Another scroll which I was asked to wordsmith for. I didn’t know the recipient at all but I tried to capture a regal form of his service for this scroll. This was for the Baronial Service award
Hear the mighty decree of Baron Muin to his fine flaming salamander kin! Loyal servant to the Barony, Mikael Melrakki epitomizes the essence of service to the Barony, his commitment unwavering, his dedication unparalleled. Offering his home as a bastion of camaraderie, he fosters unity through countless practices, where ranged warriors hone their skills and bonds are forged.
His abode doubles not only as a sanctuary for armaments but also as a repository for the Barony’s treasures, housing supplies essential for events and festivities. Yet, Mikael’s service extends beyond the confines of his dwelling. As the Minister of Lists, he ensures fairness on the field, meticulously maintaining records and overseeing tournaments with impartiality and integrity. His selfless contributions uplift the entire Barony, his passion igniting a flame of inspiration in others.
Let it be known throughout Bhakail and the Known World that Mikael shall be inducted into the Order of the Horse at the Waking of the Salamander, AS 58.
Calligraphy and Illumination done by Gretchen Schroeder
Back when HRM Tindal was on the throne the first time with HRM Albrecht, I decided I wanted to try my hand at composing a processional. I wanted to capture a piece that captured Tindal, himself.
I titled the piece, “Patronus” which means proctector. Nothing to do with Harry Potter. This was a conscious choice based on Tindal’s 1st century roman persona. It finally got a real performance of it and was performed for it’s intention. I was not there that day, but many thanks to Mistress Deonna von Achen for teaching it and running the group. Enjoy!
Thank you to Angelica Di Nova Lipa for capturing this video for me and Ronan MacCodrum for sending it to me (And always being willing to sing my music either that I compose or teach)
Another recording from Arlyana van Wyck from a different visual/vocal vantage:
This comes from :
Gaius Iulius Caesar Octavianus Augustus
Res gestae Divi Augusti
anno 14 a.C.n
Bella terra et mari civilia externaque tóto in orbe terrarum suscepi victorque omnibus veniam petentibus cívibus pepercí. Externas gentés, quibus túto ignosci potuit, conserváre quam excídere malui. Míllia civium Rómanorum adacta sacrámento meo fuerunt circiter quingen ta.
Wars, both civil and foreign, I undertook throughout the world, on sea and land, and when victorious I spared all citizens who sued for pardon. The foreign nations which could with safety be pardoned I preferred to save rather than to destroy.
Pensic 50. I DREADED it. I’m not huge into parties, covid is rearing it’s head again and I just don’t want to make the 10.5 hour car ride there and 12.5 back (I make a detour to visit the cutest kiddos and favorite middle sister on the way back). We have done a lot of work on our house and I was just a bit traveled out, but my husband wanted to go, so I made sure to head to Pensic.
Friday am arrival. Fastest gate I have ever processed through. I waited maybe 10 minutes in line total before we were seen and out completely. Then, rolling down to the Bog. HOME. MERMAIDS SONG. Like the name sounds, we are all Bards or some type. The best part of our Bardic Mayhem group is that none of us specialize in the same artform. We have a magician as “Camp Dad”, A harpist, a shanty-man, a vocalist who specializes in period works, a story teller and the rest provide us with libations and support. Friday night was just a night in camp to enjoy friend’s and reconnect. It would not be Pensic without random bursts of music and such to which we did.
Saturday came around quickly, but not the worst for timing. I once again decided to join my comrades from ACROSS the kingdom for another Song Byrds Concert. I believe we hailed from 6-7 Kingdoms between us and only 2 lived in the same kingdom and they were partners (so that made sense). Bird, Aibihilin, Colette, Geoffrey, Robbin, Leaf and Mathias and of course me. This set list was almost entirely new to me. The only piece I had some inkling of was Ecco La Primavera. However, every piece we performed was period. It was so much fun to do an immersive period concert since that is my focus. 5 completely new pieces to me and 1 I knew and 1 which I had conducted but never sang (and I ended up learning Soprano and Alto for different performances)
Set List:
Now Wolde Y Fayne, Mors Sui, Se Je NE Vous Vois, Je Ne Cuit Pas, Ecco La Primavera, Doulz Viaire Gracieus, The World an Illusion , Il Est Bel Et Bon.
In between each of the pieces we each had a chance to perform a solo. I chose to do my Landskneckt piece which has only been performed for an audience once before, a year ago. It’s a persona accurate piece for me and a joy to do in persona garb. This performance comes later in the week but rehearsals needed to happen. We had folks shifting parts as well as participating because of illness and commitments. This group was incredibly flexible in their abilities to switch parts at the drop of a hat. I am 1 of 2 professionally trained musician’s in the group and the rest just have an overabundance of passion for performance and they are all absolute joys to work with.
Later that evening I had been cordially invited to perform at Duchess Caoilfhionn’s Bardic. This is an invite only performance set. This Bardic is special to me because VDK is a fighting household and to see that their warrior queen supports the arts, performs herself and child performs, is very near and dear to my heart. I used to fight armored combat for a period of 6 years but my body decided it wasn’t right for it but typically you fight or art. It’s nothing more than a time dedication. People who focus on more than 1 activity can struggle to keep up with both or will burn out. I chose to sing about love and loss. This year has been such a full of those I could think of no better subject than that. My ladino piece was bitter sweet, La Prima Vez. The rest of the night was full of other incredible performers, old and new to me. oh! Another point to note, I am a huge advocate of “Clothing changes how you move/perform”. I chose to wear male presenting clothing because I’m still having difficulty knowing how to gauge my body temperature changes. La prima Vez felt new and almost foreign. I interacted in new ways than I historically do. It was so interesting to feel the drastic change.
Sunday… the doom day. I had promised my Pelican that I would not overbook myself. Originally when I had booked my schedule it was only 2-3 things a day…. here we are 5 commitments. Heck. Welp! I started the day bright and early in rehearsal to play in the pit of Romeo and Juliet. This is the first time I have played in any form of a pit since 2004. I’ve been a long time recorder player, but not my main focus. It was like falling off a wobbly bike. I got back on but still wobbled. It was joyous though. My soul -needed- this. I have been dying to be part of an ensemble instead of the solo performer or conductor. I got to play with varying levels of skills and make music. I got to play -harmony-. I NEVER get to do harmony. It made me so happy. Also, my super amazing awesome Laurel, Sabine was our concert mistress which always makes for a supportive and awesome good time.
Shortly after this rehearsal I was speaking to one of the fellow instrumentalists. We we sharing our backgrounds and she had admitted that she was going to be auditioning for one of the Pensic choirs. She seemed nervous. I asked her if she’d like me to find a place for her to sing it to me to get her jitters out. She happily accepted and off we went to an empty A and S tent. As we got there, I asked her what kind of feedback she wanted. I asked “Do you want to hear THATS GREAT or GOOD” or did she want “That was flat” or did she want fixes. I find it’s really important to asked for feedback consent. You can really destroy someone if they aren’t in the right headspace or ready Sometimes folx don’t want feedback at all. Sometimes folx want to hear if it was “good enough” and sometimes they want you to rip them apart as long as you can tell them how to fix it. I was lucky enough that she did want feedback and how to fix it. I was pleasantly surprised by her timbre and skills she came in with. An absolute delight to listen to. I had her sing the piece through and then I gave her 1 piece of feedback each time she sang it for me as not to overwhelm here or give her too much information to process at once. I think we did it 3 times through. She exclaimed that she felt more confident and more ready for this audition. She was thankful and we enjoyed the rest of our Pensic times together.
From there I hustled over to Geoffrey of Exeter’s class. He was teaching basic vocal technique and using this class to teach his piece “The World an Illusion” so I could support him, but also I would be conducting this piece for his procession as he was to be elevated to the Order of the Laurel in court on Tuesday. I wanted to scope out what additional voices we might have and figure out if they would need more Sopranos or Altos (Any other voice part would be out of my very Soprano range).
From there I immediately hustled back to EK Royale as I was running the East Kingdom College of performers meeting. I decided we should be able to include folks from home as it’s not fair that folks who cannot afford or physically make it to Pensic could not have their voices heard. I made a hybrid meeting where we had 2 people remote in and 6 in person. Not bad for a Pensic meeting. They are always hard and there is -never- a good time.
I had a few hours in between there and went to camp where it then began to POUR. I’m sweet but not made of sugar so the rain never bothered me anyways. As the rain let up, Husband and I hauled our way up “The Hill”tm to go speak to our speccy boy, the vigilant. It is my goal, when I speak to vigilants, that besides to present them with a gift (which is usually a composition for them) is to speak from the heart and make them cry. Poor now, Master Speccy Pants, there were tears I tell you.
The final stop for the night was Bhakail Boardgames and Bardic. A glass of “Nerds Wine”… made from freshly squeezed nerds, singing and more camaraderie happened. Bhakail is a second home to me. My Laurel is Bhakaili and my Pelican used to be/still really is Bhakali. Nothing much to note besides heading home for Bog shenanigans.
Monday was more Romeo and Juliet rehearsal for several hours. I then head down to the Casa where my apprentice “Niece/cousin/somehow SCA related because weird things” where we jammed out for a little bit on her brand new citole. Her other one met its demise earlier in the week so this was as good of an excuse as any.
Tuesday was another Song Byrds rehearsal and full run through where we ironed out the details, set list order and set everything for day of. Then, EK court. As I had mentioned earlier, I was concert mistress for Geoffrey’s elevation as he processed. I herded everyone to our performance spot, recruited another singer a few minutes before. We were set… except the court order changed so HERE WE GO. Rapid singing. Not only was I conducting, I was jumping between singing both parts and coordinating the Harpists (who were fab, btw). I am unsure if anyone recorded the performers and if any of you readers find one, let me know so I can add it to here. Geoffrey, amongst all of his emotion said it could be heard from the back of court and was exactly what he envisioned. I’ll take it
Wednesday was the Song Byrds concert. Most everything went off without a hitch. One piece was moved and we added a piece last second because we under scheduled ourselves (which is better than last year in which we had to cut things. Such is life. However, I do want to make another point about our amazing and diverse set of vocalists were all LGBTQIA. So, in a world that is so scary right now for us, we wanted to make a statement. I requested that we all wear some form of a rainbow for our performance uniform. Check out these speccy duds!!!! (Also, Period appropriate hoes/stockings…. just saying)
Thursday was a new adventure for me. I had been asked to serve as a judge for the Pensic A and S. Typically there is a war point involved, but this year, for the safety of all, there were no war points. So, this took some of the pressure off of me as a first time judge. The coordinators/generals provided training on the rubrics and we were given documentation ahead of time to review so we could formulate and ask intelligent questions about the projects. I was given 2 physical items to review. If you have never had a chance to judge an A and S competition, you absolutely should. You get the pleasure of hearing the passion, the process and the whole scope of some ones project in a way you don’t get from a display. I got 40 minutes to hear a shpiel about some ones work for 20 minutes, ask 20 minutes of questions and then feverishly try to score someone. Although this can feel like a pressure chamber, I genuinely got to ask the artist so many questions about their art that I wouldn’t have ever thought to ask. I didn’t ask anything regarding why they didn’t do a thing. I tried to ask questions with genuine intent to learn and clarify items in documentation and creation that I may have missed. All in all 10/10 would do again.
After my brain was fried from new artforms, back to my camp, in the bog to teach my rounds class. This class serves 2 purposes. 1) To sing period music 2) To make a safe space for new and old singers. This is a judgment free zone that should, in theory, allow folks to have a safe learning environment in which they can explore a period topic. I teach this class similarly to when I was teaching youth. Depending on the duration or language of the piece I would do the following process: 1) Sing the entire song for people to hear. 2) If the piece was short enough I would sing it, ad nauseum, until they felt comfortable enough to jump in 3) When the majority started singing I would “chase” them to give them an idea of how the round sounds with it while creating some minor part independence. The only change of process is if the song was longer or in a foreign language I would break the son into smaller chunks. Id do one phrase at a time then connect 2. then the next one and repeat until the song was whole. In this particular session I had a HUGE variety of skill levels and confidence. I had someone who hadn’t sang since high school and never sings in public, I had someone who appeared to have some musical background and finally a music teacher who is going deaf. My assorted camp mates came in and out to sing with us as well which is always a joy.
After my class, the individual who had not sang since high school and never in public approached me. They advised that this was an amazing class. They said they felt safe and secure and that it was a good place for them to make music. They appreciated my corrections being subtle, non aggressive and not pointing them out at all. My heart was overjoyed to hear this. Not to mention that they have a beautiful singing timbre as well.
If you are interested in downloading my book, here it is. Just please credit me for use. With this link you will get updates to my book as I add them.
Friday was the last day. Usually I am leaving on Friday so I can have a nice leisurely drive home for visits with the family. This year I was staying behind to play in the pit of Romeo and Juliet. This was going to be a super unique situation as we were playing “Under The stars”. What this means is a change in light availability as well as sound reverberation (or lack there of). Tent walls are hard and provide additional bounce. Bodies eat bounce and the sky is a nebulous black hole. We were a small but mighty group and we could do it. We got to play through at least the stage warming music. No more than 30 minutes in did the sky open up and we needed to move inside. This again changed dynamics but we made it work. I had forgot to mention earlier all the music I learned for R and J was new to me as well and all period music. We played Heart’s Ease, Amoroso, La Doune Cella, The Hunts Up, Chi Passa Per Strada and Where Griping Grief. Where Griping Grief comes from the original score of R and J and I actually got to sing that instead of play it. I did with Chi Passa Per Strada as well.
All in all, Pensic filled my heart in ways that I wasn’t sure it could this year. I had a leisurely drive home after which included the cutest 11 year old and 4 year old you’ve ever seen, my ever patient Pelican, friends for lunch at the best Jewish Style deli in CT and washing off the Pensic tan.
GNEW has been one of 2 events I have never missed since I started in the SCA in 2010. It has seen me at my worst and it has seen me at my best. This year I was in charge of running -all- performance related items as well as had separately been in charge of all performances for “The Deed of Arms”.
The weather was not anticipated to behave and it was also looking to be excruciatingly hot. I had apprehension about attending, but I know I had duties to complete. I had recruited a deputy to help alleviate some of my commitments as well as additional help for one of the classes I was running, but life happened.
Thursday, Wolfgang, Smöl and I arrived on site to realize we had forgotten some things, so off to ye olde Walmart I went. Upon return, I started with a rehearsal for the Deed of Arms. For anyone who doesn’t know, The Deed of Arms is a 14th century immersion battle scenario, inclusive of a gallery. One of my vocalists had dropped last minute and another did not make it back to site. I had created a contingency plan to make this all work. I was lucky that we worked through several quirks of the music and was able to create a more comfortable situation for each of the performers. The music was all 14th century homophonic or polyphonic and to a level that individuals who were not deeply immersed in music could manage in a short period of time. For vocalists we did “Miri it is”, “Sumer is icumen in”, “Dona Nobis Pacem” and “Ecco la Primavera”. Our Bagpipist played “Douce Dame Jolie”, “Stella Splendens” and “Quant je sui mis au retour” and our poet did a 3 minute poem”. In addition, Aalina sang ” Ego Humilitas” from Ordo Virtutum by Hildegard von Bingen and ” Ut Queant Laxis”, an 11th century Gregorian chant. However, I only rehearsed with the vocalist ensemble.
To help my vocalists prepare, I created learning tracks for each of the songs and voice parts.:
Friday am started with a youth Bardic circle. I only had 2 youth who showed up, but heck did they sing their little hearts out about unicorns everywhere and pandas everywhere.
Rehearsal 2 and I found out that my 4th vocalist who was supposed to double the bottom of Ecco with me was in a car accident and would not be attending for the rest of the day so PLAN B.
A short break and then off to teach my rounds class. I had a women come who asked if she could just listen. I coaxed her to sing with us anyways and she was a very welcome addition. All of my attendees did a wonderful job. One of them was BRAND NEW to the SCA and I got to listen to his beautiful voice as well.
The Deed of Arms came and my amazing vocalists joined me (Plus my student who was fighting in the Deed) and a resounding applause. It seemed we were well received. More planning for next year to see if we can obtain a larger ensemble and more music can be made.
Saturday and back at it. I was not really anticipating anyone would show up to my recorder jam. This was a class to be a supportive measure for newer recorder players and a way to give out resources so they could obtain free music and also music transcribed by other scadians. Much to my surprise, I had 3 attendees. We worked through one of the Carmina Buranas from Al Cofrin’s books. We have varying level of skills in the group but great attitude. This is what we accomplished:
I ran off to Tiffan’s vigil to present them with a Taranus wheel I had made them but forgot to take a picture. Whoops. Oh well.
Then after I ran an adults Bardic Circle in the Barn. This was unusual. We typically imagine Bardic during the night. We wanted to try to create an accessible bardic space. If you think about those who cannot camp, those who have difficulty seeing in the dark, dealing with flickering lights and those with families, bardic at night can be difficult. We had about 10 of us over 2 hours but everyone got several turns, new friends made and all in all a delight!
Over both days I also organized having a puppet show for the youth each day.
Finally! Reprive! I get to sit for court. I knew many people receiving well deserved awards. Little did I know, one of those people would be me. We were getting towards the end of court and the smöl was still there despite me having offered to let him head back to camp. 4 hours for a 10 year old is ROUGH. I was so proud of him that he sat with us. Then, I had lost attention for a breif moment as a friend was asking about Bardic for the night. I had to sadly admit we were heading home because of the weather when my husband started pulling me up to the Dias. My name was called. Why? I missed who was up there. What did I do?
Apparently, it was time to join the order of the Silver crescent. This is an award for your dedicated service to the kingdom. I do what I do because I love this game, the people, events happening and I can’t watch things burn. To hear I was receiving an award for it blew my mind.
Here is the scroll I received:
Now you all know this bard and their song. While hours do go by, I’ll keep you apprised. For the deeds of Solveig should be heard ‘cross the East. Let all hear my words about the service and fight. Let’s sing the bard’s song.
Chatelaines are all work and play, welcome us home. Newcomers will always know her name. But the bards’ service will remain. Her hard work will set the stage where performers play. Their fame lives on due to her service strong.
There’s only one song left to be sung. Tale of a brave bard called before the throne. Now the Order gathers to welcome them near. No one need ask you how they serve the Kingdom. We’ll tell their story.
So is the fame sung of our bard, one Solveig Bjarnardottir, by Ardri Brennan and Ardrígain Caoilfhionn, who proclaim her inclusion into the ranks of the Order of the Silver Crescent. Their words are received by beloved populace and joyous companions alike upon the field of the Great Northeastern War this fifteenth day of July, AS LVIII (58).
Scroll by THL Lily Aubrey, Words by THL Eleanor Grey
Beyond that there was one more item. The medallion I received belong to my mentor, my Pelican, Rowen Cloteworthy. This was his. My first and only legacy piece.
As a bard, this is the best gift you can receive. There is a story. A story is how someone lives forever. Thank you, Jedi, for this most precious gift. The cord, also beautifully and lovingly crafted by the amazing Astridr Saegersdottir. I feel truly loved.
You never know where a spark of inspiration will come from. A funny story about the humble beginnings of this song. When Wilhelm and Vienna were on the throne, I had been thumbing through some awards, writing some folks in. I had seen this one award, called the “Gold Lyre” and from that moment I decided I wanted it more than anything. I had this grand plan to compose a song about inspiration and then corner Vienna and sing it for her. This would hopefully spark her to grant me the golden lyre award. Fast forward, I chickened out. However, I still had the humble beginnings of the song.
Fast forward a few years later, I had completely forgotten about this song and it was sitting in the depths of my google drive, never to see the light of day. A friend of mine, Roiberd Mac Neil had just received his writ to join the Order of the Laurel. As part of his “In Case Of Peerage” was to have me make music. He requested that I write a song for the Laurels. He spoke about the knights having “Weight of the Chain” by Aneleda Falconbridge but he wanted something for the artists. Who was I to compose for the peers? I myself simply have AOA level awards. Aneleda is an incredible composer of whom I respect her work immensely. I couldn’t see my work standing up to hers. I, however, would do anything for Roiberd, so I agreed.
I knew what I wanted the subject matter to be, but the words just wouldn’t come out. I sat on this for months before creativity struck. I was digging through my google drive and stumbled upon the above musings. I started to write and rewrite. This went through atleast 9 revisions before I was somewhat happy. Then, the music…. the music just wasn’t flourishing as it should. I spent the next few weeks listening to some of my favorite symphonic metal, folk metal and general Euro metals bands until the melody hit me.
As the melody sank into my soul, it was time to rewrite the words yet again. Below, is the final text:
The Spark– By Solveig Bjarnardottir (MKA Ren Haywood)
All our senses spark the drive Of A kinship for all to see A new life blooms, breeds skill to thrive Which ignite the flames with ease
Passing knowledge, hope all will hear We press forward, now back to see The growing paths becoming clearer All our dreams run wild and free
Each has a muse, a burning fire Our labors ne’er seems to cease A moment more drives our desire The spark that lights the East
We made a path, dragged more along Surpassing all our wildest dreams The journey’s harsh, but you’ll grow strong Your treasured art shines as it gleams
Spent countless hours, late at night Just to watch each pass our skill Climbing mountains, reach new heights A sense of pride, is deep instilled
Each has a muse, a burning fire Our labors ne’er seems to cease A moment more drives our desire The spark that lights the East
Each has a muse, a burning fire Our labors ne’er seems to cease A moment more drives our desire The spark that lights the East The spark that lights the East The spark that lights the East
Gnew has been and likely always will be my favorite event. Yes, it’s hot but you know what? It’s home. This year the plan was to take it easy. I am still re-learning my body as I am going through changes as I continue to lose weight and see how my instrument is working. Minor other health issues but nothing to bring up here.
Since I had earned consorts champ, I have been trying to put up monthly challenges, serve as a mentor and teach. I chose to provide 3 classes at GNEW as I would not be fencing.
My first class was Friday for 12. I was presenting my ad hoc choir. This was not the best time for this class to be successful, but beggars can’t be choosers. We had a mixed skill level group but not much for vocal variety. Click below to listen to the group perform the piece they learned day of!
Later in the day, I met with several performers who had an interest in the Bardic Arts. Aalina and I hosted a Bard round table to discuss questions, stories, fears and all in between. We had the full gambit of questions and I feel like the new generation of performers is strong and ready to flourish.
From there it was off to teach my son about the joys of service in the SCA. He is 9.5 so doing for others if somewhat foreign to him still. I ran off to retain with Their excellencies Stonemarche. I was given a plate of delicious items to share with the Deed gallery. There was nor formal gallery this year so tasty treats for all!
Saturday I started my day in morning court, seeing folks celebrated and then off to my final class. I did my rounds class. This class had originally been inspired by Aneleda Falconbridge. I had taken it over when she was elevated to Laurel. It had started as her labor of love and I have been continuing it. Inspired by this I have been putting together a book of all period rounds. It is a work in processes, but I hope it will continue to be a tool that folks will use to keep singing in a safe space.
Here is a small recording of the folks singing in my group. This song is originally in German, but I am using the English translation with my students.
The rest of the time in between was a blur until court. Previously, I had been asked if I would serve as an alternate on the A and S team. This was an absolute honor. I didn’t put much thought into it, but it has really kick started my desire to go into further documentation with my pieces. However, look at this group of amazing folks!!!! I am so excited to do this. Look out Pennsic. More to come on that post Pennsic.
Last but not least, for Saturday, my love was to be recognized in court and become a Lord. Wolfgang was to receive his silver brooch. I have a mold of the silver brooches I had made before. if you look back in past posts, you can see what they look like. However, this time, to make his special, I enameled it for him so it represents the heraldic picture of the award. That night, my house mate was being being apprenticed and I had the joy of heralding him and wandering camps to sing and do Bardy things. Just a good ol’ shennaniganless night. Irish coffee without the irish and songs for old and new friends.
Sunday was pack up day. The saddest day of all. Sure, it was hot and gross all weekend, but this is where my heart lies. As I was packing up, some old friends from Malagentia asked if I would mind mentoring their child in Bardic Performance. I was honored and moved. I have watched this amazingly warm human grow and nothing would give me greater honor. I cried back in camp. This… this was my passion, my joy. To bring bardic to the world, be safe and be a teacher. I cried for joy. We drove home…. washed off the GNEW tan and that was the end of this tale.
This year was different. I just couldn’t get out of my own way. 2 years of virtual performance just aren’t the same. I hadn’t been focusing on my music as much as I should have and the passion for competition didn’t light the flame underneath me. This was the first year I just didn’t feel like competing, but I knew it was good for me. So, I continued on. I had originally picked my repertoire, believing that this year would be like the last 5 where I would have to do 1 piece that was SCA appropriate, 1 piece that was period and the final round would be the crowns whim.
It was announced 6 weeks prior to crown bardic that there would be a theme. “War”. War was not really something that was comfortably in my repertoire. Sure, I like to make people sad like anyone else, but the war in the Ukraine had really put a damper on my soul. I needed to rework my plans for competition this year.
My head had tossed and turned about my first round piece. I wanted to tell a story. Folks don’t really know me for my story telling skills. They mostly know me as a singer. I had originally thought about telling the story of beginning the great unification of Japan. Our King, Ryou, based his persona off of Oda Nobunaga, who was one of the 3 unifiers of Japan. I thought that may be really neat. However, my addled brain just couldn’t bear to add new repertoire to it. Also, finding the right way to keep Oda Nobunaga in a positive light was evading me. So, I chose to tell a humorous tale. It wasn’t period, but it was SCA appropriate. I told the story of “How I caught the red dragon”. It was a strong way to start/finish round 1 and vastly different than anything my other competitors would be doing.
I chose for round 2 to do a completely persona accurate piece. I found a landsknecht piece called “Unser Liebe fraue”. My persona is a Trossfrau who would have traveled with the soldiers as they marched off to mercenary jobs.
The final round would be up to the crown.
The weeks passed and every day I asked my husband if I should still compete. It would put a damper on our house remodeling and also would limit my ability to care for our son at events. Every day he encouraged me to continue on. So, I did.
The bardic community is tight here in the East. We are all friends and there is no ill will towards anyone. We spoke often and I would see who would be joining me at Roses. The numbers were low. It was tough hearing the numbers that low. Daily they ranged from 3-7. Would it feel awful if I didn’t win? Would I feel awful if I did win? Did I deserve it? It’s so many feelings rushing through.
Day of came.
I had my community behind me. Again, nothing seemed like it was as it should be. I donned my German, which was my armor and off I went. My husband was trying to MIT for archery so I went alone.
I saw familiar faces. We hugged. We chatted. I found a new face. I welcomed her as I had never even met her before. She was one of us today. I don’t care what her skill level is. She would be one of us.
The day started with Anne de Basillion heralding us in. It was so cool to feel special. To feel like our championship, though small as it was, mattered.
Round 1 went off with out a hitch. A minor hiccup, but nothing I would call a mistake. I was pleased with my story. It’s not for everyone, but I made folks smile.
Round 2… thats another story. I had forgotten half of the words. I didn’t stop. I made them up as I went. This was a skill I picked up in college. Fake it till you make it. No one seemed to notice. Not even the judges who I had presented a copy of the text and translations to. WHEW.
The finals. We all went to the finals since there were only 5 of us. TRM picked my Ladino piece. I got to geek out and talk about my deep knowledge of ladino, a dead language and sing a beautiful piece of love and loss. I got to chit chat about batties and the macabre. I got to feel a bit more whole about my love.
The day was long, but over. I missed my Bardic family. I missed Agnes who was home with Covid. I missed the hugs and camaraderie that is our community. It was small, but we protected one another during each round. We were family.
We were each gifted a favor from HrRM and Agnes sent us all bracelets. I did not receive one from my sister. She only sent 4 and there were 5 of us. I was gifted a special one from Aneleda Falconbridge. This had a history.
Then… court happened. Sovereigns champion was named as Leyli Shirazi. This was the new to me bard. New to our community. She was magic and it was an absolute delight seeing her called up.
Then, this happened:
After my name was called, I stood there, dumbfounded and hid behind the court banners for the rest of the night. This was something I had been working towards since 2015. It finally happened.
Meddlings of the Minnesinger 