The E-Horse
The Crown Province of &Oslah;stgarðr's Electronic News Source

October 2017 | AS LII | Volume 7 | Issue 1

Meetings
September Østgarðr Commons
Directions to October Østgarðr Commons

Upcoming Events
Local Activities

From the Seneschal
Local Officer Elections

Local News
Let It Bee Known....

Goings On About Town
Museum Exhibits
Concerts

Articles of Interest
That's No Bull--or Pope, Cardinal, or Monk
If These Young Bones Could Talk....
Silk Road Birka Bling
More Medieval Bling
Double the Treasure, Double the Fun
These Boots Were Made for Walking


Meetings

September Østgarðr Commons

September 15, 2017

Transcribed by Piglet Evans


Attendees:

Francesco Gaetano Greco d'Edessa, Seneschal
Erich Guter Muth, minister of lists
Beatrice della Rocca, chatelaine
Angelica di Nova Lipa, exchequer
Alienor Salton, seneschal Whyt Whey
Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin, youth combat marshal
Alec MacLachlan, fencing deputy
Jacqueline Helene Loisel
Luigi Kapaj
Richard the Poor of Ely, historian
Thomas of Northpass, seneschal Northpass
Philip White, EK MoAS
Mungu Chinua, herald

Reports submitted via email:

Brekke, seneschal Lions End
Sofya, MoAS
Rufina, chronicler

8:04am -- meeting called to order

SENESCHAL: office is coming up for election at the beginning of the year. We will need a new seneschal. Bring the information to your canton commons. Candidates should have letter of intent in by October Commons. Vote in person or via written proxy at the November Commons. Office starts in January. Other positions expire this year. Some discussion over when Angelica's term as exchequer expires -- this year or next year?

OFFICER REPORTS

MoL [Erich]: we had lists. Role of MoL is to help any fighters or fencers who need help running lists, to assist the marshallate of the respective field. Has paperwork in case they forget theirs. No reports received or sent. Exception would be at an extremely large tournament -- if event does not have an MoL, he will supply it, but you have to reach out to him in advance.

Chatelaine [Beatrice]: 4 newcomers interacted w/ the chatelaine at Barleycorn. Luigi also brought 4 newcomers. No complaints. Everyone had fun. Gold Key was borrowed & returned in good condition.

Exchecquer [Angelica]: we have money. Note to cantons: there will be a review of books (canton & provincial) coming up shortly, by EK.

Whyt Whey [Alienor,  Seneschal ]: had to submit a 2nd insurance certificate specifically for the parks dept. w/ special wording. Was subject to corporate late fee, grrr. Beatrice will speak to royals tomorrow about their needs for the demo & ask for a contact name. Mungu says they may have a 12x18 travel pavilion. Festival organizer wants to put an archery range near us??!? Have expressed consternation. Still collecting parking pass info; thank you to everyone who is opting for public transit instead. Please let Alienor know if you need stuff picked up before the event.

Oct. 28th Whyt Whey Schola is on. Hosting it ourselves due to site search failure (selected site tried to charge us 30% more than their advertised rate). Is on EK event calendar. Brief discussion about insurance requirements, since we are too late to be in the Pikestaff, this cannot be an official event. However, we are not handing out awards and do not need an insurance certificate. Alec suggests we call in Schola in the Solar! Acclaimed.

Banners (new Whyt Whey device plus 2 personal arms) printed by spoonflower.com on polyester chiffon. $40 for 2 yards. Device passed 2 weeks before Pennsic and we were able to fly the banner at Pennsic. See Mathghamhain if you need assistance generating artwork to be printed via spoonflower.

We have the sheetwall from the EK royal encampment with the old device. Will display at EK 50th, then pass to the historian for archival. Will be making new sheetwall to present to royals at next Pennsic.

Youth Combat [Mathghamhain]: fighting at Barleycorn included 6 fighters, one of whom was new (from Aethelmarc). Marshalled at River War, received donations of loaner equipment there. Identified some items to purchase to round out the gear to have 6 full sets. Rounding up kids for Queens Farm & Cloisters. Will be bringing the pell. Goal is to run some practices this fall. Coordinating with kids who want to do it & their parents to see if we can do Wednesdays near fencing / dancing or Saturday afternoons in Central Park.

Meeting interrupted by call from Viceroy. Bish told him we are more than halfway through officer reports. He is too far away to join us. Traffic is working against them.

Viceregents: Barleycorn was fun; thanks for showing up.

Fencing [Alec] : there was fencing at Barleycorn. Brendan Firebow (of Staten Island) is new champion. Allocated marshals-in-charge to 3 events (Yehuda at Barleycorn, Marion at Queens Farm, Alec at Cloisters). Beatrice reports 2 of the new fencers' armors have been made. There are 2 more in the queue. Practice in Central park the last couple of weeks is going well. Have decided to try a new area further down the path -- has better lighting.

Wishlist of loaner gear for the fencers: a couple of loaner masks for new people, a couple of gorgets, 2-3 pairs of gloves, a loaner sword. Total expenditure would be about ~$600-650 ($100 masks, $110 gorget, $60 gloves, $175 for the sword). Will suggests making our own gorgets; already have 3 loaner gorgets. Marion has a loaner mask passed to her by Bish at a Commons earlier this year. Will need loaner gloves in several sizes. Jackie asked about fundraising efforts -- split the bill w/ Østgarðr. Thomas suggested putting out a donations bucket at Queens Farm. Consensus was that it would be better to do so at an event rather than a demo. Prefer to avoid taking money from non-SCAdians. Alec suggests bidding on a fencer at a tournament to raise money. Winners get a small prize, both fencer & bidder. $$ goes to fund.

Indoor site for fencing practice needed! Site search has turned up places that will accept anything but fencing.

Historian [Richard]: Brendan Firebow won provincial fencing champion. Ervald ran thrown weapons challenge tourney, however there was no winner because he didn't know what the requirements were for being a champion. Discussion of whether there should be a minimum score. Mungu presents strong argument against it, to forestall situation where champion maintains position for 8 years. Richard suggests leaving to discretion of viceregents, as it is their champion. Final javelin throw at Barleycorn was an amazing finish to the contest. Archery champion Conor Ó Ceallaigh, who also became a member of the order of the sea lion.

Bish asked if Richard had been asked for material for EK 50th. Richard says yes, he will be submitting artifacts. Encourages others to do likewise.

Northpass [Thomas, seneschal] : Barleycorn went well. No negative vibes. Money still being worked out; think they broke even. Very labor-intensive. Thomas is at the end of his seneschal term (2 years). He will not be seeking a second term.

Herald [Mungu]: tournaments at Barleycorn. Conor Ó Ceallaigh became a companion of the order of the sea lion. Mathghamhain asks if there were order of precedence change lists from the order meetings. Lada took the notes; will check with her. Past reports have been that having the web order of precedence updated has not happened. Mathghamhain successfully put in 2 change requests that were handled within 24 hours. Will move forward with doing more. Richard as historian has info on what happened when, and can supply dates. Mathghamhain will email Richard & then put through the updates as needed.

Archery [Mungu (unofficial)]: archery is happening. Long Island practice is sporadic. Staten Island is similarly sporadic, being held between events and on an RSVP basis. Will be having practice this Sunday (day after tomorrow). Next week is Queens Farm & then Cloisters, then 3Gs, then Goats Tavern (may or may not hold practice that Sunday). Check the Facebook page to see if practice is being held, and text or call if you are attending.

Lions End [Brekke, Seneschal (email)]: nothing to report.

MoAS [Sofya (email)]: A&S Report-September

• Favors for 50th: 1st set of Østgarðr 50 year favors have been completed! On Sunday, August 27th Team Østgarðr came together and finished close to 100 favors that were distributed at Barleycorn. Thank you Alienor, Beatrice, Angelica and Anneke for taking the time out and energy to make this happen. Production on another 100 favors will begin in October for distribution prior to the East Kingdom 50 Year celebration.

• Favors for the Princess: ​Princess Matilde’s favor design is available and ready to be made. Below is the pdf link you can ​download: ​http://im.eastkingdom.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/MatildeFavor.pdf ​Keep in mind you do not need to embroider them! You can paint them, stamp them or bead ​them. Get creative!

• EastKingdom50: Please send me your photos for the EastKingdom50 year celebration June 28th thru July 1st, 2018. Please let me know if there is something you would like to share and send to ostgardr50@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org. Thank you to all who have submitted so far.

Chronicler [Rufina (email)]: E-Horse is out. We held it until after Barleycorn so that we could include any Provincial awards given in Viceregal Court. We will not be at An Dubh investiture [family visit], so if someone could report back to me about awards given at Court, I'd be grateful :-)

EVENTS

Barleycorn: see above.

Queens Farm: Saturday & Sunday of next week. Ian is autocrat. Mungu asks if there will be thrown weapons at Queens Farm. Unsure if there is an archery marshal in charge. Marion is fencing MiC, Erich is running one or more tournaments.

Cloisters: see above.

Goats Tavern: Thomas reports that more classes are being created. There will be no live goats at the event. Information on the calendar event listing is minimal. Is a family-friendly schola with lots of socializing. Thomas will nudge the autocrat to update the description. Encourages Alec (who was curious about the event) to also call the autocrat and ask for more information. There will be youth combat.

Bear's Tavern: needs an autocrat.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Thomas urges us to pitch in more with general site cleanup, post-event, to support the autocrat & seneschal.

UPCOMING COMMONS

  • Oct. 20 at Branimira's in Queens

  • Nov. 17 at Mungu's in Staten Island

  • Dec. at John and Rufina's in Queens


MOTION TO ADJOURN

Richard, seconded by many.

Meeting closed at 9:19.

Directions to October Østgarðr Commons

October Østgarðr Commons will be Friday, October 20th at 7:30PM at  the home of Leonora Radovcic, 30-37 81st St,  East Elmhurst, NY 11370

DIRECTIONS

By Mass Transit

E train to Roosevelt Ave/Jackson Hts.; then walk to Roosevelt Ave. & 74th Ave. and catch the Q32 bus.  Get off at 81st. St. & Northern Blvd.  Head north on 81st St.  Destination will be on your right.

By Car from the West

Best route to the Grand Central Parkway, to Exit 5 for Astoria Blvd. Take Astoria Blvd. east 1/4 mile, right on 82nd Street, [start looking for parking], 1/2 mile, right on 31st Ave, right on 81st Street.

By Car from the East

Best route to the Grand Central Parkway, to Exit 5 for 82nd Street. Take 82nd Street south, [start looking for parking], 1/2 mile, right on 31st Ave, right on 81st Street.

Parking

Parking is tight in the immediate vicinity, but can be found within a block or two .

From the Seneschal

Open Provincial Offices

There are a handful of provincial offices whose current two-year terms are up for renewal in the next few months: Seneschal, Herald, Fencing, Chronicler, and Webminister.

Current office holders are generally eligible to serve additional terms; however the Office of Seneschal must change hands at this time due to term limits, as well as the Webminister who has indicated she wishes not run, again, due to other obligations, so a new candidate for those offices is important.

Members of the populace with an interest in these areas are invited to step forward, if they are willing to serve and have resided in the province for at least six months. If you are not certain of the requirements of an office you're interested in, please consult with the current office holder or other members of the provincial officers council, to make sure you're ready to fulfill their duties, or consider volunteering to serve as a deputy for that office and shadow the current holder for a year or two, so that you are ready to take the lead during the next term.

If you would like to be considered for a position, please submit a Letter of Intent to the Provincial Seneschal [seneschal@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org], to Viceregents [viceroy@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org] and [vicereine@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org], and the current office holder using the email addresses shown below.

Letters of intent must be received before the Commons meeting on November 17th; please do not wait until the last minute. 

The Provincial Officers Corps will make a selection from among those candidates at the Commons meeting in December. 

Here are the offices open for renewal along with a summary of their role and their current holders.

Seneschal: (Chapter President / Chief Administrative Officer of the Province)
Currently: Baroné Francesco Gaetano Gréco d'Edessa, [seneschal@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org]
Herald: (Responsible for Court and Book Heraldry for the Province)
Currently: Lord Mungu Chinua, [herald@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org]
Fencing: (Oversees the Province's Rapier and Cut-and-Thrust Activities)
Currently: Lady Marion of York, [fencer@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org]
Chronicler: (Publishes the Monthly Newsletter, “The Seahorse”
Currently: Magistra Rufina Cambrensis, [seahorse@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org
Webminister: (Maintains & Updates the Province's Website)
Currently: Lady Arnora Ketilsdottir, [webminister@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org


Brokenbridgers take honors at Queens Fair

By Lord Robert le Chat

Lady Barbara de Vries (the nearly naked Fresian) and Lord Robert Le Chat (Bobcat) won top ribbons in three categories at the recent Queens County Farm, drawing further attention among fairgoers to the SCA presence at the event.

Barbara won a first place blue ribbon in the knitting category for her sox, and second place red ribbons for a pink African violet (Saintpaulis ionantha), and honey from the July harvest. Robert garnered blue ribbons for a blue African violet, and honey from the August harvest.

Honey was the product of Barbara and Robert's Arts & Sciences project on keeping honey bees (Apis mellifera), now in its third year at a Lions End location. The bees, also known as “B&B's honey harlots”, forage among upland and saltmarsh plants. Honey flavors can range from minty overtones in the spring flow to candy-like fall flows of nectar from mallow flowers in the saltmarsh. Yep. Marshmallows.

The bees not only forage upon upland and salt marsh plants, but also have attended SCA events in period garb, with maidens wearing pollen-filled panniers on hind legs. Besides making honey, the bees furnish their dwellings in period style, demonstrate traditional dances, and assist Barbara and Robert in the arts of mead- and candle-making. As avid SCAdians, they excel in A&S, and are a byword for diligent service, all secretly hoping to become Pelicans. Doughty fighters, even the smallest of these ladies could cause a Duke to flee the field.

Questions about bees and beekeeping are welcome at barbarakrooss@aol.com and bsterner@prodigy.net.



Upcoming events

Østgarðr Events


East Kingdom Events



Did You Know?

The Crown Province of Østgarðr has a badge, "A seahorse erect azure, hoofed, orbed and crined Or," that residents of the Crown Province have been using, de facto, as a "populace badge" for many years.  You could wear it on your hat, or paint it on your goblet, or embroider it on a pennon.  Let your Østgarðrian Spirit Flag fly!


Woodcut of frolicking peasants
Goings On About Town

Museum Exhibits

Concerts

Our Webbed database of upcoming early-music concerts in the Østgarðr area seems not to have survived the transition to the East Kingdom server. Until we get it working again, please see polyphony.com.


Articles of Interest
You are receiving this message because you have subscribed to the Seahorse, the Newsletter of the Crown Province of Østgarðr.
Please send your feedback to the Chronicler.

We hope to set up Web-based Subscribe/Unsubscribe functions eventually.  Details to come....