Greetings Unto the Populace of Oertha,
While the short northern summer makes June is a
busy month in Oertha, the long days give us lots
of time for travel and mer-riment. His Highness
and I look forward to a rousing good time
fighting, watching theater and throwing tomatoes
at the Three Baron’s Renaissance Faire demo the
first two weekend of the month. Eskalya’s
Newcomers event the following week-end is an
opportunity to grow our ranks and share our love
of the SCA and Hrafnfjordr’s Barmaids will end
the month on a carousing and convivial note.
Summer Coronet Tournament is fast approaching
and We are excited to see what it will bring.
For those pursuing Arts and Sci-ences, His
Highness’ Whim is pouches, Her Highness’ whim is
small woven objects.
Finally, while We were unable to attend, We
extend our good wishes and warmest welcome to
the new Crown Heirs of the West to be selected
at June Crown.
Soren and Alienor
Prince and Princess of Oertha
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Come one, come all to Eskalya Newcomer’s
Festival. Summer solstice is upon us and we
rejoice in the new life of the sun. Wonder
at the prowess of Eskalya’s fighters, and
see the magnificence of her arti-sans. Know
that all are welcome at the court of the
Sister Baronesses of Eskalya.
Site Information:
Goose Lake Park (2811 UAA Drive,
Anchorage, AK 99508).
Site opens at 11AM and closes at
7PM.
Directions: Take Northern Lights
to UAA Drive. Turn onto UAA drive
and take an immediate L into Goose
Lake Park. Follow road to parking
lot at the end. Goose Lake will be
on the Right, Site is on the field
at the very end of the parking lot
through a short trail.
Registration:
Adult Event Registration: $15, Adult
Member Discount Event Registration:
$10, Children (Ages 5-10): $5,
Children (Under 5): Free
Autocrat:
Celestria Textrix (Dawn Poggas
Bates)
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The Shire of Ravensfjord invites everyone to
come gather in Soldotna Alaska at the Swift
Water Campgrounds. Come camp, fight, frolic,
and revel with us June 23 through 25th at
Barmaids.
Saturdays premier activities will be
the Tavern Brawl for hard suit and
rapier, Thrown Weapons Tourney, and
Midnight Viking Pillow Fight Prize.
Tournament The Most Creative weapons
for the tavern brawl will be
rewarded with a Viking Ship prize.
(Hard suit and Rapier) Creative
weapons must be SCA Combat legal,
and resemble Anything you might find
laying around in Tavern.
Site Information:
Swift Water Campground (Soldotna, AK).
Camping Registration:
Adult $25, Youth (5-17) $6, Children
under 5 Free.
Day Trip Registration:
Adult $15 Youth (5-17) $5 Children
under 5 Free.
Member discount on Adult fees -$5.
Family cap will be $60.
Member discount on Family cap will
-$10.
Feast Information:
Saturday Night Feast of Beef
Stroganoff will be $5 per Adult and
$3 per child under 17.
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Come one and all to the land of the midnight
sun to revel in the warmth and friendship of
Oertha. May all bear witness as the heirs to
the coronets of Oertha are chosen upon the
field of ferocity and honor. Her highness
Alienor invites all who wish to attend to a
princess' tea. Site permitting we will be
hosting an archery prize Tourney. His
Highness' whim is pouches, Her Highness'
whim is small woven items. Stay tuned for
more details as they come available.
Site is rustic so please plan
accordingly, travelers from outside
the principality please feel free to
contact the autocrat for hospitality
assistance. Anderson Riverside Park
is located approximately 4.5 hours
north of Anchorage/1 hour south of
Fairbanks. For attendees not wishing
to camp there are roadhouses/B&Bs in
the vicinity. Please note that the
only store nearby is a quickie mart
15 minutes north in Nenana. More
schedule details will be posted as
they become available.
Site Information:
Anderson Riverside Park (260 1st
St., Anderson, AK 99744).
Site opens at 1PM on Friday and
closes at 5PM on Sunday
Directions: make your way along
Parks highway ( AK 3) (North from
Anchorage/ South from Fairbanks)
turn off at mile post 283.5,
Anderson/Clear access road. Follow
the road less than one mile and turn
right at the sign for Anderson
(Anderson Rd). Follow the road
through the town which terminates at
the park entrance. Signs will be
posted.
Registration:
Adult $20 ($5
member discount), $10 children 7-17,
$50 family cap.
Autocrats: Elena
verch Rhys (Jessica Grahn Duncan)
and Nathan Hartman (Nate Webb).
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The Principality of Oertha invites you to
join us in our beautiful northern lands for
Purgatorio Coronation and Oerthan
Investiture.
Features of the site:
- Showers!
- Running potable water!
-
Flushing toilets!
- Cabins!
- Beautiful Oerthan landscapes in
the shadow of the magnificent
Chugach mountains! ...
- it’s
still Alaska bear danger!
- See
Purgatorio Coronation!
- See
Oerthan Investiture!
- See
Oerthans in their native habitat!
Late August is the perfect time to
visit Oertha! You can enjoy the
midnight sun without having to be in
the height of mosquito season. Take
a quick break from the event to
visit our state fair (just north in
Palmer). Come find out why Oertha is
known throughout the West for its
hospitality!
Beds in the cabins will be made
available on a first-come,
first-serve basis, though priority
will be given to visitors from
outside Alaska and individuals with
mobility issues. Beds are available
for $10/night. There are six cabins
with ten beds per cabin.
Pre-registration and bed reservation
is available
here.
Site Information:
Camp Gorsuch (Camp Gorsuch Rd,
Chugiak, Alaska 99567).
Site Opens at 3PM on Friday and
Closes 5PM on Sunday.
Gorsuch is located approximately 45
minutes north of the Ted Stevens
Anchor-age International Airport,
just outside Alaska’s most populous
city, Anchorage. Anchorage
International Airport is served by
regular flights from all major west
coast airlines, apart from
Southwest.
Registration:
Adult Event Registration: $25,
Adult Member Discount Event
Registration: $20, Children
(10-16): $10, Family Cap: $50.
Event Steward:
Cynehild Cynesigesdohtor (Claire
Knudsen-Latta).
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One of the last things that we tend to do
with our SCA period camps is find a suitable
chair to sit on. Many times after all the
work we put into our camps we end up sitting
in a modern camp chair, even at events we
just sit on whatever is present from the
site, sometimes we cover it and sometimes
not. I have built several chairs over the
years, all of them are heavy and big and
re-quires assembly before use. I wanted a
simpler chair that was light weight and
transportable. I just happened to see a
small picture of a Viking inspired folding
chair on the internet. There were no
dimensions listed just a picture, I looked
at it closely and thought “I can make that”.
So I sketched out a design on paper and made
a list of materials to use. The chair in the
picture looked like oak wood, since this was
to be a prototype design I chose to go with
straight grain clear pine for the board and
oak for the rods.
After coming up with a plan I took a
large piece of cardboard and drew
out the pattern, this de-sign is
great since it only requires four
main pieces to be cut out, the front
legs and the back. Since all four
pieces are the same I only had to
draw one pattern piece. I used 1” x
6” pine boards for the main frame,
once all the parts were cut out I
clamped them together and sanded
them as one piece to make them match
perfectly. The next step was to
drill the 1” holes for the dowel
rods, I marked the pattern and
drilled all the holes needed. I then
fitted the rods and se-cured the top
rod with rope and boom instant
chair.
The example had dragon head finials
on the top of the chairs but any
pattern would work for this. The
nice thing about the design is that
it is light and folds up for
transport.
Materials needed:
2 ea. 1 x 6 x 6’ clear pine,
5 ea.
1” oak dowels 36”,
1 ea. ½” x 48”
square hardwood rod,
heavy canvas or
leather for the seat bottom.
The
pine version cost about $60 in
materials, the oak version is about
$100 cost for materials.
Example
Work in Progress
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Thank you to everybody who attended
Selviergard’s Spring Offensive event
this past weekend--it was a
wonderful time to spend with friends
and family alike as we celebrated
the Spring season in Selviergardian
style. Thank you to Their
Highnesses, Soren and Alienor, and
Baroness Cynehild of Eskalya for
attending as well; it was nice to
spend some time with you and share a
laugh or two together.
I had a lot of fun watching the
archers and the rapier fighters show
off their prowess and skill while
other members of the populace
watched and cheered alongside me. We
also had a wonderful bardic later on
in the evening led by some long-lost
Oerthans who truly made this event
memorable--thank you to Stephan and
Lurana for teaching us some of the
older songs in the song book as well
as treating us to some new stories
and songs as well. Thank you also
goes to the Autocrat of the event,
Master Fergus mac Thomais who helped
the Barony of Selviergard continue
our fine tradition of welcoming in
Spring into these lands.
Halfdan, Baron of Selviergard
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Recently the topic of new awards was brought
up at the last business meeting in which Baron
Halfdan, working with the Baroni-al Herald,
wanted to institute new awards in the Barony.
These awards, along with their descriptions and
proposed symbol are listed below. The next
several business meetings will allow time to
discuss them together as a group—to make
changes, pro-vide commentary, or approve them as
is.
It is important to note that these awards are
not current awards at this time. These awards
will be in addition to the award that we already
have.
Company of the Swords Saltire
(Crossed Claymores on appropriate
colored Circle)
For members of the Order of
the Claymore that have proven their expertise
and excellence instructing and educating others
in their craft.
Order of the Laughing Lyre
(Argent Lyre on Baronial Cord)
For members of
the populace who have distinguished themselves
through the performing arts
(song/dance/storytelling/etc.)
Company of the Cyfarwyddiaid
(Musical note on Black/Red Circle on a Blue
band)
For members of the Order of the
Laughing Lyre that have proven their expertise
and excellence instructing and educating oth-ers
in their craft.
Order of the Bended Bow (Bow
suspended on baronial cord)
For members of
the populace who have distinguished themselves
through their skill in archery.
Company of the Blazing Bodkin
(Flaming Bodkin on Circle of Baronial Colors)
For members of the Order of the Bended Bow that
have proven their expertise and excellence
instructing and educating others in their craft.
Order of the Avgjørende Kryssild
(Decisive Volley)
For members of the Populace
who have distinguished themselves through their
skill at thrown weapons and siege.
Companions of the Maoim-Sneachda
(Avalanche)
For members of the Order
of the Avgjørende Kryssild that have proven
their expertise and excellence instructing and
educating others in their craft.
As you can see, there are awards for new
areas of expertise, such as archery and
performing arts, that our Barony is beginning to
take greater interest in. Additionally, there
are several awards for those who have already
received the first level of Baronial award, such
as the Company of the Swords Saltire and the
Companions of the Maoim-Snechda. Overall, this
list covers the many aspects of the Society that
the populace of the Barony of Selviergard work
towards, and in many cases, excel at.
It is encouraged that people provide
commentary on these awards, either for or
against, or with alternate wording or
descrip-tions. It is important that we all take
the time to do this because the populace members
need to be active in changes in the group in
which they reside—your voices help make this
Barony great. It doesn’t matter if you are a
Peer or a new person; these additions and
changes are affect to all of us.
If you are unable to attend a business
meeting you can contact either the Baron of
Selviergard or the Seneschal with your
com-mentary which will be brought up in the
Business Meeting.
The process may take some time as we progress
from discussing new awards to the baronage
actually being able to be-stow them to populace
members. There are many steps to take and it
will take some time—this includes checking for
conflicts from other groups and submitting these
awards to the appropriate people—this is just
the first step. However, the populace will be
kept appraised of the progress in future
editions of this newsletter.
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A populace badge is a way for people to show
their membership or affiliation to the Barony of
Selvier-gard. A badge can be displayed on
banners, flags, clothing, dishes, furniture, and
many other ways. A badge belongs to the people
of the group of which it is registered under.
Both the Kingdom of the West and the
Principality of Oertha have populace badges,
including many groups throughout the Known
World.
At our last business meeting the topic of a
populace badge was brought forward.
The Barony of Selviergard is looking for a
populace badge and is need of your ideas. This
is open to all Selviergardians and those who
would like to contribute an idea for a badge; no
matter which group they are affiliated with.
This badge will be used for generations to come
in this group to show not only our membership in
this group but our pride in it as well.
The current populace badge for the Barony of
Selviergard, as seen in the Oerthan Coloring
Book, is the device from the Canton of Inbhir na
Da Abhann. However, this badge was never
officially sent in to be registered with the
College of Heralds. While some may feel that the
Canton device used as a badge is okay, the use
of laurels on the badge could cause confusion
and shouldn’t be used. In addi-tion, the Canton
device looks similar to the token for the Order
of the Claymore, one of our baronial awards.
First we must receive idea submissions;
either in person or electronically. Design a
badge that exem-plifies the Barony of
Selviergard—something simple or elegant that can
be used by the populace members to show their
group pride. Here is something to get you
started:
Yes, I know it is just a circle, so you need
to do some artistic things to make it look
better, make it look Selviergardian.
There are links below that may help you get
an idea on what a badge looks like. All badge
ideas will be brought to the next business
meeting. From there, the populace badges will be
posted on the Baronial e-group and the Facebook
page for commentary from the populace and, with
luck, the populace badges will be polled at the
next business meeting afterwards.
From there the badge will be sent to the
College of Heralds and finalized. When the
paperwork is com-pleted and the badge is
approved, the populace will be notified.
Links of Interest
Current Populace Badges of the Kingdom of the
West
Badge vs Arms Common Questions
Assorted Lessons in SCA Heraldry: Devices vs.
Badges
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Baronial Positions Available
The following officer positions and/or deputy
positions are currently open or looking for a
replacement within the Barony of Selviergard.
Please take a moment to look over the current
listings and see if you would like to help our
group grow. For most cases training is
available. If you would like to determine what
the job entails and how you can help the Barony
then please feel free to contact the officer or
the Baronial Seneschal.
Deputy Constable
Deputy Herald
Applicants for these positions are asked to
send a Letter of Intent / SCA Resume to the
Baronial Seneschal for consideration at:
seneschal@selviergard.westkingdom.org
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Unto
the Populace of Selviergard,