that we be prudent and do our best to stay healthy.
Please wear your masks, wash your hands, and socially distance when at all possible.
Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.
Illadore
Kingdom Seneschal
25 Tuesday Aug 2020
Posted in Announcements, Fencing, Heavy List, Officer Announcements
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Greetings Æthelmearc,
As announced on ÆLive by Their Majesties, in consultation with myself, the Deputy Kingdom Seneschal for Pandemics (Duke Christopher), and Master Morien, the Kingdom Earl Marshal, we are continuing the pause on heavy fighting and rapier fighting until at least October 1st.
I know this is disappointing. I once again recommend pell work, footwork drills, zoom practices, and in general doing what you can to stay safe and sane in these times.
Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.
Illadore
Kingdom Seneschal