19 Wednesday Jul 2017
Posted in A&S Research Papers, Arts and Sciences
≈ Comments Off on Arts & Sciences Research Paper #20: Knit Purses in 14thC Switzerland
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Our twentieth A&S Research Paper comes to us from Lady Tola knitýr, of the Shire of Quintavia. She examines the history and background of these beautiful small purses, and then demonstrates how they can be made by a skilled modern craftsperson. (Prospective future contributors, please check out our original Call for Papers.)
Knit Purses in 14thC Switzerland
Detail of Lady Tola’s reconstruction of a fourteenth-century knitted purse.
19 Monday Jun 2017
Posted in A&S Research Papers, Arts and Sciences
≈ Comments Off on Arts & Sciences Research Paper #19: Tequila: Is it a Period Beverage? A Brief History of Agave Based Fermented and Distilled Beverages and the Origins of Distillation in West-Central Mexico
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Our nineteenth A&S Research Paper comes to us from Lord John Kelton of Greyhorn, Guildmaster of the Honourable Company of Fermenters of the Barony of Concordia of the Snows. He considers the fascinating question of distilled spirits within our historical period – specifically the possibility of such spirits in SCA-period Mexico. (Prospective future contributors, please check out our original Call for Papers.)
Tequila: Is it a Period Beverage? A Brief History of Agave Based Fermented and Distilled Beverages and the Origins of Distillation in West-Central Mexico
Mayahuel, the Aztec goddess of the maguey. From the Rios Codex via Wikimedia Commons.
19 Friday May 2017
Posted in Announcements
≈ Comments Off on SCA Artisans List Website Launched
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Tamaris painting. Image via Wikipedia commons, from an uncited French manuscript of Giovanni Boccaccio’s Des Cleres et Nobles Femmes, 1403.
Greetings all from the Kingdom A&S Minister, Master Philip White.
One of my goals in this office is to connect people with teachers and make learning more accessible. I’d like to see people working with other artisans more easily and to become better partners while developing a stronger community.
Another one of my goals is to not reinvent the wheel. If we have people already working on projects then let’s see if the East Kingdom can benefit form them too.
Master Lorenzo, from Meridies, has been working on an SCA Artisans List.
Click on the link and give it a look!
Full disclosure! Please note!
* The Mobile Interface is read-only.
* This is a work in process!
* There will be edits and improvements.
* We know it is not perfect.
* The list has been pre-loaded based off of the Order of Precedence published online.
I’ve tried it myself! I set up my registration and logged in. I’ve updated my information and finished setting up my account.
It is really easy to use.
The more people who participate the better the tool can become. There is a name search function but also by group or State or interest.
We could also even use this for local groups to register artisans, or set up judging, or classes, or something other things. There are options!
Remember… Have fun! Teach! Learn!
Your Servant to Command,
~p.w.
13 Saturday May 2017
Posted in Announcements, Events
≈ Comments Off on Tartyes, Patsy, and Pie Oh MY!!
From Master Dietrich Swelgengräber.
Empress Honig von Summerfeldt, would like to extend a challenge to all aspiring cooks of the East Kingdom to represent themselves with a presentation of hand pies for an iron age chef competition.
Where: Southern Region War Camp.
June 9th, 2017 – June 11th, 2017
Saturday at 3:00pm
Submissions should include 12-15 hand type pastry with the ingredients of your choosing. Extant and period resources are strongly encouraged. Please include your best redaction and understanding of how the “Hand Pie” was developed and evolved throughout history.
Konzil von Konstanz (ÖNB 3044, fol. 48v), c. 1465-1475
02 Tuesday May 2017
Posted in Announcements, Arts and Sciences, Pennsic
≈ Comments Off on Pennsic A & S Champions Team Announced
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On behalf of Their Most Glorious and Fierce Imperial Majesties, Ioannes and Honig, I am excited and pleased to announce the Champions for the Arts and Sciences War Point at Pennsic.
The War Point will be on Thursday of War Week, in the Great Hall, 11:30-5:00. These are the changes from years past: All are welcome to come view and vote on the amazing works of all of the artisans. Artisans are entering a single, new item and are anonymous. Voting is from 12:00-4:00; from 4:00-5:00 the Artisans will return and discuss their work with interested populace members. The war point will be awarded at 5 o’clock.
The Artisans representing the East: Lady Sofya Gianetta di Trieste, Duke Kenric aet Essex, Lord Stefan of Silverforge, Duchess Thyra Eiriksdottir, and Baroness Katheryn Fontayne.
Please come out and support these amazingly talented artisans with your votes!
In service,
Meisterin Agatha Wanderer, Arts and Sciences War Point General
06 Thursday Apr 2017
Posted in Arts and Sciences, Tidings
≈ Comments Off on A&S Consultation Table Deputy
Greetings all from the Kingdom A&S Minister, Master Philip White.
Thanks to your feedback and support, the Kingdom A&S Office created and started offering A&S Consultation Tables at events.
We’ve test run them now a few times. We are very happy with the feedback we have received from event organizers, judges, and especially artisans. We want to continue offering them and plan to offer them as a resource at events all over.
To those ends, Honorable Lady Kataryn Mercer has agreed to work with me as a Kingdom A&S Special Deputy charged with supporting A&S Consultation Tables.
In particular, her roles will be to:
1. Proactively coordinate A&S Consultation Tables at the more well-attended A&S focused Kingdom events
2. Ensure A&S Consultation Tables are offered regularly throughout all regions of the Kingdom
3. Reactively assist with local events that would like to host A&S Consultation Tables including how to find a coordinator, space needs, and soliciting local support.
Her work will blend well with the roles that Mistress Elysabeth and Master Magnus have taken on as Kingdom A&S Special Deputies revising the Kingdom A&S Rubric. (They are doing great work there and we expect more this Spring.)
Who are the A&S Consultation Tables for?
Everyone.
The A&S Consultation Tables are a chance for entrants to voluntarily get a sample walk-through based off of the Kingdom Rubric and Judging process that we use at A&S Champions.
This is to help artisans get used to the higher degree of expectations that happen at a more competitive level. The focus is on extensive research, historical understanding, and exemplary execution. These are all things that are important at A&S Champions but also other activities throughout the Kingdom.
Even if you never plan to enter A&S Champions you can use these tables as opportunities for feedback.
You’d have a chance to talk to a couple of judges and walk through their thought process as they use the Kingdom rubric.
We also welcome volunteer judges. Want to help? Let us know! You’re who is going to help make these A&S Consultation Tables successful.
Never judged before and want to learn? Let us know. You can be a shadow judge. We’d welcome the company.
Our goals are:
1. Set expectations early for the next A&S Champions competition while also helping people who do not want to compete but do focus on historical accuracy
2. Help artisans plan in advance and understand those expectations
3. Train more judges
4. Build consistency in that feedback
We think that these goals foster learning and teaching throughout the year.
We also hope that this will make the judging experience more constrictive and more enjoyable.
If you are interested in helping with any of these tasks please contact her. You can reach her at Kataryn@kitsclothingcollection.com.
And remember… Have fun! Teach! Learn!
Your Servant to Command,
~p.w.
03 Friday Mar 2017
Posted in A&S Research Papers, Arts and Sciences
≈ Comments Off on Arts & Sciences Research Paper #18: Early Quilting and Patchwork: A Short Introduction
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Our eighteenth A&S Research Paper comes to us from Mistress Sarah Davies of the Barony of Bergental, who introduces us to the surprising world of historical quilting, where we discover some familiar friends and some quite unfamiliar new ones! (Prospective future contributors, please check out our original Call for Papers.)
Early Quilting and Patchwork: A Short Introduction
Silk quilt by Mistress Sarah Davies. Photo by Master Henry McQueen.
The word “quilt” summons a host of images:
The popular image of the quilt is of the quilt is modern, calico, and as all-American as an apple pie. If the word “medieval” ever comes up, it’s because someone made a Game of Thrones quilt with appliqued dire wolves in the border.
The problem with this familiar stereotype is thatit doesn’t begin to reflect reality. Patchwork and applique may be most associated the United States, but quilts themselves are anything but modern. Quilted carpets were prized on the steppes of Central Asia, quilted garments padded Crusader mail and protected Elizabethan fencers, quilted coverlets graced Tudor bed chambers, and quilted heraldic tapestries hung in Hungarian throne rooms. The evidence is scattered and sometimes hard to recognize, but quilting and patchwork were hardly alien to medieval Europe. Continue reading
01 Wednesday Mar 2017
Posted in Announcements, Arts and Sciences
≈ Comments Off on Kingdom Arts & Sciences Special Deputies Named
Greetings all from the Kingdom A&S Minister, Master Philip White.
You all may remember how impressed I was with this past year’s King’s and Queen’s A&S Champion’s Competition. Mistress Elysabeth Underhill and Master Magnus Hvalmagi organized an activity highly praised by the entrants and judges alike.
We want to build on their success as we plan for future A&S Champion’s Competitions. We also want to take advantage of what worked at the Kingdom competition and make it easy for other groups to use throughout the year.
To those ends, Mistress Elysabeth and Master Magnus have agreed to work with me as Kingdom A&S Special Deputies.
Continue reading
08 Wednesday Feb 2017
Posted in A&S Research Papers, Arts and Sciences
≈ Comments Off on Arts & Sciences Research Paper #17: You Won’t Believe How They Went!
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Our seventeenth A&S Research Paper takes a turn to the lighthearted, and comes to us from Mistress Aildreda de Tamworthe of the Barony of Carolingia. She offers a tabloids-eye view of some of the more ghastly deaths of the medieval period – not necessarily to be considered for our lunchtime readers! (Prospective future contributors, please check out our original Call for Papers.)
You Won’t Believe How They Went! Five Strange and Terrible Medieval Ends
Who is this? Read on to find out the unbelievable truth!
Nothing in his life / Became him like the leaving it.
– Wm. Shakespeare, Macbeth (1605), I.iv.
A person can achieve historical notoriety in many ways; brave deeds, terrible deeds, happy or cruel accidents of birth and geography, or even a greatly distinctive appearance. But one certain way to be remembered for posterity is to die in some memorable fashion. Today, the East Kingdom Gazette brings you five tabloid stories from history, wherein we learn of some of the more notorious exits of the Middle Ages. Please note that some are quite gruesome!
(NB: Like all good stories, these have been embroidered in the telling and the recollection. We have endeavored to provide the true tale in every case.)
03 Tuesday Jan 2017
Posted in A&S Research Papers, Arts and Sciences
≈ Comments Off on Arts & Sciences Research Paper #16: The Double Bind: Thomas Campion and Elizabethan Women
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Our sixteenth A&S Research Paper comes to us from Lord Drake Oranwood of the Shire of Rusted Woodlands, who examines the work of the Elizabethan songwriter Thomas Campion, and uses his texts as a way to look closely at the role of women in that complex society. (Prospective future contributors, please check out our original Call for Papers.)
The Double Bind: Thomas Campion and Elizabethan Women
Young Lady Aged 21, possibly Helena Snakenborg, later Marchioness of Northampton. By English School, 16th century [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
