Thank You Note for Claire Boudreau

Thank you letter I wrote on behalf of Magistra Nicolaa, for Claire Boudreau, Chief Herald of Canada, for acting as key note speaker at the 2015 Knowne World Heraldic and Scribal Symposium held in the Royal Citie of Eoforwic, Ealdormere.

Oyez! From Magistra Nicolaa de Bracton, Rouge Estoile Herald Extraordinary, on behalf of the heralds, pursuivants, and macers of the Known World of the Society of Creative Anachronism, to Claire Boudreau, Chief Herald of the Dominion of Canada, in service to Her Majesty Elizabeth, Queen of Canada, greetings.

Likewise, from the scribes and scriveners of the aforesaid Society, also greetings.

As the sharing of knowledge is a just and good thing, and as you have this day shared your knowledge of the arts heraldic with any person of this realm, and any person of whatever state, condition or degree, that could attend this symposium, and as you did so honourably and truly as your will and reason served you, and greatly was this sharing of knowledge to the advantage of all our sovereign lords and their realms, and all their heralds, pursuivants, macers, scribes and scriveners collected before you, we give great thanks, honour and blessings to you, the aforesaid Claire Boudreau, and commend, applaud and acclaim you and your efforts.

Another new poem added!

I am now 20% done my challenge to write 50 poems during AS 50!

Ten Shall Remain

Another poem...

...about the Royal Tournament held at Ardchreag this past Monday.

Ardchreag Einvigi II

Yet another poem

Ode to my Leg (Lost at Pikeman’s in AS 50)

New poem!

Ardchreag Einvigi

New poem!

For the Honourable Lord Albrecht Stampher upon being Named a Vigilant of the Order of the Laurel

White Bear Fian Tournament Proclamation, Pikeman’s Pleasure 2014

In honour of our Baron and Baroness, and of Their most glorious liege lords Nigel and Adrielle, and of Nigel and Adrielle’s heirs Siegfried and Ragni, do I, Colyne Stewart, squire, counselor and chancellor, make known to all princes, barons, knights and esquires, without reproach, that for the augmentation and extension of the most noble profession and exercise of arms, the White Bear Fian, of which I am a member, has made it their will and intention to guard and defend a pass d’armes, situated on the great road bisecting our kingdom, on a field in the Canton of Petrea Thule, at the event known as Pikeman’s Pleasure, in the form and manner following.

In the first place, our order will hear and answer a challenge for entry into our said order, by the most worthy Honourable Lord Hans Thorvaldsson. As is the ancient custom, the aforesaid Hans will place his body on the anvil of virtue and will face in battle one member of the White Bear Fian in single combat, with weapon style chosen in consultation between them both, and the aforesaid Hans must then defeat in combat his combatant, who shall be His Excellency Percival de Laroque, in two out of three passes. If victorious, Hans shall be welcomed into the Fian, and will stand with our august company for the remainder of the pas d’armes. If, however, his arm should fail him that day, he will not stand with the order but his challenge shall remain open and he may fight for the honour of entering said order again at a future time. For true failure is only faced by those who discontinue their attempts.

Proclamation for a Deed of Arms at Murder Melee 2015

In the name of Lady Ealdormere and of the blessed northern saints of the arts martial who are held in great esteem across the knowne world, I, His Excellency Shahid al-Hasan, Baron of the great Barony of Skraeling Althing, have, from the date of this present letter set my mind to thoughts of the camaraderie of arms and of a deed to be preformed in the Barony of Ben Dunfirth at the Murder Melee in the Meadow.

At said melee will I place by the contested field my shield, that all may know my presence there, and this spot of ground I will defend from all who may chose to contest me over it for the love of combat. All men and women of good cote are invited to approach me and make upon me a request for combat, with the weapons to be used and the form of the combat to follow to be agreed upon by us both.

I shall hold this piece of ground from the hour of noon until honour has been satisfied and strength has fled my sword-arm.

To add greater faith and security to this letter, I Shahid al-Hasan have sealed it with the seal of my arms, written and dated from Skraeling Althing, Thursday the 3rd day of June in the year 50. 

Fifty Poems for AS 50 Challenge

Hereby do I, Colyne Stewart, as I wish to better myself in all ways, challenge myself to write a number of poems to number no less than fifty in number to mark and celebrate and honour the fiftieth year of our Society. This I pledge on this feast day of Clotilde.

[Update: For those who wish to watch my progress, check out my Challenge page.]

Writing a poem

Reading a poem is serious business.
Septentrian Baronial Investiture 2015.
Photo by Master Eirik Andersen.

I have been asked by a few people what my process is when I am writing a poem. Obviously, the first thing I need is a topic. Some of my favourite poems have been praise poems, and there are always people out there who deserve our praise. Has someone been elevated to an order? Did they make an impact on your day in a positive way? Did they engage in some great act of service? Do they amaze you with their artistic skill?

Once I have a topic (usually a person) I then carry out some research on them. I try to find out what their persona is (time and place), as well as what their interests are and specific bits of personal lore that I may be able to draw on (for instance, favourite colours, animals, activities, and so on).

Having determined the topic's time and place in history I then do some more research on the poetic traditions of that time and place. If the person I am going to write about has a 10th century Irish persona, then I will try to write the poem about them in a 10th century Irish style. This can actually take longer than writing the actual poem, as there are numerous poetic genres, forms and devices for every time and place. I began to keep a catalogue of this information (which I displayed at the Spring A&S Faire) so I would always have it easily accessible. I would urge other poets to do the same if they are thinking of writing in various styles.

New book of poetry available

My latest book of poetry, Lion-King of Ealdormere, is now available on Amazon.

Two New Books Available

I've got two new books available, one on the history of Ealdormere, and one on the history of Septentria. Both are available in print or on Kindle.

Florilegium historiarum Septentriae (book)

Florilegium historiarum Septentriae (kindle)

The Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA) is a world-wide living history club with members numbering in the tens of thousands. Within the SCA there are several “kingdoms” and within these kingdoms are local groups known as baronies. One of these baronies, made up of central Ontario, Canada, is known as Septentria. Septentria was the first barony to be formed in Ontario. The people of this barony, who pride themselves as being from “the heart of Ealdormere”, have a long and proud history. The Honourable Laird Colyne Stewart (otherwise known as author Todd H. C. Fischer) has, over the past decade and a half, written several histories of this barony, its peoples and their deeds. From the founding baroness, Gillian d’Uriel, up to the investiture of Dafydd and Mahhild, Colyne has collected many tales of Septentria’s past, presenting them in the form of period chronicles.

The Wolf, the Wilds, and the Will (book)

The Wolf, the Wilds, and the Will (kindle)

The Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA) is a world-wide living history club with members numbering in the tens of thousands. Within the SCA there are several “kingdoms”. One of these kingdoms, made up of most of Ontario, Canada, is known as Ealdormere. The people of this kingdom, who pride themselves as being from “the northlands”, have a long and proud history. This year, the SCA turns fifty years old, and as part of the celebrations, each kingdom was asked to write a history of its lands. In Ealdormere, this task fell to the Honourable Laird Colyne Stewart (otherwise known as author Todd H. C. Fischer). Through study of earlier histories, newsletters and discussions with founding members, Colyne has compiled this chronicle featuring many acts of dedication, service, prowess, valour, and honour.

New Charter Wording Posted

I have just posted the wording I did for the Charter of the Proposed Alchemical Guild of Ealdormere.

New Recipe

I have just added a new recipe for Roman "Meatloaf" to my Articles page.

New article posted

My short article on Writing a Shakespearean Sonnet has been added to the Athenaeum Hectoris.

New article

I just posted a new article about storytelling in the SCA on the Athenaeum Hectoris site.

On Writing a Virelai

New article on writing a virelai added to the Athenaeum Hectoris.

Writing a Triolet

New article on this French poetic form added to the Athenaeum Hectoris.

New Poems

Over the past half year I've added quite a few new poems to the bardic page, including:

For Asa Gormsdottir upon being elevated to the Order of the Laurel

For Dafydd and Mahild, Upon the Occasion of Their Wedding

For Eirik Andersen upon being elevated to the Order of the Pelican

For Gann upon his Elevation to the Order of Chivalry

For HE Catherine Townson upon being named a Vigilant of the Order of the Laurel

For Her Excellency Christiana MacNamara upon being named a Vigilant for the Order of the Pelican

For His Excellency Tiberius of Warwickshire upon being named a Vigilant of the Order of Chivalry

For Siegfried Brandbeorn upon being named a vigilant of the Order of the Pelican

For Varakii Varenko Vlkovitch upon being Elevated to the Order of Chivalry

For Ysemay Sterlyng, on Becoming a Vigilant of the Order of the Laurel

The Kidnapping of Badrielle

Lion-Wolf of Ealdormere

New Heirs

Now Goes Pelayo unto the Lists

On Generosity

Le Roman d’Arrochar

Singing in the Quire

Two-Headed Rose

Þorfinnasaga