By THLaird Colyne Stewart
I was shaken awake at five hours by my faithful steward
William Scrimgeour. Waking me is not an easy task, and a late night working on
last minute details of an event made it an even more difficult task than
normal. Eventually though my fellow Scotsman managed to rouse me from slumber,
and I stumbled to the privy to prepare myself for the coming day.
After washing I descended to the first floor of Drew’s End,
our manor in Greenhithe territory, and began an inventory of materials that
needed to be hauled to our inn in Ardchreag. I was soon joined by my lady wife,
and fellow event steward, Þorfinna gráfeldr, while our guests from the Barony
of Skraeling Althing slept on peacefully in one of our other rooms.
Soon, there was a knock on the door and William admitted
several of our fellow Ardchreaggers: William Donovan, Snæbjörn sverðsbrjótr,
Eirik Andersen and Tarian verch Gadarn. Tarian especially was well welcomed, as
she came bearing drinks from the New World
(called coffee, and hot chocolate).
We loaded our casks, crates and trunks into our various
wains and wagons, and wended our way along the King’s Highway, getting off in
Ardchreag’s county of Blackwood (known to the Mundanes as Pickering ). There we found the Snowed Inn,
ready and waiting for us. We began to unload our gear, and were soon joined by
Wat of Sarum, and a bevy of Van der Eychs (Berend, Mahault and Adelaide ). As the Van der
Eychs readied the kitchen, the rest hung banners, moved tables, set up the dais
and Ladies Gallery, put together a barrier, and lent their hands to many
various tasks.
Soon, the hall was ready, and just in time, for by 9 o’ the
clock, guests had begun to arrive.
In the back of the hall along the south wall, THL Raffe
Scholemaystre, sitting under the banner of the Games Guild of Ealdormere,
spread his array of medieval games, which were much used over the course of the
day. Beside him, Baroness Adrielle Kerrec presided over an arts and sciences
competition with an heraldic theme.
Half of the hall was given over to tables where good gentles
could sit and talk, play games, or work on crafts. On the east side of this
half of the hall, Sir Evander and THL Melusine de la Rose served from the bar,
while on the west side a free lunch board was kept well supplied by the Van der
Eychs and their kitchen staff.
The other half of the hall was given over to the noble art
of the sword. Along the north wall the dais of Their Majesties of Ealdormere
had been raised, from which Their Majesties Edward and Rylyn, Their Highnesses
Aaron and Rustique, and Their Excellencies Corwyn and Domhnail could survey all
those gathered within. Beside them, Snæbjörn once again attended the Ladies
Gallery, providing them with food and drink. He also ran a fighters’ buffet,
laying out bread and fruit, water and a strange orange drink.
Before the dais and the gallery was the list field. Lady
Seonag nicThomais was the first to use the field that day, having organized a
series of tournaments for the youth fighters of the kingdom. Many good gentles
(such as Dagmar Halvdan) had donated prizes for the youth combat, and the good
knights Sirs Evander, Siegfried, and Cennedi had each sponsored one of the
three age groups, each making either a sword or a piece of armour as a prize.
Many tournaments and melees were held, and later the following prizes were
awarded: Quilliam, over all tournament
winner and Best Theme in the Helm Show; Matthias, winner of the Roman Melee;
Niadh, who authorized and then went on
to win in the Sword and Shield Double Elimination Round Robin Tourney; Algar,
Most Authentic Presentation in the Helm Show, and Morgam, Most Colourful in the
helm Show.
While the youth combat was occurring, two new adult fighters
authorized in sword shield. They were Emma of Greenhithe and Helena of Bastille
du Lac. When the youth combat was complete, Their Majesties called the
tournament herald—Magistra Nicolla de Bracton—before them to introduce to Them
the fighters who would be competing in Their Tournament of Renown. The list was
long, and numbered many noble and courteous gentles. The tournament was a
single-sword, single-elimination tournament, to three counted blows. This ended
up taking a long time to run, as double-shots did not count and had to be
re-fought. My own battle for instance, against the most excellent Honourable
Gann, had at least fourteen double-shots. In the end, Sir Siegfried defeated
Sir Evander to win the Tournament and ensure a place in the Elite Tournament of
Renown to be fought in April.
At some point during the fighting, I cannot know recall
exactly when, my squire-brother Tiberius of Warwickshire was called before
Their Majesties and inducted into the noble Order of Thorbjorn’s Hammer.
After this, Duke Sir Finnvarr De Taahe, the king-of-arms,
selected several gentles present to represent certain Vices upon the field. The
Vices, wearing baldrics displaying their vice, then selected others to
represent the Virtues, who were given garters to wear. The Vices and the
Virtues took opposite ends of the field, and all other fighters chose which
side they wanted to join. Finnvarr pointed out that the following battles would
determine who would wield the Sword of Prowess over the upcoming year. He also
pointed out that three of the previous winners were present, and all of them
had fallen to Vice, so a new wielder was obviously badly needed!
The Vices and the Virtues then met in challenges over the
barrier, and in grand melees. Sir Nigel MacFarlane, acting as Avarice, at one
point walked to the barrier with naught but a dagger. When his opponent tried
to locate a dagger to meet his chosen form, Avarice would not allow it, and
made him use a sword. For, as Avarice bellowed, he was greedy for glory! Sloth,
in the guise of THL Etian du Naval, also had a memorable moment at the barrier
when he lazily fought with a two-handed sword in only one hand.
When the fighting was done, the Ladies Gallery handed out
several tokens to those who had inspired them, entertained them, or
distinguished themselves. (I was awarded a token for a particularly
entertaining death.) The Sword of Prowess—and a spot in the Elite Tournament of
Renown—was then awarded to THL Gann. He was also given a box, handmade by
members of the Canton of Ardchreag, as well as two goblets for his lady.
The hall was then readied for court. Their Excellencies
Septentria awarded a Bear’s Claw to Sir Cennedi for his training of fighters at
Ardchreag and Skeldergate. They also recognized Lord Eirik Andersen’s work with
spontaneous illumination by giving him a Golden Bear. Septentria’s taxes for
the coming year were announced, which was for each canton, household and
military unit within the barony to find a relic that somehow represents their
founding, and bring them to the barony’s Twelfth Night celebrations in AS XLI
to form a Septentrian
Museum
Their Majesties then held Their own court. Many awards were
presented, including: Dagmar Halvdan’s Award of Arms, Bjarn Stymirson’s Award
of the Scarlet Banner, Ludwig von Eisengrim’s Award of the Scarlet Banner, and
the elevation of THL Garwig von Wolfenschmidt to the rank of Court Baron.
After court a buffet style supper was presented, followed by
an evening of games, dancing and good fellowship.
When it was all over, the weary few of us left once again
loaded our wains, and brought our casks, crates and trunks back to Drew’s End
for storage. It was, as always, a fulfilling day. And it was, as always, a deep
refreshing sleep afterwards.
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