The Emperor’s New Clothes

By webminister | Published: August 22, 2010

Well, ok, not really…. but the wonderful people in Ansteorra have continued to help make us look awesome…

Coronation Before:

Ok, this one is just showing off :)  Gilyan’s garb was made by Mistress Gwyneth of Bryn Gwlad.  My armour was made by myself, Ludo, Fedora, and Voigna.

Coronation After:

My clothing was made by Lady Katarina Vigge, with the cording from Lady Elsa of Mooneschadowe, and the collar from Sir Viggen Johnson.  The embroidered undershirt was made Duchess Alisha and Ld. Gotz von Totenburg.

At Queens’ Champion:

Her Majesty was made to look resplendent in Her Queen’s outfit due to the efforts of Mistress Marguerite, along with help from Mistress Margaret and Countess Octavia.  His Majesty’s outfit was made by several individuals, with Centurion Charles contributing the pants, and Duchess Alisha and Ld. Gotz contributing the pants.  His Majesty made the leather coat.

and finally, at Steppes Warlord:

Looking Middle-Eastern at Steppes

Baroness Kajira of Wiesenfeuer was responsible for both of our outfits at Steppes Warlord.

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September Black Star

By Gilyan | Published: August 22, 2010

Whew! We are so glad that the dog days of summer have come and gone. Luckily, towards the end of that long heat wave, We spent a week in  balmy Pennsylvania! If everyone else who made the pilgrimage to Pennsic had half as much fun as We did, they’ll be talking about it for years!

We would like to make a special thank you to HL Mea Passavanti and her  generosity. With her assistance, We were able to use the Chistoforo Fund to make the Ansteorran Rapier Tournament at Pennsic a smashing success. Everyone was talking about it by the end of the war.

Thank you, Mea.
Well, it looks like We will finally have the opportunity to travel across this great kingdom and meet many people. Remember, if you are bringing someone to their first event, please introduce them to Us during the event. We feel that people new to the SCA will benefit more from a short conversation with the Crown than being called up in court in a potentially nervous way.

In September, Our mighty steeds will take Us to:

Gothic War – a long weekend in the Texas desert – who says it can’t be fun?
Triumphe of the Eclipse – a feast who’s theme is BEER, the Champion Triumphe during court and shirtless male dishwashing – there’s not much more you can ask for in an event!
Lochtoberfest – not sure about the beer, but everything else sounds fun!

Jean Paul and Gilyan
Konig and Konigin

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August Black Star

By Jean Paul | Published: August 1, 2010

June and July are behind us, and with our new heirs, We sweep towards the battlefields of Pennsic. We know that many will be helping us at Pennsic to host the Ansteorra Rapier Tournament and Chili Night, and we thank everyone for their assistance. We are sure that even by the time that this is published we will still be needing assistance on preparation for Pennsic, so please contact Us if you think you can help.

We had wonderful times at both Battlemoor and Lilies War. For Us, Lilies has always been (and We suspect always will be) more fun that you can shake a stick of rattan at. This year kept up to the previous standards. The fighting looked fun and innovative, the parties friendly, the A&S astounding, and the hospitality warmer than you’d expect from members of your family.

In addition to all the above things, Lilies also allowed for our Ansteorrans to shine in their endeavors. The Dewey clan, which includes Our Royal Huntsman, Samuel ap Dewi, along with the previous Huntsman, Adelaide verch Dewi, Thomas ap Dewey, Ray ap Dewi, Braith of Northkeep, Justus ap Dewi, Ochoa Ramirez de Orozco, and Cian Rhys Gravenor, dominated the archery field, winning almost every event and shoot that Lilies would allow them to enter. We have not the space to list their victories, for it would fill several pages of the Black Star.

Additionally, our Chivalry showed the skill and prowess that we’ve come to expect of them. In the Rose’s tournament, three of the final four fighters were Ansteorrans. Duke Mahdi (fighting for Countess Claudia of the Outlands), Count Romanius (fighting for Countess Octavia), and His Majesty’s Champion Jarl Hrafn (who fought for Her Majesty) were victorious time and time again against knights, kings, and princes of the Knowne World. While our champion Hrafn proved victorious in the end (natch), it was an extremely difficult fight between him and Count Romanius. While not proceeding as deep into the tournament as Our members of the chivalry, Ochoa Ramirez de Orozco (fighting for Her Majesty) and HL Aradon of Falcon Rose (fighting for Countess Claudia) did also show the skill and abilities we expect of Ansteorran fighters.

Battlemoor was a brand new event that was an unknown quantity. We had never been to the Outlands, and were uncertain what Battlemoor would provide, but we were excited to be a part of what could be something great, so we put on our travel pants, and journeyed up to the Outlands (mundanely Rye, CO). And the event was more awesome than we even expected. The organization, the planning, and the sheer amount of work that the Outlands put into the site was immediately evident. Lots of clear camping areas. Ground lighting. Marked off parking lots. A central “Town Hall” area where almost all of the activities took place. Themed parties every night. Melees and tournaments every day. A huge archery field with constant shoots. Combine all of this with scenic vistas that defy description and the warm hands of friendship from the Outland populace. We made many new friends, and look forward to next summer to go again to Battlemoor.

August will see Us at
Pennsic, to show the Known World the might of Ansteorra.
Laurel’s Prize Tourney, where we know that Our Artisans will blow our socks off with the most awesome displays ever.

September will have us at:
Gothic War
Triumphe of the Eclipse
Lochtoberfest

Looking forward to the rest of the summer,

Jean Paul and Gilyan
Cwyning and Cwene, Ansteorra

P.S. Anyone got a soft-serve ice-cream machine?

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July Black Star

By webminister | Published: June 20, 2010

Summer is in full swing, and summertime equals WARTIME!!! Which means We and Our heirs be traveling to the mighty Pennsic War to show the rest of the known world what Ansteorran’s can do!

Speaking of heirs, We are requiring written Letters of Intent for all participants in Crown Tournament. The letters must include your name and your consorts name, and be in Our royal hands no later than 11:59:59 pm July 7. Also at Crown Tournament, We are asking all of the consorts to swear the oath (slightly modified) with their fighter. If a consort will not be in attendance at Crown Tournament, please contact Us prior to July 7th.

Once the stress of determining Heirs is over, Our Pennsic preparations will be in full swing! Thanks again to Mistress Seraphina for being Ansteorra’s land agent and feeding nearly everyone. Just like all the other wars, the Ansteorran camp at Pennsic needs lots of people to help keep it running in tip-top shape. We are asking for several volunteers to help decorate the camp, manage waterbearing for Our fighters, and keep the common areas lit at night.

The Ansteorran Rapier Tournament will be held on Wednesday, early afternoon. It is *not* opposite the Woods Battle this year! Our plan is to make this a Rapier Tournament to remember, and will be asking for many volunteers at war to help set up the pavilions and decorations, help with the food, and keep the lyst running smoothly.

Chili Night is also a memorable part of Pennsic for all Ansteorrans. It will be on Wednesday evening, right after the Rapier Tournament. Wednesday is going to be a busy day for the kingdom!

In July, We will be traveling to :
Battlemoor in the Outlands, where we’ll get the chance to see the
first of what could be a grand new tradition for the Outlands.
Crown Tournament, to see our Heirs selected.
Round Table… well… you got’s to do the hard stuff so we can have all
of the fun. Come show how many hands make light work, and work to make
the kingdom better.

August will see Us at
Pennsic
Laurel’s Prize Tourney

Looking forward to the rest of the summer,

Gilyan and Jean Paul

Reine and Roi, Ansteorra

P.S.  Anyone who’s read this far down, ask Us for a cookie at Crown Tournament.  We promise, we’ll have them, we just want to know someone reads these.

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Letters of Intent for Crown

By Jean Paul | Published: May 25, 2010

We wish to make it known that We will be requiring letters of intent to enter Our crown tournament in July. Letters can be mailed to us, emailed to us, or submitted via form at

Submit Letter of Intent

Letters must be received by July 7th, 2010 at 11:59:59 pm.

TRM Jean Paul and Gilyan

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June Black Star

By webminister | Published: May 24, 2010

OMG! We couldn’t have had a more LEGENDARY time in May unless we had
won the lottery! Coronation, Queens, Steppes – it couldn’t have gotten
much better…

Wait… it *can* get better…

You have all registered for PENNSIC, right?! You just think you’ve had a good time so far! You just wait, PENNSIC will be even better!

The weather is going from a chilly spring to a down right cool summer (at least for Ansteorra) so everyone should start thinking of ways they can get outside and enjoy it while they can. Have a regional fighter practice and cookout! An excellent way to meet new people and swap summertime recipes. What’s that? You don’t fight? Go anyway! Take a project with you – weaving, embroidering, or a messy project like painting banners or re-taping your combat bolts. We all know it takes
all sorts to make the SCA the amazing thing it is. While you are there, go talk to the people on the sidewalk giving everyone the hairy eyeball for doing weird stuff. If they didn’t want to know what’s going on, they wouldn’t be looking!

As the summer starts to warm up, think of all the indoor events your groups could be hosting. Laurel’s Prize Tourney comes to mind. Or, start a new event where everyone shows up to work on projects. If you want to learn how to do something, what better way than to help someone else?

In June, we look forward to:

Lilies War in Calontir, a war with no principles… err… principals.
Kings College, to learn many a new thing from the bestest of teachers.

and July will be:

Battlemoor in the Outlands, where we’ll get the chance to see the first of what could be a grand new tradition for the Outlands.
Crown Tournament, to see our Heirs bir…er, selected.
Round Table… well… you got’s to do the hard stuff so we can have all of the fun. Come show how many hands make light work, and work to make the kingdom better.

Jean Paul and Gilyan
Rex et Regina

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Polling Order Meeting Notes

By Jean Paul | Published: May 18, 2010

At Coronation, we had a brief meeting to give out policies for Circles, tentative circle schedule, the manner in which we will hold our courts, and information about Crown tournament. The information is as follows:

Polling Order Meeting

Proxy policy

We will be glad to receive proxies no later than Thursday before the circle.  We prefer to receive proxies via email, however we will accept written letters as well.  Proxies will be read aloud in circles and will be counted for polling purposes.

Circle Schedule (subject to change)

May

21-23

White Scarves’ circle       Queen’s Champion (Glaslyn)

28-30

Laurel’s circle (Sunday) – Steppes Warlord (Steppes)

Centurions circle (Sunday) – Steppes Warlord (Steppes)

June*

25-27

Belted circle  - King’s College (Stargate)

July*

14-16

Pelicans’ circle – Crown Tournament (Namron)

August*

No circles scheduled at this time

September

3-5

Belted circle (Sunday) – Gothic War (Bonwicke)

17-19

White Scarves’ circle – Triumphe of the Eclipse V(Mooneschadowe)

24-26

Laurel’s circle – Lochtoberfest II (Loch Sollier)

October

1-3

Pelican Circle – 3 Kings (Rosenfeld)

22-24

Centurion’s circle – War of Ages (Ffynnon Gath)

29-31

White Scarves’ circle – Bryn Gwlad Baronial (Bryn Gwlad)

November

No circles scheduled at this time

*If more events are scheduled in June, July and August, we may schedule more circles in those months.  Any changes regarding when circles are scheduled will be announced ahead of time.

Court Business

Significant court business will likely not always be last on the court agenda.  Please be prepared to be at the beginning of court and plan to stay for the entire court.  We will not be doing awards in ascending order, and will instead be sprinkling the higher awards (grants, baronetcies, etc) throughout the court in an effort to keep court interesting, and to keep some things unexpected.  Don’t even be surprised if we do a court in reverse order of precedence.

Also, please work with autocrats and other people who might be speaking in court for the first time.  Help them work out what they say beforehand (we recommend having them write it down) so that court may flow quickly and relevantly.

Crown Tournament

A Letter of Intent will be required for all participants wishing to enter Crown Tournament.  It must be received by 11:00 pm Wednesday July 7th, 2010. The letter should include the fighter’s and consort’s names and it must be received by the deadline in order to be accepted.  We plan on being firm with requiring a Letter of Intent for entrance into Crown Tournament, so please do not show up the day of the event expecting to participate if you have not previously sent us your LoI.  We will accept both electronic and paper Letters of Intent, but no verbal Letter of Intent will suffice.

Oath – We expect that the fighter and his/her consort to swear the oath upon entering the Crown Tournament list.

Award Recommendations

We ask that award recommendations be submitted to us no later than 10 days before the event.

Newcomers

We would prefer to meet newcomers one on one and not call them into court.  If you bring a newcomer or know of a newcomer who will be attending an event we are present at, please let us know as we would like to make the experience of meeting the King and Queen a personal one.

Other information

We are still looking for bids for Kingdom events.

We ask that pets be welcome at events if possible.

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May Blackstar Report

By Jean Paul | Published: April 25, 2010

As the day of our Coronation draws near, we are looking towards the future of our kingdom. As previously reported on the Ansteorra mailing list, the kingdom Financial Committee has approved a budget for new Crowns and Coronets for our Kingdom.  With their approval, We are now taking bids.  We will have the official forms with Us at events, or you can email Us for a digital copy.

Gulf Wars was great! But, you know what can be even more fun? Other wars.  Like Lilies!  And Battlemoor!  And…

PENNSIC!!

Yes, the Grand Mecca of the SCA calls to You!  No, not the person standing next to you.  No, not that guy either.  You!  You want to go to Pennsic.  You want to experience the greatest battles the SCA has to offer.  You want to experience SCA shopping of such magnitude that selling a kidney to shop more starts to seem like a good idea.   You want to see the Bog, the Serengeti, the Mountain (great for wedding proposals), and Runestone Hill.  You want to meet the elves, the Tuchux, the fairies, and the Swedes. Come see the Original Ansteorran Chili Night, where the tradition got started.   The songs, the classes, and the parties guarantee that when you aren’t deliriously tired from the fighting and the shopping, you’ll be tired from other great forms of entertainment.  Come meet those people from the other side of the kingdom that you probably have never met if it weren’t for Pennsic.

Pennsic! The only thing missing from Pennsic to make it a war to remember is you!  Mail-in pre-registration ends May 15th, and online pre-registration ends June 15th.  There is a Yahoo Group set up by Mistress Seraphina for getting out details about camping with Ansteorra at Pennsic.   Find it at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ansteorra_Pennsic/

Our progress for the next two months:

Northkeep Castellan, to see who has the qualities of the Renaissance Man, and become Northkeep’s next Castellan.

Coronation, natch. Who’s got the chops to be His Highness’ champion? AND meet Her Highness’ expectations?

Queen’s Champion, Who thinks they are worthy enough to get to hang out with Her Highness for six months…without getting hurt by His Highness?

Steppes Warlord, to watch the grandest armored and rapier tournaments that this kingdom has to offer, and invest Duncan and Genvieve as the tenth Baron and Baroness of the Steppes.

Lilies War in Calontir, a war with no principles… err… principals.

Kings College, to learn many a new thing from the bestest of teachers.

Jean Paul & Gilyan

Princeps et Princepissa Ansteorra

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New Clothes!

By Gilyan | Published: April 20, 2010

Many, many thanks to all those who have already made us clothing, who have said they would, and who will be sewing for us in the future. We thought we had enough nice clothes, but little did we know…

Gilyan's green silk bliaut was made by an anonymous benefactor and Jean Paul's black and gold cotehardie was made by Charmaine Talbot from Northkeep.

This Cranach style dress was made by Countess Octavia de Verdon.

The fighting tabard with the Princess' arms was made by Duchess Susannah from Calontir.

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Princess Quilt

By Gilyan | Published: April 20, 2010

Jean Paul and I have a tradition of adding a quilt made by my mother to the pass down gifts for each tournament he wins. After Crown Tournament, we told her he had won another tournament and asked if she could make a quilt by Gulf Wars. For those who know about quilts, that’s not a lot of time!

A heraldic quilt made for Gilyan by her mother. The label will be removed after Coronation.

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