Report on the Pennsic Arts & Sciences War Point

August 14, 2018 by Lissa Underhill

For the past few years, the Arts and Sciences war point at Pennsic has been based on populace choice. However, this year, the war point was a judged competition. Led by the A&S war point general, Raziya Bint Rusa and her lieutenant, Agatha Wanderer, the East worked with artisans from other kingdoms to develop a rubric and competition format for the day. Artisans were invited to apply for a spot on the team, and judges were recruited.
The war point took place on Thursday August 9th 2018, in the Great Hall, the event lasting from 8:30 until 4pm. The East was ultimately victorious, winning 4 out of 5 possible war points! During his address to the entrants, King Brennan noted that according to his tally, A&S had actually won the war for the East at that point, a statement that was met with much rejoicing.
The East won two points for the highest overall combined score, beating the Mid by only 5 points (East and Allies 393, Middle and Allies 388). Such a close score speaks to the quality of all the artisans who entered their work into the competition. The East also won in two out of three categories, for an additional war point each. Lada Monguligin won the domestic, archaeology, and lived objects category, and Gnaea Celera won the arts and studio crafts categories.

Names and photos of the work of all Eastern entrants and alternates into the war point are below:

Lada Monguligin -Domestic/Arch/Lived Objects – Early Russian Illumination and Caligraphy, Ostomir Gospel

Gnaea Celera – Arts & Studio Crafts – 16th Century German Cylindrical Beaker

Ástríðr Musa – Fiber/Clothing – 16th Century Men’s Traveling Cloak

Astryda Borowska – Fiber/Clothing – Pourpoint of Charles de Blois

Chiaretta di Fiore – Fiber/Clothing – 16th Century Florentine Nobelwoman’s Drawers

Ulfgeirr Ragnarrson – Arts & Studio Crafts – 6th Century Viking Ring Sword, Sutton Hoo

Otto Gottlieb – Domestic/Arch/Lived Objects – Cuir bouilli Leather Cases, Pork Trotters & Vinegar Black

Alternate Entrant – Ibrahim al-Rashid – Socks from post Roman Egypt: Comparing and Contrasting structures.

Alternate Entrant – Vika Grigina z Prahy -Pourpoint of Charles de Blois

Photographs provided by Agatha Wanderer and Lissa Underhill