Pennsic A&S War Point
The Gazette thanks Mistress Amy Webbe for writing the following account of the A&S War Point at our request.
On a bright, sunny morning, far too early for Pennsic time, a diverse group of SCAdians waited anxiously outside of the Aethelmaerc Royal encampment, hoping Hospitality would soon let them in.
They had gathered for an unusual reason, this war: they were competitors and coordinators for the A&S War Point, only the second in Pennsic history. The war point was the brainchild of Their Majesties Timothy and Gabrielle of Aethelmaerc, and indeed, they had done something similar when they last sat the Eastern Throne during the summer reign. Assisted by the enthusiastic support of Our Majesties Etheldreda and Omega, and Their Majesties Ragnvaldr III and Arabella III of the Middle Kingdom, they wished to give the Society Artisans a place to shine.
The rules were simple: bring 7 artisans from your Kingdom, let them set up in a 4 foot space, and let Laurels and Mauches (or your Kingdom’s equivalent) vote.
The seven representatives from the East were: Agatha Wanderer; Lissa Underhill; Naomi bat Avraham; Katheryn Fontayne; Osazuwa nKante; Rosina von Schaffhausen; and Guthfrith Yrlingson. Our artisans represented a variety of interests- fiber arts, historical clothing, casting, armoring, woodblock printing, and lampworking beads. As coordinator for the East, I still admit to being fully biased in favor of the skill of our artisans, and was completely confident that
they could out score any artisans from any other Kingdom, any time, any place. However, as other artisans began to set up, I did feel a little less confident. Creative displays from an amazing variety of areas soon filled the tents- embroidery, sugar work, paintings and illumination…One of the most eye-catching displays was a large, hand made spinning wheel, from an artist in Atlantia- and that was the ALTERNATE offering from Atlantia! I knew we had our work cut out for us.
Over 400 voters came through the door- each was given three glass beads to put in the cup of their top three choices, and it was amusing and touching to see how thoughtfully they carried out their voting- it was not uncommon to see someone an hour after they had first come in, still clutching one or two beads, completely torn over where to place it! Exhibits were intended to be anonymous- no names on anything, and the artisans were not present with their work, so the voting was as blind as we could make it.
Finally, the voting time was over- which meant the tallying of over 1200 (sometimes teeny tiny) beads. Their Majesties East, Mid, and Aethelmaerc assembled, and each spoke encouraging words about the skill and knowledge displayed there today. They also spoke of the need for the A&S War Point to continue, something they plan to discuss with Their Heirs’ Heirs.
The final results were in: The East-Mid alliance dominated the War Point, 721 votes to 521 votes. Two of the top three artisans on the East-Mid team came from the East: Naomi bat Avraham with her printing, and Lissa Underhill, with her lampwork beads. All of our Artisans carried themselves well, and represented the East proudly. I could breathe easily again, knowing the Eastern Skill had carried the day!