Mi Contra Fa

Star-Spangled Banner

I need to check and see if Tatsume is going to be Arts Champing it for Chalice, although I am thinking of doing this anyway.  A compass rose/star is my primary charge, see...

If you go scroll through the Bayeux Tapestry online, you'll see the little banners.  Those rectancles with the dangly bits seem to be a common form - they're in the Utrect Psalter, and I've seen them around other places (citation needed).  If you look long enough, you'll find a few in the Bayeux that show charges.  Usually crosses, but there's a circle and a T-shape in there (plus the 'raven banner' and the weird dragon/salamander looking banner). 

Based on the sun/star/comet representations I found in the last post, and trying to somewhat echo my primary charge (with long rays N-S-E-W and shorter ones on the diagonals), I've come up with:

It might be a smidge too long?  But it's in the ballpark. I'm thinking the black lines are silk embroidery, and the whitespace (including a border outside the rectangle) is couched gold.  The Bayeux banners are small, maybe 6-8" in the long dimension here?  About the length of a spearhead, or the width of a man's hand, if the illustrations can be trusted at all.

I could begin immediately with the random synthetic gold thread I have (it is foil wrapped around a fiber core) and the red two-ply silk I have left from the fillet.  I'm not sure I have enough of the gold?  But I might know after finishing the suns. 

OR I could order silk singles and smooth passing threads (in a smaller diameter, too - this article shows the widths of the foil were regularly under 0.5mm in the 11th cen and later, and so far I don't have a reason to think 9th cen would be much different).

The thrifty in me wants to use the materials already in my stash.  The competitive perfectionist wants to go get better materials.

Chalice: Technical difficulty

My lofty goal of learning my Beowulf by listening to it on a recording may be in jeopardy after I put the device that contains the reading through the laundry.

#oops

If it's not working in the morning, I'll try the 'put it in rice' trick.  And if that doesn't work, I will hang my head in shame and go find out how much I owe the library to replace it.

Documentation

I usually think in terms of Intro, Background, Method, Results, Conclusions.  And that's good, but I wonder if there's a more useful way to break it down for Scadians?

Who, What, When, Where
At the highest level, tell the reader what this thing is, who made it, and when and where they were from.

A [culture or class] [gizmo] from [date] [place].

A templar's tabard from 12th century Jerusalem.
An Anglo-Saxon poem from 10th century England.

Explain What Makes It the Thing It Is
What are the characteristics of the [gizmo]?  How would I know a good [gizmo] from a bad [gizmo]?  In period, how were [gizmos] made, and from what materials?  Using what methods?  Do they have particular distinctive features?

A [gizmo] is made from [some stuff] that's put together [following some rules].  [Gizmos] frequently looked like [this] and almost never looked like [that].  The most common [gizmos] [were one way], and the most luxurious [gizmos] [were another way].

Remember that chances are excellent that whomever is judging your entry may have no knowledge of your field.  At all.  So here is where you educate them on what they ought to be looking for in your piece.  Note that, just like a fighter has to call good blows, it is honorable to describe a correctly made [gizmo] as fully as you can, so that the most fair evaluation can be made.

Explain How You Made the Thing and Why You Did It That Way
You made your [gizmo] out of [some materials].  Why did you pick those materials?  

You put [the materials] together using [some process] and possibly [some tools].  Why did you pick [that process] and [those tools]?

Be honest.  Maybe the materials are period but you used power tools; maybe the materials are modern but you used a period process.  Probably it's a mix of both.

Performing artists, your materials are your words, music, intonation, props, costumes, gestures and movements.  Your process is your performance development.

Tell What You LearnedExplicitly compare and contrast [your gizmo] to what we know about period [gizmos].  Be honest about where you kicked butt and where your butt was kicked.  Give any ideas about how you'd do it over again.  Say what you learned, if anything, by doing the project.

Tell Why We Should Believe You
Give your sources or references.

Chalice of the Sun God 2014

Soooo I totally forgot that the barony typically tries to send its champions to Chalice of the Sun God. 

The theme for the performing arts challenge is "Mnemosyne."  First round is the documented period work, second round is SCA-appropriate.

Since Mnemosyne is a patron of oral poets, I'm going to go with that theme by memorizing a chunk of Beowulf and performing it with lyre.  I've got a book-on-tape of Seamus Healey reading his translation of Beowulf, and I'm going to try to use that near-exclusively to learn from, to go for the oral tradition aspect a bit harder.  I have consulted the text when a combination of the recording/playback quality and Healey's Irish accent rendered a word "muhmuhmuh" to me.  I've learned that this still doesn't really get me away from textuality - I find myself visualizing the words both as a movie in my mind - good for keeping track of events, to cue up the relevant snip of poetry - but also as text.  C'est la vie, I'm a literate person.  I've picked a piece that runs from Beowulf learning of Hrothgar's misfortune to the Danish coast guard escorting them inland.  It's not a daring action piece, but it has some gorgeous descriptions of ships, the sea, the land; one of the most famous kennings ("unlocked his word-hoard"); and the coast guard, who's the sort of cool minor character I seem to latch on to in whatever narrative medium I'm navigating. ("Anybody with gumption and a sharp mind will pay heed to two things: what's said and what's done."  Good advice!  I do like the original OE there, though: "words and works.")

According to Professor Wikipedia, Mnemosyne was also said by some to be a river in the underworld, flowing alongside the Lethe.  Most people drank from the Lethe, forgetting their former lives.  (Wikipedia says this was to prepare the soul for reincarnation - the Greeks believed in reincarnation?  That doesn't sound right...) But initiates (of a mystery cult? which one?) were told to drink from Mnemosyne, so that (I assume) they would recall the wisdom they had learned in life, and get a leg up the next time around.

So for the second piece, I'm thinking of a real tear-jerker.  The singer has drunk of Mnemosyne, while the singer's beloved has drunk of the Lethe.  Metaphor for living with a partner (or even parent) with dementia or Alzheimer's.

I've also volunteered to embroider a comet, if we need an A&S entry.  (Static A&S has Astreus as the theme.)  I'd love to do something with period astrology, but I don't think I have the time to get my arms around that, and learn how to take/interpret the star locations.  If I can even see all the right stars/planets, given the light pollution around here.  (This website has some great links about Anglo-Saxons and their conceptions of the heavens and interest in star-based divination.)

AAAAA you know, I've noticed that there are no fewer than three "golden standards" mentioned in Beowulf.  Cloth of gold, or gold embroidered cloth?  I don't know of any evidence for cloth of gold in the far north, whereas the English were well-known for embellishing fabric with gold threads.  I could do a standard embroidered with golden stars...

You know, a star-spangled banner. 

(It's the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Baltimore, see.)

Edit:

St. Cuthbert embroideries
More on Cuthbert embroideries
Needlework: An Illustrated History at B&N
Embroideries at Durham Cathedral: Amazon
The same, Amazon.uk  (I should ask Janina if she has this book already.)
Tablet-woven bands edging the embroideries: on Amazon, from the publisher (seriously, it's from 1939 and you're still charging $30 for it?)
A star on the Franks casket
The most adorable sun in the Harley psalter
Haley's comet (as a reminder - get out the hi res Bayeux at home)

I'm seeing a small banner (like the ones on the Bayeux tapestry; I surveyed them all years ago, wonder if I still have that sketch?) covered in gold surface couching, with stars picked out in silk and then filled with more gold, couched in a different pattern for contrast (like inside the halos on the Cuthbert stuff.)  I wonder if I could get a small piece of bridal satin-weight silk?

Also: Random lyre illumination for the collection; Carolingian MS.

Silk singles for sale from Hedgehog Handworks
Au Ver a Soie – Soie 100/3 - silk thread good for couchingSCA class handout on silk

Order of the Owl cloak

Some years ago, the idea was briefly floated that Storvik's Order of the Owl (and possibly the other Orders? Are they Orders? Is that word reserved for polling orders? Anyway...) should have an identifying piece of garb.  Cloaks were suggested, since they're worn pretty universally.  Specify a color, cut a cloak suitable for your persona, maybe toss an owl on it, and we're good to go.  I liked the idea, so I made a triangular poncho-cloaky thing out of navy fulled wool.  At some point, I ran across novelty owl necklaces at Target, and sewed the pendants from two onto the shoulders.  "Inspired by" the Sutton Hoo shoulder clasps (which were probably on armor but hey look, owls!)

And so it's been left for several years.  Unpacking from Battle on the Bay, I noticed that the edges of the trusty cloak were fraying.  "Self," I said, "it is time to slap a hem stitch around this thing."

So I did, in white wool yarn.  

• It's really an SCA vanity thing, isn't it?  It's not like we usually hem our normal clothes in high contrast.  But LOOK I DID HAND STITCHING.
• I continue to be surprised at how much I enjoy hand stitching.  This had the right combination of making progress, being useful, and being simple.  
• I am so glad I did this before I tried to use these yarns for weaving.  They are totally unsuitable (for warp thread, anyway).

I had so much fun, and since the hem stitches reminded me of little runes, I thought that maybe I could embroider something in runes down the front or along the hem.  Would this be egregious ahistorical, and did I care?

To my surprise, there's a hand-wave available!  Twelfth and thirteenth century leather shoes, embroidered (in Old Norse and in Latin) using a runic alphabet, were found in Berggen, Norway.  As the article itself points out, this is hardly evidence for runes being slapped on any and all garments. But they were certainly slapped on a variety of other objects.  And for something that's for my personal use, and not a competition or anything, I think that's close enough.

Now to pick one or more mottos...

"Question me with wise words. Do not let your spirit be hidden, what you know remain the deepest secret. I do not wish to tell my secret to you if you hide your spirit-strength and your heart-thoughts from me. Wise men should exchange sayings."  from Maxims I, trans. Michael Drout.

"Wise words are fitting for everybody. To the singer the song and to the man wisdom. As many as there are men on earth, so are there thoughts, each has his special ones. The man longs less who knows many songs, or knows how to play the harp with hands, has a gift for music which God gave to him." -- more from Maxims I.  Maybe just that last sentence?

"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
    but whoever hates correction is stupid." -- Proverbs 12:1

"Gracious words are a honeycomb,
    sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." -- Proverbs 16:24

"To answer before listening—
    that is folly and shame." Proverbs 18:13

"The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge,
    for the ears of the wise seek it out." Proverbs 18:15

"The words of a talebearer are as dainty morsels,
    and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly."  Proverbs 18:8 - I thought this one was great, but alternate translations seem to slant "talebearer" as "gossip," which puts an entirely different spin on this.

"One is a poet gifted with songs. One is ready of speech... One may play the harp with his hands; he has cleverness upon the glee- board... There is not now any man on earth that is so crafty-minded, nor is there anyone so strengthened, that all these things become accomplished alone by him."  - from The Gifts of Men, trans. Michael Drout

"One shall amuse men in the hall, cheer them at beer, the bench-sitters will be drinkers — there will be great joy. One shall sit at his lord’s feet with the harp, he will always receive his fee, and always keenly wrest the strings, let the nail pick the strings to ring sweetly, their voices leap forth with great desire." -- from The Fortunes of Men, trans. Michael Drout.

I really do like the Gifts and Fortunes; they're good reminders that everyone is on their own paths, and one person doesn't have to try to do it all (ahem).

"And so I can sing and tell a tale, 
declare to the company in the mead-hall 
how noble rulers rewarded me with gifts...

her fame extended through many lands 
when I used my song to spread the word
of where under the heavens I knew a queen, 
adorned with gold, most generous of all. 

he who wins fame 
has lasting glory under the heavens."  -- from Widsith, unknown translation

 

Period Robot!

New Scientist makes a 1st century automata.

Unlike so many of those, it doesn't involve water or steam... I gotta try making one of these.

 

Early Northern European Working Group

So I had this idea today.  I know there are other people in this area with a scholarly bent and an interest in the north-of-the-Alps, west-of-the-Rhine region (plus the islands) from the 4th through the 11th century.  I assume that at least some of them are just as eager to geek out with like-minded people as I am.  So why don't we do that?

I'm envisioning something like a book club.  At the end of the meeting the month before, the next person in rotation gets to pick the topic for next month.  And it's wide open.  You could:

• Teach a class, hands-on or academic
• Request someone else teach a class on a topic you want to learn about
• Call a symposium of sorts on a topic - everyone with interest/resources hauled them in next month, and just generally compare notes and answer questions.
• Read period literature and discuss it
• Workshop - like the symposium, but more hands-on.  Group-led rather than teacher-led.

Now maybe that results in some shuffling - it's my turn and I want Lady A to tell us all about insular calligraphy, but Lady A demurs that she hasn't the time to prepare that for next month, would the month after be all right?  But no big deal, the person after me in rotation then picks what we do next month, and then Lady A does her calligraphy thing the month after.

I think I would request regular attendance.  Obviously, mundane or family concerns trump this sort of thing, but folks shouldn't skip out because Lord B wants to talk about knives and spears and that's not their thing.  Lord B has enthusaistically participated in all the garb and jewelry and literature sessions, so now he deserves our attention and participation in his passion. 

Which isn't to say that there couldn't be invited speakers - people who are local experts in [something] but who don't want to commit to a 'working group.' 

This just sounds like a ton of fun to me.

Battle on the Bay 2014

Camping

I packed my garb in a wooden box, hoping this little dollop of authenticity would enrich my campsite.  Turns out, when the nylon tent goes up at 6pm and comes down by 9:30am, a wooden box does not really make much atmospheric impact.

On the other hand, the folding wagon was excellent.  I used it to schlep my camp gear to the car, and then kept my on-site gear in it. Mostly it stayed parked under the Storvik sail-hall, but I dragged it around a bit earlier in the day.  (I kept a wool blanket over it to hide the ugly, at least a bit.)

Boasting

Friday night boasting was fun.  Master Igor brought a tall tale in verse; Mar Yaakov issued his storytelling challenge in fine form.  Some of the populace chimed in here and there. 

Bardic

Friday night bardic was awesome!  I got to sing two of my new pieces.  Linnea of Angelsey told a fabulous translation (her own) of the story of Macha and the Ulster curse.  A brewer (whose name I missed) with much-acclaimed meads gave us mouth harp and Scandanavian folk songs.  Wynne performed lively songs with his guitar.

Woe!

I busted my voice.  Again.  I did not perform my six new songs for Storvik, nor did I tell a story the next day.  However, this was the smart thing to have done.  I haven't lost my voice entirely this time, and today I think I'm close to being pretty good again.  But it makes me wonder if I didn't fully recover from the last bout of laryngitis?

Harp and Tea

I played improv for the baroness's tea.  I enjoyed myself (and snagged an excellent macaroon at the end), and they enjoyed the music.  I remembered to keep my mouth shut, as I was not there as a guest but as an entertainer.

Poetry Contest

Three entries into the Poeta's competition!  Baroness Janina helped me score them. (Mistress Fevronia recused herself, as her husband's poem was entered.)  Our scores pretty well agreed down the line, which seemed a good sign.  I tried to write helpful but not soul-crushing comments.

Storytelling Contest

Stupid voice.  I did not tell the tale of Guthrun or Thor's Wedding, again.  However, I did have the pleasure of listening to five fine raconteurs speak a dizzying variety of tales: Esau and Jacob, recast in Nordic terms (Yaakov); bit of a shaggy dogger that also told a good lesson about greed and satisfaction (Igor); a Scots youth versus the devil (versus the Norse) (Ruadhri); three Irish tales (Linnea); and a fable about a tailor (the lord with the Swedish persona whose name is escaping me).  The royal bard, Lady Scholastia, selected Linnea as the winner, although the competition was close indeed.

The cold that had sacked my voice had be very worn out (and also I had slept poorly), so I packed it in before court.  All told, an excellent time in excellent company.

A Hypothesis

Proposed, that when purchasing camping gear, one may only have two out of:

• Easy to pack/set up/store
• Comfortable
• Period

A minimalist period encampment, with a canvas bivouac, a small iron pot, and meals of oats or bulgur wheat and dried beans cooked into porridge, would be very easy to pack and set up, very period, but not very comfortable.

A camp making full use of the wide array of foldable aluminum and nylon contraptions available can be very easy to pack and set up, and very comfortable, but is not very period.

A glorious period pavilion and wooden furnishings looks period and is comfortable, but requires much more space to store/transport, and rather more effort to set up and break down.

 

BOOYAH

Pullin' it in under the wire.  Lyrics for fencers and dancers, now just have to work on tunes.

I am a much better lyricist than tunesmith, I'm finding.

Terpsichore

 

We come from a land of great waters

where streams and rivers flow

Motion and music all as one

We watch the waters and know:

 

Chorus:

Let go and the music will guide you

Gliding o’er the floor

We dance in careful measured steps

Following Terpsichore

 

There's grace in every movement

Delight in every step

Hear the muse’s sounding lyre

in a heart where dreams are kept

 

Patterns that are old as time

Echo the beat of the heart

Dance with those who came before

Dance with the muse of an ancient art

 

Fangs of the Serpent

 

The serpent coiled on the field

May seem a creature slight

Until you see it move to kill -

The fangs of the serpent will strike!

 

Chorus

We are the fangs of the serpent

Sunk deep in your heart or your heel

Storvik’s fencers, wielding all

Fangs of flashing bright steel

 

With speed, precision, cutting wit

We launch our blades to bite

Attack, defend, or do what you will --

But the fangs of the serpent will strike!

 

We take to the field without fear

And know if we die tonight -

We won’t die alone - our venom is strong

The fangs of the serpent will strike!