Their Royal Majesties King Arnthor Inn Sterki and Queen Ceirech Na Hinnsi have a special request of the populace: they would love to fill the positions of A&S Youth Champion and Royal Brewer at the upcoming Kingdom of Æthelmearc Arts & Sciences Championship.
Youth Entry by Simon á Fjárfelli from the Arts & Sciences Championship AS 53 (photo by Master Robert of Ferness)
Our Sylvan Majesties not only enjoy to spotlight their King’s and Queen’s Choice Champions with this event, they also love to to see what the Kingdom’s youth is up to! Especially in these not quite normal times where our youth seems to have grown from six to sixteen just about overnight (due to lack of events to see them on a more regular basis). King Arnthor and Queen Ceirech would love to see what the kingdom’s kids are working on: anything started during the Plague, whether or not it has been finished yet, is welcome. We’d love to have our youth feel welcome and included at A&S events; have them feel special by sharing allll about their favorite thing – instead of their parents!
Brewing entry by Ulf Barelegs at the Arts & Sciences Championship A.S. 53 (photo by Master Robert of Ferness).
Their Majesties are also hoping to find a new Royal Brewer. In the 2021 Kingdom’s Championship at Tavern Brawl, The Honorable Lord Cassiano entered his famous Krupnik in the competition that so greatly impressed Their Majesties, They named The Honorable Lord Cassiano Their Royal Brewer. They were dismayed to find after inquiring that, even though the event site is discreetly wet, zero brewers had pre-registered for their Arts & Sciences Championship! Whom of our Brewing community will take this challenge, and present our Majesties with fermented libations, to vie for the honor of being the Royal Brewer?
But what do I hear there? You are not a youth, and neither are you a brewer? And you are not quite ready to enter a Kingdom Arts & Sciences Championship yet? Not to worry! There will be a large Display area for our industrious populace to showcase their projects, in progress and finished. Documentation is appreciated but not required, although we do appreciate your information. And if you are planning to enter Champs, but have not signed up yet – please help out our event autocrat by pre-registering, it really makes the job a lot less hectic on the day off. That way, he might actually have some time to loiter and enjoy the entries!
Continuing the freshly-minted tradition of virtual sharing in these times of plague, the Kingdom Office of Arts & Sciences once again reached out to our fabulous Arts & Sciences Championship artisans to share their work with the populace at large on a more personal level. The virtual Kingdom Championship was also a juried competition, and included a week’s worth of face to face judging – with judges especially selected for their knowledge and background – as well as an online populace “meet and greet the artisans.” Master Hrólfr and I, your Kingdom Arts & Sciences officers, enjoy finding new ways to inspire and motivate our artisans in these trying times and we are happy to see the Championship ran so smoothly!
Lady Thalia resides in the Barony of the Rhydderich Hael.
Could you tell me a little about you, your persona?
My involvement with the SCA began when I was living down in western Virginia in the Charlottesville area in the Kingdom of Atlantia with a small local group, the Shire of Isenfir. My first SCA event I attended was the Kingdom of Atlantia Arts and Science Championship. I participated in monthly archery practices, took classes in Arts and Science, and attended weekly dance practice. I moved to Buffalo and joined the Barony of the Rhydderich Hael in 2016 and Ice Dragon was my first event I attended in Æthelmearc. The persona I chose was Viking as the style of garb with apron dresses and strings of beads which I found particularly interesting. The aspects of my heraldry include two of my favorite things, the butterfly (as my mundane first name means butterfly in Spanish) and comedy masks which translated into finding my SCA name which is both French and English that means butterfly in French (Papillon) and comedy masks (Thalia) as English representation for theater in England.
What inspired you to make your entry? Did you have a specific need?
The inspiration for making my entry is my love for doing needlework as I have been doing cross stitch since I was kid, which I learned from my Aunt. After entering several arts and science displays, making largesse to donate to the Kingdom, as well as entering completed cross stitch work into competitions including the Pentathlon, I received encouragement from peers who saw my work with cross stitch to branch out to trying blackwork because of the skill I already had with needlework, to move towards doing work that is representative of the Middle Ages period. I found myself being open to trying a new skill as I have the basics down with doing needlework and felt that I had the ability to be able to branch out to try a different form of needlework.
Did the entry throw up any unexpected issues?
As I started working on the entry, due to the nature of the pattern being a chain-like pattern, I chose to inquire with a peer what would be the best area of the pattern to start with, the length of thread to use, and how to loop it in on the other side so as not have too many loose ends of threads on the other side as it is custom in blackwork for the work to look identical on both sides of the fabric. I am accustomed to starting in the center of the fabric when working on cross stitch so that the design is centered. I found it a bit challenging to start on a different area of the pattern other than the center only because that is what I am used to doing with cross stitch, and had concerns about the design not being even or centered. I had to pay particular attention to the reverse side of the fabric to make sure stitches were going in the same direction as the ones on the other side so that both sides would be identical. I was able to grasp this concept to some degree, however, I would have to continue to work on ending the stitches on the other side so that there would less thread tails showing, which would take some time and continued practice.
Lady Thalia’s blackwork entry.
Did you learn something specific, something you would do differently, or would recommend others to do again?
This piece was my first venture into stitching a project using a pattern from a period sampler. Something different that I would do is to continue to work on pieces that are from a period reference and have historical significance. I would also like to spend time exploring blackwork to look for other patterns to work on and do additional research of how black work was utilized in the Middle Ages time period.
There are several things that I learned in the course of the virtual judging. I had been under the impression that black work patterns should look the same on either side of the fabric no matter which side was being looked at. It was helpful to find out during judging that the stitching should look identical on either side if the blackwork was being used to adorn clothing such as cuffs at the end of sleeves, etc. The other thing I learned was that if only the front portion of the design was visible that it was not as necessary to have both sides of the stitching look identical.
What did you think of the virtual face to face judging concept?
The kingdom championship was my first encounter with face to face judging for my work. I had entered A&S competitions / displays before where face to face judging was not a part of the competition. I was quite nervous about the prospect of going through the judging process. There were multiple aspects of the virtual judging that helped with my comfort level and nervousness. I liked the fact that I was paired with judges who were familiar with embroidery and also cross stitch. It helped the conversation flow with the judges, as I could share my experiences and knowledge of cross stitch and my experience with blackwork embroidery thus far. It was also helpful to have judges with similar interests to be able to be open with them about my work process and understand their recommendations with expanding my work in terms of trying different materials, making the work more to scale. For example, trying to use a different type of fabric and thread. I also received advice about how to space out stitches with the different type of fabric in comparison to the type of fabric that I had been using for years.
I was very pleased with the four judges that I encountered as they really made the effort to let me know about how detailed and clean my work was, which I very much appreciated as I really put a conscious effort into doing the needlework well. I also appreciated the encouragement from the judges to keep on going with advancing my work and how they appreciated seeing works that are in progress. I was also very pleased with the feedback that I received regarding my documentation, as I try ongoing to make improvements every time with feedback I received from a previous competition. Overall, I was very pleased with the scoring that I received ranging from a 3 to 5 and 6, which I felt was quite an accomplishment for only the first time being judged for an A&S Competition. I felt the overall process from the judging to how the competition was run was very successful and well organized.
What motivated you to enter the Kingdom Championship?
I chose to enter the kingdom championship for several different reasons. I would like to have opportunities to showcase my work and to be able to share with others because before coming to the SCA, the pieces that I worked on were only shared with a few close people in my life. I would like opportunities for feedback / guidance as I have taken the first steps towards branching out in different type of needlework as encouraged by peers. I find that being able to create things with needlework to be very satisfying and uplifting. I have also had the personal satisfaction thus far of seeing how my work can be appreciated by others, and that items that I have had made with cross stitch for largesse have been shared and appreciated by others. I would like to continue in this path be able to learn more and gain more experience with blackwork.
Are you interested in reading more about the entry after this appetizing interview? You can! All entries including documentation and images are available at the Kingdom Office of Arts and Sciences website.
Continuing the freshly-minted tradition of virtual sharing in these times of plague, the Kingdom Office of Arts & Sciences once again reached out to our fabulous Arts & Sciences Championship artisans to share their work with the populace at large on a more personal level. The virtual Kingdom Championship was also a juried competition, and included a week’s worth of face to face judging – with judges especially selected for their knowledge and background – as well as an online populace “meet and greet the artisans.” Master Hrólfr and I, your Kingdom Arts & Sciences officers, enjoy finding new ways to inspire and motivate our artisans in these trying times and we are happy to see the Championship ran so smoothly!
11th Century Naalbind Accessories, including a beef bone needle and wood bobbins.
Could you tell me a little about you, your persona?
My persona is actually 14th century French but because our family participates in historical Scandinavian reenactment outside of the SCA, I’ve spent more time in the last ten years researching various aspects of Viking age Scandinavia and the cultures they interacted with. Guess you could say I spend more time there than in 14th century Calais! While both of the pieces in my entry were at the tail end of The Viking era, 11th century, only one was definitively Scandinavian (Finnish, more precisely.) However, because naalbinding forms were so prevalent across the world for so many centuries, I would expect that my 10th century Scandinavian self probably was aware of, if not accomplished in, the art form.
What inspired you to make your entry?
Oh, the mittens! When I saw other recreations of them, I was just so excited to try them myself. To me, they resemble Wonder Woman’s costume and I just had to make a set for my daughter! The hat was actually a practice piece for a hat I’m making for a friend in my shire. But it turned out better than I expected and really, you can never have enough hats!
Work in progress on the Eura “Wonder Woman” mittens.
Did the entry throw up any unexpected issues?
I hit road bumps with both projects. With the mittens, there are only fragments to go by and we can’t even say with certainty that they were, in fact, mittens. I believe they were but recreating an entire piece based on fragments has its hurdles. With the hat, we have a completed extant piece but so little information on it! No one knows where it came from, who actually made it or whether it was inspired by Middle Eastern nalbind or Scandinavian nalbind. The only historical use for the stitch itself is this one hat. With both pieces, there was a lot of drawing inferences and trying to connect the most logical dots. But experimental archeology is the fascinating part for me!!
Did you learn something specific, something you would do differently, or would recommend others to do again?
Mostly my learning experiences here were method based. The wool fiber I used for the hat was a bit too thick for the Trier stitch so next time I know I need to use a smaller fiber. I experimented with different yarns on the mittens and gained insights into how different wools behaved, regarding torsion, tension and splicing. I also finally convinced myself that stitch counters are important, lol!
What did you think of the virtual face to face judging concept?
I have had a unique perspective on face to face judging; I’ve been an entrant, a judge and as former KMOAS, I have coordinated face to face judging for the Champs competitions. My personal learning style is such that I tend to prefer face to face judging for myself. I just am better at explaining and talking than writing, for the most part. I did worry about the virtual aspect and my Laurel and I did a practice session in Zoom just to work out the technical aspects and to get more comfortable with the online setting. I think this actually opens up more opportunities for artisans, to be honest! It is hard to organize judging for 15 people in a one day event and the judges wind up spending the entire event working. I know that can be rough on both our judges and our entrants. Spreading it out over the span of a week was very nice!!!
Early stages of a nalbound project: the possibilities are endless!
What motivated you to enter the Kingdom Championship?
This year has stunk for all of us. I started out tracking my hours spent teaching and making art at the beginning of the year but then when the world shutdown, I got depressed and really stopped doing much with my needlework. I have two terminally ill parents and my own house to take care of and family and home obligations just took so much of my time this year, on top of not being at events. I used the competition as a goal to get back into my art and it really did help! And I started crying when I began seeing everyone’s faces when judging began!!! On top of that, I did get really helpful feedback and support!!!
Are you interested in reading more about the entry after this appetizing interview? You can! All entries including documentation and images are available at the Kingdom Office of Arts and Sciences website.
Continuing the freshly-minted tradition of virtual sharing in these times of plague, the Kingdom Office of Arts & Sciences once again reached out to our fabulous Arts & Sciences Championship artisans to share their work with the populace at large on a more personal level.
The virtual Kingdom Championship was also a juried competition, and included a week’s worth of face to face judging — with judges especially selected for their knowledge and background — as well as an online populace “meet and greet the artisans.” Master Hrólfr and I, your Kingdom Arts & Sciences officers, enjoy finding new ways to inspire and motivate our artisans in these trying times and we are happy to see the Championship ran so smoothly!
Maggie Rue’s entry included a miniature display for everyone’s enjoyment, as well as a paper presentation on the Apothecary.
Could you tell me a little about you, your persona?
Maggie Rue is a complicated woman with dealings in a lot of things. She is a procurer— someone that people would come to asking about items or information and she would provide it at the right price. My character would actually run the apothecary. She may deal in questionable content at times, but needs a legitimate business to stay afloat and take care of family, so the store serves as a front and a legitimate way to work heavily in trade around the world.
The apothecary work room, including miniature furniture, mortar and pestle, as well as storage jars.
What inspired you to make your entry?
I’ve been writing a newsletter for a while and was working on apothecaries when the call came up to enter the championship. I put together a paper on the information I’ve been working on and was hoping to have enough time to put together a miniature apothecary that would go with the paper as a sort of instructional manual for apothecaries. The need is to teach others on what it is to be an apothecary and what it would be like to see one in person.
Did the entry throw up any unexpected issues?
The entry was supposed to be an introductory paper on apothecaries for newcomers and people interested in such a persona; it was not in any way a research paper of high caliber and I realized during judging that it had been anticipated as such.
Did you learn something specific, something you would do differently, or would recommend others to do again?
Yes. I realized that I was going to take this paper and use it as a chapter for persona/character creation for the SCA, LARPs, and roleplaying games. It’s a great way to provide information to others on how to portray their characters/persona.
What did you think of the virtual face-to-face judging concept?
The miniature was supposed to be a part of the competition and the judges all felt that because it wasn’t put forward as such, they didn’t want to look at it as much. In all honesty, my stuff never translates well to judging and I’m likely not going to bother entering anymore since my intentions are never understood as well as I liked.
What motivated you to enter the Kingdom Championship?
I figured I should enter something because I have information to share, I feel that if I’m not doing anything people will forget I’m around doing this stuff, and it was motivation to make the miniature, which will be used at demos as a great tool for education. If you feel discouraged or have trouble with criticism (it happens to everyone), know that your information is still valuable and is needed to help the SCA as a community. I hope that my miniatures and papers will someday be on display 50 years from now with some SCA-related group and they will be valuable as much then as they are now in teaching newcomers and people looking at different aspects of medieval reenactment.
Are you interested in reading more about the entry after this appetizing interview? You can! All entries including documentation and images are available at the Kingdom Office of Arts and Sciences website.
Continuing the freshly-minted tradition of virtual sharing in these times of plague, the Kingdom Office of Arts & Sciences once again reached out to our fabulous Arts & Sciences Championship artisans to share their work with the populace at large on a more personal level. The virtual Kingdom Championship was also a juried competition, and included a week’s worth of face to face judging – with judges especially selected for their knowledge and background – as well as an online populace “meet and greet the artisans.” Master Hrólfr and I, your Kingdom Arts & Sciences officers, enjoy finding new ways to inspire and motivate our artisans in these trying times and we are happy to see the Championship ran so smoothly!
Today’s interview is with Laird Coinneach Mac an Leigh, who entered the Kingdom of Æthelmearc Arts and Sciences Championship with the Mary Rose Purser’s Chest. Not only was Laird Coinneach the very first artisan to enter the Kingdom Championship, his skillful artistry also secured him the honored place as the King’s Champion!
Laird Coinneach Mac an Leigh entry the Mary Rose Purser’s Chest
Could you tell me a little about you, your persona?
Coinneach is a journeyman cabinetmaker and woodworker. This project is something he built for the purser of the Mary Rose.
What inspired you to make your entry?
Ever since I thumbed through Before the Mast, I’ve wanted to re-create some of those wonderful pieces. The Purser’s Chest is fairly simple in construction, so it seemed like a good project to start.
Did the entry throw up any unexpected issues?
I have been planning this project, off and on, for a decade or more. With all that planning, the actual construction went smoothly. The most difficult part was ascertaining the position of the trunnion sockets in the front and back panels; they had to be precisely opposite each other for the till lid to operate. Using a template helped make this happen.
Did you learn something specific, something you would do differently, or would recommend others to do again?
In retrospect, I would have liked to have done some more research on period paints. The original was almost certainly painted for protection against the salt air, and while modern paint looks okay, a period reproduction should have a period finish.
What did you think of the virtual face to face judging concept?
I enjoyed the face-to-face judging! I found I was able to respond quickly and accurately, and I have to admit I enjoyed talking about my project.
What motivated you to enter the Kingdom Championship?
I can’t deny the interest in exposure, but one of the main reasons for entering was to show that period joinery is within the capabilities of the weekend woodworker. Particularly in English woodwork, the joints are relatively simple; you cut away part of one board to make a place for the second one. That’s the essence of the joinery in the Purser’s Chest: part of the thickness of the front and back panels is cut away for fitting the end boards. Part of the end boards is cut away to fit the bottom. That’s all there is to it! If I can do it, so can anyone else.
Anything else you would like to share?
I want to thank His Majesty, the judges, and the Ministers of Arts & Sciences. I look forward to serving the Arts & Sciences community over the next year, and I hope to see many, many more beautiful examples of Æthelmearc’s extraordinary artisans’ crafts
Are you interested in reading more about the entry after this appetizing interview? You can! All entries including documentation and images are available at the Kingdom Office of Arts and Sciences website.
Continuing the freshly-minted tradition of virtual sharing in these times of plague, the Kingdom Office of Arts & Sciences once again reached out to our fabulous Arts & Sciences Championship artisans to share their work with the populace at large on a more personal level. The virtual Kingdom Championship was also a juried competition, and included a week’s worth of face to face judging – with judges especially selected for their knowledge and background – as well as an online populace “meet and greet the artisans.” Master Hrólfr and I, your Kingdom Arts & Sciences officers, enjoy finding new ways to inspire and motivate our artisans in these trying times and we are happy to see the Championship ran so smoothly!
Could you tell me a little about you, your persona?
I am Caleb Reynolds. I joined the SCA in November 1984 after seeing an armored combat demonstration at the Texas Renaissance Festival. I tracked down my local chapter (Barony of the Stargate) by looking up Richard Lionheart’s number in the phone book. My persona is a late 11th century Norman in occupied Saxon England. My paper is about the diet of the Norse who occupied Greenland: I think it is possible my Norman alter-ego might have heard of Greenland, but would never have visited.
What inspired you to make your entry?
I am fascinated by the minutiae of medieval life. Most book concentrate on battles and who became King or Queen. I am interested in the little things: table forks, pretzels, weathercocks, bowling, fried fish, horseshoes, law suits, water mills. I was reading a book about the Norse expansion and the book devoted three or four paragraphs to Greenland. The Norse occupied Greenland for around 450 years and this book could only mention that Eric the Red discovered it; his son discovered America, and that the Greenlanders couldn’t grow anything because Greenland wasn’t green (ha ha, wasn’t that a scam to get people to Greenland), so they only ate seal meat and cheese. I was surprised since the details on Iceland, Shetland, and Dublin were very well written. My research took me to Jerald Diamond’s “Collapse”, which has a sizable section about the start and end of the colony. Some of his statements didn’t sit well with me and inspired me to do an more in depth search. The majority of the popular press only mention a diet of protein and dairy, but humans can’t live on a 100% protein diet: they must have eaten something other than meat and I wanted to know what they could have eaten.
Did the entry throw up any unexpected issues?
This was a straight up research project. Since I don’t have access to primary sources, and I don’t read Latin, Danish or other languages, my sources were primarily English ones. There is most likely a wealth of information that could have helped me but has never been translated. With the pandemic, JSTOR and Academic.edu opened up their libraries to everyone. This gave me access to a lot of information that I would not have known existed a year ago. The major hurdle I encountered was all of the rabbit holes this topic opened up. The paper was primarily a discussion on what food was available to eat on the island. But I had to reign myself in from running off on extended tangents.
Funny enough, two days after I was judged, I was recommended a paper titled: “Palynology supports ‘Old Norse’ introductions to the flora of Greenland” which details the plants the Norse brought to their new home.
The subject is rife with future papers, either for myself or for others:
Danish flour and iron subsidies to Greenland, Iceland and the Shetland Islands.
Norse donations of wine for Greenland church services.
What was the method of making wine from crowberries that King Sverrir taught to his son?
Were Cogs used to transport cargo to and from Greenland, or only knarrs and other longships?
What was the cost of trade goods on Greenland?
What was the markup of Walrus Ivory on the Continent?
Was salt produced in bulk on Greenland? If so, how?
Cooking over manure: pros and cons.
Were there people who to traveled to Greenland for a year or two just to make a fortune hunting walrus? Like wildcats in ’49 Gold Rush.
How long does a lamp fueled by blubber last compared to olive oil?
Why were the Norse such jerks to the Dorset, Thule, and the first nation people of modern day Canada?
How the Black Death and attacks by the Victual Brothers destroyed Bergen’s ability to send ships to the far colonies and how that impacted the survivability of the Greenlanders.
Did you learn something specific, something you would do differently, or would recommend others to do again?
One of the things I have discovered over the years is that pretty much every time you hear or read an absolute statement about the past, it is usually wrong, and the truth is far more interesting and a great topic of research.
“No one in the middle ages ever bathed.” What about all of the bath houses throughout Europe? Most of which were closed down during the Renaissance. The city of Bath was named for it’s hot springs and bath houses. (Or, baths were named after Bath. Someone should research that.)
“There were no pain killers.” What about all of the medieval manuscripts that talk about the pain relief properties of various plants and mushrooms?
“Everyone ate rotten meat, that’s why they used spices.” Really? Spices were expensive. If you could afford spices from the literal other side of the planet, you could afford fresh meat.
“Few people traveled more than 5 miles from where they were born.” What about traveling merchants? What about pilgrims? What about soldiers and crusaders? How did salt travel from the Mediterranean to the north seas to salt cod which was then moved throughout Europe? It didn’t fly.
Absolute statements are generally a jumping off point for a fun bit of research. For people new to research papers, I would recommend picking a topic and writing a few pages about it. A research project does not have to be book length. Nor does it have to be unique: you can write on a topic that others have also used; just present your own experience and interpretation. Are you interested in a strange image in a manuscript: write about it. A recipe you want to try: write about it. Did you come across an interesting duel: write about it. Every SCA newsletter would be happy with two or three pages of something interesting about the middle ages.
Here is my suggestion: if you have access to old newsletters or old editions of the TI, like 20 or 30 years old, look through them for anything interesting: Medieval wrapping paper. Cosplay during the Middle Ages. Obscure recipes for food or beverages. Modern veggies vs period ones. Soap or “tooth paste”. Use that as a starting point for your own journey: what new information has been uncovered since the old paper was published? How would you present that thing, today. Our A&S community is not just about one person writes something and then it’s fixed in stone; the SCA is living history. That article about a recipe for ale; the author said to use malt extract and whatever hops you can get. How would you make it using whole barley? What hops would have been used at that time and place? That recipe says to use a non-stick pan over a stove top; how would you make it over a fire? Period sources call for an egg to determine how salty a brine is, or how much sugar is an a wort: Tell me how that would have been done. You do not have to be the first person to research something; just tell us your experience and your methods.
What did you think of the virtual face to face judging concept?
I like the face-to-face judging. I’ve been on both sides of the table in previous Arts & Sciences Faires and Championships. As a judge, it’s really nice to ask the author a question about some point not covered in the documentation. As a victim…. I mean competitor, it is an opportunity to explain a point that you either didn’t cover in the documentation or expound on a different tact. The Zoom method was good: not perfect but it was good opportunity to talk to old friends. There also were no interruptions from passer bys or noise from adjacent tables. Perhaps next time, I will be one of the judges.
What motivated you to enter the Kingdom Championship?
I had no expectation other than to present a paper on a topic that I found fascinating. I hope that I can inspire others to not only do a deep dive on an unusual topic but to share their passion with others. I was not expecting to win (although I had a 50/50 chance for the first two or three weeks: at least until a third person threw in their hat). Those of you who know me, know that I love obscure topics and know that I love asking stupid questions that have complicated and interesting answers. I was also drawn to the chance to talk about my paper and be spun around and pointed towards new topics that I had not thought of. This was a far better process than just having a score assigned to a judging sheet.
Are you interested in reading more about the entry after this appetizing interview? You can! All entries including documentation and images are available at the Kingdom Office of Arts and Sciences website.
Continuing the freshly-minted tradition of virtual sharing in these times of plague, the Kingdom Office of Arts & Sciences once again reached out to our fabulous Arts & Sciences Championship artisans. Through interviews for the Æthelmearc Gazette our artisans can share their work with the populace at large on a more personal level. Unlike the Virtual Queen’s Prize Tourney, which was run completely virtual, the Kingdom Championship is a juried competition, and included a week’s worth of face to face judging – with judges especially selected for their knowledge and background – as well as an online populace “meet and greet the artisans” before Kingdom court. Master Hrólfr and I, your Kingdom Arts & Sciences officers, enjoy these challenges of finding ways to inspire and motivate our artisans in these trying times and we are happy to see the Championship ran so smoothly! The Kingdom Championship would not have been nearly as successful without the extra-ordinary organizational skills of Master Hrólfr, the web development magic of Master Robert of Ferness and the zoom room wizardry of Lady Magdalena Txoperena and Baroness Amalie. Thank you for helping our artisans shine!
Could you tell me a little about you, your persona?
Lord Éadaoin Ruadh, our current Kingdom of Æthelmearc Bardic Champion
My persona is a turn of the 14th century Irishwoman who got to Scotland right around the time of Robert the Bruce. I’ve not determined whether or not she would actually write songs and stories, but she would certainly memorize and perform songs like these around a fire. Given the violence and backstabbing she has experienced, the pacifist feelings in Towton’s Creek could be right up her alley, though perhaps she wouldn’t have voiced them until after the war was finished. The love of the land and its offerings in Drink For a Scot’s Land would sit incredibly well with her character, too.
What inspired you to make your entry?
For Towton’s Creek, I’ve loved the message of Green Fields of France as well as its melody, and always wanted a period adjacent version to sing at campfires. Last Pennsic, after a late night/early morning performance that earned me a gift for my passion and talent, I was pushed even harder to complete it. Because I needed a brush tipper for it, I was also inspired to source local AEthelmearc oak and horse hair to make one for performing it (as any bard in that day would’ve done). For Drink For a Scot’s Land, I wanted to highlight the conservation efforts of Alan Watson-Featherstone and the Trees For Life charity that has been restoring Scotland’s Caledonian Forest for 40 years now. You find evidence of the flora and fauna in its verses as the land heals, as well as the timeless, world famous imagery their land evokes. Just like TFL, I believe there’s a lot to learn from nature, whether the scientific patterns or the symbolism. Additionally, so many people stereotype Scottish songs, as the opening tells us, into violence, drinking, or tragedy, so I wanted to highlight what wasn’t any of those.
Did the entry throw up any unexpected issues?
The write up took a lot longer than I expected, trying to cram in where I applied the research. I realized I need to leave more composition time, and better organize my sources for citing within my documentation. The variance in how well / poorly my voice can reach my range of notes is generally always an expected road bump, so I did my best to avoid it by singing after my voice had rested (right after waking up). Our adventure cat Mohinder decided to stay in our room while I recorded. Thankfully his movement didn’t distract the performance, and I’m glad for the practice in handling the mild chaos of a campfire.
Did you learn something specific, something you would do differently, or would recommend others to do again?
I learned a lot about how historical accounts are essentially a survey of what happened–no one group is going to have it exactly right. Somewhere in the midst of all of their words combined is the truth. As mentioned before, I would give myself much more time to prep the writing portion of the entry. I’d put more practice into breath control, as well, to help keep the audience from getting lost in choppy phrasing.
What did you think of the virtual face to face judging concept?
I’m in favor of the virtual judging when in-person isn’t possible, and this worked fine for me. This is the first competition I’ve been in with feedback on performance, so I don’t have much to compare it to.
What motivated you to enter the Kingdom Championship?
In all honesty, it was because Elska suggested it, that she would like a performance entry. Later I found it to be good practice for performing under pressure and examining how intimate I am with my pieces. I’m always happy to provide inspiration to others, to make our populace more aware of the bardic arts, and overall help where I can. The feedback helped immensely, in having experienced eyes and ears on my pieces, and my performances. I’m not truly here to win, but to compare my skill with how I’ve been in the past.
Anything else you would like to share?
I highly recommend any artisan to enter their works for a contest, even if you’re not looking for awards or renown. Sharing your knowledge and art is really what our Great Dream is about. The judging will help push you to improve and hone your skills. You never know what eyes are watching, and who next you’ll push to be their best.
Are you interested in reading more about the entry after this appetizing interview? You can! All entries including documentation and images are available at the Kingdom Office of Arts and Sciences website.
Continuing the freshly-minted tradition of virtual sharing in these times of plague, the Kingdom Office of Arts & Sciences once again reached out to our fabulous Arts & Sciences Championship artisans. Through interviews for the Æthelmearc Gazette our artisans can share their work with the populace at large on a more personal level. Unlike the Virtual Queen’s Prize Tourney, which was run completely virtual, the Kingdom Championship is a juried competition, and included a week’s worth of face to face judging – with judges especially selected for their knowledge and background – as well as an online populace “meet and greet the artisans” before Kingdom court. Master Hrólfr and I, your Kingdom Arts & Sciences officers, enjoy these challenges of finding ways to inspire and motivate our artisans in these trying times and we are happy to see the Championship ran so smoothly! The Kingdom Championship would not have been nearly as successful without the extra-ordinary organizational skills of Master Hrólfr, the web development magic of Master Robert of Ferness and the zoom room wizardry of Lady Magdalena Txoperena and Baroness Amalie. Thank you for helping our artisans shine!
Could you tell me a little about you, your persona?
The Honorable Lady Kathryn MacLuing wearing her 10th century Saxon/Norman wardrobe.
I am The Honorable Lady Kathryn MacLuing, Order of the Millrind, Order of the Sycamore, Order of the Keystone. While I started with my persona being a Scots from before Wallace’s Rebellion, I have flowed along the time stream wearing whatever caught my eye. However, there’s just something about the lines of the late 10th-early 11th Century gowns that I adore. So, is this something my persona would have worn? Other than the belt and veil I would not have worn gowns patterned this loose, but they did lead to the fitted kirtles and sideless surcotes of the mid-to-late 1200s that are my more usual garments. I did make a mistake creating a filet to go with the veil, that is a solid 1200’s invention. The veil would have been simply wrapped like a scarf around my head and neck, and at most a simple circlet worn over the top.
What inspired you to make your entry?
My inspiration was multi fold. First, I had seen online the Calontir Clothing Challenge, which called for the participants to make a full outfit of 4 different layers from the underclothing out. The 4th layer was to be an ‘Accessory’ created by a method other than sewing. No documentation was needed, and we were free to be as period or modern as we chose. The Challenge started October 1st, and will end January 31st with the judging. Other bonus challenges were added as the word spread. I believe I am the only one from Æthelmearc to participate. It helped that I was about to be laid off for Winter, and thought a project like this would give me something to do while I had all that spare time. I did not expect to be finished in only two months, but that’s how it worked out.
With the idea of three layers of clothing, I wanted something simple but showy. The 10th-11th Century chemise, kirtle, and cotehardie had those simple lines, but could be easily decorated with embroidery to make it stand out. Then, there was the bonus of card-weaving a belt, which was an idea I’d kicked around because I own a woven belt and wanted another. So, with a full stash of fabric to choose from, and the looming prospect of being laid off all winter, I chose to take up the challenge.
I did NOT expect the response when the outfit was finished, and all the calls for me to enter the Kingdom A&S. Having Laurels and Fleurs, even if they were old friends, pushing for me to enter the competition was both flattering and bemusing. To think people thought my work was good enough to enter the Kingdom Arts & Sciences Championship was awesome and terrifying in equal measure. So, they were my inspiration as well as thorns in my side until I said “OK! I’ll Do It!”.
Did the entry throw up any unexpected issues?
The errors started early, as I discovered that ALL of my dress patterns I owned were missing. I can only assume they were left months ago at the last “Stitch-n-Bitch” the Barony had, and are probably gone forever. Thankfully, Baroness Ceridwen de Skene came and helped take my measurements, and I was able to recreate things from the measurements and from laying out my other gowns to take patterns from. Of course, mis-measuring happens, and so the cotehardie needed additional gores, but that is a pattern I’ve rarely used and was recreating entirely from my memory of how it worked.
The Honorable Lady Kathryn MacLuing first attempt at a cardwoven belt. Because her outfit was in need of one she took up this challenge and succeeded!
The belt was a real challenge. because I’d never tried card-weaving outside a couple demos. First, I did not own a loom, so I turned my cutting table upside down to string the warp over the legs. Then, there was a problem keeping the tension, which I tried to fix with weights, but it never quite got there. Due to the tension problems, the cards would catch on the threads next to them and didn’t turn correctly. On top of that came the more common errors of losing track of which turn I was on, was I going forward or back, etc. Even with those problems, I did manage to finish the belt within a week, working probably 3-4 hours a day on it. All credit to Baroness Ceridwen for making the cards and gifting them to me when I told her I wanted to try it.
Then, after I was prodded and convinced to enter the Æthelmearc A&S Championship, I had only 24 hours to document all the things I did as actual techniques, or find excuses why I didn’t do them like they would have been done. As I said, the Calontir Challenge did not ask for documentation, and gave us free reign to be only as period as we chose to be, and many of my techniques were more modern. If I had meant to enter the Kingdom A&S, I would have done the research first before touching any fabric (and probably wouldn’t have done the project).
I have never liked documentation, and Kingdom A&S would require a whole lot of it. I have run Baronial A&S, I have run Dirty Dozen Derbies, but I have never entered anything in any A&S competition that took more than a 3×5 card or one-page sheet of documentation. Thus, the 24 hour dash to try to prove at least a few of the things I’d done were period, and how the things I didn’t do exactly period were suitable changes.
Did you learn something specific, something you would do differently, or would recommend others to do again?
Research First, Document as you Go. Do not try to backtrack everything in less than 24 hours. Second thing I learned, from judges’ suggestions, were ways to mitigate the tension problems with card-weaving, things I’d not thought of like tying it to my waist and using my own body as a weight. As for my sudden need for patterns, there was a prize in the Calontir Challenge for using different patterns for creating your layers, so each layer was cut differently. If I do this again, I’d use just one pattern for all three dresses, and also use linen for all three layers, instead of a light cotton for the chemise. The color is perfect and it drapes well, but it’s definitely not period for the time and culture. I’d also look into light-weight wool for the cotehardie.
What did you think of the virtual face to face judging concept?
I think the online judging worked very well for me, because despite my years in the Society I still suffer from shyness when on the spot. Being at home and not spotlighted in the middle of a busy event calmed the anxiety. It also helped when I found that I knew three of the judges personally, so it wasn’t absolute strangers.
The feedback was excellent, in real time, and I will now call my sewing machine my ‘servant’ who takes care of the interior seams for me thanks to Mistress Graidhne Ni Ruaidh. The rubric was easy to understand, logical, and well-suited to the situation where judges could ‘look but not touch’.
I am very proud to say that I got a 3/6 overall score which was far better than I’d expected, and I’d have probably scored better with better documentation and more period construction. The judge’s explanations behind their scoring in their feedback was supportive and helpful, and made me feel good about entering.
What motivated you to enter the Kingdom Championship?
I want to point out, I did not intend to enter the Kingdom A&S Championships. This was an ‘just for fun’ project that was triggered by seeing an online competition, which wasn’t even in this Kingdom. This was a Winter Project, because I had a stash of fabric, time on my hands, and a Challenge to make something to add to my wardrobe. Plus, there was the bonus of learning a new skill.
I did not expect the reaction after I finished the outfit and started posting pictures to my Facebook page. I did not think it was worthy of the Kingdom Arts & Sciences Championship, and the reaction of friends who are Laurels and Fleurs was overwhelming. I still don’t know if I should thank my friends for pushing me into entering, or plot revenge (probably both 😀 ). I got a big thrill that so many people liked the outfit, and how many compliments I got on it. I am proud of my score, which was far more than I expected considering the flaws in it. I am actually thinking of trying to do it again, the Right Way, because of the positive feedback and reactions. But first, I have to restock my stash, and experiment with the card loom I was gifted for Christmas.
Are you interested in reading more about the entry after this appetizing interview? You can! All entries including documentation and images are available at the Kingdom Office of Arts and Sciences website.
(b. Ca. 1450, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, d. 1516, ‘s-Hertogenbosch) Web Gallery of Art, searchable fine arts image database. Accessed 11 November 2019.
Medieval and Renaissance. Leeks. Accessed 12 November 2019. Tacuinum Sanitatis (BNF Latin 9333), 15th century
This year at Pennsic I took a basketry class to make a market basket. I found that I liked basketry and wanted to do more. I’ve taught two classes so far and am going to teach another. I based the design off of the document above using the same weaving technique and material. I made the basket as a birthday gift. Recently I taught a class, and am planning to teach another in the future!
I made a pack that is more-or-less shaped to fit the back. It took several days of working one to two hours each day to complete, using an over two, under one weave (outside two spokes, inside one). The entire basket took one to two pounds of reed to make. The image’s straps looked uncomfortable so I decided to make straps like a modern backpack. However, these straps are medieval (right medieval image). My dad and I added the straps from spare leather and he added the buckles.
My backpack worn by my Dad, and on display at the Arts & Sciences Championship.
What I would do differently in the future is bend the spokes outward from the beginning to keep the basket’s shape straighter. The reed towards the top wants to bend in, as making the weave tight and there being nothing to hold the spokes out makes the opening smaller. I found that putting a brick over a paper towel was useful to add weight to help keep down the basket as I weave.
Mary of Harford, of the Dominion of Myrkfaelinn.
The two medieval images are from: (L) b. Ca. 1450, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, d. 1516, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Web Gallery of Art, searchable fine arts image database. Accessed 11 November 2019 (R) Medieval and Renaissance. Leeks. Accessed 12 November 2019. Tacuinum Sanitatis (BNF Latin 9333), 15th century.
Earlier this month, I had the fortune and privilege to enter Kingdom A&S Championships with an entry that had been in progress for the better part of a year.
After multiple entries into other displays and competitions, trial and testing of different methods, and sifting through possible ingredients from a terroir that spans two continents, I selected the two recipes I thought would give me the best chance. The krupnik that I made, flavored with fruits and spices, might stand a chance to win.
For those unfamiliar with krupnik, it is an alcoholic drink that begins with a neutral grain spirit. As in nearly any area of the study of food, alcohol has long been a staple of human existence and has taken a variety of forms. For the people who settled East of the River Elbe and North of the Caucasus Mountains, their cultural liquor contribution was vodka, as well as its various adjacent types. These were created by using additives such as herbs, spices, or honey. Honey, popular in its own right for its use in mead production, was a useful addition for softening the bite of grain spirit. Eventually, the practice became common enough to earn the right to a separate classification of alcohol. Called krupnik by the Poles, Barenfang by the Germans, and krambambula by the Belorussians, honey liquor culturally came into its own.
Many of these liquors are difficult to trace the origins of. Krupnik is no exception. Allegedly, it was created by Benedictine monks in a monastery in the northeast of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, now known as Belarus, in the 16th century. After its inception it presumably became very popular with the nobles of Poland-Lithuania, called szlachta, who modified and expanded their personal recipes for the drink and passed them down through. However, as I read through various books related to the Pre-Christian period of Poland-Lithuania (pre-15th Century), this story became less and less credible to me.
While the Teutonic crusades did their best to erase pre-Christian religions and cultures from the Baltic areas, some evidence of the animistic Romuva religion does survive. Analysis of the primary sources closest to the period indicated that the Romuva faith had a loosely organized pantheon and was highly animistic, allowing for the incorporation of deities of all kinds. While authoritative lists of canonical gods are difficult to come by and often don’t agree with each other, they still demonstrate consistent themes.
Among these consistent themes were gods and rituals directly tied to the healthy production of honey, its fermentation, and storage. Using the logic of sympathetic magic and post-structuralism, or “if people had gods that they prayed to about this thing, this thing must have been important and had some serious cultural bearing to it,” I came to the conclusion that krupnik was likely a drink made by the common folk long before some enterprising monks picked it up as a monastic trade item. Thus, it is unsurprising that I couldn’t find a direct recipe or method. And so, I wrote up my research, added justifications from my ingredient choices, and wrote up my method for making this drink.
I should note here that I do not have a documented method for this beverage as it stands. I learned how to make this drink from my and my partner’s family traditions, us both coming from long lines of Eastern and Southern European Slavs. We have both drank our share of strange brandies and cordials made by enterprising family members, and have been informed of the “correct recipes” with some ethnic muttering about who’s culture’s liquor is best thrown in. I cannot tell you with precision how period our recipes are. I can only tell you that Slavs have traditions regarding liquor that are assuredly more pagan than Christian, and that there are more ways to earn good luck and a good harvest than to properly drink a shot. It was a test of research and primary sources to find any contemporary recipes from the later end of the time period, and some of those were barely in the period definitions of the Society. In previous competitions, I had been heavily docked for providing no supporting method documentation, so I was on the hunt for nearly anything that I could use. Thanks to some timely and incredibly helpful recommendations, I was able to find some instructions from a Russian manual of household management. So, I wrote them into my method with caveats and headed to Kingdom A&S.
Lord Cassiano serving at the A&S Championship.
I was honored by visitors to my table, curious and effusive royalty, and by my insightful and exacting judges. Their feedback was supportive and precise. As a bolt flees from the firing string, so did they swiftly seek and certainly find the weaknesses of my project. Modern choices of fruit and modern processing tools, only partial documentation of the herbs used, and the usual dagger, a lack of a single recipe. Across all judges, I consistently lost points for this one. Despite written caveats, despite the tightening circle of supporting evidence and points for probability, there was no smoking gun, so to speak, of how this drink would have been made in period.
I have to note here. This is the SCA. We are in the business of the recreation of historical artifacts, methods, and techniques. We strive for this; it is perhaps our calling card amongst the class of medieval play-acting groups. It is a facet of the society that drew me towards it and keeps me engaged day after day. However, it is one particular rock that I also keep tripping over. In my mundane life, I am an Associate Principal Investigator for a cultural resource mitigation company. The title is a mouthful, but means that I work as a historian, anthropologist, and archaeologist all in one. I am in the business of collecting historical and archaeological data, synthesizing it, and presenting the best possible picture of what it can tell us folks in the modern day. As one puzzle piece does not make the picture, neither does one data point make a conclusion, and thus do we do our research and draw conclusions in my field. Very rarely do we get that “smoking gun,” but piles of spent shell casings often are ample substitute.
So, what to do now, with several months until the next Festival of the Passing of the Ice Dragon yet still bearing the same ultimate feedback that I received at the last one? Thanks to the diligence and support of my judges, I have a handful of new leads for other weaknesses in my work, but that pack of lost points that a recipe would ensnare is a frustrating target. There still exist more historical monographs about the Teutonic Crusades than the Lithuanian Empire that preceded them. There still exist paywalls over university-led research into these kinds of anthropological puzzles. I still can’t read Polish. These same roadblocks led me to the indirect methods of problem solving that I first began this project with, and now 40 sources and 4,000 words later I am running out of clever ideas to defeat this final boss. I can hear my thesis advisor from years ago asking me where my ethnography is to contextualize this data, but in this moment, it feels like I have none of the data and entirely too much context.
Ultimately, I have four months to seek another, more complete answer. I’m not ready to set this project down and there are stages of maturation techniques and more period methods that I want to use and try, but this question of authenticity is one that needs to be nailed down. But for now, as the holidays roll in and I prepare to celebrate three religions’ Christmases in the space of a month, it is time to step back. Friends, family, and ancestors all need to be toasted, and I have several bottles to empty.
May trouble never find you in the new year,
Lord Cassiano da Castello, Order of the Sycamore, Shire of Nithgaard.
The Happy Wagon, where Lord Cas and the other alcoholic entries, could legally sampled even though entered in a dry site. Lord Cas’s Russian clothing came in useful in the unheated cabin, as did their wonderful krupnik sufficiently warm the judges.
Maria Dembińska, William Woys Weaver (1999). Food and Drink in Medieval Poland: Rediscovering a Cuisine of the Past. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Rowell, S. C. (1994). Lithuania Ascending: A Pagan Empire Within East-Central Europe, 1295-1345. Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series. Cambridge University Press.
Greimas, A. (1992). Of Gods and Men. Indiana University Press
Pouncey, Caroline Johnston (2001). The Domostroi: Rules for Russian Households in the Time of Ivan the Terrible.”
