Author: Mathurin Kerbusso

Call for Applications – Society Marshal

Posted by

From the SCA Announcements mailing list:

The position of Society Marshal will soon be open. Candidates must apply in writing to the Board of Directors. This is an unpaid position.

The position entails administrating the marshallate activities of the Society and coordinating the activities of the kingdom Earl Marshals. Reports are required to be filed quarterly to the Board summarizing the martial activities of the Society and of each kingdom. The Society Marshal is also responsible for holding meetings to communicate with the kingdom Earl Marshals.

The successful candidate must be well versed in administrative techniques, problem solving, and interpersonal communications. Knowledge of marshallate policy, rules, and procedures is essential. The ability to travel is necessary, as well as having a telephone and e-mail. Knowledge of the traditions and history of the Society is required.

Resumes (both professional and medieval, including offices held and awards received) must be sent to the attention of the Board at the SCA Corporate Office, P.O. Box 360789, Milpitas, CA 95036-0789. Resumes must also be emailed to resumes@sca.org, with a copy to marshal@sca.org.  Resumes must be received by April 1, 2015.

Questions regarding this position may be directed to Shawn Lindsey (Ritter Asoph Hearts) Society Marshal. He may be reached by phone at 817-822-4303 (please no calls after 9 PM CST), or via email at marshal@sca.org.

Comments are strongly encouraged and can be sent to:
SCA Inc.
Box 360789
Milpitas,  CA 95036

You may also email comments@lists.sca.org.

This announcement is an official informational release by the Society for Creative Anachronism , Inc.  Permission is granted to reproduce this announcement in its entirety in newsletters, websites and electronic mailing lists.

The Calonsound Project Stirs

Posted by

Greetings unto Calontir, and most especially Her bards and minstrels,

Long has The Calonsound Project slept but once more it stirs and seeks sustenance. Who will feed it? Who will make it strong?

Technology has raced ahead since I first began The Calonsound Project and most artists now have the ability to make recordings of their work with relative ease. If you have such recordings to share with the Kingdom, please consider making them available via Calonsound. The process has been considerably streamlined and, if you already have them online, you can provide a just a link to their location. So easy, even a bard can do it?

If you would like to contribute, or just have questions about Calonsound, contact me online or in person.

THL Mathurin Kerbusso

rex.deaver@gmail.com,

http://calonsound.gladiusinfractus.com

Facebook

Google+

 

 

Official Equestrian Practices 2/20 & 2/21

Posted by

Harvested from the CalonList:

 

Duke Eringlin, through the gracious support of the Shire of Standing Stones, will be conducting two official equestrian practices on consecutive days next month: Friday, February 20th and Saturday, February 21st.

The practices will be held at:

Echo Valley Stables
9885 Splice Creek Dr.
Prairie Home, MO 65068

It is in the Standing Stones area.
The short Friday evening practice (6pm-9pm) will be focused on riding and games authorizations, for those who are either bringing their own equine or who have made arrangements to use someone else’s. The Saturday practice will run from approximately 9am to 6pm and be focused on jousting, both foam-tip and wood-tip.

The facilities will be spartan: the barn is unheated and the nearest bathrooms are a short walk away. Attendees are on their own for meals.

Crash space is very limited, as is space for equines apart from a barb wire fenced pasture. If you need crash space or space for an equine, you *must* RSVP to me or Duke Eringlin so that we can make sure there is space for everyone and every equine.

All that said, we encourage interested equestrians and ground crew to join us for one or both practices.

Your Servant,
Edward de Kent

Gulf Wars al-Mahala

Posted by

Mistress Margavati Bai is extending the deadline to submit classes for al-Mahala after the official deadline (which was the 18th) to today, January 21st and still get them in the book.

Follow the link below to submit your classes:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1LwIQd-3_DmND1ahLPRfH_rm9Kv9v5Y6vhpP1KRN2TdY/viewform?formkey=dHRBS0FNS1R3c2JheXJMRU9PZzE4QWc6MA

YIS,

Lady Majda Anwar,
Department Head, al-Mahala

Mistress Margavati Bai,
Class Coordinator, al-Mahala

What is al-Mahala?

Gulf Wars XXII presents a magical opportunity for the SCA re-enactor to explore the widest possible range of historical activities. This twenty plus year tradition of rich diversity of topics is well represented within the microcosm of al Mahala, offering classes in cuisine, music, dance, garb, arts and sciences of not only The Levant, the Arabian Peninsula and Persia, but also India, Andalusia; Ottoman and Silk Road regions as well…

Call for Applicants – Society Chronicler

Posted by

The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is seeking candidates for the position of Society Chronicler. The Interim Society Chronicler’s warrant ends in August 2015. In order to ensure a smooth transition, applications for the position of Society Chronicler are now being accepted.
The Society Chronicler’s duties include the following:
• Supervision of all Kingdom Newsletters to ensure they adhere to Corporate standards and copyright law
• Maintaining, updating, and enforcing the Society Chronicler’s Policies
• Acting as a resource for Kingdom Chroniclers and all Chroniclers throughout the Society
• Administration of the annual Master William Blackfox awards for excellence in SCA publications
• Regular reporting to the Publications Manager and Board of Directors
The successful candidate should have the following skills/competencies:
• Experience managing a newsletter at the SCA Corporate or Kingdom level
• Extensive familiarity with SCA publications
• Basic familiarity with copyright law, both US and international
• Experience working with publishing software and mailing houses and/or postal systems
• Ability to meet deadlines
• Familiarity with SCA Corporate and Kingdom structure
• Familiarity with electronic publications
• Knowledge of Society Chronicler’s policies and issues currently facing SCA Chroniclers
• Excellent communications skills (written, oral, and electronic) and the ability to work with other Corporate and Society officers and deputies
As the bulk of the management of the office is done electronically, a reliable internet connection is also required.

Applications for the office will be accepted through May 15, 2015, and the successful applicant will be notified before the end of July. Please include both an SCA and a modern resume with three references for each including names and e-mail addresses. Send resumes to resumes@sca.org and pubmanager@sca.org.
Comments are strongly encouraged and can be sent to:
SCA Inc.
Box 360789
Milpitas,  CA 95036

You may also email comments@lists.sca.org.

This announcement is an official informational release by the Society for Creative Anachronism , Inc.  Permission is granted to reproduce this announcement in its entirety in newsletters, websites and electronic mailing lists.

Official BoD Announcement on Fourth Peerage Meeting

Posted by

From: Announcements [mailto:announcements-bounces@lists.sca.org] On Behalf Of via Announcements
Sent: Monday, January 19, 2015 9:14 PM
To: announcements@lists.sca.org
Subject: [Announcements] Proposed Corpora Change Results – 4th Peerage

At the January 17, 2015 Board of Directors meeting in Milpitas, CA, the Board voted against revising Corpora to establish a rapier peerage. The Board also voted to delete wording that labeled rapier as an ancillary activity of the SCA and replace it with wording that unambiguously established rattan as the only permitted weapons in a Royal List. The ramifications of the two votes has generated quite a bit of discussion on social media about a number of things, but the Board did not make any decisions concerning anything at all except turning down the rapier peerage proposal and adding a statement that Royal Lists may only be fought with rattan weapons. This letter is intended by the Board to respond to the most prevalent rumors circulating in response to the Board actions of Saturday.

The Board Votes.

The Board was split on the question of the rapier peerage. Three directors voted to approve the Corpora changes and the resulting establishment of a rapier peerage because they believe that while rapier should really be recognized by the Chivalry, trying to force inclusion in the Chivalry by Board fiat would not work, and they were willing to vote yes on the proposal as a good compromise. Two directors felt rapier should be recognized as part of a peerage that recognizes all non-rattan martial arts and not a separate peerage. Two directors believed rapier should be recognized in the Chivalry. So, with a 4-3 vote against the proposed Corpora changes, which would have established a separate rapier peerage, no change will take place at this time.

The only other action the Board took concerning rapier in the SCA was removing language dating from 1979 saying that rapier was an “ancillary” activity of the SCA and, to make it clear that we are not discarding the traditions of Crown Tourney, the Board then made it very clear that only rattan combat may be used in a Royal list. This change to Corpora received the unanimous approval of the Board.

Response to Social Media Discussions.

First, the Board received commentary from less than 2% of the membership over the entire 3 years and all requests for comments on the rapier peerage issue. Many people wrote in more than once, but repeating an opinion doesn’t count as a separate opinion. However, it was not the lack of commentary that influenced some Board members to vote against the proposal; it was the fact that the small amount of commentary the Board did receive trended against a separate rapier peerage. The majority of comments received in favor of recognizing rapier with a peerage said that rapier should either be included in the Order of the Chivalry or in a new peerage that included all non-rattan combat. The result of such a relatively small number of people commenting is that the opinions the Board did receive were given greater weight – if a larger number of those who supported the separate rapier peerage had commented, a different result might very well have resulted. There’s no way to know that for sure, but it underscores the importance of writing in to let the Board know your opinions about proposed changes to Corpora.

Second, the Board did not open the Order of the Chivalry to inclusion of rapier fighters. There is a 1999 policy interpretation from the Society Seneschal (upheld by the Board at that time) specifically stating that the Order of the Chivalry is intended for rattan combatants only. It would take a new policy interpretation (which would need to be upheld by the current Board) or other Board action to change that fact. The Board’s intention in removing the “ancillary activity” language had nothing to do with making rapier knights. The Board removed the “ancillary activity” language because it was simply no longer accurate or true. It may have been true long ago when it was added to Corpora, but times have definitely changed. Rapier has permeated the fabric of the Society, and the Board felt that the language needed to be removed. However, in order to clarify that we weren’t changing the rules regarding Crown Tourneys by the deletion of the “ancillary activity” language, the Board added language restricting Crown Tourneys to rattan weapons.

The Board discussed removal of the “ancillary activity” language months ago and sent it out for comment at the same time as the additional peerage language. We understand that some people are unhappy the various changes weren’t put out in separate announcements, but it never occurred to us to send out multiple announcements on the same general subject at the same time. The Board received commentary on that section, as well as the rapier peerage sections, and we can’t recall any comments that disagreed with the deletion.

People will always understand what they read through the filter of their own opinions and biases, and the fact that some have made certain interpretations and raised them on social media does not make those interpretations factual. Also, a strongly expressed opinion by one or two Board members does not constitute the opinion of the entire Board of Directors of the SCA, so any assumptions made based on one or two such opinions are also not based in fact. It takes a vote of 5 out of 7 directors to make changes to Corpora, individual director opinions notwithstanding. Any official opinion of the Board of Directors will always be labeled as such, will always come through the approved communication channels and will always be posted on the corporate web site.

We welcome your comments which can be sent to: SCA Inc. Box 360789 Milpitas, CA 95036.
You may also email comments at lists.sca.org.

Unofficial Report from the Board of Directors Meeting on the 4th Peerage

Posted by

Reposted from Facebook, posted by Monica Gaudio:

Let’s start with me saying that this is *my impression* of how things went down with the Masters of Defense at the BOD meeting today at the quarterly meeting and I’ll also start with a summary –

TL;DR – MoD failed 3 to 5; Corpora IX.C deleted and Rapier no longer ancillary activity, four dukes and a knight who attended said rapier should be in the Chivalry – and the BOD removed roadblocks for that to happen.

The much longer version –

Let me state, for the record, that a BOD meeting was not even remotely like what I thought it would be. It’s definitely not “Here Be Dragons”, it was a bunch of people holding a group meeting, much like a SCA shire or Barony business meeting. Everyone has ideas and opinions and they are trying to do what is best for our Society. Also, the idea that things are finalized before the meeting – nope! The MoD Vote went down to the wire, each vote matter and people were swayed at the time. (Here’s the list of the directors btw – http://www.sca.org/BOD/directors.html)

The discussion on the MOD started off with the numbers. Lisa C. reads off the recent polling. It is not good – only 345 people commented. Only 146 of those were “Yes – 4th peerage.” A large number of the no’s (I think a majority but that was not stated specifically) were “No, it should be in the chiv.”

I am using personal names for the Directors (as I can find those on the website easily) and using SCA names for the audience members. I am also writing this up, likely out of order.

Lisa M. (Margaret) discusses how two previous committees gave us guidance and that both of the committee said yes, there should be a 4th peerage. She discusses them a bit further and the work that they did.

Lisa C. (Marion) discusses how Ealdormere doesn’t have a separate AOA or Grant level award for prowess – and that there shouldn’t be a 4th peerage for just rapier. That she’d be more for an omnibus peerage.

Arthur D. (Cuan) is for the 4th peerage and discusses the good of the rapier community.

Two knights in the audience discuss how rapier should be in the chivalry. It is clear from the discussion that several of those in the audience feel that this should have been done many years ago. There was also some discussion on how it has not been done due to the insular nature of some members of the Chivalry. (Much stronger words were used, btw. Like “meathead.”)

Several in the audience discuss how it is time that rapier had a peerage and are not likely to be accepted by the Chivalry, so the 4th peerage is likely the way to go.

John F. (John the Bearkiller) talks very sweetly and very passionately about rapier and tells us a funny story about pink lace and about how rapier has changed over the decades, about how now the rapier community is now the ones doing SCA “stuff” – bringing people in, making sure they have a place to stay, putting them in clothing and armor, and being good SCAdians. He then talks about how the rapier community, collectively, has done more to promote the SCA than other martial activities have and he’s for the Rapier Peerage.

Andrew C. (Ailgheanan) spoke about how much this had been weighing on his mind and he went back and read every single comment. One came from a current King who felt rapier fighters should be in the chivalry, and not have a 4th peerage.

In the audience, we start asking questions like, “Well, can a King knight a rapier fighter? What does Corpora say?” We read aloud from Corpora (http://www.sca.org/docs/pdf/govdocs.pdf – page 31) and we all listen to Andrew read about the Chivalry. We come to this line, “The candidate must be considered the equal of his or her prospective peers with the basic weapons of tournament combat. “Then it’s asked if Tournament combat is defined – and the answer is no.

David K and Scott B. also talk and are against the 4th peerage idea. (IIRC) My recollection of their words is incomplete. David K. did indicate that he is for rapier should be in the chivalry.

The vote then happens – Arthur, John, and Lisa M are Yes. Everyone else is No. And the 4th peerage is voted down. Other business occurs and we go to the lunch break.

At 2PM, we come back from lunch and the BOD has had an executive session. They come back in – and then, Lisa M. proposes a change to Corpora – the language use in the last section of APEC – removal of IX.C and the addition of “C. Royal Lists – Only Chivalric (rattan) combat shall be used for formal tournament lists for royal ranks.”

It passes completely unanimously.

My personal opinion from being there – I feel that the BOD was removing whatever blocks that they thought were necessary or that might be perceived to keep a King or Queen from making a knight who has prowess in rapier.

Lily vs. Lion Arts and Sciences Competition at Chieftains

Posted by

Announcing the Lily vs. Lion Arts and Sciences Competition at Chieftains, sponsored by the Lilies War.

To be held at Chieftains, a fine competition to display both your patriotism to your chosen side at Lilies, and the creative endeavors our kingdom creates through presentation of either a lily or a lion in any medium. Minimum documentation is a 3×5 index card identifying your piece, country of origin, and time period. Use of the Lilies 100 Years War theme and additional information on your piece creation is encouraged but not required.

Will you serve the French through your representation of a lily or show the worth of Englishmen through your creation of a lion?

Aislinn

 

The March to Lilies: The Hundred Years Week

Posted by

From the Lilies website http://www.lilieswar.org/434/coronation-and-clothiers

As part of Coronation, Duchess Aislinn sponsored an A&S competition of the best Hundred Years War period crest. Overall, we were impressed with the quality of all of the crests. Three stood out, however. Sir Halvgrimr’s peacock was fantastic. HL Aiden might very well have won, if his crest had not actually been from the 1500s, not the time of the Hundred Years War. The winner was HL Cearr MacBrendan’s wolf, which was an excellent, and documented, period example of a crest.

As part of his victory, Cearr will choose 10 resurrections for either the French or English. As he has yet to make his choice, I suspect Sir Snorri and Mistress Rhianwen might have to bid for those resurrections.

On to other items. HL Jawhar, the Gate Steward, is beginning his call for people to serve at the gate. If you are interested in helping out, please email gate@lilieswar.org.

Next, if the Lilies theme makes you interested in new Hundred Years War garb, at Clothier’s Sir Mathieu Chartrain will be teaching about the garb of Hundred Years War soldiers.

For up to date news about Lilies and the activities leading up to it, follow http://www.lilieswar.org/news