Pennsic XLVII, War Week, Wodensday
Wed Aug 8 07:04:48 EDT 2018
I woke around 05:30, and I don't think I got back to sleep. Maybe I'll be able to nap later?
Wodensday 07:14
I've just copied the 4 files of audio I've recorded (Moonday, 92MB from the Montpellier Motets class and 607MB for the Debatable choir) to my laptop. I suppose I could copy my photos over too....
Wodensday 07:26
The 3rd Montpellier file is an interesting listen; the other 2 are pretty rough - but we were sight reading.
Wodensday 07:44
I've copied the War's photos (so far) to my laptop.
Wodensday 18:58
Some very good classes today.
Coming back from the Chorulus rehearsal, there was a bar set up outside Æthelmearc's Royal encampment; I had an amazing citrus mead. I went back after my last class to contribute to the brewers' fund, but the elderberry mead I tried then was not nearly as impressive. (Apparently I no longer look under 40, as that was their cut-off age for carding people.)
I've just heard my recording of the Chorulus run-through. When we re-arranged ourselves yesterday I started hearing different things (not unexpected), and I thought I was hearing a problem. Now that I have the recording, under the 1st sopranos' correct high E♮ I think the 2nd altos are sustaining an incorrect E♭ an octave below. I don't know whether we can fix this tomorrow - at the recording session, and the concert is tomorrow night. (It happens twice in the piece.)
The KWC is singing their teaser shortly in the food-court area, so I'll resume my commentary later. (I usually record this, too).
Wodensday 21:39
Some people just walked by singing. I felt like asking them "Which of you knows the tune of that song?"
The laptop's at 22%; I'm plugging it in to charge....
Wodensday 22:17
We're getting some light rain, and I've just finished washing the dishes. Dinner was hamburgers. Most people were eating when I left for the KWC teaser, and most of those burgers were severely undercooked. There were 2 beef patties left when I got back, and I put them back on the stove for a while.
The KWC teaser went fine. Wolgemut was busking when we got there, but they stopped after a bit (for us?). There were also a few Chorulus/past-KWC-directors there, so I had a 2nd alto to ask about that note clash. She thought the sopranos weren't getting that E♮ until today (although I first heard it yesterday), so she was just hearing the conflict. (Of course, the altos on the wrong note might be the reason the sopranos hadn't been getting the right note sooner. We are all very capable musicians, and instinctively tuning to the other parts. A half step is a wrong note somewhere, not a tuning problem.)
Chorulus and KWC will both be far from perfect tomorrow night, but will still be a good listen. Next year Chorulus will rehearse in the rehearsal tent, instead of a camp up north. This will be much more convenient for most of us. The last 3 days a couple of us have had to dash from KWRE to Chorolus (leaving KWRE early). There have been many days that I was going to classes or other rehearsals in the rehearsal tent immediately before and/or after the Chorulus rehearsal, so it would save me a lot of time (and instrument lugging) if I didn't need to go someplace different.
The class on Remarkable Women needed a large family-tree chart. There were too many marriages and divorces and abductions and goings-on to keep track. And it's a work in progress; there's more to the family than was covered.
The Islamic history class was interesting, but I was drifting off from lack of sleep. Told in persona is an interesting approach, but I was up for a semi-conversational approach.
The pilgrimage-in-garb class was my favorite for the day. Fairly low-key, but very informative. I'm not planning a religious pilgrimage, but much of her experience would relate to solo bicycle touring (which I do plan to do). Interestingly, she found her SCA garb more functional and comfortable than the modern "technical" clothing most people wore.
KWC has one piece that's still a train wreck waiting to happen, but I really love it. It's got some incredibly intense moments and it draws a lot out of me. There's no reason not to try it in the dress rehearsal/recording session; we can still drop it from the concert if it doesn't survive that, and the audience won't even know. (There's no printed program.)
The viol class was canceled. (I lost a time walking to it and back, to find out.) Moonday's pilgrimage-songs class was repeated, and I went back for that - in part because it was convenient for my next rehearsal. (And it never hurts to have another person familiar with the music in a class. We sang most of this music in our "pilgrimage" yesterday.)
Colleen went to the Russian Folk Demonology class, and liked it. (She's also learning Russian since she has so many Russian-speaking staff.)
KWRE spent some time on the pieces we're performing Thorsday night, and Chorulus poked at some problems and did a run-through, which I recorded (as mentioned above).
I've taken the "Brewing and Experimental Archaeology" class before (with Erin, has it happened), and it would be worth taking agin.
Any class with Tempus Peregrinator is worth taking, even if you've taken it before. He's entertaining and engaging, and his sidetracked stories are great. And he knows tons about garb, making garb, and making garb work.
TIMEINSTRUCTORTITLEDESCRIPTION
09:00-10:00Lady Katerin ferch GwenllianA Family of Remarkable WomenEveryone knows that Eleanor of Aquitaine was an amazing woman, but what shaped her personality, and what was it like to be raised by her? We will examine the women of her family, starting with her scandalous grandmother and going on to see what became of her many daughters.
10:00-11:00Lord Chengir abu ben SaidIslamic History
The history of Islam told as a story. Tales of the Prophet, his companions, the Caliphs, their Wazirs and wives from the point of view of a 12th-century persona. Topics will include politics and events of the period and data in regards to its interpretation.
11:00-12:00Mistress Orlaith Ballach Inghen FlainnOn Being a Pilgrim
A discussion about walking The Camino de Santiago in garb.
12:00-14:00Lady Pia Maletesta d'RiminiKnown World ChoirDo you like to sing? Come learn period music in a period style. Rehearsals are daily from 12-2 in the PARC. Music is available on the Known World Choir Website. All voice parts are welcome. The music for this year is all about battles and war!! While reading music is helpful it's not necessary.
13:00-15:00Rufina CambrensisViols/Voices
14:00-15:00Mistress Arianna MorganSing Like a PilgrimStudents will learn to sing songs sung by medieval pilgrims on their long and arduous journeys to a variety of holy shrines! Historical background will be provided. Music-reading skills are not required, but are helpful. Learning by rote is perfectly acceptable and period!
15:00-16:00Lady Jolicia atte NorthclyfeKnown World Recorder EnsembleRecorder players of Intermediate and above abilities are invited to join this ensemble for its third Pennsic appearance. We'll prepare for a brief concert, 6 pm, Thursday, 8/9, in the PA Tent
16:00-17:00Mistress Gianetta Andreini da VicenzaChorulus PennsicusCP performs with the Known World Choir and Friends on Thursday evening of War Week.
17:00-18:00Lord Gideon ha-KhazarMedieval Female and Minority Religion FightersProvides tips on finding where and/or when fighters from normally-marginalized groups were accepted members of medieval society. Also discusses data challenges in finding those times and places, and what usually caused those conditions to end.
Interestings courses that conflict:
TIMEINSTRUCTORTITLEDESCRIPTION
09:00-10:30Lady Ciana Scholari di PolcenigoAphrodisiacs: Food and Drink to Delight the SensesBrief presentation on period and locale-based aphrodisiacs followed by hands-on preparation of samples to take. Italian and European Renaissance drinks and morsels designed to entice, to please, to enhance. This class will focus on recipes that are perfect for making prior to an event and bringing along with minimal fuss, that can be easily kept at food-safe temperatures. There will be a pamphlet of recipes. (I promise!)
09:00-10:30Mistress Marsi of HadleyUsing Every Part of Your FoodCooks and other food enthusiasts are invited to come and discuss how we can cook from whole foods with minimal waste. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, grains, dairy, and animal sources.
09:00-10:00Mistress Signy DimmridaelaHarp Accompaniment: Concepts and TechniquesIntroduction to creating harp accompaniment to medieval and Renaissance vocal and instrumental melodies. Discussion and demonstration of techniques and concepts such as open chords, substitute and inverted chords, counter-melodies, passing notes, drones, modes, and rhythm. Handout includes notes, notated examples, resources, and bibliography. Harpers should arrive with harps tuned in C. Limit 8 harps; auditors welcome.
09:00-11:30Mistress Helen of GreyfellsMeaningful Steps: Creating Your Own PilgrimageLove to walk/hike? Love to wear your SCA kit? Learn to combine these things for a meaningful trip there and back again in your own area. Topics include what to wear, what to eat, what to bring and how to bring it with you. Discussion of how you might pick a route, mapping, and preparation. Some discussion of Pilgrimage in period, but this class focuses on the physical activity, not the religious aspects of the journey. This class was born from a year-long study project by the teacher who is far from being a "perfect physical specimen". If I could lug my 300 pounds of size 24 over 70 miles in 8 days, perhaps you can too!
10:00-12:00Lady Sorcha Inghean Ui ChoininViking Wire Weave BasicsViking wire weave is a period-correct art form that is fun, easy and inexpensive. Also known as trichinopoly or Viking Knitting, there is archaeological evidence for wire chains constructed using “circular plaiting” in Viking burials and treasure hoards dating as early as the 8th century to as late as the 12th century. Come learn with the Mistress of Wire herself! You will learn how to make a "sextapus" to hold your chain in place, a basic 6-loop pattern, draw plate techniques, and how to finish the ends to add a clasp.
11:00-12:00Mistress Magdalena la Sanguigni16th-Century Western EroticaI Modi (The Ways), also known as The Sixteen Pleasures, is a famous erotic book of the Italian Renaissance in which a series of sexual positions were explicitly depicted in engravings. We will examine images from this work and others that explore sexual art for its own sake. There are handouts available. Because of the nature of the class, no one under the age of 18 is allowed to attend.
11:00-13:00Mistress Elska á FjárfelliBrew Like a Viking: All Natural MeadModern and medieval brewing techniques and tips for a truly period mead. Honey is one of the most forgiving ingredients to work with, making mead the perfect concoction for the new or inexperienced brewer. Much of the information I will go over is general, and focuses on natural brewing instead of depending on using store-bought additives, including yeast. A plethora of medieval mead recipes will be shared, and the 14th-century Curye on Inglysch recipes no. 9 and 10 will be discussed in detail. I will demonstrate how to extract crystallized comb honey, and how to measure the sugar density of the must, both using medieval techniques. Includes a detailed handout.
12:00-13:00Lady Rebecca da FirenzeHarp for Absolute Beginners IIA very basic introduction to the fundamentals of modern harp. This class will address using both hands at once. Please bring a harp if you have one and a chair if you need one; we will be holding the class at Argent Fox and can borrow his harps and chairs, but he only has so many and I don't know how many students will attend. We will review hand position and work on finger independence, going over a couple basic exercises to practice with, and I will provide handouts with a simple tune to practice. Ability to either read music or memorize a definite plus, but anyone's welcome to show up, and I'll teach you what I can. All ages emphatically welcomed. This is the second in a sequence of two classes. Class is aimed at nylon-strung harps; wire-strung are welcome but I can't teach wire-strung style, though I will try to point you at people who can.
12:00-13:00Lady Rowena MacaraDracula: Mad Ruler or Serial KillerJack the Ripper, Ted Bundy, Son of Sam, Jeffry Dalmer: All of these men are well-known serial killers. If Dracula had lived in our time, would he be included in this list of famous serial killers? This class will examine his personality traits and actions with an intent to answer this question.
12:00-13:00Lord Kumata Kurō Ie'nagaFrom One to Twenty: A History of the Known WorldAn overview of the twenty kingdoms of the SCA, where they came from, what kingdom each came from, and when.
13:00-14:30Master Galefridus PeregrinusNot Baked: Early Foods from GrainWhat were the first foods made from grain and how were they prepared? We'll be looking at the early history of grain processing and milling, what it took to prepare the oldest kinds of grain for milling, how grain was ground, and the porridges and other crushed grain dishes that were common before bread.
13:00-14:00Luceta Di CosimoRussian Folk DemonologyThe most common characters of Russian folk demonology, including household and nature spirits, diseases, werewolves, mermaids and the undead, none of them particularly nice.
13:00-15:00Lady Oribe TsukimePPF: Making Japanese Sedge HatsLearn the techniques used to make Japanese sedge hats such as ichimegasa, sandogasa and choningasa. Participants will make a miniature hat. This class is in preparation for Æthelmearc's 2020 Perfectly Period Feast: Choyo no Sekku (the Chrysanthemum Festival), an Enchanted Ground event set in Kyoto in the year 1590.
13:00-14:00Thl Muirenn ingen ui MuirchertaigA Game of "Hide the Distaff": The Distaff GospelsIn 1460-something France, during the dark period between Christmas and Candlemas, a clerk sat down for six nights with local women during their nightly spinning circle and recorded their wisdom. The intent of the author cannot be said to be wholly feminist, or even kind of feminist, but the collection of folk wisdom contained in this text offers at least a muddled image of common women's discourse and priorities. It is also hysterically funny, and more than a little ribald. Come learn some history, and laugh until you cry, as long as you are over 18.
13:00-14:00GardnerIntro to the Hurdy GurdyAn overview of this mysterious, marvelous instrument. Good for the Gurdy-Curious. If you have an instrument, bring it to share!
14:00-15:00Sigrid SchreiberDrawing the Human FaceHow to draw the human face from any angle, in 3-D, using the classic canon of proportion used by the 15th-century masters, but with a method updated by some 20th-century masters.
14:00-16:00Mistress Annora HallCoiled Baskets: History and InstructionThe coiled basket represents the easiest form of basket construction requiring only a few tools to make it work: coiling material, a gauge to hold
14:00-15:00Mistress Signy DimmridaelaA Bag of Traditional TunesBring your recorder, harp, fiddle, or other melody instrument and learn traditional tunes that we can't necessarily document to the SCA period, but which can fit in with the period atmosphere of SCA events. Instruction will be by ear, with sheet music provided at the end of class. Recording devices welcome.
15:00-16:30Mistress Arwen Evaine ferch Rhys ap GwyTraditional Norse Medical PracticesMedicine in Norway was surprisingly sophisticated back into saga times, compared with the Continent. We will look at the herbs/roots/barks/berries/fungi, etc., used in traditional healing, including preparation and administration of salves, syrups, teas and washes, poultices, and lots more. Magical healing will also be presented, as well as diseases and other health problems as known at the time.
15:00-16:00Master CariadocLauzinaj: Possible Precursor to BaklavaLauzinaj was a period Islamic rolled sweet, sometimes claimed to be an ancestor of baklava. The class will include a description of the easy version, using thin flatbread as the wrapper, and a demonstration of my reconstruction of the hard way, making a very thin wrapper, said to be as thin as a grasshopper's wing, in a pan over the fire.
16:00-16:15:00Master Michael of SafitaBrewing and Experimental ArchaeologyLessons learned from experimental archaeology with wine and beer will be discussed and tasted. The discovery and excavation of a monastic winery at the archaeological site of Tell Tuneinir will be discussed including artifacts and inscriptions. Brewing examples with include a variety of herbed beers as well as wines (quince, herbed red wine, and mead). Brave adults (over 21) only.
16:00-18:00Lord Tempus PeregrinatorHelp Me, Tempus, You're My Only Hope!Garb Troubleshooting / Q&A Workshop
17:00-18:30Master Albrecht CatspreyMelodic Music Realizations on Basse Danse TenorsMelodic Realizations is a lecture and applied class on the methods to write melodic divisions above a 15th-century basse danse tenor line. A solid knowledge of basic theory is required. Bring instruments as we will play some of the monstrosities we come up with.
19:00-20:00Baron Mungoe McKlincheySiege Warfare in the SCALook at tactics and strategies in the use of siege weapons in heavy fighting. Types of engines, rate of fire, positioning, and psychological warfare of machines. Maneuvering (shoot and scoot), use of siege structures, and airborne machines.
Wodensday 23:26
The rain has started up again.
Looks like the battery didn't charge at all today ☹. Someone moved my solar panel, and left the 4th section folded over the 3rd, leaving only the 1st and 2nd exposed to sunlight. And there was rain off and on, particularly between 17-18:00 (not a peak charging time).
Thorsday 00:36
The laptop's at 97%, and I'm getting to bed early. ☺
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/1009952.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]
I woke around 05:30, and I don't think I got back to sleep. Maybe I'll be able to nap later?
Wodensday 07:14
I've just copied the 4 files of audio I've recorded (Moonday, 92MB from the Montpellier Motets class and 607MB for the Debatable choir) to my laptop. I suppose I could copy my photos over too....
Wodensday 07:26
The 3rd Montpellier file is an interesting listen; the other 2 are pretty rough - but we were sight reading.
Wodensday 07:44
I've copied the War's photos (so far) to my laptop.
Wodensday 18:58
Some very good classes today.
Coming back from the Chorulus rehearsal, there was a bar set up outside Æthelmearc's Royal encampment; I had an amazing citrus mead. I went back after my last class to contribute to the brewers' fund, but the elderberry mead I tried then was not nearly as impressive. (Apparently I no longer look under 40, as that was their cut-off age for carding people.)
I've just heard my recording of the Chorulus run-through. When we re-arranged ourselves yesterday I started hearing different things (not unexpected), and I thought I was hearing a problem. Now that I have the recording, under the 1st sopranos' correct high E♮ I think the 2nd altos are sustaining an incorrect E♭ an octave below. I don't know whether we can fix this tomorrow - at the recording session, and the concert is tomorrow night. (It happens twice in the piece.)
The KWC is singing their teaser shortly in the food-court area, so I'll resume my commentary later. (I usually record this, too).
Wodensday 21:39
Some people just walked by singing. I felt like asking them "Which of you knows the tune of that song?"
The laptop's at 22%; I'm plugging it in to charge....
Wodensday 22:17
We're getting some light rain, and I've just finished washing the dishes. Dinner was hamburgers. Most people were eating when I left for the KWC teaser, and most of those burgers were severely undercooked. There were 2 beef patties left when I got back, and I put them back on the stove for a while.
The KWC teaser went fine. Wolgemut was busking when we got there, but they stopped after a bit (for us?). There were also a few Chorulus/past-KWC-directors there, so I had a 2nd alto to ask about that note clash. She thought the sopranos weren't getting that E♮ until today (although I first heard it yesterday), so she was just hearing the conflict. (Of course, the altos on the wrong note might be the reason the sopranos hadn't been getting the right note sooner. We are all very capable musicians, and instinctively tuning to the other parts. A half step is a wrong note somewhere, not a tuning problem.)
Chorulus and KWC will both be far from perfect tomorrow night, but will still be a good listen. Next year Chorulus will rehearse in the rehearsal tent, instead of a camp up north. This will be much more convenient for most of us. The last 3 days a couple of us have had to dash from KWRE to Chorolus (leaving KWRE early). There have been many days that I was going to classes or other rehearsals in the rehearsal tent immediately before and/or after the Chorulus rehearsal, so it would save me a lot of time (and instrument lugging) if I didn't need to go someplace different.
The class on Remarkable Women needed a large family-tree chart. There were too many marriages and divorces and abductions and goings-on to keep track. And it's a work in progress; there's more to the family than was covered.
The Islamic history class was interesting, but I was drifting off from lack of sleep. Told in persona is an interesting approach, but I was up for a semi-conversational approach.
The pilgrimage-in-garb class was my favorite for the day. Fairly low-key, but very informative. I'm not planning a religious pilgrimage, but much of her experience would relate to solo bicycle touring (which I do plan to do). Interestingly, she found her SCA garb more functional and comfortable than the modern "technical" clothing most people wore.
KWC has one piece that's still a train wreck waiting to happen, but I really love it. It's got some incredibly intense moments and it draws a lot out of me. There's no reason not to try it in the dress rehearsal/recording session; we can still drop it from the concert if it doesn't survive that, and the audience won't even know. (There's no printed program.)
The viol class was canceled. (I lost a time walking to it and back, to find out.) Moonday's pilgrimage-songs class was repeated, and I went back for that - in part because it was convenient for my next rehearsal. (And it never hurts to have another person familiar with the music in a class. We sang most of this music in our "pilgrimage" yesterday.)
Colleen went to the Russian Folk Demonology class, and liked it. (She's also learning Russian since she has so many Russian-speaking staff.)
KWRE spent some time on the pieces we're performing Thorsday night, and Chorulus poked at some problems and did a run-through, which I recorded (as mentioned above).
I've taken the "Brewing and Experimental Archaeology" class before (with Erin, has it happened), and it would be worth taking agin.
Any class with Tempus Peregrinator is worth taking, even if you've taken it before. He's entertaining and engaging, and his sidetracked stories are great. And he knows tons about garb, making garb, and making garb work.
TIMEINSTRUCTORTITLEDESCRIPTION
09:00-10:00Lady Katerin ferch GwenllianA Family of Remarkable WomenEveryone knows that Eleanor of Aquitaine was an amazing woman, but what shaped her personality, and what was it like to be raised by her? We will examine the women of her family, starting with her scandalous grandmother and going on to see what became of her many daughters.
10:00-11:00Lord Chengir abu ben SaidIslamic History
The history of Islam told as a story. Tales of the Prophet, his companions, the Caliphs, their Wazirs and wives from the point of view of a 12th-century persona. Topics will include politics and events of the period and data in regards to its interpretation.
11:00-12:00Mistress Orlaith Ballach Inghen FlainnOn Being a Pilgrim
A discussion about walking The Camino de Santiago in garb.
12:00-14:00Lady Pia Maletesta d'RiminiKnown World ChoirDo you like to sing? Come learn period music in a period style. Rehearsals are daily from 12-2 in the PARC. Music is available on the Known World Choir Website. All voice parts are welcome. The music for this year is all about battles and war!! While reading music is helpful it's not necessary.
13:00-15:00Rufina CambrensisViols/Voices
14:00-15:00Mistress Arianna MorganSing Like a PilgrimStudents will learn to sing songs sung by medieval pilgrims on their long and arduous journeys to a variety of holy shrines! Historical background will be provided. Music-reading skills are not required, but are helpful. Learning by rote is perfectly acceptable and period!
15:00-16:00Lady Jolicia atte NorthclyfeKnown World Recorder EnsembleRecorder players of Intermediate and above abilities are invited to join this ensemble for its third Pennsic appearance. We'll prepare for a brief concert, 6 pm, Thursday, 8/9, in the PA Tent
16:00-17:00Mistress Gianetta Andreini da VicenzaChorulus PennsicusCP performs with the Known World Choir and Friends on Thursday evening of War Week.
17:00-18:00Lord Gideon ha-KhazarMedieval Female and Minority Religion FightersProvides tips on finding where and/or when fighters from normally-marginalized groups were accepted members of medieval society. Also discusses data challenges in finding those times and places, and what usually caused those conditions to end.
Interestings courses that conflict:
TIMEINSTRUCTORTITLEDESCRIPTION
09:00-10:30Lady Ciana Scholari di PolcenigoAphrodisiacs: Food and Drink to Delight the SensesBrief presentation on period and locale-based aphrodisiacs followed by hands-on preparation of samples to take. Italian and European Renaissance drinks and morsels designed to entice, to please, to enhance. This class will focus on recipes that are perfect for making prior to an event and bringing along with minimal fuss, that can be easily kept at food-safe temperatures. There will be a pamphlet of recipes. (I promise!)
09:00-10:30Mistress Marsi of HadleyUsing Every Part of Your FoodCooks and other food enthusiasts are invited to come and discuss how we can cook from whole foods with minimal waste. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, grains, dairy, and animal sources.
09:00-10:00Mistress Signy DimmridaelaHarp Accompaniment: Concepts and TechniquesIntroduction to creating harp accompaniment to medieval and Renaissance vocal and instrumental melodies. Discussion and demonstration of techniques and concepts such as open chords, substitute and inverted chords, counter-melodies, passing notes, drones, modes, and rhythm. Handout includes notes, notated examples, resources, and bibliography. Harpers should arrive with harps tuned in C. Limit 8 harps; auditors welcome.
09:00-11:30Mistress Helen of GreyfellsMeaningful Steps: Creating Your Own PilgrimageLove to walk/hike? Love to wear your SCA kit? Learn to combine these things for a meaningful trip there and back again in your own area. Topics include what to wear, what to eat, what to bring and how to bring it with you. Discussion of how you might pick a route, mapping, and preparation. Some discussion of Pilgrimage in period, but this class focuses on the physical activity, not the religious aspects of the journey. This class was born from a year-long study project by the teacher who is far from being a "perfect physical specimen". If I could lug my 300 pounds of size 24 over 70 miles in 8 days, perhaps you can too!
10:00-12:00Lady Sorcha Inghean Ui ChoininViking Wire Weave BasicsViking wire weave is a period-correct art form that is fun, easy and inexpensive. Also known as trichinopoly or Viking Knitting, there is archaeological evidence for wire chains constructed using “circular plaiting” in Viking burials and treasure hoards dating as early as the 8th century to as late as the 12th century. Come learn with the Mistress of Wire herself! You will learn how to make a "sextapus" to hold your chain in place, a basic 6-loop pattern, draw plate techniques, and how to finish the ends to add a clasp.
11:00-12:00Mistress Magdalena la Sanguigni16th-Century Western EroticaI Modi (The Ways), also known as The Sixteen Pleasures, is a famous erotic book of the Italian Renaissance in which a series of sexual positions were explicitly depicted in engravings. We will examine images from this work and others that explore sexual art for its own sake. There are handouts available. Because of the nature of the class, no one under the age of 18 is allowed to attend.
11:00-13:00Mistress Elska á FjárfelliBrew Like a Viking: All Natural MeadModern and medieval brewing techniques and tips for a truly period mead. Honey is one of the most forgiving ingredients to work with, making mead the perfect concoction for the new or inexperienced brewer. Much of the information I will go over is general, and focuses on natural brewing instead of depending on using store-bought additives, including yeast. A plethora of medieval mead recipes will be shared, and the 14th-century Curye on Inglysch recipes no. 9 and 10 will be discussed in detail. I will demonstrate how to extract crystallized comb honey, and how to measure the sugar density of the must, both using medieval techniques. Includes a detailed handout.
12:00-13:00Lady Rebecca da FirenzeHarp for Absolute Beginners IIA very basic introduction to the fundamentals of modern harp. This class will address using both hands at once. Please bring a harp if you have one and a chair if you need one; we will be holding the class at Argent Fox and can borrow his harps and chairs, but he only has so many and I don't know how many students will attend. We will review hand position and work on finger independence, going over a couple basic exercises to practice with, and I will provide handouts with a simple tune to practice. Ability to either read music or memorize a definite plus, but anyone's welcome to show up, and I'll teach you what I can. All ages emphatically welcomed. This is the second in a sequence of two classes. Class is aimed at nylon-strung harps; wire-strung are welcome but I can't teach wire-strung style, though I will try to point you at people who can.
12:00-13:00Lady Rowena MacaraDracula: Mad Ruler or Serial KillerJack the Ripper, Ted Bundy, Son of Sam, Jeffry Dalmer: All of these men are well-known serial killers. If Dracula had lived in our time, would he be included in this list of famous serial killers? This class will examine his personality traits and actions with an intent to answer this question.
12:00-13:00Lord Kumata Kurō Ie'nagaFrom One to Twenty: A History of the Known WorldAn overview of the twenty kingdoms of the SCA, where they came from, what kingdom each came from, and when.
13:00-14:30Master Galefridus PeregrinusNot Baked: Early Foods from GrainWhat were the first foods made from grain and how were they prepared? We'll be looking at the early history of grain processing and milling, what it took to prepare the oldest kinds of grain for milling, how grain was ground, and the porridges and other crushed grain dishes that were common before bread.
13:00-14:00Luceta Di CosimoRussian Folk DemonologyThe most common characters of Russian folk demonology, including household and nature spirits, diseases, werewolves, mermaids and the undead, none of them particularly nice.
13:00-15:00Lady Oribe TsukimePPF: Making Japanese Sedge HatsLearn the techniques used to make Japanese sedge hats such as ichimegasa, sandogasa and choningasa. Participants will make a miniature hat. This class is in preparation for Æthelmearc's 2020 Perfectly Period Feast: Choyo no Sekku (the Chrysanthemum Festival), an Enchanted Ground event set in Kyoto in the year 1590.
13:00-14:00Thl Muirenn ingen ui MuirchertaigA Game of "Hide the Distaff": The Distaff GospelsIn 1460-something France, during the dark period between Christmas and Candlemas, a clerk sat down for six nights with local women during their nightly spinning circle and recorded their wisdom. The intent of the author cannot be said to be wholly feminist, or even kind of feminist, but the collection of folk wisdom contained in this text offers at least a muddled image of common women's discourse and priorities. It is also hysterically funny, and more than a little ribald. Come learn some history, and laugh until you cry, as long as you are over 18.
13:00-14:00GardnerIntro to the Hurdy GurdyAn overview of this mysterious, marvelous instrument. Good for the Gurdy-Curious. If you have an instrument, bring it to share!
14:00-15:00Sigrid SchreiberDrawing the Human FaceHow to draw the human face from any angle, in 3-D, using the classic canon of proportion used by the 15th-century masters, but with a method updated by some 20th-century masters.
14:00-16:00Mistress Annora HallCoiled Baskets: History and InstructionThe coiled basket represents the easiest form of basket construction requiring only a few tools to make it work: coiling material, a gauge to hold
14:00-15:00Mistress Signy DimmridaelaA Bag of Traditional TunesBring your recorder, harp, fiddle, or other melody instrument and learn traditional tunes that we can't necessarily document to the SCA period, but which can fit in with the period atmosphere of SCA events. Instruction will be by ear, with sheet music provided at the end of class. Recording devices welcome.
15:00-16:30Mistress Arwen Evaine ferch Rhys ap GwyTraditional Norse Medical PracticesMedicine in Norway was surprisingly sophisticated back into saga times, compared with the Continent. We will look at the herbs/roots/barks/berries/fungi, etc., used in traditional healing, including preparation and administration of salves, syrups, teas and washes, poultices, and lots more. Magical healing will also be presented, as well as diseases and other health problems as known at the time.
15:00-16:00Master CariadocLauzinaj: Possible Precursor to BaklavaLauzinaj was a period Islamic rolled sweet, sometimes claimed to be an ancestor of baklava. The class will include a description of the easy version, using thin flatbread as the wrapper, and a demonstration of my reconstruction of the hard way, making a very thin wrapper, said to be as thin as a grasshopper's wing, in a pan over the fire.
16:00-16:15:00Master Michael of SafitaBrewing and Experimental ArchaeologyLessons learned from experimental archaeology with wine and beer will be discussed and tasted. The discovery and excavation of a monastic winery at the archaeological site of Tell Tuneinir will be discussed including artifacts and inscriptions. Brewing examples with include a variety of herbed beers as well as wines (quince, herbed red wine, and mead). Brave adults (over 21) only.
16:00-18:00Lord Tempus PeregrinatorHelp Me, Tempus, You're My Only Hope!Garb Troubleshooting / Q&A Workshop
17:00-18:30Master Albrecht CatspreyMelodic Music Realizations on Basse Danse TenorsMelodic Realizations is a lecture and applied class on the methods to write melodic divisions above a 15th-century basse danse tenor line. A solid knowledge of basic theory is required. Bring instruments as we will play some of the monstrosities we come up with.
19:00-20:00Baron Mungoe McKlincheySiege Warfare in the SCALook at tactics and strategies in the use of siege weapons in heavy fighting. Types of engines, rate of fire, positioning, and psychological warfare of machines. Maneuvering (shoot and scoot), use of siege structures, and airborne machines.
Wodensday 23:26
The rain has started up again.
Looks like the battery didn't charge at all today ☹. Someone moved my solar panel, and left the 4th section folded over the 3rd, leaving only the 1st and 2nd exposed to sunlight. And there was rain off and on, particularly between 17-18:00 (not a peak charging time).
Thorsday 00:36
The laptop's at 97%, and I'm getting to bed early. ☺
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