Salve accolens, from the new Baronage!

Dearest neighbors,

Yesterday’s Investiture was absolutely amazing. Even though we didn’t get to partake in all the festivities, we’re so happy that you enjoyed yourselves and had so much fun. We felt strongly about it not being a day just for us, but for the whole Barony to come together and celebrate the wonderful years we had under Brandubh and Hilda, and to look forward to the years to come.

The list of people who contributed to the event yesterday is tremendous, and we feel so blessed that so many people stepped up to help make the day special.

But first and foremost, we want to thank Their Majesties Gareth and Juliana for their kind and gracious presence. We are so honored that you were the ones to invest us in this office.

And once again I want to thank Brandubh and Hilda for their years of heartfelt service, and for setting the bar so very high for us as we step into the role of the Baronage. We aspire to the show the same levels of love and care you showed the Barony during your tenure. Though the stars may not shine as bright as the sun, they strive to do their best every night, and so too shall we.

And with Barony like this, how can we not shine? I’d love to put a period-appropriate quote here, maybe something by Seneca, but the best quote I can think of right now is one from Helen Keller: “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched — they must be felt with the heart.” Yesterday was heart-felt, and it was beautiful.

So here is a very long list of the wonderful people who made it so:

Dorothea Stark Schutz and Ceindrech verch Elidir, the event autocrats.

Elss Augsburg, who ran the kitchen, and her staff: Alastar Scott MacCrummin, Blanche, and Elsa Taliard.

Luceta DiCosimo for the Barony themed gingerbread cookies.

Gwendolyn the Graceful for leading the dancing, as well as the talented folks who provided live music: Alaric MacConnal, Arianna of Wynthrope, Willow, and Kieran MacRae.

Jorundr hinn Rotinn, Robert MacEwin of Thornhill, Kieran MacRae, and William Colbert, for their gladiatorial battles to entertain the populace. As well as the Debatable Choir, and i Genesii (The Greatest Commedia del’Arte Troupe in the Known World), for their wonderful performances.

Cadence Mayberry for arranging for the period gaming, and Byron of Haverford for creating betting tokens.

Elle (Elinor Walden) and Kate (Catherine O’Herlihy), our wonderful Head Retainers, and the volunteer retaining staff and guards: Cerva, Michiharu, Thomasyn, Reinhard, Isabel, Yacob, Kit, Faye, Agnella, Etienne, Cassiano, Godzimir, Sebastian, Niall, Jiro, and Dagon.

Tsveea for my beautiful gown, and Nicola Beese for helping make sure the show could go on until we were able to get me into said gown. Also Ishiyama Gen’tarou Yori’ie for his timely donation of award favors.

Finally, congratulations to the first recipients of the first new comet awards: Etienne Renault and Emrys Eustace recipients of the Amber Comet, Bran Riddl recipient of the Hematite Comet, and Kara Ivarsdottir recipient of the Jade Comet.

This list feels too short, and I’m sure I’ve missed people. Any error or omission should be corrected, so please let us know if any are needed.

November Stellar Tourneys!

Hello Debatable Lands!

The next Stellar Tournaments will be:

Sky List – Archery – Sunday, November 14th at practice
Sun List – Heavy Fighting – Sunday, November 21st, at practice
Moon List – Rapier Fighting – Sunday, November 21st, at practice

(Weather, permitting of course. If our marshals cancel practice, the tourneys will be likewise canceled.)

Read more about this month’s Sky List (Archery) here.

We have a special treat for November’s Sun and Moon List, in that both the heavy and rapier fighters will be competing in side-by-side lists!

This special cross-over is a great opportunity for fighters to observe similarities and differences in fighting styles, and enjoy each others’ camaraderie. This is likewise an opportunity for MoLs, Heralds, and Listrunners to gain experience in running multiple lists at once.

We will be breaking from Stellar Tournaments in December, but will resume (if safe) in the new year!

Sad Tidings – Lady Rowan ni Naradhaigh

Friends and Neighbors,

We are heartbroken to tell you that Lady Rowan ni Naradhaigh (Dawn Swidal) passed away suddenly early this morning, of pneumonia.

Lady Rowan was a valued member of our Barony for two decades. Though a little less active in recent years, you may remember her as the site liaison (along with her husband Lord Ffynthcor) for one of our favorite event sites, the Unitarian Universalist Church of the North Hills. The site was last used for our Baronial Investiture, where Lady Rowan was recognized for her service to the Barony and the Pennsic Barony camp with a Keystone.

We will best remember her as an active and valued member of the Baronial encampment at Pennsic, where she and her family camped every year in recent years. We will remember her sweet smile and her gentle-yet-strong demeanor, her cooking and her friendly laughter, her eye for aesthetic decor, and her willingness to help out the camp, any campmate and neighbor. She was a joy to camp with and talk to. Our friend Rowan will be sorely missed.

Please join us in offering condolences, strength, and peace to Rowan’s husband, Ffynthcor, their family, and their friends and loved ones in the coming days. Should final arrangement details be made available, we will share them.

In Caritate,
Baron Brandubh and Baroness Hilda

Royal News from Agincourt – VIVANT!

Hello Debatable Lands! Salve Accolens! From Baron Brandubh and Baroness Hilda!

Agincourt on Saturday was a great success indeed! We witnessed smiling faces, camaraderie, laughter, cooperation, and most of all, friendship. We have missed you all so much! Thank you to Meesteres Odriana and her staff for a splendid time, and particularly the amazing feast!

Thank you, too, to all the newcomers we were able to chat with, and everyone who made them all feel so welcome! And a special to Mistress Zoe Akropolotina for mentoring and encouraging in the area of combat archery, and to those that provided a fast and clear check-in experience in these odd times.

We’d also like to send a hearty and warm THANK YOU to Their Majesties (and Their staff) for attending, holding two Kingdom Championships, and gracing us with an amazing Royal Court. We bring news of these matter that involved Debatable Landers, from the official rolls:

-The new Kingdom Archery Champion is Yakub al-Musafir
-The new Kingdom Thrown Weapons Champion is Lady Tristan

-Well wishes to those with changing positions:
-Baron Brandubh as he steps down from Sigil Herald (Deputy Kingdom Herald)
-THL Nicola Beese as she became apprenticed to Mistress Graidhne ni Ruaidh

-Congratulations to those Barony members who received their Awards of Arms, and thus may call themselves Lord, Lady, Noble, or Armiger:
-Lord Thorinn of the Debatable Lands (Keith)
-Lord Niall Mac Raedwulf
-Lord Reinhard Regenbogen
-Lady Lartia Cerva
-Lady Scheiny of Dahlraidia
-Lady Fine Failain
-Lord Turlough Feolain

-Congratulations to those Barony members receiving Orders of Merit and similar:
Lord Li Chang, Order of the Golden Alce (martial)
Lady Rose O’Tierrany, Order of the Sycamore (A&S)
Katrina Beese, Order of the Silver Alce (youth martial)
Lemony of the Debatable Lands, Order of the Silve Alce (youth martial)
Lady Vika Vyborgskaia, Order of the Cornelian (courtesy)
Master Jussi Laplain, Order of the Keystone (service)
Lord Patrokles Athenaios, Order of the Golden Alce (martial)

-Congratulations to those Barony members receiving these Accolades:
The Honorable Lady Catherine O’Herlihy for her induction into the Order of the Millrind, the Order of High Merit for service
Baroness Muirgheal ingean Dubhghaill, our Seneschal, who was awarded a Court Barony

VIVANT to ALL!

In Levitate et Caritate, and Cheers,
Baron Brandubh and Baroness Hilda

Award Recommendations Requested!

Salve Accolens! Hello Debatable Lands and neighbors!

The Debatable Lands event, Agincourt, on October 23rd, has been named a Royal Progress! And Their Highnesses (Who will be King and Queen then) are asking for award recommendations!

This means that the King and Queen are coming to our event and will be holding a Royal Court, during which they will be recognizing people (from anywhere, not just here!) for their contributions to the SCA, including the Kingdom and local groups.

But how do They know who to recognize with these awards? YOU recommend people! That’s right, our Royalty can’t see everyone and everything with their own eyes, so they rely on yours. You can write an Award Recommendation for deserving people you see, by going to the form and filling it out: https://aethelmearc.org/award-recommendation-form/

It’s OK to leave some stuff blank, but try to fill in as much as you can.

How to know what to recommend these folks for? First check to see what award might be appropriate for their activities and activity level. Check “Awards and Orders” HERE, or HERE, or see the links below.

Then you may want to check to see if they have the award already in the Order of Precedence, the list of awards people have (this part isn’t totally necessary, but it does help out the Royalty, and you can always ask a herald to help, too).

When should you do this? Right now! Or, as soon as possible! One of the beautiful things about our Kingdom is the personal scrolls given for nearly every award. Our talented and generous scribes need time to create these, and Agincourt is just around the corner!

Still confused and not sure what Award might be appropriate for the person you have in mind? Contact us at baron@debatablelands.org, or via our social media messages, and we’ll help you out, or just ask a trusted friend who might know.

Be sure to think of our neighbors across the Kingdom as well as Debatable Landers! If the person you’re writing in isn’t going to Agincourt, write them in anyway! There are other events coming up.

And if you’d like, drop us a line to let us know who you’ve recommended to Their Highnesses – it may help us, too!

Happy writing!

In Levitate et Caritate, and Cheers,
Baron Brandubh and Baroness Hilda



Some helpful links:

Kingdom Award Recommendation Link:
https://aethelmearc.org/award-recommendation-form/


Order of Precedence (list of people’s awards) Link: http://heraldry.aethelmearc.org/precedence/

List of Kingdom Awards and What They’re For: http://heraldry.aethelmearc.org/resources/armory.html, or
https://sca.org/awards/aethelmearc.html

There’s also some more detail about what awards are appropriate in the series of articles in the Althing from a few years ago. Here’s a quick link to the articles directly: http://bit.ly/AE-Awards. The articles are outdated by a few years (missing some awards, like the Peerage for Rapier!), but the general information is still handy.

If you need If you need some inspiration for Debatable Landers, scroll through the Dark Pages here: http://debatablelands.org/resources/darkpages.php

Would you like to recommend someone for a Baronial Award, too? Check out our blog post here for how-to: http://debatablelands.org/blog/?p=347

Crown: A Banner Day for the Debatable Lands!

Salve Accolens! Hello Debatable Lands!

I bring you news of Crown Tournament, held in the Shire of Misty Highlands on August 21st. VIVANT to the Kingdom’s new Heirs, Prince Gareth and Princess Juliana!!! So many wonderful things happened for and by our Barony members and former members. Time to share!

In Royal Court, Their Majesties in Their wisdom:

-Awarded Mistress Antoinette a Golden Escarbuncle and Baroness Shirin an Award of Excellence and wished them well as they transferred the office of Slyvan Signet to Master Jonathan

-Awarded now-Lady Forveleth Arms

– Awarded 3 other AoAs to Debatable Landers not present and bade Baroness Hilda to convey them. We will do so at our Baronial Court on Sept 11.

-Named the Moneyers’ Guild the Principal of a new order – the Order of Crowns Treasure, which is for those that go above and beyond in contributing largesse. The Guild is a Kingdom Guild, but many are Debatable Landers! The new Bookmaker activity at Crown Tourney, for example, was run and coins made by Earl Byron, THL Guillaume, Lady Violetta, Lady Argentia, THL Nicola (ooh, spoiler!) and our neighbors Master Ian and Master Annais.

-Awarded Lady Dorothea a Keystone for service

-Gave Lord Ronan a Cornelian, the Kingdom’s award for Courtesy

-Surprised His Excellency Baron Brandubh with an Augmentation of Arms, which allows the recipient to use elements of the Kingdom Arms in their own personal heraldry.

-Inducted THL Nicola Beese into the Order of the Fleur d’Aethelmearc, the Grant Order for Arts and Sciences

-Inducted our neighbor THL Sumayya al Ghaziyah into the Order of the Millrind, the Grant Order for Service.

-Inducted our former Baronial Seneschal (now Kingdom Seneschal) Mistress Illadore into the Order of the Pelican

-(and other wonderful things for our neighbors around the Kingdom!)

The Baron and I would like to thank the folks that contributed to the gift basket for the new Baron and Baroness of Blackstone Mountain: The Debatable Lands Brewers’ Guild, Lady Tristan for her beautiful embroidered napkins, and Mistress Arianna for her lovely handwoven trim! And to THL Hara and Lord Owen for retaining for us. Vivant!

A VERY special thank you to Master Ishiyama for handing me a HUGE stack of new Baronial stickers!! one with the black comet badge and one with our motto, Salve Accolens (which means “Hello Neighbors!”) on a yellow background. Ask me (or him) for them!

A BIG WELCOME to the folks for whom it was their first in-person SCA event: Rei, Eleanor, Austin, and Lady Forveleth (our Exchequer), and anyone I missed!

Also, to the Debatable Landers serving at the event, you rock! I’m sure I didn’t see everyone, so forgive me if I miss you: Meesteres Odriana and Baroness Soteria for MOLing; Lord Ronan, Baron Edward, THL Kuma, and Forveleth as Heralds for the tourney and procession; THL Boden, Master Ishiyama, THL Hara, and Otto as banner-bearers (Boden resplendent in his Defender of the Sun baldric!) Don Jorundr, Baron Brandubh, Lord Owen and Master Kieran for heralding for the Kingdom; the Moneyers Guild folks (above) for the new Bookmaker activity and the site tokens; the MANY folks who ran Mistress Illadore’s reception and provided reception food; Countess Ali, who provided social media updates; Duke Sven and Duchess Siobhan for serving as Their Majesties Chamberlains; many folks that helped set-up and tear-down (so many I didn’t write them down!) A special thank you to Otto, Makilah, Don Marcus, and THL Sumayya for helping with our personal pack-in and pack-out, too!

And of course, to the combatants and their inspirations who fought and inspired honorably: Count Byron and Countess Ariella for each other, Sir Maghnus for Brehyres Gwendolyn, our neighbor Syr Hagar for Baroness Anna Eisenkopf, our former members THL Lothar for THL Sumayya, and Lord Patrokles for Fox.

A Banner Day for the Barony! Celebrate!

In Levitate et Caritate,
Baroness Hilda

Stellar Tournament Sunday! (Sun List – Heavy)

Hello Debatable Lands! Salve Accolens!

We are pleased to announce that the second Stellar Tournament, Sun List (Heavy) will occur at the Heavy Fighting Practice on Washington Blvd this Sunday, July 18th!

Sir Bors, Vindex Solis

The current Defender of the Sun, Sir Bors of Rouen, will be defending against all comers! We’ll begin at about 3:30pm. The format is a grand tournament in double elimination. Get that practice in!

We would love to have any and all heralds wishing to practice their field heraldry craft to join us!

So, too, do we ask if any marshals are available, we would love to have you volunteer so those that have already marshaled have a chance to fight for glory!

MoLs, here is a wonderful chance to train on double elim tourneys!

Fighters can sign up with our MoL, Lady Vika, the day of. This tourney is open to folks from any group (welcome neighbors!), fighting at any level.

(Note: this activity is in addition to regular practice, not in place of – fighters not wishing to participate will still have plenty of space for regular practice activities.)

See you Sunday!

In Levitate et Caritate,
Baroness Hilda
and the Sun List advisors, Master Kieran and THL Guillaume

P.S.: Watch this space for some exciting Archery News in the next couple of weeks!

July Missive from the Baron & Baroness

Hello Debatable Lands! Salve Accolens!

Here we are, at the threshold of a new day! The SCA is peeping its head out of our pandemic-hidey-holes. Events and activities are scheduled and happening. Many (vaccinated) folks are released from our masking obligations. How glorious! 

And yet… we find ourselves yet tentative, like many of you. Things don’t actually seem very normal yet. We haven’t found our pace. And we are just coming to terms that it will be, even if familiar, a brand new world. Things are the same, yet different. Comfort levels of individuals vary across many, many areas, like masking, socializing, leading and participating in activities, and many more. How can we find our new shared joy? The answer is: together

Debatable Lands, reach out to your neighbors in our hobby. Reach out to your friends, acquaintances and communities. And especially across communities. Have patience with each other, and compassion, especially for families with smaller children, and the officers navigating these waters. We’ll find our comfort and joy and affection again together. We promise! 🙂

And our first steps to some Baronial martial fun? The Stellar Tournaments! Our heavy fighting and rapier fighting communities are holding these monthly tournaments at our Baronial practices, and the first ones in June proved amazing! Not only is it a chance for fighters to get tourney practice, but also heralds, MOLs, marshals, and us, too! We want to thank all the people that put forth their time, energies, and enthusiasm thus far, and those to come, especially the folks whose concept it was: Master Kieran and THL Guillaume.

More to follow, but we are exceptionally pleased to announce the first two winners!!

The Defender of Sun (Heavy List) is Sir Bors of Rouen!
The Defender of the Moon (Rapier List) is Don Jorundr hinn Rotinn!

Vivant to them both! They will be able to defend their status twice more. The next Stellar Tournaments will be held in July. Stay tuned to the e-channels for details. 

Our next Court will be *in person* at the September Barony Meeting, scheduled for September 11th. If you are interested in receiving a scroll assignment for that or our Court at Agincourt in October, please let our Baronial Signet, THL Rachel, know. If you interested in helping set up, tear down or retain at our Baronial Courts, please let us know. We very much look forward to working with you all again!

And please PLEASE if you know of a gentle that should receive a Baronial award, send us a letter of recommendation! Email baron@debatablelands.org, or use the online form at http://debatablelands.org/award-recommendation.php . 

If you have any suggestions, questions, or concerns about anything in our Barony, our door is always open. Please reach out to us (or other appropriate officer), or use the anonymous form (http://debatablelands.org/resources/feedback-form.php), and help will come. We look forward to seeing you all!

In Levitate et Caritate, and Cheers,
Baron Brandubh and Baroness Hilda

Stellar Tournament Today, 6/13 – Rapier!

Hello Debatable Lands and Neighbors! Salve Accolens!

The Moon List (Rapier list) of  The Stellar Tournament is happening today, June 13th, at around 4pm at practice at the Washington Blvd practice site!

ALL are welcome to enter – from any lands, and any skill level.

This monthly Tournament will be held once a month at the Baronial practice, and the winner in the rapier list shall be named Defender of the Moon. The rapier format will be round robin into single elimination (subject to variations).

Please note that, while we are humbled and excited to be participating today, we’d like to emphasize the practice aspect for the month of June. The Moon is finally breaking through the clouds of plague! But it has been a long period of inactivity in our lands. Please remember to take it slow, knock the rust off thoughtfully, and listen to your bodies!

(Also note that the weather forecast is uncertain today. Should there be thunderstorms and practice cancelled, the Inaugural Moon List of the Stellar Tournament will be postponed until July.)

Can’t wait to see you there!

In Levitate et Caritate,
Baroness Hilda

P.S.: With many thanks to Master Kieran and THL Guillaume, whose brainchild this is and who are steering its path; Don Jorundr, our Rapier Marshal; Lady Vika, our MOL; Mistress Irene for her thoughtful contributions; and to THL Gesa and Master Annais for creating the beautiful regalia.

Also:
Although the SCA complies with all applicable laws to try to ensure
the health and safety of our event participants, we cannot eliminate
the risk of exposure to infectious diseases during in-person events.
By participating in the in-person events of the SCA, you acknowledge
and accept the potential risks. You agree to take any additional steps
to protect your own health and safety and those under your control as
you believe to be necessary.

Announcing the Inaugural Stellar Tourney THIS Sunday, 6/6!

Hello Debatable Lands and Neighbors! Salve Accolens!

A new day is dawning! I am so pleased and humbled to be sponsoring our new premier local fighting tournament – The Stellar Tournament!

ALL are welcome to enter – from any lands, and any skill level.

This monthly Tournament will be held once a month at the Baronial practice, and the winner in the heavy list shall be named Defender of the Sun. The winner in the rapier list shall be named Defender of the Moon.

The first heavy list in the Stellar Tournaments will be THIS Sunday, June 6th, at practice at the Washington Blvd parklet, at 3pm. All Sun (heavy) list formats will be traditional double elimination, in the style of Crown Tourneys and Kingdom Champs. Click HERE for more details.

Heralds & Marshals, here is also your time to shine! Should you have a mind to, please come and practice your arts, as well! MOLs, here’s your chance to practice double elim at a local level! (See our Baronial MOL, Lady Vika, to volunteer.)

The first rapier list (Moon list) and format will be announced at a later date. Rapier fighters and others interested in the monthly Stellar Tournaments should reach out to Baroness Hilda with ideas and suggestions.

Can’t wait to see you there!

In Levitate et Caritate,
Baroness Hilda

P.S.: With many thanks to Master Kieran and THL Guillaume, whose brainchild this is and who are steering its path; THL Robert, our Knight Marshal; Lady Vika, our MOL; to THL Gesa and Master Annais for creating absolutely beautiful regalia; and to Forveleth for volunteering to create scrolls for the inaugural Defenders of the Sun and Moon.

Also:
Although the SCA complies with all applicable laws to try to ensure
the health and safety of our event participants, we cannot eliminate
the risk of exposure to infectious diseases during in-person events.
By participating in the in-person events of the SCA, you acknowledge
and accept the potential risks. You agree to take any additional steps
to protect your own health and safety and those under your control as
you believe to be necessary.