To the Barony of Coeur d'Ennui,
It is with the fullest of hearts that we, Brihtwynn and Ceanntigern, express our admiration and gratitude to Their Excellencies and to the populace of the greatest of all baronies, Coeur d'Ennui. The gift of friendship you expressed by hosting an event for our wedding and the enthusiasm, support and service you showed made our day truly memorable. As visitors from a foreign land and culture, our families were much impressed with the friendliness and chivalry they saw displayed and greatly appreciated the kindness shown to them. The words "thank you" don't seem to be nearly big enough to express our appreciation but they are all we have, so THANK YOU!!!!
Huzzah, Coeur d'Ennui!

The staff of the Boar's Snore wishes to convey our joy and happiness at the union of Ceanntigern and Brihtwynn. May their life together be filled with love, peace, and prosperity.

Greetings, one and all,
As most of you already know, Their Majesties have found me worthy of elevation to the Order of the Pelican. This is quite an honor, and I hope to live up to it in every way. The ceremony will be at Twelfth Night in Lonely Tower (first weekend in January). It would be my great pleasure to have as many folks from the Barony there as can possibly go, to celebrate with me.
Her Excellency Diana

[picture] "Samhain Night" by Sadhbh Bheansidhe

Olde Fart's Soapbox #52:

Post Revel Highlights

There is a particularly fun side of SCA. After a long day of being royal or talking forsoothly or acting as foppish as possible, a person has a need to let his hair down and relax a little. The post revel is the answer to that need.

I have witnessed many, many post revels. Post revels around campfires, post revels in people's houses, post revels in hotels. The post revel in Three Rivers where there were three people per square foot of house. The post revel at Steelholm's in Forgotten Sea that... (well, you really don't want to know). Let's just say the police drove by very slowly, all the police drove by very slowly, all of them. Even the police helicopter.

At one Valor tourney, several young men got up and did a filk. They didn't filk a song, they filked an entire scene from a movie. The scene was when King Arthur met the Knights-who-said-Nee from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The scene became the Knights-who-said-SCA, the keepers of the holy words: SCA, List and Waiver. Very humorous. At another campfire I witnessed two gentles doing the father to son talk from Conan the Barbarian. The talk about the secret of steel and how man got it from the gods. Except in this version, the word "steel" was substituted with the word "beer." We all rolled around with laughter.

Things happen at post revels that will never leave your mind. Duchess Mistress Mammara dancing. Sir Conn McNeil singing one of his own songs. Pavel giving his finger puppet rendition of Pennsic wars (sometimes even with actual puppets). Baron Sir Angus singing the "Song of Roland." (OK, his version) Maxmilliano playing guitar and singing one of his songs. The drunk Viking dance (it's hard to explain, but it involves the scramasax stuck to his sweaty belly) (ooh!).

The crowd can be just as entertaining as the performers. At one campfire a young Viking was sitting cross-legged by the campfire and was looking up in rapture at the performer. At the same time he was playing with his brand new, razor sharp scramasax. He was picking up the knife and dropping it point down into the dirt between his legs, over and over. At one point the performer turned everyone's attention to the side. When he turned, he dropped the knife into his own leg. The blade went through the meaty part of his thigh and into the dirt. He looked real sheepish as he pulled the knife back out of the dirt and back out of his leg.

Local emergency room personnel always seem to get a good laugh out of SCA folk. I don't know why.

"There's nothing funnier than the human animal." - Walt Disney

"It is better to have loafed and lost than to never have loafed at all." - James Thurber

"It is folly alone that stays the fugue of youth and beats off louring old age." - Erasmus

"The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom." - William Blake

"Good company and good discourse are the very sinews of virtue." - Izaak Walton

Caoimhin McKee

A famous Viking explorer returned home from a voyage and found his name missing from the town register. His wife complained to the clerk who apologized profusely saying, "I must have taken Leif off my census."

Dear Friends,
From time to time people decide to try home brewing or vintning. Some continue and others stop shortly after purchasing equipment. If you are in the latter group, I may be interested in acquiring your no-longer-used equipment for a fair price.

Your obedient servant,
Malcolm Wallace of Moray

Treasurer's Report
The third quarter report is complete and available to anyone wishing to view it. Our coffers are well stocked as we prepare for the harvest season.

In Service to the Barony,
Edward Blythe of Nottinghamshire, Treasurer

Greetings from the Baronial Knights Marshal

As you might know, my term as Knights Marshal ends this December. The Baron and Baroness will be holding interviews for my replacement. Also, fighter practice is now at the Miller Armory at Camp Dodge. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

In service,
Thomas FitzRodrick

From the Seneschal's Pen
Lady Brihtwynn, Seneschal

With the completion of the wedding event, it is time to turn our thoughts to upcoming events we have scheduled. CalonCon is scheduled for October 28. All officers should make every effort to attend or to send a deputy in their stead as I will not be collecting information for the other offices. December brings us Yule Court, which will be held on December 16. Kateryn de Develyn has graciously volunteered to autocrat this event. It will be a local event this year where all members of the populace may come to socialize and celebrate together.

The end of September brought the 3rd quarter to a close which means 3rd quarter reports are now due. Officers, if I have not already received your report for this quarter, please get it to me immediately. When one volunteers for an office it entails certain responsibilities not routinely required of other members of the populace. One of these responsibilities is timely reporting on the status of that office. Reports must be submitted to the respective kingdom officer with a copy to the baronial seneschal by the due date each quarter.

Consistently late or absent reports may result in loss of warrant and removal from office. If I do not receive a report by the time my report is due, I will be notifying the kingdom officer and the Baronage. Please don't make me do that! Most of the reports can be sent by e-mail. If the form you need is not on-line, the easiest method is to type and save a copy of the form as a word processing document. Then it can be pulled up each quarter, completed, saved with the appropriate title and sent as an attachment. Make sure you save a hard copy for your files. Paper reports by hand or by U.S. Post are always accepted. Please make sure time is allowed for delivery.

Court Notes
compiled by James the Musician

Her Excellency mentioned that Cian is to be knighted at the Althing in Standing Stones.

Their Majesties have decreed that at all events there will be a jar for donations to raise money for The Mews.

Yule Court approaches! Kateryn has volunteered to autocrat. Proposal: feastocrats at head table, and the rest of the populace cooks (i.e. potluck).

Jaquemette announced a documentation competition, with details to appear later.

One year to the Sept. 2001 event, a pas d'armes. Winnifred is interested in running the event. Anyone interested in assisting should let Their Excellencies know. Start thinking about Salisbury 2001.

Under new Kingdom laws we must submit a bid for spring 2001 Crown Tourney. Edward plans to autocrat, but needs a feastocrat and assistant autocrats.

Drunken Viking was recently made a Fyrdman.

November A&S will be knitting and needlework; December A&S will focus on earrings. A&S report is coming up so e-mail Murdoch with your A&S activities. Also, a deputy A&S minister is wanted.

Jacqueline: There are no device submissions. If you want to submit but have problems or questions, ask!

Anna: Please let her know about newcomers, lest they be overlooked.

A newcomer, Phil, announced that volunteers are wanted for Night Eyes at the Blank Park Zoo, to meet, greet, and entertain people while in garb; 4:30-5:00 to 8:30-9:00 for several nights before Halloween. E-mail him at stinkums@aol.com for more info.

Axed Root will have an event on the last weekend in March 2001 at the Izaak Walton League building.

Awards presented at Court held at the Wedding Event on September 30:

Clemence l'Estrange - Torse
Ian the Traveler (Deodar) - AOA
Arnevaz Shirzad - Torse
Kjarten - AOA
Liadan ingen Conamal - Torse
Katherine Mercer - Calon Swan
Magdalena Brunalleschi (Deodar) - Torse
Natasiia Andreika Borislava - AOA
Tariq ibn Jusuf al-Andalus - Torse
Nicoletta della Ridolfi - Chalice
Anna der Standauf von Wiesenfels - Torse
Ysoria - AOA
Aethelraed aet Blaecmore - Leather Mallet
Winifred of Shattered Crystal - Torse

Greetings unto the populace of Coeur d'Ennui
I have recently taken the role of Demo Coordinator and what I need from the populace is VOLUNTEERS! Now, what this truly means is that I'll need anywhere from 4-16 people willing to commit to doing a demonstration, which may involve a weekday, but I'll try not to schedule such things.

I need someone or a group of someones who know the following stuff (don't worry about knowing EVERYTHING, as long as you have a basic grasp on the topic.)

1. Singing
2. Dancing
3. Musical Instruments
4. Life of the Middle Ages
5. Armor
6. Clothing (Not necessarily the construction of)
7. Heraldry
8. Leather working
9. Persona
10. Storytelling

Here are some pre-requisites all volunteers need:

1. Public speaking experience - Are you comfortable speaking to a crowd of 50? 500? a group of five?
2. Appearance: Do you have garb that would look great at Court? We're going for a Court appearance, and that's a must! Clean garb and clean person will project a very positive image to the audience.
4. Time. Will you have the time to be able to participate? I have an understanding work environment, so I can take off a half day to do a demonstration to a group of 6th graders about medieval life.

Consider these things before volunteering, but don't let the lack of one of these keep you from volunteering. Now, just because you volunteer doesn't mean that I'll be calling on you every time there's a demo. I need a large group in order to have a pool of volunteers for demonstrations.

Please contact me if you're interested; it will help the Barony out a lot.

Written in Service to the Barony,
Albrecht von Salzburg

Recently, three-year-old Tarquin was asked, "What is a hero?"
His answer: "A knight in armor!"
- Gwyn

A Series of Recipes
by Kateryn de Develyn

Torta from Red Chickpeas

1 15 oz can chickpeas, with liquid
1 oz pine nuts
3/8 c water
1/2 c sugar + 2 t more sugar
1 lb. almonds
1/8 c rosewater + a few drops more rosewater
2 oz raisins
1 t cinnamon
pastry for two 9" pie crusts
4 figs
1/2 t ginger

Grind almonds finely, but not to dust. Chop pine nuts coarsely. Grind chickpeas in a food processor with the liquid from the can, then grind raisins and figs. Stir these and the sugar, rosewater, extra water, cinnamon, and ginger together. The pie crust can be rolled out and put on a 10"x15" cookie sheet or it can be made into two 9" pie shells. Spread filling on top; it will be thicker if made as two pies. Mix extra sugar and rosewater together and sprinkle on top. Bake 30 to 40 minutes for the cookie-sheet version, or 50-60 minutes for the pie version, in a 375 degree oven until golden brown.

Heidenische kucken (Heathen cakes) von Guter Spiese

Pastry crust - bottom
1 1/2 lb. beef or pork or chicken
1/4 lb. side pork/fresh bacon
1 apple
1/2 tsp. grated peppercorns
2 eggs

Line pie tin with pastry dough. Roast beef for 1 hour. Cook bacon at the same time. Slice into small goblets. Chop cooked bacon. Mix bacon and beef together, then layer into bottom of pie tin. Sprinkle pepper over the meat. Slice an apple and layer onto the meat. Beat two eggs then pour over everything. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes, or until it appears done. Serve warm. Makes 1 pie.

Ein gut fulle (A good filling) von Guter Spiese

2 eggs
1 lb. cheese
1/4 cup fresh sage
1/4 cup fresh parsley
2 T. butter
2 tablespoons flour
pie crust

Line pie tins with pie crust. Chop parsley and sage. Grate cheese. Mix cheese, parsley, sage, eggs, butter, and flour together. Place in pie tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes. Serve hot or cold. Makes 1 pie.

Challenge Article #1
Five Reasons a Medieval Woman Would Have Short Hair

1. You have recently left a convent. Nuns and novices (nuns-in-training) would have their hair shaved off or cut very short. This was to show piety (humble faith) or to avoid the sin of vanity.

2. You choose to travel as a boy to avoid unwelcome attentions. This could be more common than we think.

3. You have been very ill. Your hair was brittle and matted so you cut it off short. Washing any part of one's body while sick was considered unhealthy.

4. You have a very jealous husband. He has cut off all of your beautiful hair so you would not attract the notice of other men.

5. You like elaborate hairstyles so you wear wigs over short hair. This is a late period practice. The wigs fit better over very short or shaven hair.

So which excuse do you think I like best?

Jacqueline

Challenge Article #2
Thank you to Lady Jacqueline for challenging me to write this month. She challenged me to list either five things to do with short hair in the SCA or five reasons why a woman in period would have had short hair.
Here goes:

Five Things To Do With Your Short Hair

1) Wear your hair uncovered and short; you're pretending to be a boy or you are a young maiden from Ireland and they didn't cover their hair anyway.

2) Wear a veil and wimple held on by either a circlet or veil pins. (Let me know if you want to know how to make this headgear.)

3) Wear a veil wrapped around your head turban style. This is excellent if it's a windy day (keeps short hair from blowing about). It works well with Middle Eastern and European garb.

4) Make a fancy hat and wear a snood (or hair net) under it.

5) Buy wig hair and make braid casings with hair at the ends. If your hair isn't too short, you can attach these to pigtails like traditional hair extensions. If your hair is very short, you can pin them on in the back and wear a veil over your head so no one can see where they attach.

I have tried all of these methods and they all work great. If you need more ideas or help with any of the above, let me know!

Diana

Sadhbh's Top Five Reasons For Short Hair In Period

1. lice
2. lice
3. lice
4. lice
5. lice

Autumn and the Melancholic Humor
by Jaquemette de Chaponay

Many doctors in the Middle Ages followed the teachings of the Greek physicians Hippocrates and Galen that health was governed by four primary body fluids, or humors, and that the humors could be affected with foods or conditions that were hot or cold, wet or dry. It was best for none of the four humors to dominate, but often one did, with many implications for the individual's health.

The season of autumn was characterized as cold and dry. Therefore, during this season the cold, dry humor of melancholy, or black bile, increased to some degree in all individuals. Old people and old animals usually tended to a melancholic complexion, the characteristic of having black bile as the dominant humor, no matter what the season. Of the four elements, earth was most associated with melancholic individuals and with the season of autumn. Since a balance among all the bodily humors brought optimum health, autumn was a good time of year for the sanguine, those persons with an excess of blood. This warm, moist humor was most opposite to melancholy.

Although the Greek physicians did not draw a connection between a person's dominant humor and typical behaviors, medieval physicians considered that the humors greatly affected what we would now call personality types. The melancholic person tended to be a loner, more apt to be interested in study than in sport. Thus, the tendency of everyone to become more melancholic in the autumn fits well with the school year beginning in this season. Someone who was melancholic would be slow to make decisions, but would stick doggedly to the choices made.

It was considered healthful to work as little as possible during the cold, dry season extending from August 6 to November 6; this was an option only for the well-to-do in a largely agricultural society during harvest time. Medieval physicians would have been more likely to prescribe bleeding in September than in summer or winter. Physicians would also have recommended against participating in much sexual activity during the autumn, perhaps thinking that the heat generated this way would be lost.

The medieval physician would suggest a diet suited to the season and to the patient's complexion. One general rule was that tart, bitter foods were healthy in the fall, though it was also good to eat fruit in only moderate amounts. In autumn, unlike other times of the year, wine was best drunk undiluted. Rye bread was not as healthy as wheat bread for the melancholic.

Beef, venison, and peacock would increase black bile and so were considered unhealthy to consume in autumn. Quail were one of the safest foods to eat in autumn. Pigeons and geese were also warm meats considered healthy. The salad greens of spinach and borage were healthful, whether raw or prepared by the warm, moist method of boiling. Dishes prepared with butter or olive oil tended to the warmth and moisture needed by the melancholic. Vinegar was given to repress the production of black bile.

Other conditions of the environment and daily life had different effects on those of different complexions. Bathing in warm water was better than cool water. Sleeping long hours was healthy for the melancholic as it was not for those with other dominant humors; however, this may have been hard to achieve, since the melancholic were also considered prone to earaches and nightmares.

Principal Sources:

Platina, on Right Pleasure and Good Health, tr. Mary Ellen Milham. Tempe, Arizona: Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies, 1998.

The School of Salernum, tr. Sir John Harington. New York: Augustus M. Kelley, 1920, reprinted 1970.

The Medieval Health Handbook: Tacuinum Sanitatis, Luisa Cogliati Arano, tr. Oscar Ratti and Adele Westbrook. New York: George Braziller, 1976.

Competitions Are Not Scary!

When you are entering a competition at the novice level, document on a 3x5 card. How scary can one side of a 3x5 card be? Documentation is not scary. The major questions are: What? Where? When? And Source(s)? What is the title of your project? For example: Women's Gloves. Where was the item used/worn/eaten? In Germany. (Intermediate and Advanced levels may also want to say by whom when answering this question.) When was the item used/worn/eaten? In the 16th Century. What book or painting (sources) did your base your project on? Okay, you're saying to yourself documentation isn't so scary.

What about the one-on-one judging? Now that's scary! Again, not really. Your judging will probably cover the following questions: Why did you do it this way? The judges are not criticizing you here. Judges ask this question to check if you understood what you did and to learn something new. I often find that someone new to a field will discover new things because they have access to better resources or they haven't yet developed prejudices to dismiss or overlook things. What would you change or do differently? The judge wants to know if you learned anything by doing this project. Did you learn something that could have saved you tons of time, money, or effort? Did you learn something that caused you to throw or rip it out and start over?

What are you going to do next? The judge is just being snoopy and supportive. If you tell the judge your next project, they will probably give you a list of additional sources to check and some hints and advice. Given half a chance, most of the judges will encourage you with your future projects. They are there to help guide you in your chosen field. And some judges just want to ooh and aah over the projects up close.

The judging criteria/points are scary you say? Hah! Those points mean only what you want them to mean. What you want to do is use the scores to set the bar higher on your next project. If you give it your all and have a low score, the judges often give suggestions on ways to score higher. Sometimes they need to be asked, but usually they remember to do this on their own.

And finally, even if you can support your reasons for doing something, someone may want to discuss it with you. One of the things the SCA does best is discuss the finer points, so try to look at it as part of the process of learning. Some of the judges have been studying in their particular fields for twenty years or more so they've become accustomed to discussing the little things. Keep in mind when someone wants to discuss something that there are many questions to which we don't yet know the answers, and in twenty years we will look back at the things we know now and shake our heads at how much we really didn't know.

by Kateryn "Been There Done That" de Develyn

Jack in the Green, Jack of all Trades
by Sadhbh "Bheansidhe"

Oct. 21: Medieval Murder Mystery at Salisbury Abbey, 6:15 p.m., $75 per person, Salisbury House
Oct. 20-22: Asian 25th Anniversary of Freedom, Historical Building
BELLYDANCING ALERT: Oct. 20, Masquerade Fishbowl Hafla, Crestview Elementary, 8355 Franklin, Clive, 7-9 p.m. Share food item or $2. Info from Rebecca Harless at 515-224-6861 or at arien@gateway.net.
Oct. 21-22: Wybreg Renaissance Festival, Bonaparte, IA
Oct. 23: Pumpkin Carving, Botanical Center
Oct. 25: Joan Baez, Hoyt Sherman
Oct. 27-29: Autumn Festival & Craft Show, Vet's Auditorium
Oct. 27-29: Pirates of Penzance, Ames Community Theater
Oct. 27-29: Great Iowa Pet Expo, Polk Co. Convention Center
Oct. 27-Nov. 11: Hair, StageWest (Costume Contest on Oct. 28)
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