Stefan's Florilegium     

This is a collection of files that I have assembled from various sources since I first joined the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) in 1989.The information in these files comes from the Rialto newsgroup (rec.org.sca),the old fidonet medieval echo conferance area, various mail lists, messages from various Facebook groups and articles submitted to me by their authors.

Several types of files are available:

  • -msg (or no suffix)   These files are composed of a variety of short messages from a variety of authors having a common subject .
  • -art  A stand-alone article written by a single author.Some are off of the networks while some were submitted to me by the author.
  • -bib    A bibliography of book and article titles on a single subject.
  • -FAQ    An article file that follows a Frequently Asked Questions format.

    •  What's a `Florilegium'? Literally, it means "a gathering of flowers".Florilegia were collections of choice tidbits (from Ovid, Aristotle, various popes, church scholars, etc) arranged topically.

     Typically, a florilegium is huge, encyclopedic, and contains only choice selections from particular works. Example, Ovid's Metamorphoseswould be too long to include in its entirety and might suggest some ofthe wrong ideas (from a Church viewpoint), so only those works that offerclear exegetic or moralistic exempla would likely be included. Thus, a florilegium would probably *not* include Nestor's account of the battle of the Lapiths -- the tale pokes fun at Nestor, at old men attempting to claim wisdom solely based upon age, and (less directly) at Homer. A florilegium probably *would* contain the tales of Midas, however, because they provide lessons on the evils of greed, pride, and gossip.

    I hope you find these files useful, interesting, amusing or all three.

    Honorable Lord Stefan li Rous (Mark S. Harris) stefanlirous@gmail.com).

    I am currently bringing up the Florilegium after moving it to a new server. For various reasons, the quality is going to be sporatic for a while. (I am currently doing this work from my hospital room.

    If you notice a file you want, and can't see the file, please send me an email at: StefanliRous at gmail dot com and I will send you the file by email.

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