Oertha-hist-msg - 2/13/09 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, snow-msg. ************************************************************************ 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 ************************************************************************ 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 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 Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2005 20:32:56 -0800 From: Sharron Albert Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Tiki Torch Recall To: Cooks within the SCA > Here in the West, Tiki Torches (generic) are utterly totally > thoroughly irrevocably forbidden at our events - since most are > camping - and there's no reason to have then at the one-day events. > -- > Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM) > the persona formerly known as Anahita We don't use them much in Oertha (Alaska) either (G). Unless we're down on the Kenai Peninsula or the Panhandle, it doesn't get dark enough during the short summer camping season to use them, and it's way too cold in the winter to do outdoor courts etc. I've done needlework in mid-July at midnight with ambient light in Winter's Gate (Fairbanks), which is a delightful feeling. I do remember an evening court in An Tir once, that had the main corridor flanked by Tiki Torches. It was definitely dramatic watching people walk up to Their Majesties, to receive awards, etc. Morgana * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Morgana yr Oerfa, OP Winter's Gate/Oertha/West Date: Sun, 22 Jan 2006 17:24:32 -0900 From: Sharron Albert Subject: [Sca-cooks] OT: Weather in Oertha To: Cooks within the SCA > I have friends from Oertha who said it was indeed a very chilly > Coronet :) And here I was complaining of 20 degree mornings. > > -Muiriath Yeah. We often [think] you guys down in the states (what we call Outside) are really wimps. A hint of rain and some people don't go to events, and drive 50 miles, that's just too far (G). Our next closest group -- that you can drive to -- is nearly 400 miles away. And there are two groups in Oertha you either only fly to (Kotzebue) or fly/take the ferry (Kodiak). You gotta be a traveling fool to live in Alaska... Morgana * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Morgana yr Oerfa, OP Winter's Gate/Oertha/West Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 01:32:47 -0900 From: Sharron Albert Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Blessed are the non-cooks To: Cooks within the SCA ----- Original Message ----- From: Audrey Bergeron-Morin >> Anybody who is willing to come in and deal with things when I am >> brainfried and tired is SO BLESSED. > > Well, thank you :-) The local cooks' guild must thinks so too since > they gave me an official apron and offered me to join... One of my favorite times was at a small midwinter coronet in Juneau, Alaska. The local cooks had beaten themselves up providing an exquisite feast (not period, but this was years before we knew much about that), and had just taken themselves off the bed, muttering "we'll take care of it in the morning." The counters were covered with dirty dishes (although the food had been put away). So I put some dishes in to soak, and then cleared a corner of the counter and set it up for draining/drying dishes. I washed the soaking ones, stacked them, and put more in to soak, then cleared the next area. And so on until I was done. It was with great delight I heard the cooks in the morning, groaning in anticipation as they approached the kitchen, only to be faced with clean dishes waiting for them. I don't think anyone ever told them who did it, which made it all the more fun. I've been on both sides, and always appreciated it when others came in to clean up. Morgana yr Oerfa Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 20:26:27 -0900 From: Sharron Albert Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Feast costs/budgets To: Cooks within the SCA Up in Oertha (Alaska), the head cooks for our twice-yearly coronets are expected to coordinate a brunch on Saturday, a feast for Saturday dinner, and a breakfast/brunch on Sunday. Brunch is usually soup/stews and bread and fingerfoods. Especially in the winter, the fighters need something warm after tourney and they come inside (unless it below -15F, they usually fight outdoors). Dinner is a regular feast, of varying periodness and courses, according to who is cook. Sometimes the numbers are reservations only, sometimes feast included in the event fee (with offboard for those who know they're not feasting). Breakfast is usually warmed-up feast leftovers, liquids and maybe muffins/breads. We might get breakfast, but it's not fancy, at least in midwinter. Midsummer, breakfast Saturday and Sunday is often a donations-accepted fundraiser for the principality, cooked by Pied Powder Inn members and friends, which includes pancakes and fixin's, juice/coffee, sausage (often homemade from moose), bacon. I've never donated less than $5 and that was over the event fees. But when you consider people routinely drive nearly 400 miles to go to coronet (or fly from Outside or the Juneau area), it helps if you don't have to drag camping/cooking gear with you. And we obviously do not camp outside in the January tourney. I certainly appreciate that I, as a single older woman, don't have to worry about the food issue. And, our feasts seldom reach 100 people, although we come close more often than we used to. And having up to a 100 people scatter for lunches and dinners really breaks up the mood of the events. Different areas and climates, different customs. We started coronet feasts nearly 30 years ago, before we were a principality and our numbers might have reached 50 people at the event. Morgana yr Oerfa Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 21:53:15 -0900 From: Sharron Albert Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Current farm prices and affects on feast budgeting To: Cooks within the SCA > Well, here in NoCal in the Central West, the fee for most period > feasts is about $15, although some are less. We gradually raised the > prices over the past few years because with the very high cost of > sites, they just weren't doing so well... sometimes losing a bit of > money, sometimes breaking even - when, i gather, the idea is to make > a small amount as a cushion for those that don't break even - when > the weather is rainy, often fewer folks show up than have RSVP'd. > > Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM) > the persona formerly known as Anahita Our Barony usually does potluck dinners. But we hold one annual feast in October, and it's as period as we can make it. We charge around $15 a person, partly because food is expensive in Alaska, and partly because indoor sites with good kitchens are mostly too expensive for our small feast (50+). We almost always lose money, but it's not much, and it's expected. We plan for it but making sure we make money on other events and via fundraising year-round. We're rather proud of this feast tradition, which goes back to about AS XIV, and people travel the previously-mentioned 400 miles to eat with us (G). Morgana yr Oerfa, the Oerthan expert today (the other Oerthans hereon are either returning from or recovering from Estrella) Edited by Mark S. Harris Oertha-hist-msg Page 5 of 5