There is a magic in it…

By Lady Frithugyth Spreg'c

I felt the first glimmer of such magic when I found myself seated in a cushy old chair in a
charming old sitting room surrounded by those known as the Greyfells. These kind-faced,
enthusiatic souls eagerly welcomed and intrigued me with vast descriptions of of personas,
interests and skills as I attempted to put together in my head - what is this thing, the SCA and
how does it work??

After delcaring that I indeed possessed a sewing maching and could likely procure some old
bedsheets or the like, off I went after this first meeting, sketched T-tunic pattern in hand, to
contemplate and prepare for my first “event”- a Crown Tournament taking place not far from
my home.

Approximately two weeks, much mad googling and haphazard sewing (a skilled seamstress I
am not) later, I arrived at said event, coiled braids tucked under a filet and my resolve tucked
under my thrifted-curtain overdress. As I smiled and tried to blend with others who were
putting finishing touches on their (amazing!) garb in the parking area, I fully appreciated how
obviously I must have stood out as New. In an attempt to embrace this fact I somewhat
nervously announced myself as such at each introduction..but it was of no matter to anyone I
encountered - warm, friendly greetings and faces abounded, and I felt truly welcome!

Since these early days last year I have attended several events and meetings, each with its
own flavour and charm and so many things to learn about! The vast underlying theme is always
the generosity of the people - generous with their time, their skills, their resources..it really has
been like nothing I’ve had the privilege to be a part of ever before. I’ve never worried about
showing up alone to anything, there is always a friend to be found.

The most difficult part, as I was forewarned, is that the SCA is the hobby of many hobbies -
and wanting to try them all is so tempting but can be overwhelming! I was wisely advised to
choose a few areas of interest and slowly expand, sound advice I’ve tried to follow! So far I
have found great satisfaction in trying new things for the sake of them (like throwing axes and
tablet weaving) while reigniting old passions like painting and archery. I’ve had the immense
honour and pleasure of creating a number of things for the Kingdom, and have also been the
gracious recipient of several things myself which I will treasure always.

All of this is soley due to the hearts, minds and generosity of the great people of Ealdormere
who breath the life into this magical other world that I am grateful to be a part of. Thank you to
everyone I’ve met so far and to those I have yet to have the pleasure! I cannot wait to continue
developing skills and trying new things and I hope in future I can somehow be of service and
return to all of you the feelings, experiences and things I have been granted by this rare and
special community.

This brief account written by Your Faithful Servant, Lady Frith

A Medieval Meadmaker in our Midst

By Nico Charron-Groulx

Photo by Nico Charron-Groulx

Most days, Kelly O’Sullivan is getting ready to take Museum Studies at Grant MacEwan university, but in his spare time he becomes Ulrich Von Kues, a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) specializing in historical alcohol. Ulrich joined the SCA as a fencer in the East Kingdom, participating more regularly after moving to Caldrithig. During the pandemic, Ulrich took up a new hobby: alcohol. Researching medieval alcohols around the world, he began brewing mead, which is “an easy one,” according to him. Ulrich paints a lively picture of his home brewing, with a “closet of fermentation” and bottles stashed in bins.

Ulrich usually makes batches of about 8 bottles but can reach 12 at most, using multiple 4-5 gallon fermentators. To pursue this interest, he became apprenticed to the Laurel Arwyn of Leicester, who guides his research projects. Indeed, Ulrich has written several research papers for the SCA and defended them in A&S competitions. He is currently writing a paper on gender roles in Norse mead hall traditions, as well as making his first foray away from mead by brewing apple raspberry cider. Next, he intends to research Asian alcohols, establish a library of favorite recipes, and make a second attempt at pineapple mead. He explained that this flavoring comes from adding fresh fruit to the fermentators, with results like the pink raspberry mead he once offered to Kayla to celebrate her second victory at Crown.

Ulrich has always had an interest in reenacting, but says he stayed with the SCA for its community. He finds events to be particularly valuable - and fun- experiences. Since brewing isn’t transportable, he spends more event time fencing, but focuses on the casual, social aspect. He explained that the SCA brought him solid friendships and chosen family, saying that “fencing is fun, brewing is fun ... but realistically it’s been the people that have kept me playing.”

What's in a Name?

 As many readers will be aware, the Barony recently ran a poll, which closed on January 17, 2024, with respect to changing the Barony’s name. There were 53 respondents voting, nearly 80% of which were in favour of a name change.

Concurrently, there has been much discussion about what the new name should be.  The Honourable Lady Morag, the Baronial Seneschal, complied a list of suggestions from various discussion forums and sent the preliminary list to the Ealdormere College of Heralds to help eliminate any unregisterable options.

The following names have been reviewed by a team of Heralds and are held to be potentially registerable options for our deliberations. This list is presented alphabetically, with no implication of merit associated with position on the list. Any supporting information provided below was supplied by the submitter or the Heralds.

Alþingishóll
Originally submitted as “Althinghaugr”, Old Norse for “Althing Hill”.  The original name of Skraeling Althing has always said to have been a playful reference to Parliament Hill. This name would keep the reference without the sly humour.

Alþingis-straumr
Originally submitted as “Straumr Althing”, Old Norse for “River/Stream Althing”. This name was suggested because all of the Strongholds and Cantons in the Barony are along rivers and because three rivers converge in Ottawa.

Aquae Aureliae
Originally submitted as Aurellia Surleau, Roman for “Aurelia’s waters”. The original submission was intended to be “Aurelia on the Water”, another reference to the river, and to our first Baroness Enid Aurelia of the Tin Isles.

Caerdydd Newydd
Welsh for “New Cardiff”

Eldinga Alþingi
Originally submitted as “Elding Althing”, Old Norse for “Lightning Althing” or “Old Age of the Night Althing”. The original submission was offered as Elding meaning dawn (a reasonable English translation of “old age of the night”) and thus the translation would be Dawn Parliament, or Parliament of the dawn. This was explained as a reference to Baroness Enid (since many a song and poem refer to the Dawn as golden), and because, as the first Baroness, she represents the figurative dawn of the Barony. Benefits of this name were listed as being the same syllable pattern so it would work in the existing songs and poems.

Gasteiz Beria
Basque for “New Gasteiz”. Gasteiz is a city in the Basque area of Spain.

Gullin Alþingi and Gilden Alþingi
Originally submitted as “Gullen Althing” and “Gilden Althing” respectively, both are Old Norse for “Golden Althing”. These are both a reference to Baroness Enid, as Aurelia is derived from the Latin word for golden.

Héragarðr
Originally submitted as “Heragaard”, Old Norse for “Hare’s Guard”. Offered by the submitter as “place/city of hares”, benefits were named to be easy to spell and pronounce, keeps it Old Norse, and is “Hare-y”.  Since the intent was a name in Old Norse, the Heralds altered it to be the Héragarðr, as “gaard” is in fact Dutch and would translate more to “Hare’s garden” or “Hare’s gate”.

Nafarroa Berria
Basque for “New Navarre”. Nafarroa is the Basque name for the area we know as Navarre.

Nieuw Brussels
Dutch for “New Brussels”

Terra Aureliae
Originally submitted as Terra Aurelia Choreas, Latin for “Aurelia’s Land”. The original submission included the Greek word for dances and was offered as “The golden earth dances” or “land where Aurelia dances”. The Ealdormere College of Heralds did not weigh in on the registrability of including Choreas, simply that “Terra Aureliae” could be an option.

Wabozwaaling
Originally submitted as “Wabozwaaning”, Anishinaabemowin, meaning, “cave of the rabbit”. This name has the benefit of being in the language of the original inhabitants and caretakers of these lands, and speaks to a defining element of our Barony’s identity.

 

Submissions are still open, and shall be accepted until March 11, 2024. Anyone is welcome to offer a name for consideration. Submissions can be made to the Seneschal via email, DM, or through the Baronial website.  All suggestions will be sent to the Ealdormere College of Heralds for a “first pass” evaluation, to ensure that the populace doesn’t get their hearts set on a name that isn’t registerable.

Some general rules to think about when crafting your suggestion:

·       There needs to be some precedence or justification for combining languages,

For example, none of the previous suggestions of Althing paired with a local Anishinaabe word are registerable.  However, there might be an argument to be made for Althing with a Inuktut or Kalaallisut word given Norse contact with these peoples in what is now known as Newfoundland, Labrador, and Greenland.

·       The name should include some location or place name element.

There are some exceptions to this, but it’s a good thing to keep in mind.

 

Upcoming Events

They say today is Blue Monday, the saddest day of the year. The theory goes that the holiday celebrations are over, the next holiday is months away, it’s dark, it’s cold, and there’s certainly enough snow here in the Althing.  In reality, this designation was made up as a marketing strategy to get people to book sunshine get aways, arguing that it’s good to have something to look forward to.  We can at least agree that it’s nice to look forward to something, so here are a few of the events coming up in the barony and out side it.

We often say that Winter is a time to hunker down and get to the A&S. Our next in Barony event can help you do just that.  Practicum is a day of classes on February 24^th, in Caldrithig. If you have a special interest that you’d like to share, there is still time to register to offer a class. Go to the Practicum website to fill out the form to let the team know about your class.

Once Spring graces our lands, the Canton of Greyfells has a chill virtual A&S event, MAYhem, on May 4^th. This Historically Adequate A&S Event which will feature 13 different non-traditional categories, where imagination, creativity, and fun are as important as technique and construction. This event is free and open to anyone, of any skill level, and is more about having fun and talking about shared passions rather than perfectly polished projects. In fact, incomplete and failed projects are also eligible for entry!  For more information, or to sign up as a participant or judge, please contact either Maister Colyne (Todd H. C. Fischer) or Baron Joffr (Jeff Hitchcock).

If you want even more and these two events are too far away, you could attend Blue Dragon Studium in Ard Creag this weekend.  And don’t forget that Kingdom A&S Competition is March 23 in Rising Waters.

If you’d rather stay cozy in your home, you can attend the virtual DEI Collegium this weekend. But if you’re down for a drive and enjoyed Feast at Lombardy, you should check out Masque by Moonlight on the 27^th in Der Welfengau.

The first combat tournament of the year is Tournoi du Coeur du Glace on February 3^rd in Bastille du Lac, followed by Winter War in Trinovantia Nova on March 2^nd.

Winter has a little something for everyone in our community.  Make plans, make things, make friends.

Upcoming Baronial Council Meeting

Greetings to the Barony.

 
As many of you have heard already, I have recently stepped up as your Baronial Seneschal. I look forward to working with cantons to keep things running smoothly.

 
It is coming up to the time we should have a Baronial council meeting. Therefore I’m setting a date of October 29th at 1900.

 
Agenda items include

 
- Baronial name change discussion. Information about the issues with the current name are up on the baronial website.

 
- Upcoming events

If there are any other agenda items that need to be added, please contact me and I will happily add them. 

Hope to see everyone at the meeting.

It is an honour to serve.

 
The Honourable Lady Morag Taylor

Baronial Level Officer Positions

By THL Constance of Caldrithig

We serve the Crown. But without a Seneschal, the Crown has no weight. Without an Exchequer, the Crown has no funding. Without a Herald, the Crown has no Voice. Without a Marshal, the Crown has no might. Without the Minister of Arts and Science, the Crown has no beauty. Without a Chronicler, the Crown has no lineage. Without a Clark-Registrar, the Crown has no reach.  And without a Chatelaine, the Crown has no new subjects.

The SCA is a volunteer organization, as we all know. In order for our groups to maintain their status and to continue to do things like have Armoured Combat or Fencing Practices and hold events, we need a few officers at the helm to keep the business end on course.

The Barony is a local group unto itself, but it is also an important mid-step between the Canton/Strongholds and the Kingdom. Baronial officers offer advice and guidance to the Canton and Strongholds’ officers, and offer timely reminders on reporting deadlines, in addition to filing their own reports.

Currently the Barony has a couple of open positions:

The Chronicler is a required position for Baronies by Kingdom Law. Maister Colyne has been filling in for some months now, but this position is available right now.  Duties include publishing a quarterly Chronicle according to Society guidelines, and maintaining the new Chronicle blog.  You do not need to produce all the content yourself, other members can absolutely write articles, poems, and contribute artwork.

The Chatelaine is many members’ first contact with the SCA.  Deemed the SCA’s “welcome wagon” a Chatelaine eases a person’s entry into the group. Baron Duncan will be stepping down on July 31. Our Barony has gotten a name amongst local festival planners as a fun group to have participate. The Baronial Chatelaine can choose to organize these demos or delegate them to a Canton/Stronghold Chatelaine, or other contact. Largely an email based job, this is a good one for anyone looking for a soft introduction to working an officer position.

The Seneschal is the “president” of the group. Seneschal is a required position as per Society rules. They run meetings and sign contracts. They are the legal representative of the group.  This sounds scary, and it can feel like a lot of responsibility to manage the calls for bids and organizing agendas and spearheading projects. In reality, at the Baronial level, it can be a pretty chill job.  There are few events hosted by the Barony – most are hosted by the Canton and Strongholds. Lady Petronill’s term is up in November. Applications are appreciated before the end of August.

The Exchequer is the “treasurer” for the group. Exchequer is a required position as per Society rules. They maintain a ledger and financial policies, prepare an annual budget, and write cheques for the Barony’s expenses.  Oh, no! Math!  Truly, all the math is done for you.  You are given reports to complete in Excel, with all the formulas already there. If you can manage your own money, you can be an Exchequer.  My term is up in November. Applications are appreciated before the end of August.

Both Caldrithig and Greyfells are seeking Exchequers as well. The Canton/Stronghold level is a little busier than the Baronial level, since these groups have local practices and more frequent meetings.  The position is no less important, and both have been open for some time.

The Minister of Arts and Sciences is the cheerleader for our artistic endeavours. The Honourable Noble Estienne is on their second term in this office and will be seeking a successor early next year. The only required duty for this position is to file reports, but there is scope for so much more. 

If you have any questions, you should reach out to the officer currently doing the job or someone who has done it in the past. You will have all the info you could ever want and more. 

I want to end with a heartfelt thank you to all the people currently holding offices and others who held them in the past.  The time they spend outside of the game enables us all to attend events and practices locally. Officer positions can seem like a lot of work and responsibility for little reward, and it’s true, this work sometimes goes unnoticed more often than others. Again, thank you to them, and to you who are considering taking up these roles.

Court Report War of the Trillium, July 1, 2023

Event: War of the Trillium
Presiding Baronials: Joffr
Herald: Maister Colyne Stewart, herald of Skraeling Althing
Date: July 1, 2023

Notes: HE Jogffr was invited into kingdom court to carry out these two pieces of business.

EVENING COURT

The Honourable Galfrid Thynne, Order of the Hare Salient
Calligraphy by Lady Giana Gabriella di Milano. Illuminator unknown. Wording by Baron Colyne Stewart.

The Honourable Galfrid Thynne, Order of the Black Hare
Calligraphy by Lady Giana Gabriella di Milano. Illuminator unknown. Wording by Baron Colyne Stewart.