favors-msg - 2/5/08
On the making and giving of favors.
NOTE: See also these files: p-favors-art, SCA-courtesy-art, courtesy-msg, jewelry-msg, On-Favors-art.
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TO: Storm Shadowhawk
FROM: Baroness TSivia
SUBJECT: favours
Well, actually a favour can be just about anything and made of much the
same stuff. I once embroidered one for a lover out of my own hair!
Historically they started with those romantic ladies who would rip off a
tippett (sleeve) and tie them on the arm or helm of their fighter...later
on the ladies actually wore fake sleeves to do this! In the SCA they are
traditionally embroidered (although that's not always the case - one of
my champions wore my hair scarf for 6 years because he asked me on the
spur of the moment, and I wasn't going to rip my garb for him! Luckily
the two were of the same material...). You may take a long rectangle of
material (try to make it sturdy if the wearer will be fighting with it
on), 8 - 12 inches times two (this will be folded over so that there's a
belt-loop created). You may then embroider directly on the fabric, or
else embroider a special piece and attach it to the length of fabric
(this wears better). I make velvet favours for dress costumes, and
cotton or other washables for fighting garb. You have NO IDEA how stinky
a fighter's favour can be after 6 months in the armour bag...yuch! You
may embroider your Arms or Device, a motto, a picture, symbolic animals
from both (or either ) of your devices...the possibilities are endless.
The key is to fashion it with love (platonic or erotic..or both!?) and
care. You may give it to a lover, a friend, or even make special ones
for giving to more than one friend (such as I did at a Crown tounament
when three of my friends all got into the semis). Your imagination is
all that restricts your efforts, my lady. (My least fancy favours were
lengths of three different coloured ribbons, plaited together and ended
with a bell. You might say I belled the cat...) It is worth noting that
as of late, particularly in the Middle and East for Pennsic, the Queens
fashion special Tokens which they give to all who serve the War effort
(archers, rattan fighters, sometimes encampment guards and others who
serve). These are also tokens, but another kettle of fish altogether.
HSH Tangwystl made satin tokens for the Ealdormere forces at Pennsic last
year...I imagine that as War Queen this year, she will do similar.
Umm...Err...methinks I ramble a bit much. Got that answered? Message me
if there's any other questions. Best to all!
* Origin: Pandora's Box, Ottawa, Ontario (93:9630/1)
TO: All
FROM: N6852 U14 (Ted (Ice Breaker) Kocot)
SUBJECT: Favors - construction and (ab)use (RE: Favors)
A favor can be anything that you want it to be (embroidery is by far the
most common but I have seen some REALLY far out ones). You can put just about
anything you want on them, though usually it is your arms, or some variation
of them. One favor that I have seen took the primary charges from the lord and
lady's device and mixed them together in a naturalistic scene.
If the lord you are planning to present this to is a fighter then, by
all means, either make it indestructable, or make his sign a blood oath not to
wear it into the lists!!!
# Origin: WWIVnet at 6852 - Snafu Software
TO: All
FROM: N5859 U49 (Marshal'S Antelope) Of 3
SUBJECT: Several comments (as usual)
Favors: My lady Storm, don't be ashamed of your work! My lord still wears the
favor I made for him five years ago; although my embroidery is considerably
finer now (I recently made him another for Court wear), we still feel
sentimental about the old one. So will your lord; it's the effort you put into
it that counts.
Thanks...
Alison MacDermot
(Eastern Crown Herald)
# Origin: WWIVnet at 5859 - The Aerie
TO: Storm Shadowhawk
FROM: Meadhbh
SUBJECT: Re: Favors
i do inkle weaving. so i usually weave a short piece in my colors. its
a popular pastime in ansteorra--weaving. your favor sounds pretty.
* Origin: Justice - Make it Happen (1:106/960)
TO: Meadhbh
FROM: Storm Shadowhawk
SUBJECT: Re: Favors
An inkle?
I don't have a symbol, or standard or anything! So I just made something up,
a gold circle with a heart in the middle and a rose above and below the
circle. It'll do for now.
"lady" Storm Shadowhawk....Amberla
* Origin: The Homestead * TORONTO, ONT * (416) 272-4067 * (93:9630/0)
From: mikes at iuvax.cs.indiana.edu (Michael Squires)
Date: 28 Feb 91 05:38:19 GMT
Organization: Computer Science, Indiana University, Bloomington.
In article <9102270829.AA29250 at sagepub.COM> jprod at sagepub.com writes:
>
> Greetings to the Rialto from Sister Kate!
>
> First, let me thank all gentles for the responses to my first posting.
> The information on period bread, etc. was interesting and informative;
> the only question I got no answer to at all was on period favors and the
> favor/token customs of different kingdoms. I'm still interested. I know
In Sir Alan's time (Elizabeth I of England) favors varied. Sir Henry Lee
wore his mistress's initials (NOT the Queen) engraved into the decoration
on his breastplate (he married her after retiring as Queen's Champion);
another favorite was given a chesspiece that he wore tied to a pauldron.
In the Middle favors are customarily embroidered onto a a square or retangular
piece of fabric and worn looped over the belt; I wore a favor tied to a
pauldron but had it torn off in a melee and lost; this is not a problem with
the usual practice.
When cleaning up after melees I have occasionally found lost favors; it is
very nice to note that a lost favor is treated with considerably greater
respect than lost armor and those finding it go to great lengths to return
it to the bearer.
--
Mike Squires (mikes at iuvax.cs.indiana.edu) 812 855 3974 (w) 812 333 6564 (h)
mikes at iuvax.cs.indiana.edu 546 N Park Ridge Rd., Bloomington, IN 47408
Under construction: mikes at sir-alan.cica.indiana.edu
Henry Best
All
Favors
24 Sep 91 09:49:54
Erik> Finally: I see many fighters with multiple favors on.
Erik> Is this a practice that should be frowned upon, up to
Erik> the individual fighters and their respective favor-
Erik> givers, or ignored?
Well, it should be frowned upon during Crown Tourney for
strictly practical reasons. Other than that little quibble, I
feel VERY STRONGLY that it is up to those directly involved.
I think that favors remain the personal property of the
giver and are to be relinquished to them upon request
without question. That favor represents the giver's honor
which he/she is placing in your care. You simply do not have
the right to perform any dishonorable acts while bearing a
favor. The favor is an expression of absolute trust that you
will not do anything to dishonor it.
I believe that, if another lady asked me to bear her
favor, my lady would take it as a compliment of the most
profound sort. I do not think that she would feel anything
other than pride.
Henry Best
Isenfir
Atlantia
Henry Best
All
Favors
24 Sep 91 09:49:06
Erik> Is a non-heraldic favor considered right, poor practive
Erik> but acceptable, unacceptable under any terms, or what?
Hmmm. I think that a favor has to remind the recipient of
the giver as strongly and as positively as possible. It
should be personal, tasteful, and "period". Heraldry is a
natural tool to use to obtain those ends and is used widely
in the Society but I have never really thought of favors as
being inherently heraldic.
I have strong suspicions that the heavy use of heraldry
in favors is SCA rather than medieval. All the accounts I
have read involve handkerchiefs, gloves, sleeves, etc. I have
never seen a primary source "heraldic belt favor". But then,
I haven't really looked that closely.
I am extremely delighted and proud to bear my lady's
favor. I would like to tell you about it. I was taking my
test for rapier authorization and my lady had intended to
make me a favor to wear. Moments before I was to fight, she
realized she had forgotten to do so. In a panic, she searched
our stuff for something, anything, that would do and came up
empty-handed.
Then, she had an inspiration. She borrowed a pair of
scissors and began to rip up the hem of her skirt. (I can
only imagine our friends' reaction when this madwoman tore
the camp apart and then began destroying her own garments..)
She cut a strip, brought it across the field, and tied it
around my arm with a kiss. I cannot muster the words to
describe my feelings when she did that. Words like "love" or
"pride" or "the Dream" all seem inadequate. I guess I'll have
to go "california" and say it was a "peak experience".
The brocade is fairly distinctive and I have no trouble
associating it with her. Someday, she may make me a fancier
one; but this ragged strip of cloth makes me very proud and
happy. I delight in wearing it.
So when designing a favor, all you really have to
remember is the bottom line: Will this remind him/her of me
and inspire him/her to honor? If it does that, who _cares_ if
it's heraldicly correct? (Vert, a wierd brocade pattern
azure....)
Henry Best
Isenfir
Atlantia
From: bmorris at access.digex.com (Beth Morris)
Date: 25 Sep 91 18:17:17 GMT
Organization: Express Access, Greenbelt, MD
Erik Aarskog asks:
> What is a favor? I have seen them with personal devices, with
>obviously non-period designs, and with just plain pieces of material
>flopped over a belt. I am wondering how the denizens of the Rialto
>see them in light of the following questions:
<questions omitted>
> Finally: I see many fighters with multiple favors on. Is this a
>practice that should be frowned upon, up to the individual fighters and
>their respective favor-givers, or ignored? Comments?
Last things first. As to the wearing of plural favors, Thorfinn says:
>Favors are given to show many things: Household affiliation, friendship,
>love, or the approval of a Hat. They need not be heraldic, and often aren't.
but neglects the important question of WHY one is wearing plural favors.
Obviously, one can be in a household and have a SO. One could also be the
champion of another gentle, although one might or might not wear that favor
except in the act of championing that person. One could wear the token of
one's prospective Consort in a Crown list, and also wear the token of one's SO,
if all were agreeable. And tokens from the Crowns (etc) are often given and
worn regardless of other affiliations.
In the end it is up to the fighter in question to determine how many persons he
may, in honor, wear tokens from, and it is between the fighter and the giver
of the token to determine its 'meaning'.
As to what constitutes an appropriate favor, I like Winifred's suggestion:
>As I understand, in period women gave men scarves, sleeves, ribbons, etc.
>Since some fabric I have seen has arms embroidered on it, those sleeves could
>have had the women's arms on them. ... I may make a sleeve from leftover
>material next time I make garb. That way I have two to wear and one to give as
>a favor. "Give you my sleeve? My silk sleeve? I like you, but NO ONE gets my
>silk."
This works particularly well for gowns with detachable sleeves (15th C.
Northern European with the pin-on long sleeves over the short-sleeved gown, or
Italian Ren (although I don't know that they would have done it that way...)),
or for gowns with maunche sleeves (as Sir John suggests) or tippets.
I haven't found anything concrete to support the "dishrags" either -
if anyone does, please let me know. In the meantime,
(Sir John, citing Viscountess Ascelin)
>Her research did turn up references to sleeves, tippets, and
>hankerchiefs, but not to napkins (which would
>be on the servers anyway? not on the ladies). As another note,
>it was common for the ladies to be sewn into their dresses,
>and presenting a champion with a sleeve was quite a statement.
(Thus Winifred's suggestion of making a spare :-))
What about all the illustrations of people being given pennons? You see
pix of people (usually the victor) being given chaplets of flowers too, but
that would get expensive and they aren't very durable.
Some other, purely practical-SCA ideas include garters (such as those of the
fighting Laureate, or those given for the Star of Merit in Ansteorra) (for
those who have not seen them, a leather (in the former case) or fabric band
with a buckle, which can be tied about the calf or upper arm), belts, helm
mantling, belt buckles, arming caps: all things that are depicted in period
as having armorial designs on them, and relatively easily made and personal-
ized. What about a sword-hanger (one of the leather tube 'scabbards' for SCA
swords? Or spur leathers (if appropriate!) These ideas are mostly for fight-
ing favors, but many of them could also be worn off the field. These suggest-
ions are from the perspective of a person who cherishes the idea of wearing
someone's favor more than the sign-visible-from-across-the-field-claiming-
possession. Too many times, people put hours of labor into painstaking
embroidery, only to have it demolished on the field - most of these should
hold up a while at least. As far as what to put on them, if you don't feel
comfortable putting your arms, how about a motto? An element from your arms?
Something in your colors? An initial (if appropriate)?
This is a question that has stumped me for a while and I've been researching
it recently. Anyone who would like the full article on the subject (when its
done) should send me email.
Your (longwinded) servant,
Keilyn
Bmorris at digex.com
From: branwen at flipper.ccc.amdahl.com (Karen Williams)
Date: 4 Dec 91 22:32:16 GMT
Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA
In article <1991Dec3.170228.28950 at pbhya.PacBell.COM> whheydt at PacBell.COM (Wilson Heydt) writes:
>In article <1991Dec3.034539.8030 at bronze.ucs.indiana.edu> kabauer at silver.ucs.indiana.edu (katherine ann bauer) writes:
>>I am also interested in favors, as I am in the process of making one
>>for my lord. . . .
>Well . . . You could just tear your sleeve off and tie it around his
>arm . . .
One of my friends made a new dress, with white tippets hanging down from
the sleeves. She purposely sewed the tippets on loosely, so that when her
lord came to her for a favor at Crown Tourney, she ripped off one of the
tippets and tied it around his arm. It was splendid. (She made three tippets,
so that she could sew on a replacement later.)
Branwen ferch Emrys
The Mists, the West
--
Karen Williams
branwen at flipper.ras.amdahl.com
From: 76206.2342 at compuserve.COM (WILLIAM KYLE)
Date: 5 Dec 91 03:58:28 GMT
Organization: The Internet
Reply to: Jose" <kenm at maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca>
Subject: Favours....
Lord Cinaed de Moravia asks about the significance of favours.
I may be only speaking for myself, But, I consider it an honor to be
asked to carry a lady's favour. I have several favours on my belt that
I wear from some very wonderful ladies that I have the pleasure of
knowing. I like to believe that because of the respect they have for
me personally, they ask me to carry their favour. It has to be respect
because as many will attist, I am not that good of a fighter, I am not
a person of title, nor am I a person of power.
I asked one of the ladies, whose favour I carry, as to why she wanted
me to carry her favour. Her reply was simple and to the point. She
likes the way I treat her with respect and honor, the way I speak to
her, and the way I treat all the ladies that she knows. She also said
that I was kind and gentle and she had a lot of respect for me and the
way I act and interact with others, and as far as she was concerned, I
honored her by carrying her favour.
If a lady asks for you to carry her favour, it may be because she finds
you an honorable person in her eyes, and has respect for who you are.
=============================================================
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East Kingdom it's food, if it moves
MCI Mail 418-0342 off the plate, kill it
Compuserve 76206,2342 and put it back on the
internet: 4180342 at MCIMail.com plate
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Azure, two tusks, tips
Clan Kyle Motto: Bello et Pace Opera crossed in saltire, Or
=============================================================
From: fnklshtn at ACFcluster.NYU.EDU
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Period favors
Date: 26 Jan 94 05:07:11 GMT
Organization: New York University, NY, NY