Pennsic

The Pennsic War approaches, and once again, even the notion of going is out of the question for me. I am teaching three classes during my school's summer term... they meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays through late August. In theory, I could arrange for substitutes... or given sufficient lead time, I might be able to make some other sort of arrangement.

I'm not overly concerned about missing this year. I've been in retirement from the SCA for some time (this blog is my only category of activity right now); I would be unready to camp or participate at this date. But I do not want to be in the position of never again attending, either.

Maybe next year. But even now, I have this strange notion of appearing for just a day or so, staying in a hotel, perhaps, and donning medieval pilgrim's garb, complete with broad brimmed hat, cloak, and scrip. Why not? A somewhat expensive and perhaps pointless jaunt at the moment, but it would be nice to watch a battle or two, see the sights, say hello to old friends, contemplate new ventures.

SCA and Cocktails

SCA and cocktails don't go together all that well... or I never thought so, anyway. The Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. is all about the Middle Ages, and they didn't have cocktails in the Middle Ages, poor benighted sods. Of course, we SCA members are often fond of the sauce, in our way, and I have been at more than one post-event function at which beer, mead and ale were not the only libations offered. (One time at Pennsic, Geirmundr and I made martinis... well, I made them, and Geirmundr drank them, mostly. A merry evening, to be sure. And we used to have cocktails before dinner in the kitchen during one period of local revels, and we have generally had champagne after local events.)

Well, last summer, I decided to take a break from the SCA for a while, and as I tried to still post occasionally here, I found I really wanted to talk about cocktails, one of my other hobbies being making classic cocktails. I even considered starting a separate blog for a while. But I managed to mostly avoid drifting too far from my chosen topic here. I know other bloggers vary from their topic, so it isn't a sin or anything. I just like the tidiness of sticking to my chosen field of... uh, blogography.

Tonight, I was prowling through drink blogs (trying desperately to avoid actually grading any more papers or final exams from the summer term), and I went to a new one, to me, anyway, called An Exercise in Hospitality... Adventures with Cocktails and Food. And what should be the latest post on this blog but the Pennsic War! The writer explains to his usual readers about Pennsic and then discusses at length drinks and meals he and his comrades had there, together with some stabs at more period fare. Delightful, and perhaps I'm being too picky in my topics. I'd post more often if I could expand my topic base.

War Over at Opening Ceremonies?

According to the Pennsic Independent, King Konrad of the East has conceded all 37 War Points to the Middle at the Opening Ceremonies yesterday.

That was unexpected! I have no idea what the story is here, although I'm sure there is one. From the count of kingdoms enrolled on each side, it looked like the East might be outnumbered. It appeared that mostly smaller and more distant kingdoms were fighting with the East and Atlantia, although I didn't see Meridies in either list. So perhaps the East felt it would make everyone on both sides happier to just fight and have a good time without a foreordained loss. But I don't know, that's the purest speculation; the Pennsic Independent didn't explain further. No doubt more details will become available.

I urge my readers to subscribe to PI if you are at home wondering what's going on at Pennsic; I know many of my friends are this year. Also, check out Master Rowan's page for lots of pictures every day.

Pennsic War 37

Once again I find myself unable to attend Pennsic, even briefly. I gave it some slight thought, but it seems impractical. We moved earlier this year into much more spacious and congenial quarters, and that cost a lot in time, effort and money; and I am in no way prepared to fight, camp or otherwise participate. And that's leaving aside the question of my work schedule, which makes Pennsic highly impractical. Can't just wander off and cancel classes during a nine-week term, and it's awkward to schedule substitutes during the summer. If the regular Econ guy were around this time of year to fill in for me, I wouldn't be teaching the classes to begin with! (I could afford the time to go to Pennsic, certainly, but my bank account would very much not appreciate it.)

However, in this day and age, it is increasingly possible to attend Pennsic in spirit, if not in person. One can keep up in the virtual world of the Internet. Here's my primary tool, the Pennsic Independent. This is the on-site daily newsletter of Pennsic, and they provide hard copies in the mail or .pdf copies. I prefer .pdf, as I can read them the same day.

And tonight I came across this web diary, at which the writer, one Rowan, who appears to be an old hand, promises to deliver photos and commentary on a daily basis.

Ok, it's not arming up and fighting in the field battle. One does what one can.

Video of Pennsic 36

From Legio Draconis, a list of YouTube videos of Pennsic. Haven't had time to watch any yet. If any reader sees any local folks in the videos, or anything else of special note, perhaps you might note it in the comments here.

Pennsic 36 News

Well, we won. Not sure of the final score, but the Middle was up by enough points as of Friday that no combination of additional scoring could result in a surprise win for the East and its allies. So Hoobah! to my fellow Midrealmers!

I kept up on a daily basis by subscribing to the web edition of the Pennsic Independent, which I heartily endorse. Only $6 and one can read the daily newspaper of Pennsic town in the comfort of one's home that same day - or in moments at work, to be sure.

Melisande made some wistful remarks during the war about how she rather misses going, and my father has expressed a wish to go next year, likely basing his operation out of a trailer in a nearby campground and visiting during the day. Melisande's allergies are much worse than they were years ago when we camped at Pennsic more frequently, so a hotel room or perhaps in my parent's trailer would seem indicated.

My own situation is problematic. I have had the curious misfortune (in this regard, anyway) to first study and then teach at two different institutions with unusual academic schedules. Pennsic was scheduled for early August in order to make it easier for college students to attend. This has never worked for me, alas. I had a narrow window of opportunity in the late 80s and early 90s during which I regularly attended for the second week, but the last time I was able to spend a whole week at Pennsic was in 1997. I've only been able to visit for a day or two a couple of times since.

It would take some arranging. I will likely have three classes to teach, and I can't just blithely wander off on vacation during the term. I might be able to arrange substitutes or something of the kind. At any rate, I am presently planning to attend for - well, as much of the second week as possible, let's say. Let's say long enough to set up camp and fight in as many battles as possible. 51 weeks away! I'm looking forward to raising my banner in Aethelmarc again.

Good News for Pennsic

SCAToday reports that the Kingdom of Atlantia will be allied with the Middle this summer. Former MidRealm monarch Valharic is Atlantia's prince and will be king at Pennsic. Good news.

An Ealdormerean Account

I just finished reading an Ealdormerean account of Pennsic 34 at SCA Today. Strongly recommended. I do wonder what a "Jack and Jill" is, and whether "gack" is gear in Canadian slang, Ealdormerean slang or even SCA slang that I haven't heard.

Pennsic Awards for Stormvale

As far as I'm aware right now, two awards of particular interest to Stormvale were made at the Pennsic War just past.

Our Lord Erevon FitzGerald received the Award of the Dragon's Barb for his work and prowess in archery.

Former Stormvaler Alan Fairfax was made a member of the Order of the Laurel for his skill and accomplishments in research on Medieval topics.

More details as I get them, and Hoo-bah to both gentlemen!

More Pennsic and Books

Speaking of books and Pennsic, which I have been in recent posts, here are three privately published books of potential interest to those interested in the Pennsic Wars:

From 2003, A Battlefield Guide to the Pennsic Wars; Recognizing Unit Colors and Devices, by Malcolm Mac Angus of Kinross, and its companion volume, Armies of the Pennsic Wars, by Robert Averill. The first was a pamphlet in stiff covers that has color drawings of the heraldry and appearance of the major units. The second is a more substantial book designed to look somewhat like an Osprey military book, with a lot more detail. Total cost for both, if I recall correctly, was about $35. Email MalcolmVH@aol.com for more details. I hope he still has them in stock.

And this year, Herstadr-Saga, a history of the Pennsic War, is a $10 comb-bound item from Folump Enterprises. Folump charges a dollar per item for shipping, and having bought many of their histories, I am certain this one will be interesting. Parts were excerpted in the Pennsic Independent newsletter this year.

Pennsic XXXIV Update for Saturday

The Pennsic Independent says the final score after Friday's battles was 26-1 Middle over East. Big number.

Terryl MacAodhagain reports being home this evening, and driving through wet weather. She says Stormvale's trailer is also expected back tonight. She deserves congratulations for being made a youth combat marshal, and says that Erevon FitzGerald got an award of some kind, which she believes was a Dragon's Barb. That certainly sounds right. Erevon has been busting his butt on archery for quite a while. Busting his butt... very faint unintentional pun there. Oh well.

Pennsic XXXIV Update as of Thursday

It's now 19-1 Middle and allies over East and allies, according to the Pennsic Independent. There were supposed to be another three war points today. Obviously, the Middle won a couple of days ago, in effect, but this is delightful news after all the years of being repeatedly defeated and sometimes swamped by the other side. I wish I was there.

Pennsic XXXIV Update

According to the latest edition of the Pennsic Independent, the Middle Kingdom and its allies (Aethelmearc, Atlantia, Calontir, Ealdormere, Meridies, Northshield, Outlands, Trimaris, Great Dark Horde) led the East Kingdom and its allies (Ansteorra, An Tir, Artemesia, Atenveldt, Caid, Drachenwald, Lochac, Trimaris, West, Acre) 17-1 in war points by Wednesday. SCA Today also has occasional news and links to PI.

I'll post a fuller report on the war once our own warriors get back.

UPDATE:

This post was edited for accuracy.

Middle Kingdom Ahead on Points at Pennsic XXXIV

Way ahead, actually. As of Wednesday, we were ahead 9-0. I gather from various reports that we heavily outnumber the East and their allies this year, which Pennsic veterans will recall is quite unusual. One report I saw indicated that two usual Eastern allies, their former principalities Aethelmark and Atlantia, are both fighting with the Middle this year. I have not heard why they have chosen to do so, but this is certainly welcome and exciting news.

Alan Fairfax on Vigil

According to Breac MacFinnein (who I assume got it from the Apprentices mailing list), Alan Fairfax has been placed on vigil for the Order of the Laurel at Pennsic.

Fairfax (he was Fairfax Aluricson for a long time, so we all call him that rather than Alan) began his SCA career in Stormvale at the age of 16. He was interested in heraldry early on, and was later a senior kingdom herald. More recently, he has been attending theological school in Chicago, and has been active in the SCA outside Stormvale for many years. His wife, Constance Fairfax, also from the Davison area, was laurelled a couple of years ago.

This is wonderful news, and I hope we get lots more detail when our folks get back from Pennsic.