As the Æthelbard General, Lord Éadaoin Ruadh is the coordinator for our war points at the upcoming First Bardic War. The First Bardic War will be held virtually on May 15 – 23, A.S. LVI, and will showcase the many talents of our populace with a week-long performing arts war! Lord Éadaoin organized the Æthelmearcian responses from whoever filled out the form shared by Nezhka of Atlantia to use for participation interest, and matched folks with events; balancing which they wanted most versus where our alliance needed entries. Any entrant could only participate in two solo points, and only one of those could be live, with no limit on group participation events like Improv or any of the relays.

Unfortunately, a couple of big mundane problems have hit me since taking on the role, but fortunately, our populace has been great at keeping me updated, asking where they can help, and thanking me for my efforts. The other Generals have stepped in where they can, and have been incredible examples, too–herding bardic (and bardic adjacent!) cats is its own rewarding chaos.

Greni from Blasted Rock and Elska á Fjárfelli entered in the Equestrian Dressage category with ” A Viking Raid.”

Some performances will be publicly accessible, but the staff has to edit entries in order to take out those who didn’t consent to have their content posted. The Bardic War channel on YouTube is here

This was a huge project for the staff to bite off in one chunk in the initial year, but they’re an amazingly dedicated group of folks. We cannot wait to see what we’re able to do in person in the coming years for the Bardic War. Likely, because of our learning curve during this pandemic, virtual entries will still be allowed, or at least have a foothold in years to come. Undoubtedly the biggest thing mentioned at all our bardic circles is that we miss the atmosphere around a fire, at night, with people on either side sharing in live art. Granted the bardic community I think has flourished in lots of ways during the pandemic, but we miss contact with our cousins just as much as anyone else.

So… who does what, where?!

The following is a list of our participating artisans:

Baroness Amalie Reinhardt
Arts & Sciences, Wordsmith/Scribe/Herald relay

Ania Mhoireach
Dramatic Writing, Non-English Performance

Silence de Cherbourg
Group Musical

Bran O’Labhradha (Sylvan Bard Sinister)
Original Song Period Style, Non-Original Song

Christofle Dumont
Youth 13 and Under

Elska á Fjárfelli
Equestrian Dressage

Ewa of Coppertree
Group Musical, “The Voice” Style Audio, Renaissance Theatre

Gavin Kent (Sylvan Bard Dexter)
Wordsmith/Scribe/Herald relay, Storytelling, Original Song Period Style, Group Musical

Gwendolyn the Graceful
Champions Battle, Wordsmith/Scribe/Herald relay, Group Musical, Original Song of the Modern Middle Ages

Kadlin Sigvaldakona
Group Musical, (maybe Wordsmith/Scribe/Herald relay, trying to get confirmation)

Brigette De Sainte Mere-Eglise
Non-European Performance

Filipo de Sancto Martino
Battle Speech or Story

Avelina del Dolce, Arianna of Wynthrope, Liam mac an t’Saoir
Improv

Lady Ilaria Rosati
Arts & Sciences

Lord Chebe
Martial Relay

Lord Éadaoin Ruadh
Original Song of the Modern Middle Ages

Yours in service,

• The Bardic War Point schedule can be found here
• The Bardic War class schedule can be found here
• General Bardic War Activities can be found here, and include Largesse, Workshops, Competitions, Rountables, and more.
• The Bardic War Concerts and Performances can be found here