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Online ordering suspended on Friday February 17th,2023
We have suspended taking any orders on Friday February 17th, 2023 but should resume taking orders in few weeks. Sorry for the inconvenience.Dedicated to King Who???
This is the dedication of The Pleasure Book, “Dedicated to King Ton and Queen Elizabeth”. They were King and Queen of Atenveldt 40 years ago. 40 years ago. This month we want to look back at some of that history and how the Quiet Press came to be. The need I had to share knowledge, the need to improve the SCA, the need to provide a service to the SCA, no one else had provided.The Pleasure Book was a guide to the SCA. 40 years ago, there was no internet, there was no corpus of shared knowledge handed down from knight to squire. The Pleasure Book provided information on how to participate in the SCA without having to travel sometimes hundreds of miles to seek out a mentor. That is the way the SCA was when I started. We would travel from Albuquerque to Phoenix and seek out information. The Pleasure Book helped other people learn from articles written by a group of authors willing to share their knowledge.
This book was the start of Raymond’s Quiet Press and 40 years later our focus has changed over the years but the name remains the same - Raymond’s Quiet Press
Viking Art Styles
Viking art is based on the abstract animal forms from the migration period about 400 AD. The animals were contorted, writhing snakes and beasts whose actual shape is often barely recognizable. My favorate term from a fellow SCA’er was “Weaselopes” for the style of artwork. Such designs were applied to objects in daily use, for example swords, buckles, belt mounts, belt tips and brooches.
Borre Style
The Borre style dated from about 840 to 980, and is named after the bridle mounts from Borre in Norway. There are three main elements. A ring-chain motif: a two-stranded braid bound by a ring. A type of gripping beast with a ribbon body whose claws clasp the edge. A backward-looking animal with spirals on its hips and a pigtail.
Jellinge Style
The Jellinge style dated from about 870-1000. It is named for a silver cup from Jelling, Denmark. Each animal has a ribbon-like body that is outlined. Its head with a long pigtail and the upper jaw is extended. The creature was based on gripping beast found at Borre.
Mammen Style
The Mammen style dated from about 960-1020. Animals now have fuller bodies instead of just lines. We still see spirals on the hips The new features are tendrils.
Ringerike Style
The Ringerike style dated from about 980-1090. Now thrusting tendrils tend to dominate the animals that they surround. The Anglo-Saxon artwork seems to have been the influence for this development.
Urnes Style
Named for wood carvings at Urnes church, Norway. A high, round relief but as thin as a knife edge, and then a copy of the same pattern in a flat pattern. The motifs are a slender animal with only one front and back leg, and an animal head. The forms are very graceful, with wide loops.
Thor's Hammers were rare in Norway
In 2015 a Thor’s Hammer was found with a metal detector on Flekstad farm in Steinkjer, Norway. This Thor’s Hammer dates from about 800-950 AD. This is only the 14th Thor’s Hammer ever found in Norway. In comparison, there are about 3,500 Viking swords which puts the hammer finds into perspective.
Thor’s hammers became more common when the Vikings were exposed to Christianity. The hammers became a statement that the wearer was a follower of the old faith, where Christians wore crosses.
Christianity came to Norway fairly late, about 1000AD. This might be the reason for the lack of Thor's Hammer finds in Norway. There was as much early interaction between Christians and followers of Thor!
Suggestions for more contact with new potential members
There are some considerations about how you can encourage new members.
Often around here Kings and Queens or Barons and Baronesses will call up new people who are enjoying their first event. Sometimes they will give small gifts to the people to encourage them to come back.
One King a while back wanted to give tokens that would allow the new people to come to the next event free of charge. The SCA corporate did not like this idea. There seems to be a problem with the SCA to officially give away items of value to some members!
So what can you do?
You can encourage the people you contact on your own. You, if you are financially able to, could invite potential new members to the next event and offer pay for their attendance.
We here in al-Barran, have started to give new tunics to needy new members who have shown enough interest. I met several people up at Battlemoor who were there in the new costumes they were provided with.
How do I become King?
Most, if not all titles are earned in the Society. They are earned with hard work over a long time. They are well deserved. But how do you earn these titles?KING AND QUEEN. The title of King is won, by frighting in a Crown Tourney. Crown Tourneys are held at regular intervals, depending on the Kingdom. The victor is King by right of arms, but cannot succeed himself. The Queen is the lady whose favor the king was carrying when he won the Crown Tourney
DUKE AND DUCHESS. Fighters and consorts who have served as the crown twice.
COUNT AND COUNTESSES. Fighters and consorts who have served as crown once.
KNIGHTS AND MASTERS-AT-ARMS. Fighters who have received recognition for their fighting ability and for courtly accomplishments. Knights wear a white belt and a gold chain; Masters wear a white belt over one shoulder, called a baldric. White belts are reserved for these men and women to wear.
MASTERS AND MISTRESSES OF THE LAUREL. Artisians who have been honored for achievement in arts and sciences. They are entitled to wear a gold medallion having a green laurel wreath.
MASTERS AND MISTRESSES OF THE PELICAN. Members who have been honored for their service to the society as a whole or to the Kingdom. They are entitled to a medallion showing a pelican wounding itself, to feed its young.
MASTERS AND MISTRESSES OF DEFENSE. Members are considered the equal of his or her peers with the basic weapons of rapier and/or cut-and-thrust combat.
And How Shall I Call You m'Lady?
Once you have decided on a persona, you need to choose a name for yourself. It should be appropriate to your Society character and help people to identify the culture you come from. It will also enable the herald to formally introduce you and announce you at Court. Names can come from dozens of languages, and the poor herald has to be able to mispronounce them all.You'll probably pick a name fitting to your culture, although there are exceptions. Crusaders, Vikings and Mongols brought home names from a variey of places. Your first name is most personal, and is largely up to you and your imagination. People often choose first names that describe their personalities, that have symbolic meaning, or simply sound nice. Some people join knowing just what they want to be called, perhaps an ancestral name, or one they always wish they had been given. Others try out several names before taking a permanent name. If you need help, library reference departments have books that can tell you what names mean and foreign or ancient forms of them. The web is also a good resource for this information.
There are a number of traditions to follow for surnames, and you can use more than one, either together, or as alternatives. Hereditary family names were passed on by some noble families as early was 1000 AD, but most of our ancestors didn't receive family names until several hundred years later. Provincial Danes resisted the idea until World War I and Icelanders still don't have them. Your surname, or names, are more likely to describe you as a individual, than your entire family.
While trying to decide on a permanent Society name, you might consider the names that describe you:
1) geographically. Historically, this would be the name of the farm, town or province you, or your ancestors, came from. Examples are: av Gotland; av Dverell; Lindholdt. These days it can also be the pet name you've given your house or apartment: of Woodsholme; of Wizardskeep.
2) by a characteristic or achievement. You have to be careful with these, or you may emphasize something that would be best forgotten. Examples, good and bad are: the Quiet; the Far-Travelled; Silvertongue; Goatsbeard; the Gross; Silverhair: the Improbable.
3) by your profession, either modern or in the Society. This isn't particularly common, as many of us have professions which aren't mediaeval, or which change frequently. Two examples are: "the Printer" and "the Sarabite"
4) by social group. The leaders of many households use their household name as their surname, and sometimes all so as a show of unity. Examples are: of the Blackwater; Van Dag; of Domensque; of Abstranon; of Drachenhalle.
5) symbolically, or from fantasy. This offers the most freedom of expression, as you can choose names with obscure meanings or literary referenes, or which simply sound nice. Examples are; Steorra of AEfen (evening star); Ankestjerne (anchored to a star); Hlio Songrene (evergreen hillside).
6) by parents or grandparents. This was common in all cultures, and each language has its own forms. Some names referring to parents are: Jenssen or Jensdottir (Norse); AElfreding (Saxon); Dominquez (Spanish); Rodriques (Portuguese); MacGregor - for a son, NickGregor - for a daughter (Scots).
Now you've got a half-dozen names to choose from, and you and always make up more, or translate them into other languages. Decide which ones fit the kind of personality you want to portray, which ones sound the best together, then try them out on your friends and see if they can pronounce them. Later you'll see how many new ways the scribes can find to spell it.
How Do I Join the SCA?
Most simply, you join by taking on a mediaeval persona, dressing and acting appropriately, and coming to Society events. By participation in events, you are part of the Society.If you want to fully participate in SCA events you will need a Membership. Benefits include
The ability to hold office
The ability to compete in Crown/Coronet Tournaments
Discounted entry fees at some events
Sustaining and International members receive their Kingdom's newsletter and can subscribe to additional publications.
Memberships in the United States run $45.00 for a year. Associate and Family memberships are also available to members with larger households.
The easiest way to join is to go to:
www.sca.org
Then select the membership selection
You can also call the Member Services Office M-T 9am to 4 pm Pacific Time at 800-789-7486 or 408-263-9305
You can contact them by mail at
Member Services Office
Society for Creative Anachronism
P.O. Box 360789
Milpitas, CA 95036-0789
To find your local group:
Select the New to the SCA selection and then from that web page select the find your group selection. You can select your State, Canadian Providence, or Country and see if there is a local group near you!
Foreign memberships are also available, but can vary by your country. You can also add printed monthly kingdom newsletters, Quarterly publications include Board proceedings, The Compleat Anachronist and Tournaments Illuminated.
The Pleasure Book - 40 years later!
In 1976 I first published "The Pleasure Book", a guide to the SCA, first bound by rings! Recently an idea has come to me to share this material again. People still need to know about our group.
We can gather emails of interested people and have them enter them into a service like I use, Aweber.com Aweber has an iphone ap called aweber atom. There are many other services your group could use.
Aweber allows you to send a series of follow-up emails, so you can contact the interested people with several informational messages and then information about upcoming events and meetings. You can also set up several different subscriptions, for sub-groups like fighter practice or dance practice.
I have now published several messages for you to consider to use in your messages. Feel free to change the missives as you like.
So,
1. Get an email program.
2. Collect emails, get an ap so all your members can help!
3. Send out a follow up series by email.
4. Send out info about your meetings and activities!