East Kingdom Gazette
Covering the Eastern Realm of the SCA
The Shire of Quintavia and the Keepers of Athena’s Thimble will be holding an Embroiderers’ Schola on February 15. The event will be on a donation basis. There will be a potluck day board, so attendees are encouraged to bring contributions of food or beverages. There will be several tracks of classes, a display, and …
The Estrella War has shared information about the heavy list and rapier fighting to be offered at the event, which will be held 2 months from now (February 25 to March 3, 2013) in Arizona. The War is fought between the armies of Atenveldt and Outlands with guests and allies as equalizers for numbers. For …
On December 21, 2013, sixty or so SCA folk visited the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts. With most dressed in armor or garb, they gathered to say goodbye to the historic facility before it closes at the end of the month. Throughout its 83 years, the museum’s extensive collection of arms and armor has …
The Gazette had the pleasure of chatting with Dueña Mercedes Vera de Calafia, the new East Kingdom Seneschal, about her new job, her life in the SCA, and her favorite cheeses.
Who are you?
My name is Mercedes de Vera de Calafia.
What does the Kingdom Seneschal do?
The Kingdom Seneschal does all kinds of things behind the scenes to make the business side of the Kingdom run more smoothly. Technically the Kingdom Seneschal is regional vice president of operations for SCA, Inc. The most visible part of job is to advise the Crown on Law & Policy and to manage the regional and local seneschals. In practice I find myself making a lot of lists & spreadsheets, and answering a lot of emails. Mistress Katherine Barr gave a wonderful interview about being Kingdom Seneschal, so if you are interested in learning more about the subject, you can read about it here: eastkingdomgazette.org/2013/05/21/so-you-want-to-be-the-kingdom-seneschal-thoughts-from-a-prior-east-kingdom-seneschal/#more-2791
Here, in the East, we are lucky to receive original works of art to commemorate our awards and honors, with the artwork, lettering and words created specifically for each recipient. (Please browse the Signet Gallery for some outstanding examples.) This is not true in every kingdom. In some parts of the Known World, mass-produced documents are personalized to some degree, or recipients receive nothing from the Crown and commission their own documents, or in a number of areas individual scrolls are created but the text is the same for every recipient of a given award.
A lot of effort goes into the process that results in the presentations and proclamations you see in Court – (more…)
This is a recurring series by Mistress Alys Mackyntoich on whether certain names currently can be documented to period based on existing evidence.. There are a lot of names that people think are medieval, but actually aren’t, and others which people think are modern, but in fact are found in the SCA’s period. If you …
Why would I want to register my name in the SCA?
Having a correct medieval name adds to the ambiance of events. In addition, you must have a registered name in order to register a device. Unique medieval heraldry can be used for banners, penons, shields, livery, etc. Your SCA name and heraldry provide you a unique opportunity to redefine yourself.
What are the requirements for picking an official name?
An SCA name must have two elements. The elements should be from the same language, or from two closely related languages. There is a table in the Standards for Evaluation of Names and Armory (SENA) that tell us which languages can be combined. (more…)
Their Majesties, Kenric and Avelina, issued Their second round of Award Order Pollings on Nov. 18, and responses are due back to Them by Dec. 17. If you are a member of a polled Order and are not subscribed to the polling distribution or the discussion list, you may sign up here: Polling Lists And …
East Kingdom Twelfth Night will be held in Troy, NY, on January 4, 2014 and hosted by the Shire of Anglespur and the Barony of Concordia of the Snows. Per the autocrat, Lord Joel of Vestfell, the feast has a very hard cap of 150, and it’s “selling fast”. Online registration (by ACCEPS) ends on …
In early December, the SCA.org website got a new look. The motivation behind the “facelift” was the recent debut of the SCA Newcomers’ Portal. “We wanted to add a very noticeable link to the Portal, so that visitors and new members could easily find their way there,” said Mistress Jessa d’Avondale, Webmaster of SCA.org *. …