Oertha-hist-msg

Oertha-hist-msg - 11/2/98

Histories of the Principality of Oertha, Kingdom of the West. (Alaska)

NOTE: See also the files: SCA-hist2-msg, West-hist-msg, SCA-stories2-msg, placenames-msg.

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NOTICE -

This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter.

The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors.

Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s).

Thank you,

Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous

Stefan at florilegium.org

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From: sandradodd at aol.com (SandraDodd)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Origin of "Oertha," channeled

Date: 9 Sep 1996 16:07:58 -0400

Subj: Re: Names of Kingdoms

Date: Mon, Sep 9, 1996 2:50 PM EDT

From: ftamy at aurora.alaska.edu

To: sandradodd at aol.com

Unto Mistress Alflaed of Duckford

greetings from

Mistress Annora de Montfort of Shadowood in the Principality of Oertha.

My Lady,

It has been a long time since I was a newbie in Eskalya taking on the post

of seneschale and writing to you for advice. Much has happened since then,

including the ability to communicate with the rest of the SCA world via

e-mail.

I happened to be browsing the Rialto,(a new ability for me) and saw the

piece of the thread talking about place names. I wanted to pass on the

correct story of the naming of Oertha, but as I am not a subscriber to the

list (just thru my university) I thought I would pass it on to you.

In the early days, (1979) Alaska had two groups, Eskalya and Winter's

Gate. We were part of the Principality of Antir. When Antir petitioned for

kingdom status, Alaska asked to remain part of the West. That wish was

granted. We were then termed the Northern Marches. As we got closer to

principality status, the groups started thinking of a name for the whole

unit;the North being the odds on favorite. However, the heralds vetoed the

North and we went back to the drawing board. Enter Sir Kylson Skyfire. He

was returning by airplane from somewhere Outside, and was reading the

airline magazine. He says one of the articles talked about northern lands

and the word oertha. According to the article, oertha meant "guardian of

the North". He presented the name to the Council of the North and to the

populace where it was approved. Now comes the odd part.We never actually

had a copy of the magazine or the article. The language may be celtic...we

know it isn't Yupik or Inupiaq eskimo, but we're not sure anymore. There

is a welsh word for north or northern that sounds like it, but...

So, for the purposes of myth and legend, Oertha means Guardian of the

North.

From: Megan nic Alister of Thornwood <megan at mail.wco.com>

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: New Princess by Right of Arms

Date: 19 Jan 1997 01:18:01 GMT

Today, in the Principality of Oertha (mundanely Alaska) in the Kingdom of

the West, Virissa de Lighthaven won the Coronet Tournament for the honor

of her lord. She will be invested as Princess tomorrow. Congratulations

to both her and her lord.

Countess Megan, West