West-hist-msg – 7/4/08
Histories of the SCAšs West Kingdom.
NOTE: See also the files: SCA-hist1-msg, SCA-stories1-msg, border-stories-msg, placenames-msg, East-hist-msg, you-know-msg, vanity-plates-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.
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Thank you,
Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous
Stefan at florilegium.org
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Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: rzex60 at email.mot.com (Jason of Rosaria)
Subject: Verily, I saw the Pandy-Bat (WAS:Re: wacky weapons)
Organization: The Polyhedron Group
Date: Fri, 1 Apr 1994 19:41:03 GMT
Ben Tucker <bentucker at delphi.com> wrote:
> Michael McKay <a-mikem at ac.tandem.com> writes:
>
> >A typical West Kingdom Purgitorio Corination includes a "pandy-bat"
> >tourney. The prize goes to the most imagnitive weapons. I remember
>
> Okay, I'll bite...
>
> What is a "Pandy-Bat" (Other than an interesting title for a song)?
>
> Owen Alun
> bentucker at delphi.com
>
> {And who invented it?}
Dredging up ancient memories of the Kingdom of the West, back when An Tir
was still a Principality, back when I believe we only had four (or was it
five?) kingdoms, I recall a scene at a Beltane Coronation ...
Verily I was there. :-)
I was watching the tourney that day. Most of the serious fighting was done,
and they were doing challenge matches. A fighter stepped onto the field
late in the afternoon. He was bearing a spear as a weapon. Strapped to the
spear was a stuffed toy panda-bear, which someone had sewn black bat-wings
onto. The stuffed toy was about a foot tall, with a similar wingspan. It
jiggled comicly on the end of the spear, as if flying. The Marshals
grimiced, but cried 'Lay On!'. His opponent strolled up and asked 'What the
heck is that?'. The fighter replied 'It's a Pandy Bat', and promptly killed
him with a spear thrust.
The crowd thought it was funny. Fortunately, the felled fighter thought so
too. I got the impression the two fighters were friends. Darned if I can
remember either of their names. I was just a newbie myself at the time.
Soon afterwards we heard of 'Pandy-Bat weapons competitions' at events,
aimed at silly weapons. One criteria was that it has to be possibly more of
a liability to the weilder than to their opponent. We saw the great 'War
Scisors' - made of enough Rattan for three polearms, and weilded florentine
with a loop in each hand. We also saw 'the semi-automatic repeating spear'
- which was disallowed as too effective. It was a rattan spear with a PVC
sleeve on the shaft, through which the spear was rapidly thrust.
Was that the inception of the Pandy-Bat competitions? I think so.
I was there, and that is what I recall. It was also many years ago, and I
may be in error. So many years - so many events. It's hard to say.
Regards,
His Lordship Jason of Rosaria, GdS, JdL, AoA
Member #3016
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: lindal at goddess.mfg.sgi.com (Linda Levy)
Subject: Re: Many time Kings of the Knowne World
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc.
Date: Wed, 8 Jun 1994 17:47:06 GMT
Greetings
Ahh History.. what does it teach us..
zkessin at world.std.com (Zach) writes:
|> lindal at goddess.mfg.sgi.com (Linda Levy) writes:
|>
|> >Greetings from the West
|>
|> >Possible due to the shortness of the reigns, we seem to hold the
|> record
|> >unless anyone can beat Duke Radnor of Gildemar who won 8 crown
|> >tournements.
|> >(there a trivia question there, since he only reigned 7 times. Is he
|> the
|> >only crown prince who has been forced to abdicate?
|> Why? Can someone explain why he abdicated, and what the kingdom did
|> during when he would have been king?
|>
|> Guiliem Wodehouse (MKA Zachary Kessin)
|> In service to The Barony of Carolingia And the East Relm
|> zkessin at world.std.com
WARNING !!!! 2nd HAND INFO. corrections requested!!
It was discovered after Radnor won the Crown, that the corporate office
had not gotten around to entering his ladies name on the membership rolls
before the previous months deadline, dispite having recieved her check and
form(proof was the date the check was cashed) LONG before the deadline.
The coproration decided that rules were rules, and that even if it was a
clerical error, his lady was not eligabile to be Queen. They were nice
enough to offer to let him pick a new lady, but that violated everything
that we have been told about favors and inspiration, and he declined.
the Kingdom then held what became known as "Crownatorio", on the date of
the regularlly scheduled Purgatorio coronation. Saturday, they held a Crown
lists, that only those that had entered the previous list were allowed to
fight in. The winner was crowned king (as scheduled) the next day. the only
difference was that we had no crown prince for the summer .
linda of the lakelands(west)
lindal at mfg.sgi.com
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: lindal at goddess.mfg.sgi.com (Linda Levy)
Subject: Re: Many time Kings of the Knowne World
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc.
Date: Wed, 8 Jun 1994 23:02:04 GMT
litch at bga.com (Michael Litchfield) writes:
|> In article <Cr3AqJ.F2x at odin.corp.sgi.com>,
|> Linda Levy <lindal at goddess.mfg.sgi.com> wrote:
|> >The coproration decided that rules were rules, and that even if it was a
|> >clerical error, his lady was not eligabile to be Queen. They were nice
|> >enough to offer to let him pick a new lady, but that violated everything
|> >that we have been told about favors and inspiration, and he declined.
|> >
|> >linda of the lakelands(west)
|>
|> why the hell do we put up with that sort of bullshit?
|>
|> If we really believed in the things we say we do (oftn called the dream)
|> we would focus on the truth and not the lies of the rules.
|>
|> What should have been done is that every one on that list field should
|> have yeilded to him in the second tourney,
OOPs left out the fact that he was not allowed to fight in the replacement
tourney. Needless to say, his household has not had warm fuzzys for the
corporation since then.
then someone should have found the
|> idjit responsible and taken them for a ride.
|>
|> -Michael
|>
lindal at mfg.sgi.com
From: lukemingst at aol.com (LukeMingst)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Duke Radnor of Gildemar
Date: 13 Jun 1994 04:45:04 -0400
In article <1994Jun11.110550.17243 at muss.cis.mcmaster.ca>,
millsbn at mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca (Bruce Mills) writes:
The "Crownatorio" you are refering to occured in August AS XXI. (I'm
quoting _The Page_ here.) Though I was at the event, I don't
remember it's CE time frame. I think it might have been the year
1987.
This was the regularly scheduled Purgatorio that had been
restructured to have a tournament on the first day, the winner being
crowned the next.
I do not remember any requirement (sp?) that those fighting in the
new list had to have fought in the previous one. This is not to say
there wasn't, but I don't remember any.
The new tournament was won by Steven of Beckenham, the man who had
lost to Duke Radnor in the previous finals. Many thought that he was
supposed to have been awarded the throne immediately upon Radnor's
disqualification. (Indeed, some of these people called to
conngratulate him on becomming king even before he had heard that
Radnor was disqualified.)
I am not sure why Radnor was not allowed to fight in the new tourney.
For all I know the memberships still weren't up to date by then.
Lord Vlasta Ulvaeus
Vinhold, Mists, WEST
From: djheydt at uclink.berkeley.edu (Dorothy J Heydt)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Many time Kings of the Knowne World
Date: 8 Jun 1994 21:11:32 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Petrea Mitchell <pravn at gm.dev.com> wrote:
> I've heard it told that there once was a move to create the
>rank of `Archduke' for those who had reigned something like six
>times or more, with Greyhelm in particular in mind. One of Grey-
>helm's first acts the next time he became King was stop all that.
Hi, Petrea.
You have the right of it, except it wasn't Greyhelm, it was
Henrik of Havn. Henrik had already reigned five times, and one
of his former squires (Stephen Black Eagle?) was on the throne
and enacted the rank of Archduke for those who had reigned six
times, "because," he said, "it looks as if we will soon be in
need of such a title." Well, guess who won the next Crown. And
no sooner had Henrik set his bottom on the throne than he
abolished the rank of Archduke, and that took care of that.
Dorothea of Caer-Myrddin Dorothy J. Heydt
(Petrea's aunt)
Mists/Mists/West UC Berkeley
Argent, a cross forme'e sable djheydt at uclink.berkeley.edu
PRO DEO ET REGE
From: djheydt at uclink.berkeley.edu (Dorothy J Heydt)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: What The Eric IS
Date: 28 Jun 1994 22:03:37 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Harold Kraus Jr <harald at ksu.ksu.edu> wrote:
>I asked:
>>>What were the four colors of the original "eric"?
>
>Dorothea answered:
>>Red, white, and yellow; only over time they all faded to an
>>anonymous uniform grey. There wasn't any fourth.
>
>Really? Oh well, what were the other names refered to in the KWH?
>(e,i. Eric the "Red") (If this isn't SCA urban legend.)
OK, it was like this. We got big enough to need something to
mark off the fighting area from the spectating area. So Marynel
of Darkhaven and her mother Ellen Cross Quills (now in Paradise)
went to a cheap-fabric place and bought lots of cheap fabric in a
soft red color, because that was the cheapest thing they had at
the moment. Marynel and Ellen sewed the fabric into long strips
umpteen feet long and about eight inches high, with vertical
sleeves at regular intervals, and Master Beverly Hodghead twisted
wire into ~ foot-high spikes to fit into the sleeves. It was a
nice area boundary marker, and we called it "Eric the Red."
But we kept growing and after a while the Eric wasn't big enough
any more, so Marynel and Ellen went back to the cheap fabric
place but they didn't have any more cheap red fabric. So they
bought lots of cheap yellow fabric and made it up and called it
"The Yellow Peril."
And again, they went back to the fabric store and got cheap white
fabric and called it "The Great White Hope" or "The White
Russian."
But by now it was all a sort of dingy grey and we called it
generically "The Eric."
I vas dere, Sharlie.....
Dorothea of Caer-Myrddin Dorothy J. Heydt
Mists/Mists/West UC Berkeley
Argent, a cross forme'e sable djheydt at uclink.berkeley.edu
From: djheydt at uclink.berkeley.edu (Dorothy J Heydt)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: SCAdians authors (and authors who include SCA in their works)
Date: 28 Aug 1994 23:52:41 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
David Schroeder <ds4p+ at andrew.cmu.edu> wrote:
> Back in the ancient days, weren't events often held in
> conjunction WITH science fiction conventions (like Baycon
> in '68, for example)? ....
OK, I just answered Bertram by mail but I'll mention it here too.
I can think of a couple of demos we gave at cons in early years that
were attended by numerous science-fiction pros. Westercon 20
in Los Angeles in 1967, for instance, where both Harlan Ellison
and Fritz Leiber showed up and fought (about one bout apiece).
And of course there was Baycon in Berkeley in 1968, at which
some fans from New York and Chicago saw us and said, "Cool!
We want to do this too!" and went home and founded the East and
Middle Kingdoms. Larry Niven was at Baycon; I don't know whether
he attended the demo. (It's been, what, twenty-six years.) I
don't know whether the Heinleins attended Baycon at all; his
health was getting rather fragile by then, and also he was so
horrendously popular from _Stranger in a Strange Land_ that it
was risky for him to go out in public, lest he be grokked to
death by water-brother wannabees. I remember John Campbell was
there, though, and was very interested, and murmured something
about picking up a sword. But he was getting on in years too,
and I think his wife convinced him not to.
So if we count demos, that's another few names.
Dorothea of Caer-Myrddin Dorothy J. Heydt
Mists/Mists/West UC Berkeley
Argent, a cross forme'e sable djheydt at uclink.berkeley.edu
PRO DEO ET REGE
From: becks2 at aol.com (Becks2)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Duke Radnor of Gildemar
Date: 28 Aug 1994 01:21:08 -0400
millsbn at mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca (Bruce Mills) writes:
Welllllllllll, How interesting. My name is Duke Stephen of
Beckenham....the dubious winner of that (in)famous Crown Tournament. His
Grace, Radnor was fighting for his lady wife, Isabeau, who was later found
not to be an actual member of the SCA. Not that anyone really had a
problem with it, other than those who insist that the "book" be followed,
especially by those they do not particularly like. Sigh. Anyway, he was
given the option of ruling with another consort, which he immediately, and
quite honorably, did NOT accept.
All fighters who were in the June Crown lists were allowed to fight at
Puratorio (Crownatorio, or Purganation). So, 3 months passed (almost). It
was probably about a month before this all hit the fan. Honestly, I do
not remember whether Radnor was allowed to fight or not. It seems to me
that Isabeau could not be a member by that time (no check was received at
the registrar, and it usually takes TOO long for memberships to process),
as well as the stink that came up with Radnor fighting for someone not a
member.
Yep, I did receive congratulatory phone calls prior to finding much of
this out.
Rolf, the King at the time, was hard pressed to make a decision as whether
to have the list be refought or to pass the Crown on to me. I was given
the option, and I, being new at the time, asked for a bit of time to think
it over. Not long after, and after much discussion with people I
respected, His Grace being one of them, I mentioned to the King that it
was his decision, as it was His Kingdom, not mine.
The list was refought, at the August Purgatorio. Coronation Court was
held about an hour after the lists were completed. UGH!
Memories are fun, eh? Duke Stephen.....
From: foxd at silver.ucs.indiana.edu (daniel fox)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Trashing the SCA (Rumor CTRL)
Date: 7 Dec 1994 09:35:55 GMT
Organization: Indiana University, Bloomington IN
Re: bad publicity for the SCA, I was really bored the other day, and caught
a syndicated rerun of _Unsolved Mysteries_ and it seems they are still
running the nastily slanted report on the SCA member in CA who was murdered/
committed suicide.
I thought the SCA lawyers got them to stop this one after it was first aired.
AdR
From: jearley at aol.com (J EARLEY)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Trashing the SCA (Rumor CTRL)
Date: 8 Dec 1994 12:50:18 -0500
foxd at silver.ucs.indiana.edu (daniel fox) writes:
regarding the Unsolved Mysteries episode about the deathe of Kurt
Mcphall(sp)( It has been a long time people) I was King of the West at the
time of this tragedy, and had to deal with adverse publicity, and
ignorance of the SCA on the part of the SFPD. I had lengthy conversations
with Officer Sandy Gallant, who investigated 'cult' crimes for the SFPD.
She was open minded and intelligent. Hillary Powers also talked with her
and convinced Sandy that we were OK. We had a good relationship that
helped during the case and later when the SCA was attacked by a
fundamentalist police lt. in Boise Id. If you have any trouble with
publicity because of this episode, please call Officer Gallant. She can
probably help clear things up.
To this date, the case is still unsolved(as far as I know). Most of
the problems that the SCA had were caused by Kurt's father, who was
convinced that the SCA had something to do with the death. The SCA did
not succeed in removing this episode from the air. If you listen
carefully to the dialog, the SCA is not implicated in the crime. The two
worst things in the episode were the notorius 'ambush' interview with
Hillary, and the fact that no clear distinction was made between the SCA
and Gabriel Carillo's shamanistic classes. James Earley
From: RWESTMARCH at aol.COM
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: DINOSAURS--Re: Sir Jon -not an old timer
Date: 28 Jun 1995 12:07:22 -0400
THANKYOU !!! At my very first practice session I borrowed the great Sir
Jons gauntlets to try a pole weapon and Duke Paul broke my fingers anyway ( I
spent 3 hours in the hospital waiting room and still didn't have the courage
to tell the doctor what really happend). Recently the Prince of Cynagua
announced that when I was knighted; GOD was a cubscout. I've felt terrible
since. NOW I am a punk kid again!!! (besides, as I recall GOD had just made
Eagle Scout). :) :) :) robert (Robert of Westmach KSCA, OP,
etc.) (SunsetShire, Principality of the Mists, Kingdom of the West)
From: hrjones at uclink.berkeley.edu (Heather Rose Jones)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Fighting with Schlaggers
Date: 4 Oct 1995 15:46:29 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Joe Bethancourt (ioseph at primenet.com) wrote:
: Hell, while we're at it, lets ban tentstakes with ropes attached! They're
: plumb DANGEROUS at night! And let's get rid of those pointy parts on our
: coronets! Someone might sit on them and hurt themselves!
^^^^^
"Might"? Been done; Principality of the Mists; immortalized in verse by
the prince's own bard.
Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn
From: djheydt at uclink.berkeley.edu (Dorothy J Heydt)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Looking for Book - Murder At The War?
Date: 28 Oct 1996 17:42:13 GMT
Organization: University of California at Berkeley
Chris and Elisabeth Zakes <moondrgn at flash.net> wrote:
>Correct. What *I* want to know is, why did the chirurgeons (not to
>mention his lady) ever let Sir Geoffrey wander away with such a head
>injury?
Possibly they didn't realize how bad it was. Head injuries
sometimes take a while to manifest themselves (it's a matter of
effusion of blood into the brain, I understand). Perhaps Sir
Geoffrey took the head blow, said, "Good!", fell down, got up,
said, "Yes, that *was* a good one," and wandered off to get some
Gatorade. And just kept wandering, while people's backs were
turned.
Which reminds me....
'Way back in AS III, the Society did a fighting demo at Baycon at
the Claremont in Berkeley. We hadn't learned all the tricks
about doing demos yet--such as, "if the blow looks good, take it;
don't confuse the audience.
So Duke Richard of Mont Real took a head blow and stopped to
discuss it with his opponent and the nearby marshals, while the
audience shifted and fumed, for a minute or two. They decided
the blow was good. So Richard turned to the audience and said,
"You know, it's a funny thing about these head wounds, my lords
and ladies, you can take one and feel fine for a minute or two,
and then suddenly...." [falls over] [CLUNK]
Dorothea of Caer-Myrddin Dorothy J. Heydt
Mists/Mists/West UC Berkeley
Argent, a cross forme'e sable djheydt at uclink.berkeley.edu
PRO DEO ET REGE
From: Megan nic Alister of Thornwood <megan at wco.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Aten's Principality of the Sun Coronet Tourney invalidated
Date: 31 Jan 1997 03:16:17 GMT
>In a recent case in the West, when a Coronet Tourney was held a
>few weeks after the Crown Tourney, the incumbent Prince noted
>that a certain fighter had not had a valid membership at the time
>of Crown, and had spoken to the fighter a week before Coronet,
>warning him that if he intended to fight in Coronet he must get
>his membership renewed; the fighter said he would do so.
>
>A week later, at Coronet, the fighter won the tournament.
>
>A week (roughly) before Investiture, the Prince learned not only
>that the victorious fighter had not renewed his membership by
>the time of Coronet, he *still* had not renewed it and showed no
>signs of being about to renew it before he was invested.
>
>Thereupon the Prince, using phone trees and email, announced that
>the Coronet Tourney was invalidated, that a new lists would be
>fought as the first event at Investiture, and that the
>investiture of the new victor and consort would take place at
>what hour they chose (this was a weekend event, so they had the
>choice of Saturday evening or any time Sunday).
>
>And this was done.
Snip
>Dorothea of Caer-Myrddin Dorothy J. Heydt
>Mists/Mists/West Albany, California
>PRO DEO ET REGE djheydt at uclink
Not True ... the fighter's membership in the SCA was current and valid.
His fighter's authorization card had expired. Two totally different
things, but the decision was that it invalidated the coronet tournament.
Countess Megan nic Alister of Thornwood, OP
PS - I know the facts since the fighter in question is my lord's squire
and a friend.
Subject: Re: minstrel: Re: ANST - Mooneschadowe Guardian Results
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 98 10:09:42 MST
From: "Fred (Flieg) Hollander" <flieg at socrates.Berkeley.EDU>
To: "Mike C. Baker" <kihe at ticnet.com>, <ansteorra at Ansteorra.ORG>
[.trim.]
>(I note for the general edification of the reading populace that Ansteorra
>is a bit unusual in the eyes of other SCA kingdoms in that we do grant
>the so-called "naked" Grant of Arms from time to time. There are
>typically particular reasons why the Grant is made separate from
>one of the Grant-bearing Companionships / "Orders" / Court Baronies,
>and it is that additional information which leaves me most curious.)
Hoom...
Inter-Kingdom Anthro time. West Kingdom only has one Grant Bearing
Order and it hasn't been given in a coon's age. Almost all of our Grants
are "naked". (And Court Barony only carries an AoA -- and the right to wear
as cool a hat as you think you can get away with.)
Anyway, in no Kingdom I know are Grants "cheap".
* * * Frederick of Holland, MSCA, OP, etc.
*|* *|* *|* flieg at socrates.berkeley.edu
|===========|
(((Flieg Hollander, Chemistry Dept., U.C. Berkeley)))
====================== Old Used Duke =====================
[All subjects of the Crown are equal under its protection.]
Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1999 16:40:05 -0700 (PDT)
From: Huette von Ahrens <ahrenshav at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: SC - scadianisms
> The use of "eric" is part of the SCA culture deriving (as I
> understand it) from the old red ribbon/fabric used to mark the list field
> which was fondly called "Eric the Red" by those who used it... It was later
> shortened to Eric and extrapolated by others to denote the list boundary
> long after the orignal "eric" was no longer used.
>
> Or so I have been told.
>
> Caitlin of Enniskillen
Other than it was red rope, not ribbon, your story
is correct. Master John ap Griffin provided the
rope for the West Kingdom in the very, very early
days of the SCA. He used to be a rope salesman.
Huette
Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 09:38:50 -0800
From: Susan Fox-Davis <selene at earthlink.net>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] catering peerage meetings.
david friedman wrote:
> >The baby Knight in Lochac is supposed to bring the beer, and the
> >baby Laurel, chocolate.
>
> I think that goes with my story of the kingdom that once awarded a
> Laurel for photography.
I know who you are talking about. I think that is the kingdom of your
current residence, is it not? I had thought perhaps that this elevation
was made before the invention of the Order of the Pelican, but closer
examination of the West Kingdom timeline and various orders of
precedence reveals otherwise; the West Kingdom Order of the Pelican was
established in 1974 while the elevation was in 1978. Possibly an
argument could be made for the Science of History-keeping, but really it
must remain one of those wacky SCA inconsistancies that keep life
interesting.
Much water has passed beneath the bridge, the barony of her residence
has passed to a younger kingdom, photography [while a visual medium] is
more generally regarded as a service to the realm, and the lady in
question, while very much alive, has lived with the effects of a stroke
and attends about one event per year in a wheelchair and lots of help.
But you know what? She still brings her camera with her every time.
Fondly, Selene
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: djheydt at kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt)
Subject: Re: Do sheet walls still make Westerners boggle?
Organization: Kithrup Enterprises, Ltd.
Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2004 21:51:01 GMT
Arval <arval at mittle.users.panix.com> wrote:
>The first times I escorted west-coast Societyfolk around Pennsic, one
>of the things that blew their minds was the boundaries around camps.
>I didn't really understand why until I went to West-An Tir war about
The one time I went to Pennsic, the West Kingdom camp area was
delineated by the back edges of the tents, and by a symbolic
gateway made of scrap timber. It was what we could get.
Practically everything we had brought had flown in with us. And,
recall, most of us don't get to Pennsic very often.
It was long ago on this very bridge, and I forget who said it,
that for people east of the Rockies going to Pennsic is like
going back to your home town for Thanksgiving. You live in the
same spot you always live in, you do the things you always do
this time of year, you see all your old friends and relatives you
see at no other time. Whereas for those of us west of the
Rockies, going to Pennsic is like making the pilgrimage to
Jerusalem: long planned-for, performed at great sacrifice and
effort, long remembered.
>10 years ago: Tents were plopped down any old way, without any
>boundaries, roads, or any organization at all that I could see.
I can't speak for An Tir, though in many cases they do things
like the West of which they used to be a part, but at Western
events the tourneymasters do lay out the site with boundaries and
roads and so forth. And then people come in, and they come in in
droves, and they come in in the middle of the night, and they set
up wherever they can, and sometimes they set up in the roads
because they couldn't see the markers or because there is
literally nowhere else to set up. And when asked to move,
sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't, because there is
nowhere else to go.
There is also nothing like the land allocation before the fact
that Pennsic does, because we camp at many different sites and
the tourneymasters generally get access to it only a few hours
before the populace starts arriving (e.g., Friday noon and 3 pm
respectively).
I've only been to Pennsic once. My impression was of a very large
group, but an even larger area to camp in. If we have a large
group (and West Kingdom events frequently go over a thousand
attendees), and a not-large-enough area, we wind up camping in
each other's laps.
>People routinely walked directly through the middle of other people's
>campsites, and were astonished when I commented on that behavior.
At the point I described above, people sometimes *have* to walk
through one another's camps, though they are generally courteous
enough to ask leave, and give thanks when they get it.
Now, if KHTI ever finds a suitable site and buys it, then the
West can start setting up boundaries and roads that are, if not
permanent in the true sense, at least the same from event to
event. Currently the only stable elements are that the Eric (the
lists boundary) will be set up somewhere, the Royal Pavilion will
be set up on it (probably with its back to the setting sun), and
several other official pavilions and sunshades will be set up in
proximity to it. All else is first come, first served.
Dorothea of Caer-Myrddin Dorothy J. Heydt
Mists/Mists/West Albany, California
PRO DEO ET REGE djheydt at kithrup.com
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: djheydt at kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt)
Subject: Re: Trimaran Crown List Cancelled
Organization: Kithrup Enterprises, Ltd.
Date: Fri, 3 Sep 2004 03:12:01 GMT
Tim McDaniel <tmcd at panix.com> wrote:
>I remember when Ealdormere's principality tourney had to be scheduled
>or re-scheduled at the last minute. They sent a postcard to every
>subscriber of _The Pale_: the back had the date, place, occasion, and
>a few other details, whatever could fit in the top half of a postcard.
>The bottom half had something like "This is an extraordinary edition
>of The Pale ..." followed by all the usual boilerplate (subscriptions
>are available via, copyright, all that). It was the smallest SCA
>newsletter I've ever seen.
Indeed. That is even smaller than the extraordinary issue of the
Page which my lord and I had to send out when we were editing it
(back in the days of a hand-cranked mimeograph dating from about
1982 CE) to notify everyone that at a recent event, widely
attended, there had been a lady present who was subsequently
diagnosed with German measles. I think that one came to two
pages. Positively large compared to the one you describe.
Dorothea of Caer-Myrddin Dorothy J. Heydt
Mists/Mists/West Albany, California
PRO DEO ET REGE djheydt at kithrup.com
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 13:49:26 -0800
From: lilinah at earthlink.net
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Feasts Per Year
To: sca-cooks at ansteorr.org
Samrah wrote:
> How about a sound-off by kingdom as to how many feasts per year (kingdom,
> baronial, shire, whatever), how man served & price per plate?
Here's what i know of. Comments are based in part on personal
experience, memories from previous event copy, and info from the West
Kingdom Calendar
http://www.westkingdom.org/calendar/Calendar0405.html
Note i've been in the SA 5-1/2 years and from spring of 1999 to the
fall of 2000 i had no car and only attended limited events, and in
2004 i had a lot of car trouble and only attended limited events. So
I have attended a limited number of non-Kingdom, non-Principality of
the Msts, non-Province of the Mists events.
ATTENDANCE - varies. Small ones are for 30-50, large ones (by our
standards) for 70-100.
COST - varies. Good ones cost attendees about $15 (which includes
site fee) and the cooks get to spend about $7/head; some ar $7 (i
don't know what the cooks get to spend of this).
NUMBER - looks like there's an average of three feasts per month
within the kingdom.
WEST KINGDOM - No Feasts, None (although sometimes there's a period
pot-luck lunch at the Collegia (when we have them)
PRINCIPALITY OF THE MISTS (NoCal Coastal region) - Three feasts -
sometimes four
-- MAY - Spring Investiture (60-80)
-- SEPT - Bardic Competition and Feast (60-100)
-- NOV - Fall Investiture (60 - it usually rains and it's dark so
many folks leave before the meal)
One Fall Investiture autocrat had us twice cook for an estimated 100
attendees, but there has never been that many in the 5 years of them
i've attended.
-- COLLEGIUM - when there is one (when the is no Kingdom collegium in
the Principaliy) there IS a feast for 60-100
PRINCIPALITY OF CYNAGUA (NoCal Central Valley, Sierra Mountains, plus
a bit of NoNevada)
None i know of - doesn't mean there are none
(their Winter and Summer Investitures are camping events)
I will be cooking a private Cynguan feast for about a dozen
PRINCIPALITY OF OERTHA (Alaska)
two investitures... i'm not sure about others
LOWER LEVELS
There are MANY feasts on the Shire, Province, Barony, and Canton
level. Most of the ones that serve food set a 50 attendee limit, butsome like the Province of the Mists Boar Hunt can serve between
70-100 (which i've assisted once, head cooked twice and attended
twice).
The Principality of the Mists contains three baronies (one of which
has four cantons), seven shires, two provinces, ad two colleges.
The Principality of Cynagua contains two baronies, fourteen shires,
two provinces, and one college.
The Principality of Oertha contains three baronies, one canton, and
one college listed on the West Kingdom website, but it looks like
thee may be more subdivisions.
The Marches are within the Kingdom, but not within any Principality.</