SUN Shines

Half a foot of snow couldn't cast a shadow on the the Stellar University of Northshield, November 13 in Nordskogen. I offered two classes, both taught in persona. (Karyn did sneak in a few comments, but not many.) The Alphabeticall Bestiary came out of the vault with a few new pictures, and Kudrun's Herball was spiffed up and repeated. The Herball features pictures from period sources and from my own gardens juxtaposed with each other. It was fun testing Torch flower (mullien).

Their Majesties saw fit to invite me into Northshield's Order of Bridget's Flame, the grant-level arts and sciences award.

Research Day

The Shire of Rokeclif enjoys occasional trips to the library for research. We met at Murphy Library at UW LaCrosse on Monday, October 4 for some persona research. The question was, "How do you choose a persona?" I provided a sheet of suggestions and some library reference service. Is this a class? Sure.

Kudrun's Herball

Poor Kudrun. She has such ambitions to put together an herbal for northern climes, but she's befuddled by the enormity of the project. Kudrun shared her frustrations (and a good helping of information about pre-13th century herbals) with the folks at Novices, Neophytes and Knaves. This is a brand-new class, taught in persona.

Aristotle Joins the SCA

Novices, Neophytes and Knaves was an excellent introduction to the SCA intended for... well... novices. There were lots of classes, an excellent period feast, and a court-with-commentary. I revamped the presentation that I did in April 2009 into a PowerPoint presentation. (This is the class that uses Aristotle's Poetics to explore SCA persona development. )

More heraldry

I fixed up the heraldry class done without electricity at Poor Man's Pennsic and presented it in PowerPoint to the folks at Rokeclif's A&S Night.

Heraldry for Beginners

I am not an official herald, nor do I play one on TV, but I thought it would be interesting to the modern visitors at Poor Man's Pennsic as well as newish SCA folk to learn enough about heraldry to appreciate some of the heraldic display that was visible at the event. I explained a little about the role of the herald (as battlefield CSI, among other things) and introduced a tiny bit of herald-speak. My primary hope, though, was to tell the story behind some of the displayed devices. Thanks to Anna z Pernstejna, Gerald Loosehelm, Toki Magnusson, Otes McKee, and Mechthild zur Drachenhöle for telling me about their arms.
About 7 SCA folk attended.

Digging it up...

Warriors and Warlords XVII provided the venue for yet another take on persona, though any SCA research might benefit from it. On July 10, I presented "Digging it up, Dusting it off, and Putting it away." The purpose was to provide hints and tips for SCA research, from a quick look-up (Turkey is unsuitable for my 14th-century feast. I'd better serve peacock.) to an issue of Compleat Anachronist.
DIGGING IT UP --
The main resources for research are to ask an expert, check the library, or search the internet. All have advantages and disadvantages, and there are strategies to make the most of each source.
DUSTING IT OFF --
There's a bit of risk in each of those sources. How can you minimize the risk, to assure that your information is accurate and up-to-date?
PUTTING IT AWAY --
Once you've found good information, how can you retrieve it? More importantly, how can you remember where it came from in the first place? (Hint: "the blue book on the third shelf" is not a solid bibliographic citation.)