Unto the Gracious and Noble Populaces of Coeur d'Ennui and Axed Root... ...come salutations and commendations from Comtessa Lenore de Troyes,

On behalf of the Salisbury Faire Committee, I would like to thank each of you who participated in the Salisbury Faire this year.

Your time, talents and support have, once again, contributed to a successful event and to the ongoing preservation of Salisbury House. The Salisbury Faire welcomed record attendance on both Education Day and the public Faire weekend this year. Over 3,200 students accompanied by over 300 educators and chaperones attended Education Day, and over 20,000 guests attended the Faire on Saturday and Sunday.

The SCA has been, and continues to be, a critical and valued part of Salisbury Faire, providing educational atmosphere, demonstrations and re-enactment that not all such events are fortunate enough to have. I thank each of you for sharing your unique gifts at Salisbury Faire - from the fighters, to the photo booth workers, to the Education Day performers, to those who stayed and picked up trash, your contributions were important and deeply appreciated.

Your generous participation in the Faire has aided in the ongoing efforts of the Salisbury House Foundation to save and safeguard an American castle in the heart of Des Moines. May your kindness and hard work come back to you three-fold. Thank you.

In Service to Crown and Kingdom, I am, Comtessa Lenore de Troyes

[picture] Left: Lady Sadhbh plays her neo-Celtic lap harp on the grounds of the Thoreau Center.

A Matter Of Time

by Jacqueline de Meux

Which year is it? In the Society for Creative Anachronism our year is called "Anno Societatis" or A.S. for short. It starts on May 1st, the date of the original party that started all this. There are many precedents for this in medieval practice.

Each ruling body, whether over a kingdom or an Italian city-state, would choose the day that each year would begin within the area that they ruled. If you traveled, you quite often went from year to year as well as town to town.

One quote I found sums it up quite nicely. As R.L. Poole observes: "If we suppose a traveler sets out from Venice on March 1, 1245, the first day of the Venetian year, he would find himself in 1244 when he reached Florence; and, if after a short stay he went on to Pisa, the year 1246 would already have begun there. Continuing his journey westward, he would find himself again in 1245 when he reached Provence, and on arriving in Paris before Easter (April 16) he would once more be in 1244."

The Holy Roman Empire used December 25 until the thirteenth century, as did France, England (before the Plantagenets), and most of Western Europe. In the early thirteenth century, Philip Augustus of France switched the beginning of the year to Easter, which adds the difficulty that the year begins on a different day every year. This seems to have really only have caught on in Paris and in court circles, but since most of our French records are products of these circles, it is important.

To add to the confusion, Spanish custom dated the beginning of the anno domini (year of the Lord) to 38 BC. To find this date, add 38 to the AD year. This was used in Spain until the middle of the fourteenth century and in Portugal until 1420.

Sometime in the sixteenth century, almost everyone switched to January 1 as the beginning of the new year which had marked the beginning of the Roman civil year and had survived long after this in Spain, as well as being generally recognized as the beginning of the fiscal and civil year around Europe for centuries.

Early period pagan peoples didn't even base the calendars they had on the AD system. It came into more widespread use as the Catholic church spread. Religion and commerce did more to standardize the calendar than any other influences.

Olde Fart's Soapbox #47

Musically Challenged

Filking is an ancient and honorable form of amusement. The art of taking popular music and changing the words was used as far back as the 13th century.* In modern times there are many who make good money doing this exact thing. Al Yankovic and Tom Lehrer are two of the more famous ones.

Lord Coeur du Boeuf was quite good at filking. At one particular feast, the autocrats were horrified to discover that there were not enough entries in the song writing contest. They approached our hero and challenged him to write a song before the feast was over. He asked them for a subject. They suggested something that would insult as many people as possible in the Midrealm.

The results were "Boeuf's Challenge Song" by Anonymous. For those who are not familiar with this little ditty, the first words of the song are "Oh the Midrealm chivalry get no tail." The song goes on to point out that most all groups of peoples in the Midrealm get no tail, except of course the Dark Hordesmen, who get it from their horses. There were really no hard feelings from this song, since, at the time, we were in the Midrealm. And besides, it was written anonymously.

At another event, Boeuf was challenged to write a song that would anger every major religion in four verses or less. The simple solution was to change the words of "Hava Nagila" to Ave Maria for one verse; Allah and Hare Krishna were the next two verses. I think he used up a lot of karma in a short time on that one.

He, of course, wrote many other songs, most weren't put to him as a direct challenge. So, let's sing a song of Coeur du Boeuf and toast to him with beer.

* back then a filk was called a contrafactum

"A clown is a warrior who fights gloom." - Red Skelton

"To unwind, there's nothing like an oboe and a glass of nice, warm milk." - Mitch Miller

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of bandages. " - Groucho Marx

"It happens to be a fact as one gets older, one does get wiser. It's simply the way the calendar crumbles." - Rod Serling

Caoimhin McKee

A Knight in Shining Armor

by Ivan

As I stepped into the list field for my first bout on Friday, before a group of children eager to watch me fight, I felt mortified. My armor was for the most part borrowed, my weapon felt as if it were made of lead, and I had still not chosen a name for my persona (fact be told, not even his country of origin, though I was leaning toward a Russian warrior).

Being a proud man, I felt both grateful for the loaned equipment (as was my wife I am certain, since she must endure my endless whining if I am damaged in combat) and ashamed that I must borrow it in order to do what I love most: fight. This shame was the fuel with which I fought at Salisbury.

It was my determination to be seen as an equal by my fellow fighters, at any cost. It was in this mindset that I cost myself several fights, each loss proof that I wasn't as good as them. I felt like less of a man for my weakness, my inability to match their skills and their strengths. After all, how hard can it be to swing a sword fast enough to get past a competitor's shield, and kill him? It wasn't until the Baronial Champion tournament that I realized how wrong I was.

During the early part of Saturday, I attempted to authorize in the sword and shield weapon system. I emerged successful, but I had received a blow to my swordarm shoulder by Sir Roger that caused immense pain and weakness in that limb. (I do not hold him responsible in any way. It was a good clean hit, but as luck would have it, a bad place.) The blow had re-injured a previous injury in that shoulder, though from stupid pride, I hid from all just how much it bothered me. I still had much to prove, you see, and would not let the pain stop me from completing the weekend.

Successive bouts caused further injury to the shoulder, since I found myself overcompensating for the weakness by letting my weapon do most of the work while I fought on, ignoring the damage I knew I would be caused. In my final bout with His Excellency Baron Angus, my arm was useless, and I knew I had pushed it too far. He killed me with an excellent blow, and I left the field.

I discovered for the most part that the fighters and non-fighters cared more for me than I knew. Many came to my side to see if I was all right, and though I wanted to tell them I was fine, my appearance must have spoken volumes. Ice was brought to me, help was provided in removing my armor. I sat on the side, amazed at the friends I did not realize I had, and wept within myself at how I could have thought I had anything to prove to them.

I had fought myself that day and had lost. Though not in skill, I was their equal, each of them. To me, the fighters in this barony are all knights, and to you all I promise to remember what happened this past weekend. My shoulder feels much better now, and though I need practice in the mental fight as much as the physical one, I know I will continue to learn. Our kingdom will reap the benefits of our training at Lilies and future wars where Calontir will be well represented. After all, we have a reputation to uphold, and I for one plan to have as much fun as possible while scaring the heck out of our enemies at the sight of the purple and gold banners flying high. A kingdom full of knights in shining armor.

On the Web

The Cloisters: Museums contribute to what people know by allowing them to experience the past through artifacts. The Internet provides the means for virtual museum experience. http://www.homeworkcentral.com/knowledge/vsl_files.htp?fileid=146441&tg=&flt=CAB

Chaucer at Harvard http://www.homeworkcentral.com/knowledge/vsl_files.htp?fileid=157400&tg=ENGLIS&flt=CAB

Trivia that pertain to the numerous Ancient and Medieval cultures. http://www.dellarco.com/ontarget/bodies/mailway.html

Glossary of Medieval Architecture: Can you tell your apse from your buttress? http://www.homeworkcentral.com/knowledge/vsl_files.htp?fileid=156441&flt=CAB

Global Timeline covers history for ancient, premodern, early modern, and modern. http://www.homeworkcentral.com/knowledge/vsl_sections.asp?sectionid=22222&tg=HIST&flt=CAB

Sadana Island Shipwreck http://www.homeworkcentral.com/knowledge/vsl_files.htp?fileid=171309&tg=&flt=CAB

On Harps and Harpists

by Sadhbh Bheansidhe

The Prince of Wales has re-established the post of royal harpist by appointing a 20-year-old student, Catrin Finch. For the next two years, she will perform at public events hosted by Prince Charles. He said, "I hope by re-establishing this position, I can not only give support and recognition to a young harpist of ability like Catrin, but that I can help to encourage appreciation of the harp and its importance to Welsh culture and tradition."

Now, I'm not planning on giving up my day job in hopes of being named Iowa's official harpist (people who play the big concert pedal harps are called "harpists"; people who play lever harps, whether the 32+ string Neo-Celtic styles or the 20+ string lap harps, are called "harpers"). Early Celtic history was an oral history, and the harp was an instrument of prestige and magical power.

According to early medieval proverbs, three things essential to a noble were "his harp, his cloak and his chessboard," and three things essential for happiness were "a virtuous wife, a cushion for your chair and well-tuned harp." The word "harp" comes from Anglo-Saxon, Old German and Old Norse words meaning "to pluck" and was used to denote the gut-strung instrument.

The Gaelic word for a wire-strung harp is clairseach. The ancient harps were thicker, strung with thick brass wire and decorated with artwork and jewels. They were plucked with long fingernails and produced a loud, bell-like sound. The sound would ring for a long time so sometimes the strings were stopped (damped) to avoid muddying fast passages. The harps were held against the left shoulder and the right hand played the upper strings and the left hand played the lower, which is the reverse of the modern technique.

A fili attended bardic school for grammar, law and composition for the first five years. The student memorized 100 chief stories and 175 secondary stories. By the seventh year of study, one could compose complicated metric forms and officially be called a poet or bard. A chief poet studied eight more years, memorized all of the legends of the kings of Ireland and studied astronomy, philosophy, and magic.

The harpers traveled everywhere in Ireland without harm and could perform when and where they pleased. They relayed messages, news, history, legends and the law. Chiefs and kings were entertained by recited compositions accompanied by harp music. The music of the harpers was unwritten and taught orally from master to student. Players depended on memory and improvisation.

After the invasion of English overlords, bardic schools disappeared. Bards and harpers were imprisoned and executed. Queen Elizabeth I proclaimed, "Hang harpers wherever found, and burn their instruments." Cromwell ordered the destruction of 500 harps in Dublin alone. It is estimated 2,000 were destroyed during his campaign. The ancient styles of music and poetry were discouraged and eventually forgotten.

Musicians traveled from place to place playing the more modern gut-strung harps and seeking patrons. Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738) is one of the most famous of these itinerant performers. When he became blind due to illness as a young man, he was trained to harp to support himself. He was never acclaimed for his harp playing but is famous today for his prolific, beautiful compositions.

There was a revival of interest in Irish music in the 18th Century, and the Belfast Harp Festival was organized in July of 1792 to encourage performers. Only ten Irish harpers and one Welsh harper showed up. The oldest, Denis Hempson was the only one who played a wire-strung harp on his left shoulder and plucked the strings with his nails. Edward Bunting, a 19-year old church organist, was hired to write down the tunes of the harpers. He became enthusiastic with this talk and collected and published traditional tunes throughout his life. Thanks to these two men, a few pieces of music from the past were preserved, but small harps became primarily an emblem of the past.

In the 1970s, with the revival of folk music, harp building became a cottage industry. Modern engineering methods were successful in creating wire-strung harps with a sweet sound. Researchers and harpers are re-discovering the ancient techniques, and musical groups like the Chieftains are using small harps in their arrangements.

[picture] Lady Sadhbh's harp next to the O'Carolan monument in Keadue, County Roscommon, Ireland. Her harp teacher, Kristen Fallon, borrowed the lap harp to play overseas. Keadue is the site of the annual O'Carolan International Harp Festival in August (and the town of Keadue is the consistent winner of County Roscommon's Tidiest Village Contest).

Jack in the Green,

Jack of all Trades

The summer is heating up with many arts and entertainment events:

June 3-Aug. 6: New exhibition at the Des Moines Art Center: "Dazzling Water. Dazzling Light," Paintings by Pat Steir.

June 5 - Aug. 3: Showmotion and Picnic in the Parks, free shows with arts, music, crafts, entertainment around town at different times and places. Call the In-Touch Special Event Line at 246-5600 x6151.

June 23: Opera Summer Festival begins. Call (515) 961-6221.

June 23 and June 30: Friday Fest, State Historical Building, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., crafts, face-painting, nature programs for children.

June 23 - 25: Des Moines Arts Festival, downtown on the bridges with art, activities, music and food. Friday from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. with fireworks starting at 9:30 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

June 29: Tap Des Moines, tap from the Downtown Register Building to Nollen Plaza. Call 270-6648.

July 3: Picnic On Our Patio, State Historical Building, starts at 6 p.m., music, crafts, food, concert by the Des Moines Symphony and fireworks. Call 281-3754.

July 4: Independence Day at Living History Farms, games, contests, demos, parade led by Civil War veterans.

July 6 - 8: Iowa Dance Theatre Festival, Des Moines Playhouse. Daytime workshops in ballet, modern dance, jazz and Indian dances. Evening performances at 8 p.m.

July 6 - 9: AmericaFest 2000 International Singing Festival with men's and boy's choruses. Free concerts on July 6, noon at the Kaleidoscope and at 5 p.m. at the Court House Square in Adel, and July 8 at the downtown Farmer's Market. Evening concerts, July 6 & July 7, 8 p.m. at Sheslow Auditorium, Drake University for $15.

July 11: Irish Jam at Java Joe's, 7:30 to 11:00ish.

July 14: Friday Fest at the State Historical Building, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., Civil War re-enactors.

Des Moines Parks and Recreation and Metro Alliance sponsors Jazz in July with 30 concerts city-wide throughout the month. Call 246-5600 x6151.

Do Not Forget: Performing Arts Day here in Coeur d'Ennui (Des Moines) on Saturday, July 22nd.

It will be at Knox Presbyterian Church (59th Street & Hickman Road in Des Moines). Volunteers and people for troll are greatly needed!! Call Tsire (Sarah Vaughan, 278-1979) for information.

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