Slight update to Achievement of Arms

I've made a small change to my Achievement of Arms, replacing the kingdom crest with a personalized one.

The heraldic beast now resting on the helm is a bonnacon, a kind of bull known for shooting excrement on its enemies. This is a reference to certain, shall we say, stomach issues that I am known for. I've also replaced the kingdom populace banner with a banner for House Arrochar.

Achievement of Arms

Today I finally sat down, cracked open the Ealdormere Scribal Handbook and designed my full Achievement of Arms.

As I have a Grant level award,I was entitled to use the kingdom crest, and was allowed to have two supporters. I chose wolves to represent that I come from Ealdormere (the lupine kingdom).

Hanging from the wolves' necks are the badges for the Order of the Wain (service award) and the Award of the Scarlet Banner (fighting award).

I used my new motto that HRM Adrielle gave me when she recently took me on as an apprentice. Roughly it means "words are fleeting, but writing remains". This represents that a lot of my arts and sciences endeavours are related to the written word: chronicling, histories, event reports and writing award scrolls.

Resource Page for Scroll Wordings

At the bequest of Her Excellency Mahault of Swynford, I am going to be putting together a resource page for wordsmiths to aid them in crafting the wordings for award scrolls. I plan on making this a collaborative effort, and I encourage other wordsmiths to send me their favourite online and hard copy resources, as well as samples of scrolls they have written.

Watch for a link to the new site soon.

Colyne Stewart's Event Reports

Between 2002 and 2007 I wrote around 80 event reports to ensure that the happenings of the days not be forgotten. Copies of most of these reports (originally published in various SCA journals) are now on this blog and can be viewed by clicking on the appropriate tags. I hope you enjoy them!

A Short Treatise on the Giving and Receiving of Tokens

Colyne Stewart, Sep AS XXXVII (2002).

I have now been in the SCA for nineteen months. In that time I have been the recipient of a dozen tokens and have given two. Some people may not realize the power that giving tokens has, especially if they are new to the Society. When I first started I soon noticed the rings and other items that many people carried about their neck or hung from their belts. Curious, I did some research and found an article on ring giving by Master Hector of the Black Height. In it, Hector expounds on what he perceives Ealdormerean culture to be, and a great part of that culture is ring giving.

The giving of rings was a very important custom to certain cultures in the past, cultures that some of us now play. Saxon, Norse, Germanic. The giving of a ring was a bond between the giver and the receiver, the circular band representing an unbreakable bond. This practice is still with us in the mundane world, just go to a wedding ceremony.

This ring giving is wide spread within Ealdormere. If someone does something that pleases and/or impresses you, you give him or her a token (usually a ring). The giving of this token shows the recipient that their acts have been noticed, that they have been appreciated. It makes them feel like they belong.

I received my first token from Baroness Gaerwen, which was given to Thorfinna and I to thank us for the gift of a set of playing cards and an “I am SCAnadian” t-shirt we had given to her and Cynred. This token I have worn on a necklace to almost every event I have been to since.

Tokens are important. I was brand new when I was given this ring. It made me feel like I belonged. Later tokens were given to me for the friendship I had shown others, or for my bardic offerings. Those tokens I received for my poems and stories encouraged me to continue telling and writing them. They made me feel that my work had merit.

That’s the receiving, but what about the giving? After reading Hector’s essay I thought, yeah, easy for you to say. Give away tokens. Who am I to give anyone a token? He’s Master Master Baron Serjent Hector. I’m nobody. You see, I had missed the point. The very point of Ealdormerean ring giving is that anyone can do it, that everyone should do it. It does not have to be done in public, though publicly stating your appreciation of someone’s self or work gives the giving more power.

Finally I came to realize this. I could make people feel the way others had made me feel. I could make people feel appreciated, that they belonged, that they mattered.

And so at Ealdormere War Practice I gave my first token: to Lady Ivanna the Oblivious, for her bardic talents, done at the bardic circle on Sunday night. As is common for some tokens, I asked her to hold it for a year and a day, and then to pass it on to someone who inspires her. In this way our tokens gain a history as they travel from person to person (and in some cases, from Kingdom to Kingdom). At War I gave another. This time to Alaani, a member of Septentria’s allied mercenary Household, Mjolnir, who watered me during battles. I walked from my camp to hers (each being as far apart from each other as possible) to find her not in camp. I waited but she did not return. Finally, I left the token with one of her house brothers. The next night, in the pouring rain, she walked all the way down the hill to thank me. I just saw her at an event last weekend and noticed she was wearing the ring.

The giving of these tokens made me happy, because they made the recipients happy. And they will only be the beginning. I have begun to acquire a collection of gifts that I plan to carry with me to give to those I deem worthy.

Who am I to decide who is worthy of a token?

I am an Ealdormerean. It’s what we do.

Permission is given to print this article in any SCA publication as long as the author is contacted by email in advance, proper credit is given and the author receives a copy of the newsletter. Please credit the author as Colyne Stewart (mka Todd Fischer), who can be reached at todd@todd-fischer.com

The Role of the Ursine Bard

Colyne Stewart, Sep AS XXXVII (2002)

My time as Bard of Septentria, in conjunction with my Lady Thorfinna, is swiftly coming to a close. In January or February it will be time for another to fill this role, and this short work is meant as words of encouragement for whomever that may be, and whomever comes after.

Thorfinna and I had been in the SCA just less than a year when Cynred and Gaerwen, Thegn and Baroness of Septentria, called us into court and asked us to be Their bards. This still astounds me. It is true that we were both members of the Bardic College of Ealdormere, and we had both written a few pieces, but we were, I thought, bardicly unknown. Neither of us had performed, and truth be told I had no intention of doing so. I don’t know who put forward our names to be the Baronial Bards but they have done us a great service.

We could not, of course, turn down such honour, and later that month Master Hector of the Black Height, our predecessor, took us aside, gave us the ring of office, and told us of our duties. Among the things he told us was that it was our responsibility to open and close singing/story-telling at feasts and bardic circles within the borders of our Barony (unless the event was at the Kingdom level). He told us it was up to us to keep legends alive, to keep Septentria vibrant and strong through story, song and poem. His passion for the position was easily discerned, and when he was done we felt even more daunted by the task set before us. Now, this was not bad intimidation, it was good intimidation. The office obviously meant a lot to Master Hector, and hence, it meant a lot to us. We both take our responsibilities seriously.

However, as fairly introverted individuals for a time we dreaded attending Septentrian events. Neither of us wanted to get up and perform. But we did. We were honour bound to Cynred and Gaerwen, to the people of Septentria to fulfill our duties. So we sang at Snowed Inn (me very poorly). At Bad in Plaid I told my first story (‘The Tale of the Badger Broccan,’ which broke the Thegn and earned me my second ever token). As each event came we became more comfortable and now I am rarely nervous when I perform. (Outwardly anyway. My hands still shake, but I don’t dread the act anymore. In fact, I like it now.) Being made Ursine Bard forced me to participate, instead of just observing. It has been one of the greatest gifts I have been given.

Besides the performing at feasts and fires I wrote poems and tales of Septentrians (and others) who were doing great things. I wrote for Kings, Queens, Duchesses, Lords, Ladies and those who had no titles. (These I usually sent directly to those I wrote of.) I wrote of our great Households and our strong army. I wrote of events I had been to, and gave these to newsletters and posted them to elists, as part of a bard’s duties are to tell the people of world events.

All these things are important, my successor (whomever you may be). Do them all. You are part of a long, proud lineage of filigh, scops, skalds and bards. You are the Voice of the Bear, the voice of all the people of Septentria. When you open your mouth, the Bear roars.

Write. Tell. Story, poem, song, article; it matters not the form. What matters is the telling.

I do not know who you may be, but if you have been chosen you are worthy. You are Septentrian. Feel the pride of Septentria. Feel pride in yourself.

You are the Voice of the Bear.

You are Septentrian.

Permission is given to print this article in any SCA publication as long as the author is contacted by email in advance, proper credit is given and the author receives a copy of the newsletter. Please credit the author as Colyne Stewart (mka Todd Fischer), who can be reached at todd@todd-fischer.com

Quick and Dirty Banners

Laird Colyne Stewart, Jan AS 37 (2003)

Here’s a down and dirty, step-by-step method to making attractive painted banners for display in the SCA. As I was going to be selling copies of The Ursus at a table at Berus’ Bar and Bar Room Brawl, I wanted a banner that would catch everybody’s eye. So I sat down one night and just made one.

Materials

• fabric
• coloured thread (same as fabric)
• thermoplast or heavy card stock
• exacto knife
• paint
• brushes
• yardstick

Method

First I cut a piece of fabric that was about 64” wide by 48” long. As I looked at it I realized that my material was a tad thinner than I wanted, and the piece was two big. To fix this I simply folded the piece in half and cut it so I now had two 32” wide by 24” long pieces. I then took these pieces and sewed three edges together so it resembled an inside out pillowcase. The open edge was to be the top of the banner. This type of banner might have hung oddly as the back and front were two separate pieces only joined on the edge, so I sewed three straight lines across it to hold the material in place. These stitches are invisible except for close scrutiny and will help the banner hold its shape. (If I had used a single piece of thicker material I would not have had to do any of this.) Setting this aside I went on to my hanging loops.

For the loops I cut four pieces of 2” wide by 10” long material and did a double hem on all four edges of each piece. My Lady has since suggested that I could have cut eight pieces and sewn two together to form four double-thick loops. They would have been sewn as the main banner, turned right-side out and had their open edges hemmed.

Whichever way you do it, take your main banner and pin a wide double hem on the open side. Then take two of your loops and pin them to either edge of this hem. Measure out about 5” from each one and pin the other two loops. Then stitch along the bottom and the top of the hem to ensure durability.

From the thermoplast a friend of mine had cut a stencil of the Septentrian bear with an exacto knife. I placed the stencil on the banner and painted it red. I then removed the stencil, let the paint dry and I had a completed banner.

Options

The type of banner I made was technically called a gonfalon because of the way it hangs. If I wanted a banner that would be flown like a flag or standard I would have done exactly the same with a few variations. Firstly, I would have painted the two sides first, before sewing the two pieces of the main banner together. Second, The loops would be replaced by ties and be placed down the side of the banner (possibly with some along the top as well).

Stitching across a double-sided banner runs the risk of thread crossing paint of a different colour. I would suggest just trying to use thread that is light coloured and these stitches should be almost invisible except for close inspection.

Sources:

Armorial Display: Banners, Standards, and Heaters, oh my!, The Honorable Lord Eldred Ælfwald, Gordian Knot Herald, http://dragon_azure.tripod.com/UoA/ArmorialDisplay.html

Armorial Display: Suggestions for SCA Usage, Master Hirsch von Henford, OL, OP, http://www.goldenstag.net/MiscSCA/ArmorialDisplay.pdf

Making Heraldic Banners, Baron Modar Neznanich,

http://www2.kumc.edu/itc/staff/rknight/Banners.htm

Kingdom of Meridies Guidelines for Construction of Banners, Flags and Standards, Master Johannes the Black of Athanor,

http://www.meridies.org/as/dmir/Heraldry/1306.html

Usage and Specification of Medieval Flags, Lord Richard of Woodenbridge,

http://members.aol.com/acreherald/herflags.html

Permission is given to print this article in any SCA publication as long as the author is contacted by email in advance, proper credit is given and the author receives a copy of the newsletter. Please credit the author as Colyne Stewart (mka Todd Fischer), who can be reached at todd@todd-fischer.com