Greetings Fellow Scolairians,
I'm pleased to announce that Aileen's cunning plan worked and we now have an Autocrat for
the event as well as feast in the works. That's right ya been had. Thanks to Angelique and
Rosalyn for stepping up.
We did two Boy Scout demos in Febuary. The one in Monticello was quite a drive but went
very well. Unfortunately, the one here in town resulted in the near fatal wounding of a
Disco Ball. The damage was quickly repaired but I think we taught that ball a lesson.
I would like to remind everyone that Illiton's event is coming up March 25th. Please go
and support our neighbors, it's usually quite fun. And for those making the trip to the
southern Kingdoms, drive safely and do your best to further the rnown of our fair shire,
region and kingdom.
Be Nice and Play Safe,
Julienne
Greetings to all,
From now on, the first A & S Meeting of the month will always be Projects Night. The second one will concentrate on a theme for the evening. Please don’t feel that you can’t come to the second one if you’re not interested. You may always bring whatever you’re working on and watch the rest of us, or ask someone questions if you need help. This is just a decision in helping me to plan the meetings.
I am trying to come up with some ideas for the theme nights, so if you would like to see something done, please let me know. These meetings aren’t for me, they’re for the group.
The Midlands Arts and Sciences Fair has been announced. Please mark your calendars for April 29, Midlands Regional A & S & the Collegium In the Corn Fields II at Lost Bridge in Decatur.
Featured Sites of Interest:
Tudor Effigies: Costume Research Image Library
http://www.jmdsrv1.dyndns.org/tudoreffigies
Accessed 2/3/06
This data base, compiled by Dr Jane Malcolm-Davies at Winchester School of Art, is the first stage of a project to photograph and make available photographs of Tudor effigies in UK churches. It contains 44 effigies with photographs of items and features of dress, representing about two per cent of the material that could be compiled from similar sources. Eventually, each effigy and its details will have a description with appropriate 16th century terms and an explanation of how they were worn.
MRTS: Medieval & Renaissance Texts and Studies Online
http://www.asu.edu/clas/acmrs/publications/mrts/home.html
Accessed 2/6/06
The site of a rather famous academic publisher, originally affiliated with the Center for Medieval and Early Renaissance Studies (CEMERS) at Binghamton. Its mission is twofold: to produce basic first-rate scholarship such as fundamental reference works and critical editions and translations of works not generally available; and to produce these works at prices individuals can afford. Recently they have announced they will be publishing Constance Hieatt’s new book “A Concordance of English Recipes: Thirteenth to Fifteenth Centuries”. Constance has written several cookery books used by the SCA, among them “Pleyn Delit”. The co-authors are J. Terry Nutter and Johnna Holloway, a member of the Middle Kingdom, both of whom will be listed on the cover along with Constance (the primary author).
Eithne
Spring and Spring events are almost upon us. With any luck, March will be our last month at the YWCA and we can move to the great outdoors. There are some great events coming up in the next few months. March 25th in Sparland, IL will be Rites of Spring which is always a fun fencing event with Maire's Wedding. April 29th in Decatur, IL brings us the Midlands A&S and the Collegium in the Corn. Baron Phillipe will be teaching two 2-hour classes for the historical fencing buffs; "The Single Sword Excercise of Vincintio Saviolo" , a beginner's class and "The Teachings of Henry de Saint Didier", a more advanced class. Finally, May 6, right here in Bloomington, is our own Armored Easter Egg Hunt. As practices progress, if anyone would like to work on things for authorizations or has something fun we can do, just let me know.
Catalin
Greetings from the Chatelaine’s Office.
Thank you to my predecessor, Lady Kytte Wynpeny, for serving as Scolairi’s Chatelaine.
Please bring me your suggestions and ideas for ways to seek out potential new members, make our newer members feel welcome, help them integrate into our shire, and otherwise fulfill the office of Chatelaine.
New members are fun! Invite someone new to an event.
Ellen
Missing Officer Reports/Articles:
Pursuivant - Dugan - No article this month.
Exchequer - Francesca - No article this month.
Knight’s Marshal – Angelique du Soleil - No article this month.
Archery - Simon - No article this month
Thrown Weapons - Vladymyr - No article this month
Minister of Children - Guenivere - No article this month.
Spring Greetings unto the populace of Baile na Scolairi from Ellen of the Scholars.
First, I would like to offer my congratulations to the Honorable Lady
Mary Buchanan, who has been selected to fill the Kingdom Signet’s office when Baroness Alexandra dei Campagnella steps down at Coronation, April 22nd. Hoobah for yet another member of Scolairi following our ancient and honorable tradition of service to the Middle Kingdom! A new Midlands Regional Signet has yet to be appointed as her replacement, but I’m sure our Scola Scribendi will be kept busy helping out these new signets at the Regional and Kingdom level. Remember the Royalty, the Kingdom Signet, and the Regional Signet are always happy to accept scroll blanks from our talented scribes, so keep them coming.Belated congratulations to Lady Marie Tetreaux, who finally received her scroll for the Order of the Willow at the February business meeting. She was recognized for her illumination skills and the many scroll blanks she has produced for the signet’s office. Hoobah!
Our own Armored Easter Egg Hunt Event is coming up on May 6th. If you are coordinating an activity and would like some scribal work to give out as part of the prize(s) to your participants, please let me know as soon as possible. Our scribendi will appreciate as much lead-time you can give us!
More scribal CLASSES AND opportunities:
Gulf Wars is coming up this month from the twelfth to the nineteenth. There will be plenty of opportunities to practice the scribal arts and attend classes. I hope to see some of you there.
Royal University of the Midrealm will be hosted by the Barony of Brendoken in Smithville, OH on March 25th. The web site is available here: http://www.brendoken.org/RUM/
The Midlands Regional A&S Faire will be hosted by Swordcliffe in Decatur IL, April 29th. Details are available on the event web site: http://www.geocities.com/decatursca/corn.html
The Known World Heraldic and Scribal Symposium will be hosted by the Kingdom of Gleann Abhann in Metarie, LA this June 16th through 18th. For further information, contact the Autocrat: THL Katryne MacIntosh the Strange (KatTheStrange @ aol.com)
Ellen
Okay, I’ll say it right up front for you. It was better than I had thought it would be. Now, admittedly, my expectations were pretty low before I went. I mean, I’d seen – and seen people actually sleep through – Fire and Sword, a 1982 version of the exact same story. Nicely done, but boring. Nor were the early reviews at all inspiring. “Mindless, predictable and mildly entertaining.” “A feeble medieval epic with a lackluster romance at its center.” “Has nothing new to say about either love or filmmaking.” “A lengthy, meditative and ultimately lackluster period piece about young love and the price of loyalty.” “Pretty and boring.” Even the tag line didn’t cause much interest. “Before Romeo and Juliet, there was ....” (Oh, yeah, now there’s a happy story. Oh, wait. No, everybody dies in the end.) But after months of waiting, it was finally in the theaters, and on the appointed day off I went to the local Hyper-Giga-73 Screen Multiplex. And thus it is, dear readers, that this month, Da’ud Bob reviews the new release of Tristan and Isolde.
Starring James Franco as Tristan, Sophia Myles as Isolde, Rufus Sewell as Marke, David O’Hara as the Irish king Donnchadh, Mark Strong as Wictred, Henry Cavill as Melot, Bronagh Gallagher as Bragnae, Ronan Vibert as Bodkin, Todd Kramer as Widseth, and Lucy Russell as Edyth, this is, if you haven’t already guessed, a story about what Shakespeare would have called “star-cross’d lovers”, only instead of Renaissance Italy, the setting is medieval Cornwall; and instead of the Montagues and the Capulets, we have the various tribes of Britain on the one side and the Irish on the other. In brief (that is to say, leaving out most of the sub-plots), Tristan, a ward of Marke who is ace at fighting the Irish, is thought to have been killed. He’s buried at sea, but the flames go out before they reach him, and he’s tossed ashore on the coast of Ireland, where he’s secretly nursed to health by Isolde, the daughter of the Irish king Donnchadh. They fall in love, but to avoid capture, T sails back to Cornwall. Donnchadh, meantime, to buy time to raise more troops to reconquer Cornwall, and to keep the various tribes in Britain divided in the interim, holds a tournament, the winner of which gets to marry – tadah! – his daughter, Isolde. Tristan goes and fights on Marke’s behalf. He, of course, wins, discovers that the “prize” is his love, but must take her back to Cornwall to become Marke’s wife, choosing duty over love. More plotting, jealousy and Camelot-style stuff happens after that. It’s almost more Arthur and Guinevere and Lancelot than it is Romeo and Juliet.
Good points: The cinematography. The landscapes. The seascapes. The soundtrack really helps to “set the mood” for the cinematography. King Donnchadh’s chair. The fight choreography, especially in the final round of the tournament. Oh, did I mention the cinematography is very good?
Bad points: D’Or (Marke’s castle) is not a Cornish place name. The odd “training helmets” on the young fighter trainees. Stirrups on all the saddles. Isolde’s fantasy wedding headdress. And just what was that “priest” wearing? (Both at the wedding and at the coronation.) Did the Cornish (and the Irish, for that matter) really sail about in Viking longships? They said “full moon”, but the moon they then showed was in its third quarter. (A “decrescent moon”, for those of you who are interested in such things.)
Zero breasts. Three gallons of blood. 43 dead bodies (not counting the rabbit). Arrow fu. Sword fu. Axe fu. Mace fu. Fire fu. Morning star fu. Head rolls. Hand rolls. Waves roll. Rolling hills. Gratuitous Roman ruins. Gratuitous hanging. Gratuitous flashback. Gratuitous love poetry. Gratuitous knee-capping. Gratuitous pufferfish poison on sword. Gratuitous shots of cloud shadows on the hills. Academy Award nomination to the cinematographer for ... the cinematography. A 76 on the Vomit Meter. 2½ Stars. Da’ud Bob says “It’s better than I thought it would be. Check it out!”
Mediteranian Mango and Sage Chicken with Fruited Couscous
Original recipe by Catalin
Ingredients for chicken:
Boneless/skinless chicken thighs 1pkg
Dried mango
Dried sage leaves
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Green onions 3
Apricot jelly 1 jar
Set oven to 350. Spray a baking dish with Pam or equivalent. Put chicken flat in baking dish with the inside up. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Place two or three sage leaves and one or two pieces of mango in the center. Fold chicken over and place seam side down on baking dish. Sprinkle top with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Sprinkle chopped green onions over the chicken. Top chicken with a good sized dollop of apricot jelly. Put in oven for 1 hour.
Ingredients for Couscous:
Plain Couscous 1 pkg
Chicken stock 2 cups
Butter ½ stick or large dollop
Dried mango ½ cup chopped
Raisons ½ cup
Garam Masala just a couple pinches
Soak couscous in water for 1 hour. Put chicken stock, butter and fruits in a pan. After the hour, bring the stock et al to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in hydrated couscous. Wrap a towel around a lid and place on the pan. Put the pan back on low heat for 20 minutes. When time is up, remove lid, stir in garam masala and serve.
Crispels:
Submitted by Eithne
Here’s one of my favorites from the Gode Cookery site (I love honey).
http://www.godecookery.com/mtrans/mtrans.htm
ORIGINAL RECEIPT:
171. Crispels. Take and make a foile of gode past as thynne as paper; kerue it out wyt a saucer & frye it in oile; oşer in grece; and şe remnaunt, take hony clarified and flamme şerwith. Alye hem vp and serue hem forth. - From Hieatt, Constance B. and Sharon Butler. Curye on Inglish: English Culinary Manuscripts of the Fourteenth-Century (Including the Forme of Cury). New York: for The Early English Text Society by the Oxford University Press, 1985.
GODE COOKERY TRANSLATION: Crispels. Take and make a sheet of good pastry as thin as paper; carve it out with a saucer & fry it in oil; or in grease; and to finish them, take clarified honey and baste there-with. Do them up and serve them forth.
Modern Recipe from Gode Cookery
Pastry dough
Olive oil
Honey
Roll out the pastry as thin as possible; cut into circles. Fry the pastry in a little olive oil until lightly brown & crisp. Drain well. Place the honey in a saucepan and slowly bring to a boil, skimming off any scum that rises. Brush the pastries with the hot honey and serve forth!
This is the on-line version of The Scolairi Notes. Scolairi Notes is the publication of the Shire of Baile na Scolairi, a branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. Scolairi Notes is available from Renee LeVeque, 711 E Taylor, Bloomington, IL 61701, at no cost. It is not a corporate publication of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc., and does not delineate SCA policies. Opinions expressed herein are not those of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. Webbed version created by Rory mac Feidhlimidh.