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The Æthelmearc Gazette

~ Covering the Kingdom of Æthelmearc of the SCA

The Æthelmearc Gazette

Tag Archives: archery

Shoot at Will! Period archery on the SCA range

13 Wednesday Jul 2022

Posted by aethgazette in Archery, Competitions, Kingdom News, Pennsic

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archery, Bog 3 Day, holiday shoot, period archery

By Mistress Elska and Baron Snorri

Archery has always been one of my more longer-term interests – as a teenager, I briefly shot Olympic-style archery, plus it’s how I found out about the SCA way back when; asking around for a place to shoot traditional-style longbow archery and finding the Dominion of Myrkfaelinn’s weekly practice. I vividly remember my husband saying after attending a handful of practices not to get too invested as he did not intend to drive me all over the place…! Boy, did he misread that situation… But then, during the plague, I was only one of many artisans who kinda sorta lost their groove and had a bit of a rough start getting back into things when events started happening again. Cycling back to my beginning, what really pulled me back to playing again was the archery range. Not only is it outside and people automatically keep their distance – especially since I shoot left-handed! – the ranges have become quite an interesting challenge and something to look forward to at many events.

Iron Will Junior posing with helpers THLord Bjarki and Akira Watanabe

Culminating this past weekend at Pax Interruptus, where I met my match and got foiled by Will, the Advancing Man. I shot at Will, but I did not get him… I must admit, while on the one hand I was disappointed to be eliminated from the finals that quickly, on the other, the visual of eight archers’ worth of arrows bouncing off a moving target wearing chain mail is quite a vivid sight to remember! The mastermind behind this target, and most of the ranges post-plague, is Baron Snorri skyti Bjarnarson from the Shire of Coppertree.

Baron Snorri has recently been elevated to the Scarlet Guard – the Kingdom’s grant-level award for prowess in archery – and of course he takes his job of promoting the arts of archery quite seriously. When I asked his thoughts on the archery community of Æthelmearc, he shared the following: “We’re lagging behind other kingdoms here, especially the East. We need our experienced shooters to come and shoot at practices and events, and our novice shooters to put in the hours of practice needed. Archery is first and foremost about prowess – no one calls light when you hit gold, and no one else gets to decide that your score was lacking in some subjective measure. It’s one thing to know, as a new archer, that Grand Master Bowmen exist in the SCA. That can seem unreal and unreachable, though! But when there’s one of them right next to you at practice, filling up the gold with shafts every round, you start to realize that it’s actually possible, it’s a real, attainable thing – this guy next to you on the range still puts on his pants one leg at a time, and if he can do it, you can too!”

And just as I enjoy upping my SCAdian game to make my wardrobe and brewing more plausibly period, Baron Snorri has a similar mindset in regards to archery. He feels that people doing archery in a medieval recreation society should actually be trying to do medieval plausible archery. “It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I’m a little bit of a purist (some would say a snob – and maybe, sometimes, justly) about shooting period bows and arrows in the SCA. So, to practice what I preach, I only shoot ‘period’ bows, and I only shoot ‘period’ arrows.” He puts “period” in quotes as he is well aware that what he is doing, and virtually everyone else shooting in the period divisions of the SCA, isn’t really shooting actual period equipment – just the draw weight itself is significantly lower and most bows, even period-looking horsebows, use modern glues and have fiberglass components.

To help the archery community define “period,” the Society Handbook includes a definition of a “period” bow and arrows for SCA context. The broad strokes are that the archer would shoot off their hand, meaning no cut-out rest in the riser (handle) of the bow, and shooting arrows with self-nocks, that is, the nock of the arrow is cut into the shaft of the arrow, rather than being a glued-on commercially-made plastic nock. Since all SCA archers have to shoot with wooden shafts and feather fletchings anyway, we’re already halfway, so this does not seem all that hard, right?

But in Baron Snorri’s experience, the vast majority of archers in the SCA cannot seem to quite get all the way there: most are still shooting what’s generally referred to as “traditional” or recurve archery equipment. In the before-time, pre-internet, it could be difficult to get a bow that met the period archery requirements. No one really made them outside of hobbyists, and the traditional archery scene in the USA is huge, so recurve types of bows are readily available – often at garage sales and secondhand shops for a near-pittance. But now that we have the internet, bows of a much more medieval form are available from a bunch of different places. Both horsebows and longbows that meet the SCA’s definition of “period,” as discussed above, can be had for around $100, and a dozen appropriate arrows can be had for as little as $40.

Now, certainly that’s not “let’s go try out archery” money for most people. For a beginner, telling them to fork out $150 to try out archery would most likely kill their interest immediately. But Baron Snorri is not trying to make the case that a beginning archer in the SCA should be shooting period gear – just like no one’s telling a fledgling fighter that they should be buying a $500 helmet before they can fight. But, just like with fighting, where when a fighter reaches a certain threshold of skill and time-in-grade, it’s time for them to surrender the ancient bascinet from the loaner pile and start looking at something that fits their own head and persona. And when archers reach a certain skill and dedication level, I feel like they ought to be looking to set down their Samick Sage or their 1978 Bear recurve, and start looking to move to a period longbow or horsebow.

He is unsure why many archers do not take their equipment to the next level (if you have an idea why, Baron Snorri asks to please reach out and tell him!). “My current working theory is, again, availability of equipment. Although availability of bows is largely a moot point now that vendors such as AliBow, Flagella Dei, Ringing Rocks Archery, and many others are selling longbows and horsebows that meet the SCA’s period requirements for very reasonable prices. However, availability of arrows may be an issue. Many, many archers in the SCA either make their own arrows, or personally know a person who is making their arrows for them, and if this is you, then you’re my target audience for this next section…” (see the first bullet point).

As the Scarlet Guard doesn’t have a “mission statement”, Baron Snorri made his own (which I think is worth sharing here):

It’s my duty as a member of the Scarlet Guard to:

  • Mentor new archers, whether by running practices, offering equipment to try, coaching, assisting with equipment acquisition, and teaching associated skills like fletching and leather working.
  • Challenge experienced archers by running challenging and exciting ranges, traveling to events that have archery, shooting in tournaments, and issuing personal challenges.
  • Represent the Kingdom of Æthelmearc and our archery community in a positive light, by competing for honors for our Kingdom in the Pennsic Champion’s Shoot, SSAC, GAT, GET, IKAC, and other inter-kingdom competitions.
  • Maintain my prowess by continuing to practice and improve in all disciplines: handbow, recurve, and crossbow.
  • Find and nurture archers to become new members of the Scarlet Guard, by taking Students.

To cycle back once again: Will the Advancing Man is both my nemesis, and a very well-done functional moving target. To entice other archers to challenge themselves against this wicked warrior – to shoot at Will! – I am letting you all know ahead of time this invader of our Sylvan Lands will make another appearance this coming weekend at Bog 3-Day! In the general shoot, the “easy” version is just a painted cardboard Viking warrior with a spear and a shield in the East Kingdom’s colors, attached to an upright backstop that’s about eight inches of closed-cell polyethylene foam on a 4-wheeled sled (want to make your own sled? Take a look at the Gallery of sled pics). Will the Advancing Man is shot as a 30 second timed end, with the sled starting about 40 yards out, and advancing to about 10-15 yards out. Hits to the warrior count for 3 points, hits to his shield or anything else are zero.

For the quarter finals, Iron Will Junior is something else: the cardboard Viking is removed and a “real” Viking is assembled by ‘dressing’ the backstop in a linen Bocksten tunic, a padded linen gambeson (worn backwards), and a real metal maille shirt. Snorri and his team added “arms” of duct-taped pool noodles with gloves on the ends, and a Styrofoam head. They glued a wig onto the head, and used expanding spray foam to securely attach a conical steel nasal helmet. The arms and head were attached to the body with 12” sticks of shaved rattan, just jammed between the layers of backstop foam. An old wooden shield was attached with a ratchet strap to cover his “legs.”

It is shot as a timed end in the same way as before, but at Pax all eight quarter finalists shot at the same time, with the four who stick the most shafts into him advancing to the semifinals.

Long Bodkin Medieval Glue-On Arrow Points

Medieval armor piercing arrow heads, called bodkins, as available from 3 Rivers Archery Supply.

To give well-prepared ‘period’ archers a leg-up, Baron Snorri had posted in advance of Pax that he would allow non-target points for this portion of the shoot. He was disappointed to find that only THL Bjarki took him up on this, and he only brought rigging-cutters for the semi-finals (to cut the water-bags, another really cool target), not armor-piercing bodkin points for Iron Will Junior… As this was a brand-new target, I asked Baron Snorri how he thought it worked out: “I tested Iron Will Junior at home with a field point arrow shot at 20 yards from my 45-pound horsebow. I blew through the maille, actually destroying seven rings. I figured this would not be an issue for the other shooters. Spoiler: I was wrong. How it actually worked: less than half the shooters were able to pierce the maille. Some were unable to adjust and stuck no arrows – Forester Ælfric of the Midrealm was skilled enough to adjust his aim to the [tiny and helmeted] head and stuck two there. As this was meant to be an elimination round, that’s ultimately fine, but it’s a lot more fun if everyone can stick arrows!”

Will you do it again or tweak it? “One time is not a great test of anything. We’re going to run him exactly the same at Bog 3-Day this weekend and see how it goes. I do need to fix the “snowplow” on the front though. We put an angled piece of plywood on the front at the bottom, covered in 2’ insulation board foam and fake grass, so that no one shoots the tires (we don’t actually care about the tires, we shot one as a test and it was fine, because they’re not inflated tires – but if you shoot the wheels as it’s rolling, your arrows get broken), and the weight of the fully-armored Iron Will Junior pushed that down just enough that it dragged on the ground a tad and it bent. Minor adjustment is all it needs.”

What other archery events do you have planned? “In the spirit of putting my money where my mouth is, I took over as Marshal-in-Charge from Naran Noyon of the Pennsic Period Bow Shoot. This will be the 8th Period Shoot at Pennsic, and it is running from 9 AM to noon on middle Saturday at the archery range. I have a collection of period targets from medieval Europe and Asia to shoot, and prizes for the best participants. We even have a fabulous period dayboard prepared by Baroness Oddkatla Jonsdottir and Baroness Annika Iosafova on the range immediately afterwards. It’s always a great time to come see all the different period missile weapons and garb everyone comes in.”

“Here’s a picture from the 6th Period Shoot: at least nine of those folks are Æthelmearcians, and we were fortunate that year to also be joined by Their Highnesses of Ealdomere. This shoot is an excellent time every year, and is always the highlight of my war. If the Archery Champion’s Shoot is the Super Bowl of SCA Archery, the Period Shoot is the Pro Bowl.”

Is there anything new happening in Kingdom? “This all JUST came together, and I’m SUPER EXCITED about it: the Æthelmearc Holiday Shoot! Big thanks to Master Denys the Decadent for finding the new site for the Holiday Shoot, and to THL Alrekr Bergsson for agreeing to be my co-Autocrat and setting this all up with his local shire, Hunter’s Home. I can’t even express how excited I am – HRH Arnthor is going to choose his next Archery Champion at this event, we’re going to have a HUGE prize table, the owners of the range are very excited to have us, and there are over EIGHTY targets at this indoor range to shoot at. We got a great price ($15 for members, NO CHARGE for non-shooters) and I’m ecstatic about this event. I’m expecting shooters from four or five kingdoms to be at this.”

And what about the very-near-future? Bog 3-Day this coming weekend! The archery range will include:

  • Woods hunt with 3D animals
  • Woods walk with a very challenging Spot Shoot
  • Clout
  • Wands
  • Yahtzee
  • Some various flavors of bullseye targets at known distances, timed and untimed
  • A moving Advancing Man timed end
  • A pumpkin

The eight best scores from all that will advance to the quarterfinals and shoot at Iron Will Junior, and the four who stick the most in him will advance to do falling water-bag duels!

Baron Snorri would like to thank the following gentles, who are always there to back him up: “Big shout-out to THLord Bjarki for always being game to help with whatever I’ve volunteered us for, as well as Lord Dalibor, Lord Halfdan, Lord Godzimir, Lord Gunnlaud, and everyone else in Ætt Skyti. I’m not a member of their household, but they’re always there to help and shoot.”

And thank you, Baron Snorri, for your help with this story but most importantly, for making the archery range something exciting to look forward to!

Your enthusiastic student,
elska

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THLord Bjarki coaches Archery at Spring Æcademy

29 Wednesday Jun 2022

Posted by aethgazette in Archery, Æthelmeac Æcademy, Teaching

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AEthelmearc Aecademy, archery, Æthelmearc Æcademy

Another amazing Spring Æthelmearc Æcademy and War College transpired this weekend, perfectly hosted by the Shire of Coppertree at a well-equipped Scouting Campground. As part of the War College track, several classes covering different types of martial arts were on the menu, like throwing the Ancient Roman plumbata, throwing axes side arm, as well as fencing, but with a German longsword. Two classes especially stood out this weekend: martial classes who did not only taught how to do the thing, but also discussed the why. Hersir Marek Viachedrago discussed visual calibration during Heavy fights – why did this fighter take the shot, but that fighter did not? – for the non-fighting observer, adding context to fights otherwise mostly only appreciated by those who have done so themselves.

Bjarki instructing Master Robert of Ferness on where and why to anchor your string-hand.

Another martial class I am particularly excited about, and was very happy to be able to take myself, is the “Olympic Archery Fundamentals for Medieval Archery” taught by THLord Bjarki Rikarðarson. After being foiled not once, but twice, in the finals of the Kingdom Archery Championship against Baron Snorri skyti Bjarnarson, our newest member of the Scarlet Guard, I figured I need to up my game! I came away with several tips to work on, but especially, with a number of insights into the mechanics of how bow and body work together I had not previously been aware of, or ever heard being put into visuals and words. I found the class extremely beneficial, and feel any aspiring archer should check it out – I know I will again. Even our teenage archer Simon has practiced at home what he learned in class, wanting to retake it again when he can – and that is quite the compliment!

I asked THLord Bjarki if he could tell us a little more about his ideas behind this class and his SCAdian and mundane experiences teaching archery.

Ælfric the Kestrel from Ealdormere instructing youth Simon á Fjárfelli to line up properly with the target.

Bjarki shared his archery class is a pretty standard class used for introducing people to archery and onto the path of competition shooting (known as Olympic archery style). He was certified as an USA Archery coach/teacher about three years ago. He says: “Some of the local traditional guys mentioned coaching for the YMCA as a side gig and I followed up on that. They put me through the training for it and I spent a handful of my Saturday mornings teaching kids to shoot. Pretty fulfilling to see how excited a 6 to 10 year old gets when they hit the target.

Before that, I’ve been using a bow my entire life. Everything from traditional to compound shooting. I’ve been successfully bow hunting since I was 13.

Ælfric the Kestrel came down from the Kingdom of Ealdormere. He has taken the equivalent course for certification in Canada. Originally, he wanted to come shoot and to see Snorri get inducted into the Scarlet Guard but since the event was all classes, I asked him to assist me with my class. His input was nice because he shoots very differently than I do and shoots well that way.

Detailed instructions can be found here.

I would like to teach this “class” again, but really, anytime I’m on the range I can coach and assist with the knowledge I have. Unofficially, I’ve been giving this class and coaching people in the SCA my entire SCA career. It really makes me happy to give someone advice, see them process it, and then successfully use it to accomplish a goal.”

THLord Bjarki has won archery tournaments, is an archery marshal, and the current Shire of Coppertree’s Captain of the Archers. When you see him on the range, feel free to ask your pointy questions as he clearly loves to enable others into the arts of archery!

-elska

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The Shire of Coppertree’s Fourth Annual Holiday Shoot & Kingdom Archery Champs

27 Friday Dec 2019

Posted by aethgazette in Archery, Competitions

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archery, Archery Champion

By Lord Snorri skyti Bjarnarson, of Coppertree

Every year, in the beginning of December, the Shire of Coppertree gathers at Warrior Archery in Sherrill, NY, to hold their annual Holiday Shoot for the archery community. Consisting of a dozen targets downstairs, and a “wild game hunt” of 3D animal targets upstairs, the shoot runs from a bit before lunch to about 3 PM, with a hearty dayboard served all afternoon. For non-shooting attendees, they offer an A&S salon, where people can gather and work on projects, teach impromptu classes and demos, and enjoy fellowship with other artisans.

80240841_2561537410560855_4797660494640971776_n.jpg

The “Save Christmas!” range, developed by Lord Snorri – photo by Baroness Amalie Reinhardt

Each year’s shoot has a theme, and this year’s was “Save Christmas!”. A dozen hand-painted targets were made, each with a classic Dungeons & Dragons monster trying to make off with a piece of holiday loot: presents, candy canes, even Christmas trees! Each one was a friend-or-foe target – you needed to hit the monster without hitting the holiday swag, or you’d lose points. Four of the twelve targets were also timed ends; archers had 30 seconds to shoot as many shots as they could.

Image may contain: one or more people, people standing and indoor

Photo by Robert of Ferness

One of the hallmarks of the Coppertree Holiday Shoot are the lovely prizes: scrolls (by Lady Vedis Aradottir) and trophy arrows for the winners, and a table of prizes for the runners-up, with donations by several well-known SCAdian artists, including THL Robert of Ferness, Mistress Elska a Fjarfelli, and Lord Snorri skyti Bjarnarson, as well as garb accessories from Sister Marykate at LARP Essentials. Even the Marshals are well-rewarded, this year receiving hand-woven trim pieces and bolts of red brocade cloth for their hard work.

This year’s Holiday Shoot was also the Kingdom Archery Championship tournament. The outgoing Champion, Lord Snorri, chose to use the shoot itself as the qualifier, and the top twelve finishers (who were subjects of Æthelmearc and desired to compete for the championship) got to continue to shoot for the pleasure of Their Royal Majesties Timothy and Gabrielle, who were in attendance and shooting!

prices

First, Second and Third place trophies, plus a special Championship trophy; courtesey of Lord Snorri and his fabulous woodworking father.

The first round of eliminations was grueling, and took nearly two hours of competitive, cut-throat shooting to winnow the field of hopefuls down to eight, and ended with a high-stakes, one arrow shootout between young Mary of Harford, and Celsus of Delftwood. Mary emerged victorious, and after that, things went quickly. The next round had all eight of the archers shooting together in a 40 second timed round, at six 3D animal targets. Each one needed to be hit once in order to advance to the final round. Three of the eight archers advanced: Lord Ronan a Conaill, THL Robert of Ferness, and Baron Edward Harbinger – His Lordship Robert’s advancement was particularly noteworthy, as he was shooting period equipment (a sixty pound longbow) and in full archer kit: helmet, gambeson, etc.

Those three worthies then engaged in another timed contest, this time 30 seconds, at three paper targets, 20 yards away. One of these was a standard 24” Royal Round target, but the other two were period target faces from the Luttrell Psalter. As an added wrinkle, all three targets must receive a scoring arrow from an archer if that archer’s scores are to count at all. All three archers shot well, but in the end, Lord Ronan was victorious, and was chosen by Their Majesties as Their new Archery Champion.

79489342_777076286037860_6745462329841811456_n

Lord Ronan chosen as the Æthelmearc Archery Champion – photo by Baroness Amalie Reinhardt

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Court Report: Crown Tourney

12 Wednesday Dec 2018

Posted by aethgazette in Court Reports, Crown Tourney

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archery, Blackwater, Fleurs, inspiration, millrind, Pelican, thrown weapons

Herein is a report of the Court of Her Majesty, Queen Anna Leigh, at Her Crown Tournament held in the Shire of Blackwater on October 6, Anno Societatis 53, as recorded by Sophie Davenport, Silver Buccle Herald, and Master Madoc Arundel, Shrike Herald.

The combatants and consorts were presented to Her Majesty in a stately manner. The Kingdom Seneschal and the Earl Marshal’s Representative both spoke to the combatants about conducting themselves and fighting in an honorable manner. Once the first round was set, Her Majesty called for the Order of the Millrind. She spoke of one who has served behind the scenes for quite some time and deserves recognition for such service. She then had Chrestienne de Waterdene called forward and inducted her into the Order. Scroll by Lord Rhys Penbras ap Dafydd.

Chrestienne Millrind

Mistress Chrestienne is inducted into the Millrind. Photo by Baron Steffan Wolfgang von Ravensburg.

After a day of honorable and chivalrous fighting, Earl Gareth Kincaid was named as the victor of the tournament, and with his inspiration, Countess Juliana, was presented to Her Majesty, who placed the ancestral coronet upon his head and proclaimed him to be the Prince and Her Heir. He then took the consort’s coronet and placed it upon Juliana’s head, naming Her to be the Princess.

Gareth and Juliana Prince and Princess

Gareth and Juliana ready to be crowned Prince and Princess. Photo by Baron Steffan.

While the populace was still gathered, Her Majesty called for the Order of the Pelican. She understood that the Order was lacking one who has toiled quietly for many years as an exchequer and tollner, and has been teaching others how to keep the monetary records properly in the ever changing proscribed manner. She then called forth THL Alina Marie de Valenciennes and instructed her to consider becoming a member of the Order of the Pelican. Scroll by Lord Owen Tegg, calligraphed by Sophie Davenport.

Alina Pel Writ

THLady Alina receives a Writ for the Pelican. Photo by Mistress Arianna of Wynthrope.

In the evening, as recorded by Master Madoc Arundel …

Evening court was moved indoors due to the weather and moved up to allow those leaving site to do so earlier.

Court opened with Her Majesty exclaiming on the merriment of the day in spite of the weather and congratulating Her heirs.

On October 6th, 2018, We, Anna Leigh, Queen of Æthelmearc, expel Matthew Gibson, known in the Society as Tegrinus de Rhina, from participation in any SCA activity for the duration of Our reign.

The children present were called into court and instructed that goodies could be found in the large wooden chest held by Duke Sven. The children were then directed towards His Grace and released from the Queen’s presence.

Children

The children are sent to find the toy box. Photo by Baron Steffan.

Master Tofi Kerthjalfadsson was received in order to swear his oath of service as the Kingdom Exchequer.

Tofi fealty

Master Tofi swears fealty. Photo by Baron Steffan.

Her Majesty received the Ladies of the Rose, Garnet, and Edelweiss, who had observed the fighting earlier that day. The ladies assembled named three gentles who they felt had great courtesy on the field. Each of these gentles was called forth to receive a token in acknowledgement of their comportment: The Honorable Lord Cid Hiyo; Lord Matthias al Tabai; Earl Thomas Byron of Haverford. The ladies then asked The Honorable Lord Arden Scot of Clan Scot to come forward and be recognized as the epitome of chivalry on the field this day. THL Arden was then asked by Her Majesty to bear the Shield of Chivalry and join Her court.

Shield of Chivalry

THLord Arden is named bearer of the Shield of Chivalry. Photo by Baron Steffan.

Her Majesty, being a great supporter of the zymurgists within our kingdom boundaries, then summoned Baron Cormacc mac Gille Brigde. Baron Cormacc had proven his skills as a brewer and was entered on the rolls as a Companion of the Sycamore. Scroll by Lady Murdia Drusilla Vettia Portia.

Cormacc Sycamore

Baron Cormacc receives a Sycamore. Photo by Baron Steffan.

Next called forward was Lord Godfrey de Bayeux, who was standing as the Thrown Weapons Champion. Upon presenting himself, Her Majesty spoke of his puissance in thrown weapons and invested him with the regalia of a Companion of the Golden Alce. Scroll by THL Mairghread ui Stilbhard uu Coinn.

Godfrey Golden Alce

Lord Godfrey receives a Golden Alce. Photo by Baron Steffan.

A call went out for those for whom this was their first event. Five individuals came forward and were greeted by our Queen, who welcomed them into the SCA. Each gentle was offered a choice of drinking vessel to start them on their journey within our Society.

The Order of the Fleur d’Æthelmearc was summoned and advised that their number was incomplete. Her Majesty spoke of the great skill of an artisan that had yet to be entered into this order’s rolls. Lady Felice de Thornton was invited forward, whereupon the Queen spoke of her excellence in the production of exquisite scrolls, and inducted Lady Felice into the order. Scroll by THL Edana the Red.

Felice Fleur

Lady Felice is inducted into the Fleur. Photo by Baron Steffan.

As quiet once again descended upon the hall, the Order of the Millrind was summoned and likewise advised that, despite the induction earlier in the day, their number was still incomplete. Lady Lasairfhiona inghean Aindriasa was called forth from the kitchens, where she was still laboring in cleanup following the day’s repast. Her Majesty spoke of the service of “Lady Lush” in many kitchens and with the Kingdom hospitality staff at Pennsic. Lady Lasairfhiona was then entered into the rolls as a Companion of the Millrind. Scroll by THL Zofia Kowalewska.

Lasairfhiona Millrind

Lady Lasairfhiona is inducted into the Millrind. Photo by Baron Steffan.

Her Majesty spoke of a special guest who had traveled from the Midrealm to render service on the field. Duke Valharic was called into the royal presence, whereupon the Queen remarked on the number of bye fights His Grace had fought that day, spoke of His grace and skill on the field, and thanked Him for His service. She then presented His Grace with the first Titus inspiration token. His Grace then begged leave to address the populace, which was granted. He spoke of his self-serving reasons for appearing this day … of his relationship with Duke Titus, the inspiration that Duke Titus had been to him personally, and his burning desire to not only feel that again but to pay it forward. He thanked Her Majesty for Her indulgence and for allowing Him to serve on the list field.

Duke Valharic

Duke Valharic addresses Her Majesty. Photo by Baron Steffan.

There having been two kingdom championships determined this day, Her Majesty wished to acknowledge these achievements to all present. She called for Her Archery Champion, Master Ambrosius, to come forth and speak of the day’s archery contest. Master Ambrosius spoke of the great skill demonstrated, and of such skill that a three-way tie had ensued. Although THL Cynwulf Rendell was named as Her Majesties Champion, an error was made in the announcement of the victor of the tournament this day, with Ronan O’Conall having emerged victorious from the three-way tie. Her Majesty will have Ronan O’Conall called forward and invested as Her Champion at Hael Investiture. Her Majesty states, “We thank THL Cynwulf Rendell for bringing it to Our attention and to the archery community for the love and support they have shown.” Scroll by Isabella Montoya.

Archery Champion

Master Ambrosius talks with Her Majesty about the Archery Championship. Photo by Baron Steffan.

She next called for Lord Godfrey de Bayeux, Her Thrown Weapons Champion, to speak of the thrown weapons contest. Lord Godfrey also spoke of the impressive skill displayed at the butts, and named Lord Meinolf Grimsson as carrying the day. Scroll by THL Shirin of Susa.

Meinulf TW Champ

Lord Meinolf is named Thrown Weapons Champion. Photo by Baron Steffan.

Her Majesty spoke of the jousting tournament which had taken place offsite earlier in the day. Nohaaj had emerged victorious, and his success had been proclaimed in the presence of the equestrian community prior to this court. Author of the scroll unknown.

Her Majesty then asked to speak to the steward of the day’s event, and to the principal members of his staff. She praised them for providing such a wonderful event. She gifted each of the staff members with a token of Her appreciation. As the staff prepared to leave, She held back Lord Raadjgier Katla. She spoke of his willingness and eagerness to honor every request, and for doing so in such a graceful and assured manner. She then named him Her Inspiration For The Day and presented him with her Inspiration token.

Inspiration

Lord Raadjger is named the Queen’s Inspiration. Photo by Mistress Arianna.

Sir Vladimir Mechnik was permitted an audience with the Queen. He came forward and spoke of his admiration for Duke Titus, of the spark that was his enthusiasm and the motivation that was his counsel. He then produced the list tree shield that bore Duke Titus’s arms. Sir Vladimir stated that the managers of the list felt that this shield should be retired with honor and respect, and had requested that it be presented to Anna Leigh. Her Majesty thanked Sir Vladimir, and explained to the populace that the Seedling Herald ensures that all fighters in a crown list have a shield to represent them, and it bears their personal device if they have one registered. Since shields that are no longer needed are generally recycled with new arms for new fighters, the “retirement” of a list shield represents a significant spirit of respect.

Vlad shield

Sir Vlad returns Duke Titus’ tourney shield to Her Majesty. Photo by Baron Steffan.

The Queen gave leave to Her Heirs to address the populace, whereupon His Highness Gareth rose and spoke of Æthelmearc’s commanding presence within the known world. He spoke of flying the flag at foreign wars and at events both near and far. He emphasized that his reign would see a great war fought on our own soil, and spoke of his definition of “our land.” It is our land because we house troops on this land in perpetuity. He stated that it was not just the presence of troops that was needed, but spoke also of the importance of volunteers to provide the services necessary to manage this war, the teachers and class coordinators to address the needs of the A&S community, and his desire that Æthelmearc populate these positions at a number greater than all other kingdoms combined.

Gareth addresses fighters

Prince Gareth addresses the populace. Photo by Baron Steffan.

There being no further business, the Court of Anna Leigh, Queen of Æthelmearc, was closed.

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Pennsic 46: A&S War Point Competition

17 Thursday Aug 2017

Posted by aethgazette in Arts & Sciences, Costuming, Fiber Arts, Pennsic, Scribal

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A&S War Point, archery, carving, Pennsic A&S War Point, woodworking

Master Cynwyl MacDaire’s Hand-carved horn with silver embellishment

By THL Elska á Fjárfelli (Susan Verberg)

Lord Otto Boese’s 13th century Magyar (Hungarian) archery kit. All photos by THL Elska.

For the Arts & Sciences portion of the Pennsic War Point this year, last year’s participant Mistress Fredeburg selected and organized this year’s contingent of Æthelmearc artisans.

Lady Shirin of Susa’s Canon page from the Armenian Gospels of Gladzor

As in previous years, each side could choose 12 entrants consisting of five Laurels and seven non-Laurels.

But this year, different from previous years, the item to be displayed could not have been entered in any previous A&S competitions, making this competition quite the last-minute challenge for our artisans.

Master Robert of Sugar Grove’s “bench for His Excellency”

To preserve anonymity performance entries were also not allowed, as were cooking entries for public health safety.

While in previous years only awarded artisans (Sycamore or higher) could vote, this year all Pennsic attendees could participate. Each person wishing to vote for their A&S Champions of choice would be given three beans to place in any of the entrants’ cups. At the end of the competitions the beans would be counted and scored for a winner-take-all for the 2 War Points.

Lord Hrólfr á Fjárfelli’s weaving broken diamond twill fabric to create a Viking-age apron dress

Although our side did not win, the results were very, very close with a difference of only 82 points from over a total of 1,800 votes cast. The quality of entries was incredible and I think our Æthelmearc artisans deserve a big thank you for giving it all they had!

Our artisans were:

  • Master Robert of Sugar Grove
  • Master Cynwyl MacDaire
  • Lord Hrólfr á Fjárfelli
  • Lord Otto Boese
  • Lady Shirin of Susa

Thank you Mistress Fredeburg for organizing such an amazing team, and thank you Lady Shirin for stepping in at the last minute when one of our allies had an artisan drop out.

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On Target: Be Prepared

22 Monday May 2017

Posted by aethgazette in Archery

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archery, On Target

This month’s On Target topic: proper preparation prevents poor performance!

It was a privilege to be the archery marshal-in-charge at Blackstone Raid. When I got to the site, the weather seemed to be perfect, so I set the range up the night before the archery competition. What we did not know was that there would be a sudden change; a microburst hit around 1 a.m.

The next morning, I went out to look at the range and a good bit of it was down… but fortunately I was prepared.

I had an extra box with spikes and washers, as well as extra rope. As you can see, the rope had clips and rings on it, so that I could pound spikes and retie the hay bales.

toolbox
Rope with rings

I also had extra targets, which was good since some of the original targets were destroyed in the rain.

pig target

In addition, I had a roll of camo-patterned duct tape that was perfect for outdoors. And for the first time, I had built backstops for the targets. Placing a backstop roughly 4 feet behind each target meant many of the arrows never dug into the dirt, or as we like to say, became “worm chasers.” Not having to look in the ground saved archers a lot of time.

Target with backstop

Finally, I had brought an extra prize, which turned out to be important – I had planned for first, second, and third place prizes, but then I had one shooter strike a deer target in the heart it well over 50 yards, so on the fly I was able to give a prize for the best shot of the day.

In conclusion, if you’re the MIC, it never hurts to overpack!

Yours in service,
THLord Deryk Archer

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On Target: Dumpster Diving

19 Thursday Jan 2017

Posted by aethgazette in Archery

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archery, archery targets, On Target

This month’s installment of On Target: the art of dumpster diving, or one man’s trash is a marshal’s treasure.

Here are some of the things I’ve dug out of the trash over the years.

First, a styrofoam block.  Cover it with some clear tape so that it doesn’t send pieces all over the range when it gets hit. Put a piece of cardboard in front of it, lined off to look like a brick wall, and you can put things on it to shoot.

img_0033
img_0034

Next, I found this mutant alien lizard at a game. It had a futuristic blaster in its hand, but I covered that with a round piece of cardboard (out of the trash) to look like a shield, and now I have a troll from Lord of the Rings.

img_0035

Last, I found this beat up target of a deer. Taping it together made the perfect stencil, which I used to make the beautiful target you see at right.

img_0036
img_0037

Anybody can buy something at the store, but doing it yourself is so much more fun and rewarding. The smiles you see on the range will bring you plenty of satisfaction.

This month’s safety tip: if you are reaching into a trashcan, remember that you are trespassing, so be sure to ask the store manager first. The person may even assist you. Also, there could be nails, rusty cans, or broken glass, so be careful.

I hope you all had a happy New Year, and I look forward to seeing you when the weather changes.

‘Til next time.

THLord Deryk Archer

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On Target: Archery Stocking Stuffers

01 Thursday Dec 2016

Posted by aethgazette in Archery

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This month’s On Target: Stocking stuffers for the Archer you love!

targetIt’s Christmas time and we’re all just a little lost about what to give that archer in our life. I found this cute little Christmas tree ornament you both can enjoy. Everybody that looks at it will say, “Where did you find that?” The truth is, I’ve forgotten… but if you Google “archery ornament” you’ll find some like it.

Now just like the “Marshals Field Box,” your archer may need nocks, fletching, glue, and points. For those all day trips, a modern shooter may need some jerky, power bars, and carb mixers to go in their water. Also, the hunter in him or her might need field dressing gloves and doe scent.

jerky
gloves
doe-urine

Finally, remember “GLG” – Guys (and Gals) Love Gadgets. No matter how many pocket knives or multi-tools we have in that overstuffed pocket, one more is always welcome. And at the end of the day, who doesn’t need a corkscrew or a bottle  opener?

tool

I hope this helps you out with your Christmas shopping.

This month safety tip: whether you’re driving to the range or driving to Mom’s house, it’s Christmas and people are always in a rush and not very careful. Drive safely, my friends!

In service,

THLord Deryk Archer

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On Target: “Ancient Chinese secret”….The Rocket Arrow

23 Wednesday Nov 2016

Posted by aethgazette in Archery

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archery, On Target

For weeks now, I’ve been studying the rocket arrow and gunpowder. First I must say that much Chinese Warfare in history was written years after the fact, so historical information is shaky. Gunpowder was the first chemical explosive invented somewhere between the early and mid 9th century. The Chinese word for gunpowder is “huo yao xuo yau.” The Chinese wasted little time developing flamethrowers, rockets, bombs, and landmines. Another culture, believed to be Italian, even developed a torpedo rocket.

Here are the rockets that I’ve personally developed:

deryks-arrow-1

diagram-of-deryks-arrowParental discretion is advised, keep this away from children! The rocket I made did move and would have gone further if I added more fuel. For safety reasons, I will not be telling anyone what I used for fuel, but it was not gunpowder. A demonstration was held at Archers to the Wald and with the marshals’ and sites’ permission, I’ll be doing demonstrations throughout the upcoming year. The video below was taken at Archers to the Wald by Lady Catalina Iannarella d’Colliano.

This month’s safety tip: again, please do not do this at home. I’ve been studying this and doing tests for months.

Yours in service,

THLord Deryk Archer

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From Split Log to Bow Stave: The Last Day

15 Tuesday Nov 2016

Posted by aethgazette in Archery, Arts & Sciences

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A&S, archery, Bowmaking

– my adventures at the two and a half day Bow Making Workshop at Primitive Pursuits in upstate Arnot Forest during prime fall colors…
By Elska á Fjárfella of the Dominion of Myrkfaelinn.

The third day started cloudy and quickly turned into drizzle. Even though we worked outdoors for most of the workshop, we fortunately had the luxury of a roofed pavilion, courtesy of Cornell University’s Arnot Teaching & Research Forest, as getting the bow staves wet or even damp should be avoided (I’d brought mine home to stay the night in the car, instead of all alone under the pavilion.). Moisture can swell the wood and make it harder or inconsistent to work with, as one of the students found out the hard way after she got some raindrops on one of the limbs. For our tillering convenience, the instructors had come up with an ingenious clamp system to secure the bow stave out of some rope and 2×4’s, which I duplicated at home the following week. I don’t think it will be used only for bow making!

Clamp in use. Basically, it’s made up of a flat piece of 2x4 with a small cut out and two pegs at the other side (behind bow). A rope loop is placed through the cut out (helps wedge the stave tight to the wood pegs) and a piece of 2x2 or 2x3 is pushed through the bottom of the rope loop. With your hand push this lever down and secure the tension with in a piece of scrap wood wedged in between. Do not hammer the scrap wood in; it clamps better if pushed down by hand.

Clamp in use. Basically, it’s made up of a flat piece of 2×4 with a small cut out and two pegs at the other side (behind bow). A rope loop is placed through the cut out (helps wedge the stave tight to the wood pegs) and a piece of 2×2 or 2×3 is pushed through the bottom of the rope loop. With your hand push this lever down and secure the tension with in a piece of scrap wood wedged in between. Do not hammer the scrap wood in; it clamps better if pushed down by hand.

After we had carefully hacked out the main shape with the hatchet, while staying about 1/8th of an inch away from all pencil marks, the bow was now ready for rasping and scraping. We’ve been testing out the pencils from gear hungry and to date, I cannot find anything to criticize. Using one of the clamp stations, I clamped down my bow and with a farrier’s hoof rasp started scraping off all tool marks right up to the pencil marks, leveled the back of the limbs, and shaped the handle. Most important in this stage is to keep checking progress so as to not go too fast, and to check both edges for symmetry (one limb side should not higher or lower than the other). The limbs are only as thick as their thinnest part, and special care needs to be taken in this regard, especially where the handle tapers off into the limb. From there on it’s pretty simple. The widest and thickest part of the limb is right at the taper of the handle, and from there the shape should gradually get narrower and thinner up to about halfway, to then thicken again to compensate for the skinny tapered tip design. Using mostly my fingers I would run them up and down the limb and feel for thickness irregularities, especially around the knots, and carefully rasp and later scrape them down. The thinnest part of the limb is about halfway, which is where most energy is stored, and therefore the most bend should happen when pulled back to fire.

The thinner middle in this drawing is exaggerated to give you the general idea.

The thinner middle in this drawing is exaggerated to give you the general idea.

Instructor Sean marking the belly of my bow.

Instructor Sean marking the belly of my bow.

From this time on, the instructors were kept busy and would regularly swing by to check our bows, adding crosses to show where to stay away and squiggles where more wood needed to be removed. This step was quite a challenge as it is hard to see; the differences are minute and were mostly only ‘visible’ by touch. It sure helped that I have experience throwing pottery, as that’s all about seeing with your fingertips too! Interestingly, as our instructors would remind us now and then, we’re still not making a bow – we’re making a bow shaped sculpture! Not until the tillering stage, where the limbs are starting to get flexed, is the bow sculpture slowly transforming into a bow.

Hard at work rasping and shaping the sides and handle of the bow ‘sculpture’.

Hard at work rasping and shaping the sides and handle of the bow ‘sculpture’.

It’s starting to look like something!

It’s starting to look like something!

When the limbs of the bow finally start to have a little bend, as tested by gently bending, it finally is tillering time! The first tentative bending is done by putting the tip on something solid like a concrete floor, pushing away on the handle with one hand (and that elbow braced on your hip if needed) – nowhere else – and steadying the upper tip with the other: the wood remembers stress and the wrong pressure in the wrong place can permanently alter the flex of the limb! Now the rasp gets put away and the scraping knife is put to good use. We used knives similar to carving knives, fairly long but with a slight burr added to one edge for efficient scraping. And once again, all tool marks, now from the rasp, are carefully removed and the backs of the limbs are smoothed out. Then it is a matter of carefully removing layers of wood from the belly of the limbs until they started bending more and more, and more evenly. Also at this time we made a bowstring using the Flemish twist technique, and added nock points to the bow tips with a small saw (handmade by three hacksaw blades taped together). Carving or filing nock points works as well; just don’t carve into the back of the bow, only the sides and belly. The string would still be fairly long, so the bow bends shallowly and gently gets accustomed to becoming a bow.

Knock points are added and string is made

Knock points are added and string is made

With each removal & tillering check, we would string the bow and flex it shallowly about thirty times to exercise the stave so the wood becomes used to the flexing and compression needed for proper bow function. This exercise is also important as the changes just made with scraping take a while for the wood to remember and might not show up in the next tillering if proper exercise is omitted. We tillered both using a tillering stick, and with the help of our instructors and fellow students by putting a foot on the string and pulling the bow stave up while they would squat in front, look & critique. It was very instructive to see many types of trees and bow shapes and strengths and see how the limbs would bend differently from one to the other. The big thing to look for is where does it bend. Where does the limb curve, and where does it not? Ideally, the bow limbs curve most in the middle, with a bit less at the beginning near the handle, and near the end at the nock point. Where it bends too much (it’s thinnest there), wood needs to be removed dia5everywhere else, and where it is too stiff wood should be removed right there. Note that adding wood is not an option! And always check the edges of the bow to make sure they have the same thickness; that it does not slant from one side to the other, as this could introduce weakness and even twist.

Fairly quickly my bow stave was bending well and looking good. Interestingly, the limb with the two knots curved beautifully right from the start. The knot free limb had a reflex which was messing with the tillering, it kept looking flat and stiff. Rather than overcompensate and weakening that spot, the instructor decided it was easier to just heat treat the reflex straight. Which probably looked a whole lot easier than it was. When both limbs had a good bend, and looked even (also check the negative space when strung between stave and string), the bow still was too heavy for me. It drew in the upper forties which I thought is a bit much. But as the tillering was correct, instead of messing with the belly of the bow and making it thinner, which could change the tillering, now the best option is to make it narrower and thus remove from the sides. There is a balance between how thick a bow limb should be and how wide, as a wider bow has more air resistance which needs compensation in strength while thinning makes it weaker. Thus with the lower poundage draw weights it is better to go narrow in width than lose too much thickness. As mentioned before, twice as thick is eight times as strong, so taking off a little belly could quickly be way too much…

Looking for proper bend using the tillering stick: the middle of the left limb looks flat.

Looking for proper bend using the tillering stick: the middle of the left limb looks flat.

Ready for the first arrow!

Ready for the first arrow!

Finally, the time had come to completely sand the bow (except for the back of course!), measure the right length for the bowstring (about 6 inches from the top if I remember correctly) and string it! Use a brace height of about a hand width (between string at rest and handle) and do not immediately pull to full length, go little bits at a time. Never leave a bow strung longer than it needs to be, it can develop string follow (stays slightly bend when unstrung) and loose strength. And never dry fire a bow, the energy that would otherwise travel with the arrow does not leave and can blow up the bow instead… And then the most satisfying of sounds: the thock of hitting the target with your first arrow!

The bow is still ‘young’ and needs ‘training’; exercise it regularly, shoot with it regularly, and not until it is a couple months old and you feel there is no more tweaking to be done is it time to finish. Oil, varnish or a stain – it does not really matter as long as you like it and it weatherproofs. Smooth the edges if you have not done so already. Carve pretty knock points. Add a leather wrapped handle. But most of all – take your bow and enjoy the great outdoors together!

The end: lots of happy students with their precious sticks! And each and every one looks different…

The end: lots of happy students with their precious sticks! And each and every one looks different…

One last thing: be patient while crafting your bow. Take your time, put it away, come back to it; have a conversation. Read books, talk to bowyers: there are many different styles and techniques, and another way might work better for you. I found this course to be such fun, that I am already scouting our woods for logs to harvest, and with the experience I had enough information to make a quick bow with my son (and the band saw) from a stick harvested a couple days prior. We made it together and you should have seen him, he was so proud to shoot an arrow with a bow he’d made himself…

simonSimon (at right) with his self bow made from a 2” diameter green stick. Using a bandsaw for general shaping and tillering greatly shortened the time needed to make a bow, this one took about two hours, but also gave much more room for error as it is very quick and easy to take too much off. To save time (and limbs) a blend of modern and traditional techniques seems to work best: rough shaping with the bandsaw, and fine tuning with rasp and knife.

Want to read more?

Traditional Bowyers Bible’s Vol 1-4, Allely et al.; The Lyons Press, 2000
The Art of making Selfbows, Stim Wilcox
The Bow Builder’s Book, Horning ed.; Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., 2007
The Heritage of the Longbow, Pip Bickerstaffe; self published UK, 1999

For more information on the Bow Making Workshop. click here.

All photography and drawings by Susan Verberg, 2016.

 

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