juggling-msg - 4/18/97
Jugglers in SCA and period.
NOTE: See also the files: jesters-msg, puppets-msg, theater-bib, theater-msg, p-stories-msg, masks-msg.
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From: Dagonell the Juggler
Date: 29-Dec-89 08:09pm
Subject: Dagonell answers his mail
> what makes them [professional juggling balls] one hundred and four times
> better [more expensive] than the ones I buy in toy shop at three for a
> dollar?
Professional juggling balls are not made of rubber, but of a silicone
compound. If you throw an ordinary rubber ball with a back-snap (so it's
spinning toward you as it falls away from you) the ball will bounce back
to your hand. With a juggling ball, the same amount of force will send the
ball to the ground in front of you, over your shoulder (which means it's
bouncing higher), to the ground BEHIND you, over your shoulder, to the ground
in front of you and then back to your hand. There's a juggler at the
University of Buffalo Juggling Club who can get seven bounces out of one
toss. But, I agree with you, professional juggling equipment is outrageously
priced which is why when I teach juggling at a university class (like the
upcoming UWEKAT, plug, plug) I start with how to make your own juggling
equipment.
- Dagonell
"The lance never blunted the pen; nor the pen, the lance." - Don Quiote
______
/ | INTERNET : salley at klaatu.cs.canisius.edu
| | USNAILNET : David P. Salley, 136 Shepard Street,
_________/ | Buffalo, New York 14212-2029 U.S.A.
>* | AT&TNET : 1 (716) 891-5560
/ Rhydderich Hael | ICBMNET : 42 55 32 N / 78 51 10 W / Alt 600
|______________ | PERSONA : Lord Dagonell Collingwood of Emerald
Lake
AEthelmearc, `_ | AKA Dagonell the Juggler
East Kingdom `__| DISCLAIMER :"Canisius never agrees with me."
From: lmb7421 at ultb.isc.rit.edu (Les Barstow: Phoenix)
Date: 7 Feb 90 00:54:16 GMT
Organization: Wandering Damage, Cosmo Police, Psi division
I'm not sure there *is* a book on the subject...
I can give you some basic info, which might help - I also suggest
watching the movie to get the feel of it...
First, find a ball to use - I suggest a cue ball or a juggling ball (the
cue ball is better because it has less friction...) KMart sells cue
balls for about $4.
Second, find a place to practice - no breakables, carpet, and first
floor would be best (first floor so that when you drop it it doesn't
make a resounding crash throughout the house...) You may wish to kneel,
as that puts you closer to the floor, which quiets things down a bit and
allows you to chase the ball faster...
The basic motion is side-to-side, like a windshield wiper, and your hand
should be straightened out, fingers flexed back as far as they go (after
a while, your fingers bend back more than they used to, making it
easier...) Your hand should be perpendicular to your body (palm facing
to the side, up, or down - not towards or away from you) at all times -
after all, you are not trying to push the ball towards or away from you,
only side-to-side in front of you. The motion itself is almost entirely
from the elbow - your upper arm should not move more than marginally,
and your wrist and hand should only move to adjust for the ball's
motion.
Now, there are two sweeps - one from when the ball is in your palm to
where is is on the back of your hand, and one from back-of-hand to
palm. The easier of the two (I think) is from the back of the hand to
the palm, so it might be best to try that one first for a while.
Holding your elbow near your side, put your lower arm in front of you in
a horizontal position (both sweeps start and end from horizontal - if
you don't quite get to the horizontal position, the ball starts to roll
down your arm, and, hence, away from you (say, under the couch...)).
With your fingers stretched back, the ball should be able to rest
comfortably in the split between your index and middle fingers. Keeping
all other fingers together, spread your index and middle fingers
slightly apart - this is the guide and the path along which the ball
will travel when you start. Now, in a winshield-wiper type motion,
bring your lower arm and hand out - if you go fast enough, the ball will
creep up your fingers and go up and over them (if you go too fast, the
ball goes up, over, and off your fingers - this is okay - you can slow
the motion down later; on the other hand, of you go too slow, the ball
catches on your fingers about halfway up and goes flying off to the
side, loudly.) You may have to adjust your speed, the spread of your
two fingers, and the position of your fingers (how far bent back they
are) during this sweep (and every sweep - this is the trick...). With
luck, and lots of practice, your motion will end with the ball exactly
in the same place on the opposite side of your hand from when you
started the motion. Practice this for a while until you can get the
ball to roll all the way over without leaving your hand and without
running away most of the time)
The other sweep is similar - start with the ball in the split between
your middle and index fingers, palm-up and lower arm in a horizontal
position away from your body. Sweep up and over, and the ball will land
where the first sweep started - in the seam of your fingers on the back
of your hand. Note that the ball may try sticking to your fingertips,
catch, and fly away - this is what makes it harder than the other
direction. Also, if you find the ball running down your arm after it
gets over the top (ie, you can't stop it from rolling), try dropping
your hand very low as the ball gets over the top - overcompensate the
motion.
After a you get each motion right a few times, try the full motion,
sweeping both directions one after another - try not to let the ball
stop for more than a fraction of a second, as the motion should be
fluid. You may also wish to tighten up your fingers a bit, to make the
trick less obvious. Also, some people I know like a tighter motion -
the full side-to-side motion I think looks nicer, but still...if you
wish to not do the full motion, you do not have to bring your arm all
the way horizontal - so long as yo can stop the ball from rolling away,
you're set.
The passes are a challenge at first, but, briefly, they go from the
outside of one hand at the wrist to the inside of the other, also at the
wrist (by outside and inside I mean towards the pinky and thumb,
respectively) on the back of the hand. First, learn to juggle with both
hands, then start to practice the passes - that way you can continue the
motion much more easily.
This should keep people who are interested occupied for quite some
time...
Have fun!
From: bcdegopi at watserv1.waterloo.edu (bcdegopi)
Date: 13 Apr 90 20:46:40 GMT
Organization: University of Waterloo
In article <1930 at zipeecs.umich.edu> charles at sparky.eecs.umich.edu (Charles
Jacob Cohen) writes:
>Greetings Lords and Ladies.
>
>Is there anyone out there with information how to be a jester in the SCA.
>I have the juggling skills, the costume is being made, but it is very
>hard for me to find any information on this subject, and in the two
>events I've been to, I haven't seen an other performing jesters. Any
>information or sources about style and performance would be most
>appreciated. Thanks in advance!
>
> - Midair, the Juggler of Cynnabar
As it happens I happen to be in the midst of researching this very topic...
Here are some of the books I have started reading on the topic, which
you may be interested in. I'm sorry to say I can only give you Author,
Title, and Library of Congress Number, as I have aprint-out here, but the
books themselves are elsewhere.
Armin, Robert "Fools and Jesters: with a reprint of robert Armin's Nest of
ninnies" Call Number: PR2417.N4 1842
Busby, Olive Mary "Studies in the development of the fool in the Elizabethan
drama" Call Number: PR658.F7B8 1923
Doran, John "The History of Court Fools"
Call Number: Gt3670.d6
Swain, Barbara "Fools and folly during the middle ages and renaissance"
Call Number: PN56.F6S8
Welsford, Enid "The Fool; his social and literary history."
Call Number: GT3670.W4
Arden, Heather "Fool's plays: a study of satire in the sottie"
Call Number: PQ514.A7 1980
Billington, Sandra "A Social History of the fool"
Call Number: GT3670.B45 1984
Kaiser, Walter Jacob "Praisers of folly: Erasmus Rabelais, Shakespeare."
Call Number: PA8515.K3
Lukens, Nancy "buchner's Valerio and teh theatrical fool tradition"
Call Number: PT1828.BA7246
There are many more, but these are the one's which I have a list of
since the pretain more specifically to my topic. You will find the comedy of
the fool is fairly varied, with many sub-types.
Foolishly,
Owain ap Emrys SAethydd,
Bcdegopi at watserv1.Waterloo.edu
Bryniau Tywnnog
Principality of Ealdormere.
From: 70431.1622 at compuserve.com (Gareth the Eccentric)
Date: 18 Apr 90 01:57:55 GMT
To: Internet:sca-request%mc.lcs.mit.edu at mintaka.lcs.mit.edu
Recently, Midair the Juggler of Cynnabar (Charles Jacob Cohen)
requested sources for documentation on jesting. The following
are sources on juggling extracted from an article sent to me by
Lord Dagonell Collingwood.
What follows below is list of readily available, highly
recommended reading on juggling and its history. It is not, by
any means, a complete or all inclusive list. I'd like to point
out that with one exception, which is noted, all of these books
are secondary documentation sources, but they are well
documented themselves from primary sources. The serious
historian/performer is encouraged to consider them as starting
points.
"Juggling : The Arts and Its Artists" by Karl-heinz Ziethen and
Andrew Allen (Rausch and Luft Publishing, 1986, ISBN
3-9801140-1-5, $69.95). Karl-heinz is the author of "Four
Thousand Years of Juggling History", a book the International
Juggling Association considers to be one of the definitive works
in the field. Unfortunately, it's a 1,000+ page manuscript,
EXTREMELY expensive, can only be custom ordered from France, and
it's nearly a year long wait. Andrew Allen managed to talk
Karl-heinz into publishing a condensed American version and this
book is the result. I recommend that you check it out of the
library. It's a $70.00 book, and after the first chapter it
concentrates on post 1940's.
"Street Magic -- An Illustrated History of Wandering Magicians
and Their Conjuring Arts" by Edward Claflin and Jeff Sheridan
(Dolphin Books [Doubleday and Co.], 1977, ISBN 0-385-12864-9,
$5.95) Medievally, there was no distinction between jugglers and
magicians. This book covers all types of "street performers"
and is very well documented with illustrations of period woodcuts
and paintings.
"The Art of Iugling or Legerdemaine" by Samuel Rid (to be sold by
him in front of his shop in London, 1612!, Govt. Doc. Collection
Microfilm, Reel 971, Cat#21027, Pr 1121.U6, MiU F63-378) THIS
IS A PERIOD, PRIMARY SOURCE!!! It's on microfilm and part of the
Government Document Collection. Most major research colleges
and universities will have the collection. It's difficult
reading because it's archaic English and written in illegible
Blackletter but it's worth the effort of tracking down.
Just passing along information,
Lord Gareth the Eccentric of Saint Albans
Michael Mahler
70431.1622 at compuserve.com
Shire of Stormsport, Principality of thelmearc, East Kingdom
Erie, PA
From: jrt9158 at venus.tamu.edu (TURNER, JEFFREY ROBERT)
Date: 22 Oct 91 16:26:06 GMT
Organization: Academic Computing Services, Texas A&M University
In article <1991Oct18.094749.17417 at agora.uucp>, trifid at agora.uucp (Roadster Racewerks) writes...
>
>Of course a medieval weaver in any large town would have been unlikely to have
>sheared the sheep themselves, and one from a city would not likely have done
>their own dying. (Spinning depends on the era involved.) A cottager in a small
>village might have done it all, but even then it would be more likely that a
>family member would be helping out with the tasks requiring different skills.
>
>Ah me.......
>
>NicMaoilan
My partner and I were told at one past event that the clubs
we were passing between the two of us were not period at all;
after all, not only were they plastic, but we didn't even
make them ourselves. REAL period jugglers would carve their
own clubs out of wood. *sigh*
My partner, Staltus, took great delight in informing our
accuser that as far as Europe, Africa and the vast majority
of Asia are concerned, juggling anything but balls is virtually
unheard of in period and even throwing tricks with the balls
would be very unlikely. *smile*
Nothing like an incorrect authenticity policeman...
Valentyn the Fool
Period games and magic
10 Feb 92
From: salley at niktow.canisius.edu (David Salley)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Organization: Canisius College, Buffalo NY. 14208
Margaret Macdubhsidhe writes:
> I've recently started looking into period games, both atheletic and
> otherwise. Unfortunately, aside from "The Compleat Gamester", which is
> about 20 years out of period, and a few mentions of football, bowling,
> tennis, and various card and dice games, I have been able to find very
> little. Besides Master Samalluh's (please pardon the mangled spelling) book,
> does anyone know of any good secondary or primary sources for games
> descriptions? Is anyone else researching card, dice and athletic games
> (outside of tourney/fencing/martial arts)? Want to share
> research/ideas/sources?
Duncan MacLeod writes:
> I am also looking for period sources for slight of hand magic, Both of these
> requests are for children who are trying their best to be patient, so
> swiftness of response would be much appreciated!
Actual period sources are rare, I only know of one:
_The Art of Iugling [Juggling] or Legerdemaine_ by Samuel Rid, to be
sold by him in his shop in London, 1612. To get this manuscript, go to a
University with a _U.S. Govt. Doc. Microfilm Collection_ and ask for Reel 971,
Cat# 21027, Pr 1121.U6, MiU F63-378. Grainy photocopies of microfilm of
nearly illegible blackletter calligraphy of Old English grammar and spelling
make this difficult reading, but it's worth the effort.
Some very scholarly secondary sources include:
_Medieval Games_ by Salamallah the Corpulent, Raymond's Quiet Press
ISBN 0-943228-03-4,$10.00. I've also managed to track down about 3/4 of the
books he lists in the Bibliography. Among them, I'd recommend the following
two:
_Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland_ by Alice Gomme,
pub. London 1894. in 2 vol. Normally, I avoid Victorian books as the
scholarship usually tends to be nearly non-existant. These books however,
are very well researched. I can't quote a price or ISBN, because I don't
own them.
_Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations_ by Richard C. Bell,
Dover Pub., ISBN 0-486-23855-5, $6.50. My edition is "revised edition - two
volumes bound as one" which makes it a bit confusing as the sequence goes;
table of contents, text, bibliography, index, table of contents, text, biblio-
graphy, index.
Some additional books:
_Games of the World: How to Make Them, How to Play Them, How They
Came to Be_ edited by Frederic V. Grunfeld, Holt Rinehart & Winston Pub,
ISBN 0-03-015261-5. My copy doesn't have the price listed on it. Richard
Bell (see listing above) is listed as one of the consultants for the book.
The book is documented to the nth degree with photographs of museum pieces
and medieval manuscripts. Instructions on building boards and playing pieces
are well written, well diagrammed and often photographed in intermediate stages
of construction. Games are categorized into: Board & Table Games, Street &
Playground Games, Field & Forest Games, Party & Festival Games, & Puzzles,
Tricks & Stunts. Additionally the table of contents has cross-indexed each
game for: Indoor or Outdoor; Solo, Pair or Group; Mental, Physical or Chance;
Playing Time - Short, Medium, Long & Prepartion Time - Short, Medium, Long.
_The History of Playing Cards: with Anecdotes of Their Use in
Conjuring, Fortune-Telling and Card-Sharping_ edited by Ed S. Taylor et al.
Originally pub. London 1865, my edition is pub. by Charles Tuttle Co 1973,
ISBN 0-8048-1026-5. No price listed on my copy. It doesn't have a biblio-
graphy :-(, but all of the direct quotes are adequately footnoted. The
illustrations are all modern drawings of medieval cards :-( I would have
preferred photographs, warts and all.
_Juggling: The Art and Its Artists_ by Karl-Heinz Ziethen & Andrew
Allen, 1986, Rausch & Luft Pub., ISBN 3-9801140-1-5, $69.00. Karl wrote
a book in French, which translates as _The Complete History of Juggling_.
Unfortunately :-( it's in French, 1,000+ pages, $200.00+, and only available
from France by custom order! Andrew talked him into publishing the American
Coffee Table version listed here. I'd suggest getting it from the library
as after the first ten pages of medieval history, it goes into 1940.
Additionally, the illustrations are simply labelled, "Greek Vase c240BC" or
"Danish Manuscript 1470" with no additional information.
_Street Magic -- An Illustrated History of Wandering Magicians and
Their Conjuring Arts_ by Edward Claflin and Jeff Sheridan, Doubleday and Co.,
ISBN 0-385-12864-9, $5.95. Well written, well documented and lots of photo-
graphs of museum pieces and manuscripts. Duncan, if you only use one book
from this list, it has to be this one!
Books strictly on techniques, or how to play:
_The Juggler's Handbook_ by Bob Stone, Spiritwood Publishing, ISBN
0-9611928-0-1, $12.95. This one contains something I've never seen anywhere
else, Juggling Notation. Juggling notation is to juggling what musical
notation is to music, a set of symbols for writing down how to do a sequence.
_Juggling with Finesse_ by Kit Summers, Finesse Press, ISBN
0-938981-00-5, $14.95. An American success story, Kit Summers is two time
winner of the International Jugglers Association World Championship. The
second time was AFTER he had been hit by a truck and told he would never
leave his hospital bed.
_The Juggling Book_ by Carlo, Random House, ISBN 0-394-71956-5, $6.95.
Carlo is a juggler for Barnum and Bailey Circus, nuff said!
_The Complete Juggler_ by Dave Finnigan, Random House, ISBN
0-394-74678-3. No price listed on my copy. I'm normally sceptical of any
book that calls itself _The Complete "X"_. In my opinion, "X" has to be
at least a dozen words to define a field of knowledge narrow enough to covered
completely in one book. This one however, comes real close. The author is
a former president of IJA and there's enough tricks here to keep a juggler
going for years. For those who like to compare their performance against
others, the book contains the Official Rank Requirements of the IJA, ie, what
you have to be able to do to earn the next rank.
_Hand Shadows_ & _Hand Shadows II_ I can't get my paws on these at