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The King’s Garb
January AS XL (2006 AD)
“The cause is hidden. The effect is visible to all.” –Ovid
That which we see and dismiss with naught but a moment’s thought is often the hard labour and passion of one or many individuals. Here in the SCA, much is taken for granted by those who don’t understand it, and we all do it. It is one thing to swing a sword of rattan, another to master the motions and skills required to claim victory on a regular basis. The garb that we wear is often the product of long hours of effort by a highly skilled individual, yet we who simply wear a purchased garment often have no conception of what it takes to create such a work of art. In the SCA, we are surrounded by phenomenal talent, yet we turn a blind eye to it. Bear this in mind as winter fades and the light returns. Perhaps the light will open our eyes to many things that we once could not see, if we but let it.
In the spirit of new beginnings, and being the New Year according to these newfangled Gregorian calendars with which we now must deal, the King’s Garb will be receiving a serious makeover, a lengthening, a changing. Though I do respect my most worthy predecessors, the time has long since come for change.
All input on what changes is entirely within your, the reader’s, purview. As we are all sufficiently educated to be able to read, so should we have input on what we would like to read. Your ideas are greatly valued by those of us who do what we do so that others may enjoy themselves.
So please, allow this New Year to inspire you to new and better understandings of the people and the world around you. Try something new, too. You never know, you just might like it.
Humbly YIS, I.I., Chronicler of Myrgan Wood
-Front Page: Adoration of the Magi (c.1656), by Bartolomé Estéban Murillo (1618-1682). January 5th, also known as 12th Night, was supposed to commemorate the event.
The Plebeian Soapbox
Consider for a moment, the events we hold in the SCA. With respect to the few exceptions, does it not feel as though they are rote and repetitive? In the winter months, we gather for tournaments, which go something like this: Competitors shoot/fight/present/occasionally perform for a title/prize/honour and glory. Feasts are had, of varying calibers. Court is held, awards are presented, and occasionally there is random amusement. These are largely social events. In the summer months, we still see these tournament events, interspersed with war/camping season. The tournaments become battlefields, the objectives are no longer solely personal advancement, and there is more drinking and socializing.
This is fine, insofar as it goes. Perhaps it is time we consider a more dynamic concept. Imagine this: A war where an army is thoroughly routed resulting in some exchange of territory from one kingdom to another on an actually accepted SCA level; a heraldic tournament where a proper (imaginary) lineage must be declared prior to competition; night raids using boffers; ideas like these, as far-fetched and impractical as they may seem, may serve to revitalize the SCA in a way unprecedented. Night raids would force larger encampments, who chose to participate in such events, to post guards, lineage declaration would assist with persona development, and actual consequences to wars would inspire a cause: No longer is it enough to fight for your Barony, Principality or Kingdom, now you must train to fight your best for there are potential consequences at stake.
Perhaps these are random ramblings that have been picked over before and disregarded, yet I would have them be considered again. Something is lacking from the spirit of the SCA to me, and I would like to find ways to rekindle it, for myself and others who share my feelings. – I.I.
The Julian Calendar The Julian calendar was introduced by
Julius Caesar in 46 BC (or BCE, as you prefer). Named after the great Roman emperor, it’s primary purpose was to deal with the continued errors existing in the previous calendar. The preceding Roman calendar had in fact only 355 days, and as a result the temporal year shifted quite drastically from the calendar year vastly in less than a decade. Efforts were made to counter this in the older calendar simply by adding an additional intercalary month of 22 or 23 days, known as a Mensis Intercalaris, or Mercedonius on random years. This of course was quite difficult to follow, and often people and armies in outlying regions had no idea of the bureaucratic decisions which changed the months. This, of course, caused vast confusion without a standardized calendar. For this purpose, Julius Caesar brought forth the Julian calendar, and it took effect after what is known as the last year of confusion, a year that was 455 days long to replace all the days missed during Caesar’s reign to that point.
Though France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands have all adopted the newfangled and “more correct” Gregorian calendar, most other nations still hold to their beliefs that the Julian calendar is accurate.
The names of the months haven’t changed much over the centuries. Originally called Ianuarius, Februarius, Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Iunius, Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October, November, and December, only the first 8 have changed at all, and only Quintilis and Sextilis may present difficulty in understanding. The preceding 6 merely lost their Roman influence and became January, February, March, April, and May. Quintilis and Sextilis, originally so named as literally “the
fifth month” and “the sixth month”, became Iulius (later July) in 44 BC in honour of Julius Caesar’s birthday being in that month, and Augustus (later August) in 8 BC due to many of the significant events in his rise to power occurring within the former month of Sextilis.
Many later Roman emperors attempted to emulate this by changing other months to names they felt symbolically important, but none of those changes survived the fall of the empire, nor many even likely the death of each particular emperor.
In recent years, there have been stirrings of change. As previously mentioned, many nations have gone over to the new calendar as proposed by Pope Gregory XIII, known of course as the Gregorian calendar. News of this has of course spread throughout the Christian world, however details are as of yet scarce, the rumours unfounded. Perhaps in time to come, we will hear more of this new Gregorian calendar, and just why it is deemed to be better.
-Illyanth Ildanach (England, 1597)
-A Roman calendar (circa 47 BC). You can see why we had to change things.
An Tir Twelfth Night Coronation
January 13, 2006 to January 15, 2006 - Three Mountains
Clackamas & Multnomah Counties, OR
Autocrat: Lady Penelope Viollet Twelfth Night 2006 January 13-15, 2006 Barony of Three Mountains (Portland, OR)
It is time to begin plans and preparations for our most glorious winter event. Come join Their Royal Majesties in the Barony of Three Mountains to crown their Royal Successors. Enjoy the many activities which include a Heraldic Ball on Friday night, Kingdom Rapier Championship and much, much, more.
Autocrat: HL Penelope Viollet (Penelope Fritts), 534 NE Joy Street, Camas, WA 98607, 360-521-2798, [email protected]
Merchant Liaison: HL Lynnarra Correll (Eleshia Ledridge), 503-465-0171 (call between 3-9 PM), [email protected]
Site info: Red Lion Hotel on the River (was DoubleTree – Jantzen Beach), 909 North Hayden Island Drive, Portland, OR 97217
Hotel Information: Reservation Contact – 1-800-RED LION or 800-733-5466. The hotel can also be contacted directly at 503-283-4466. Please remember to say you are with the Society for Creative Anachronism or SCA to ensure that you receive the group’s rate and so we will be credited with the room. Also, although not guaranteed, you can ask that a preference for quiet or noisy area be indicated in the reservations comment section. The hotel uses this information when people arrive to assist with assigning rooms.
Room Rates - $79.00 Single/Double Occupancy; $89.00 Triple Occupancy; $99.00 Quad Occupancy
Site fees: Member Adult $15, Non-Member Adult $18 (age 18 and up), Youth - $10 (12-17), Children under 12 are free. (Make checks payable to Barony Three Mountains/SCA, Inc.)
A Friendly Community Service Message, from your Local A&S Officer
Greetings, Good Gentles of Myrgan Wood:
Regular A&S classes are beginning soon, start marking your calendars! They will take place every second Tuesday at 7:30pm in L Weldon's workshop at 233 Meighen Cres. Please contact L Tricia at 373-3567 or [email protected] for more information. January 10 - Ten Gore Viking Tunic/Dress - 3 classes - Workshop, student supplied materials January 17 - Ten Gore continued or alternate class January 24 - Ten Gore continued or alternate class L Lina Joya of Grantham Keep will take us through making our own Viking Ten Gore Garb from start to finish. Please register with L Tricia (info above) early as space for the January class is limited. Besides, the earlier you get the materials list, the more time you have to scour fabric collections for the right colour!
Proposed Changes and Additions to the King’s Garb
I would like to briefly draw your attention to
the King’s Garb itself. As I mentioned in the editorial, there will be changes coming. Whether you like them or not is up to you, but it is far more likely that you will appreciate the changes, and therefore the Garb itself, far more if you make suggestions as to what you would like to see. Themes are but one aspect, after all. Any Chronicler can copy an article about some random theme that they happened to choose for that month. Rarer, but still occurring are the Chroniclers who actually research and write their own works for that personal touch. Yet these are things the Chroniclers can do on their own. What we cannot do is make you enjoy it. So I ask you, as your Chronicler, what would you like to see in the garb? And instead of just leaving you hanging with nothing to go on (and therefore not being interested), I will now provide you with some ideas.
Stylistically, I would like to see a more
intricate newsletter. I understand that fancy doesn’t mean that the content is good, but at the same time, fancy draws the eye. Perhaps once in a while I could ask our local artisans to draw me up some side illuminations for the margins that can be scanned in and applied to the pages? Or perhaps I could make the Garb similar to the Avantgarde in nature, where it actually appears to be a book, rather than a collection of pages.
Are more images preferable, or less? Would a
shorter Garb be preferred over a longer one by omitting unnecessary imagery in an effort to make the Garb seem more condensed and informative, as opposed to a lighter read?
Segueing into content, would you like to see
more general interest content at the expense of more practical content, vice versa, or a decrease in both to favour humorous content?
Would you like to see event reports from
other places appear in these pages, or keep it
strictly locally concerned? Would you be willing to write an article or two on an area of interest of yours once or twice a year if the Chronicler should ask for something specific?
A new addition to the King’s Garb as you may
already have noticed is the Plebeian Soapbox. I will be spending a good deal of time asking for submissions for this. The content I desire is simple in principle: I would like your ideas for how this game we play can be improved, regardless of rank or titles or participation. Stuff like “better feasts” doesn’t help. However, a suggestion for increasing diplomatic relations and travel between the far western branches of the Middle Kingdom to aid and support us in our skirmishes at Moorish Tavern against Northshield, or an opinion that perhaps we should focus less on politics and more on cooking (if well supported) would both be great.
Finally, would you be interested in an actual
Chronicle of events, both in period to an extent, and in SCA time? Notable dates in history from the point of view of various cultures at various times for the former, it would be largely a matter of research. By contrast, the latter could be fairly simple: A Chronicle of recent events that occurred, and anything major that happened there, A Chronicle of the local populace (Such as: January 5th, AS XL: Today did the populace of Myrgan Wood hold their monthly tavern, and much merriment was had./ January 7th, AS XL: Today did Lord Illyanth complete the composition of a ballad commemorating the slain at the Battle of Maldon./ And so on…). It would be a fine way to remember that which we do, instead of letting it be lost to the mists of time and memory.
These are some suggestions to consider for
changes and additions to the King’s Garb. Please know that I value the input of every individual and would like to know what I can do to make your enjoyment of the Garb that much better.
Humbly YIS, L Illyanth Ildanach Chronicler of Myrgan Wood
Montengarde’s Twelfth Night Celebrations, AS XL January 21st, 2006
The Barony of Montengarde invites everyone to its Annual Twelfth Night Festivities; celebrate with their
Excellencies Malabar Membro Spaccata and Hero the Responsible. The day will be filled with amusements, fighting, games, song and possible dancing. This day will decide a new Arts and Sciences Champion as well as Montengarde's Rapier Champion.
The Arts and Sciences championship has an upcoming deadline: December 1 to submit a description of
your entry (so that qualified judges can be found). Contact Dyrfinna The Wanderer for more information. Schedule :
Archery Tournament will take place From 9 am to 11 am at the Calgary Archery Centre (4855 47th Avenue SE). Heavy Tournament will take place from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm at main hall. Rapier Championship tournament will start at 2:00 pm and go till 4 pm. Feast to begin at approx. 5 pm. Court to begin at approx. 6 pm until business is finished.
Location:
Marlborough Community Center 636 Marlborough Way NE Calgary, Alberta, T2A 2V9 Mapquest Map
Date and Time:
January 21st , 2006 Doors open at 10 am to public and hall closes at 11 pm.
Cost:
Site $7/ Adult, $3/youth (12-16yrs), Smalls are free. Feast $11 for Adult and Youths. NMS $4 is in effect. Please make cheques payable to MSCA, prepaid tickets are required for feast by January 5th 2006.
Autocrat: Thorgeir Ingvarsson (Paul Dunn) 18 Dovercliffe Close SE., Calgary, AB., T2B 1W3 Phone# 403-589-5622
Feast Steward: Keirfoal (Murray Ridgway) 5508 Temple Way NE., Calgary, AB., T1Y 3B3 Phone# 403-281-8683
Special Consideration s: No open flames in the hall. Enclosed flames are OK. Merchants are welcome, Contact Pol The Black Fist.
In Support of the Avacal Book Project (Borrowed f rom the King’s Garb Sept AS XL Edit ion)
The Avacal Book Project, more formally known as the Bibliotheca Avacalorum, is an
attempt to display prominently the capabilities of the residents of Avacal in new forums, such as research and writing. Not only is it a great way to show off your quality writing, it will also raise funds for the Principality of Avacal through sale of the finished product. Also, seeing as we are considered by the Government of Canada to be an educational not-for-profit organization, this would strengthen that part of the SCA that is considered most important by the government.
The people running the project have assembled a fantastic team of editors and management staff, but are unfortunately somewhat lacking in submissions at the present time. The collection of papers officially began at last February Investiture, and will continue until February Investiture, 2006. The best thing about this project is that papers don’t have to be polished, final copies when they are submitted! The team of editors working on the project can help you through that most time-consuming and frustrating of processes.
I know there are several local people who have taken those tedious history classes at various levels of university. This is a great chance for those papers you probably threw together at the last minute to be put to some good use! My first submission was an edited and modified version of one of my papers, which took me no more than five hours or so to complete and send in. I’m also currently working on a second submission. Yet more motivation for everyone to send in papers; you’ve all read the King’s Garb and know the limits of my writing skill!
From the website, papers are to be from 2,500-10,000 words long, pertain to something within the defined period of the SCA, and must follow a defined submissions process. See the website at: http://www.geocities.com/avacal_book_project/ for more details. I see this project as yet another opportunity for the members of our Barony to display their great worth in the realm of the Arts and Sciences and am excited to see the final product.
If you have never written in History at the University level, contact me for some useful tips and reference materials if you wish.
Many thanks and good luck, Guillemin
Credit goes to L Guillemin de Rouen for having written this back for the September
’05 issue of the King’s Garb. I looked at it and thought, well, I can’t write this any better, and it would probably be a good thing to have something from someone other than myself in here, so here we have it.
Just a brief reminder, you still have almost two months to submit an entry to this project. If you want to try your hand at this, I too offer my assistance for tips, reference materials, and suggestions. Like Guillemin, I would like to see a good number of people from Myrgan Wood be included in the project.
For the glory of Myrgan Wood! I.I., Chronicler
Upcoming Events • January 13th-15th: An Tir 12th Night Coronation, Barony of Three
Mountains (Clackamas & Multnomah Counties, OR) • January 21st: Montengarde’s 12th Night, Montengarde (Calgary,
AB) • January 28th: Avacal War Practice, Myrgan Wood (Saskatoon, SK) • February 4th: Feast of the Evergreens, Bordergate (Cold Lake, AB) • February 24th-26th: Avacal Investiture, Vinjar (Grand Prairie, AB) Please see the An Tir Calendar @ http://www.antir.sca.org/Upcoming/ for
more event
Regular Events
Monthly Tavern is currently held on the first Wednesday of every month at the Off-Broadway Dinner Theatre (639 Main St). Contact the
Chatelaine for more information. Fighting Practice for both Rapier and Armoured Combat is held
(Winter Hours): -every Sunday at 2pm on the UofS campus near the Ukrainian Poetess
-Wednesdays at 7 PM at the Saskatoon Wildlife Federation – 3 miles North on Lowe Rd. Don’t be afraid. Contact the Master of Stables for
more info. Target Archery Practice is currently held weekly at the Military Base in
Dundurn. Tuesdays at 7:30. Contact the Archery Captain for more information.
Arts and Science Classes are held roughly biweekly subject to availability of instructors and space. See mailing list or contact Arts and
Sciences Minister for more information.
Web Links The SCA Corporate Homepage: http://www.sca.org/
The Kingdom of An Tir’s Homepage: http://www.antir.sca.org/ The Principality of Avacal’s Homepage: http://avacal.antir.sca.org Myrgan Wood’s Homepage: http://www.chainmailstore.com/mw/ Shire of Rhuddglyn: http://www.codexpublishing.ca/rhuddglyn
The Avantgarde-Avacal's Newsletter: http://www.codexpublishing.ca/Avantgarde
Myrgan Wood Officers List
Baron and Baroness: Their Excellencies Dietrich von Kleeve and Hélène Charesse (mka Derrick Schreiber and Shona Price) Ph: 652-0855 (D) or Ph: 242-4004 (S) [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Seneschal: L Guillemin de Rouen (mka Nelson Godfrey) Ph: 652-5172 [email protected] Chatelaine: L Eira Morgan (mka Terri Morgan) Ph: 652-3297 [email protected] Exchequer: Agnete von Freiburg (mka Amanda Farries) Ph: 664-6451 [email protected] Chronicler: L Illyanth Ildanach (mka Tony Nijssen) Ph: 373-5717 [email protected] Ministers of Arts & Science: L Weldon the Gray and L Tricia of Myrgan Wood (mka Weldon Gray and Tricia Ashbee) Ph: 933-0233 (W) or Ph: 373-3567 (T) [email protected] [email protected] Master of Stables: L Kvigr Ivarrson (mka Jeremy Bell) [email protected] Master of Swords: L Guillemin de Rouen (mka Nelson Godfrey) Ph: 652-5172 [email protected] Missile Marshal: Cecily de Wynter (mka Kate Bens) Ph: 244-9697 [email protected] Herald: L Armatus (mka Andrew Bennett) Ph: 244-7601 [email protected] Constable: Lazarus Haubergier (mka Mark Wells) Ph: 242-9496 [email protected] Chirugeon: Quintessa (mka Quinn Wilchynski) Ph: 652-9650 [email protected] Gold Key: Lady Lina Joya of Grantham Keep (mka Pixie Glasser) Ph: 249-1257 [email protected] List Mistress: Ameline Lajoaliere (mka Katrina Hadley) Ph : 975-3972 [email protected] Waterbearer: Quintessa [email protected]
Myrgan Wood Champions Armoured: HE Don Raoul Delaroche (mka Duane Walker) Ph: 651-2599 [email protected] Missile: Alexandra (mka Alex Price) Ph: 242-4004 [email protected] Rapier: HE Don Raoul Delaroche (mka Duane Walker) Ph: 651-2599 [email protected] A&S: Lord Weldon the Gray (mka Weldon Grey) Ph: 933-0233 [email protected]
Other Contacts King & Queen of An Tir: Their Majesties, Uther Schiemann der Hount (mka Tony Lynch) and Angharad Drakenhefd (mka Alisoun Lamb) [email protected] [email protected] Prince & Princess of Avacal: Their Highnesses of Avacal, Einar Vikingson (mka Ivan Williams) and Ifatahyo al-Jenne (mka Chriss O’Toole). [email protected] [email protected] Tanist and Tanista of Avacal Their Excellencies of Avacal, Kvigr Ivarsson (mka Jeremy Bell) and Shunzei no Chikakukawa (mka Constance Gignac). [email protected] [email protected] Contact for Hvar (Humboldt): Viscount Sir Gunther & Viscountess Eyoddi Ph: (306)-682-1984 [email protected] [email protected] Contact for North Battleford: L Hamish Mac Carraig (mka Pat Nixon) [email protected]
Disclaimer: This is The King’s Garb; a publication of the Barony of Myrgan Wood, of the SCA. The King’s
Garb is not a corporate publication and does not delineate official SCA Policy.
