Tag: BMDL Seneschal

Harvest Revel – This Sunday

Join us for a celebration of the autumn at Earl Byron and Countess Sir Ariella’s castle in Wexford (755 Stonegate Dr, Wexford, PA) – THIS SUNDAY, 3 November 2019. A big thanks to them for opening their home to us again! And what better way to celebrate than thwacking, tossing, singing and PIE! That’s right, we’ll have fighting (heavy and youth), fencing, and thrown weapons. HOWEVER the pumpkin toss must be cancelled this year due to some issues with the launch area on the roof.

There will be our annual PIE contest!

And if you’ve never encountered the Debatable Lands Harvest Revel Meeting PIE contest before – just about anything counts as pie, if you can name it pie…. “Pumpkin roll? Spatially challenged pie. Cookies? Crustless mini-pies. Pork roast? Deconstructed meat pie. Deviled eggs? Cursed baby chicken pies. BRING IT ALL! Here is the link to the details about the Pie Contest (http://debatablelands.org/blog/?p=3987).

SCHEDULE
The current schedule is:
Doors Open at 11am
Thrown Weapons start at 11am
Pie contest runs from noon to 3pm
Choir concert is at 1:45-ish, with a short Court and Barony Meeting announcements to follow.
Fighting (Heavy and Youth) and Fencing will start after announcements, about 2:15ish.

Here’s the Facebook event for the meeting: https://www.facebook.com/events/566290307444855/

Call for Letters – Seneschal

After nearly four years serving this fine Barony, it is time for me to step down as your Seneschal. I am officially calling for letters and requesting that letters be sent to me (seneschal at debatablelands.org) and the Baron (baron at debatablelands.org) and Baroness (baroness at debatablelands.org) by 28 December 2019.

The job of Seneschal is rewarding and unexpectedly difficult at times. It is a way to serve the fine populace of the Debatable Lands in a deep, meaningful way. Take time with your decision and ask many questions. There are quite a few former Seneschals in the Barony still participating (Baroness Hilda being one of them) that are your resources for the reality of the everyday job. If you are interested in becoming the Seneschal and want more information about what the job entails, please contact me directly and I will be happy to talk with you about what the needs are and how the Seneschal serves the Barony. There are also online resources such as the Seneschal’s Handbook (http://socsen.scaserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Seneschals-Handbook-January-2018.2.pdf) that you can use to inform yourself before making a decision.

I don’t have the words to truly express what an honor and a privilege it has been to serve the Barony as its Seneschal for the last several years. I am thankful and grateful that I was blessed with such a strong foundation of Seneschals throughout the history of the Barony and to have the support of my Deputies, THL Muirgheal and Maighster Liam. I have always believed in the exceptionalness of the Debatable Lands and still do. You are all amazing, talented, intelligent, and skilled people in your own ways and having a vantage point where I could best see so many of you was one of the great joys of my life.

My term is officially over in February, however, I want to ensure that there is enough time for people to make informed choices prior to submitting a letter. Again, remember that the deadline for letters is 28 December 2019. Thank you all for your time and for allowing me to be your Seneschal for the last four years.

~Odriana

End of Year Letter

With the end of one year and the beginning of another, it is the traditional time to reflect on the year past and the year to come. I am always pressed to find the words to express just how highly I think of everyone in this Barony. I am honored to serve as your Seneschal and proud of what we as a Barony accomplish every year. The kindness, talent, generosity, enthusiasm, knowledge, and volunteerism shown by all of you is inspiring.
From gathering items for gift baskets for the Royalty to sharing your expertise to train new martial participants you are all amazing volunteers. The countless hours that you put towards helping make the Barony, the Kingdom, and the SCA a vibrant organization is truly a gift to each of us. Your efforts are seen and appreciated.

Here are some highlights from the last year:

January
This year started with a lovely, smallish Baronial Twelfth Night, run by THL Elss and Lady Kathryn, where so many people received recognition from our Baron and Baroness, including the The Royal Livery Company (the first time they were recognized). It was also where we got to see Mistress Graidhne elevated to the Order of the Laurel.

February
Lady Zianna generously donated new list ropes for our use in indoor combat. They were immediately used for the Carnegie Science Center Demo where we had over 100 people join us to make this Demo so successful we are invited back and in a leading role. The William Blackfox awards were announced and the BMDL took home six awards. We also had a very successful Tavern in the Park event autocratted by THL Elss and Lady Elsa.

April
Baron Leonard passed away mid-month, which was a significant blow to the Barony as a whole. We had a demo at CCAC South that was very successful. The Comet Persuivant began a project to make Baldrics for everyone participating in a martial activity at Pennsic. The Brewers Guild came out of dormancy and set their first meeting date.

June
We hosted the Known World Heralds and Scribes event, coordinated by Master Alaric and THL The baldrics for martial activities at Pennsic were finished and handed out to as many people as possible, the rest to be distributed at Pennsic. We also had an Iron Comet event, autocratted by Don Jorundr and the Barony got new Champions.

July/August
PENNSIC – As always, the BMDL was everywhere – volunteering, coordinating,

September
The Barony hosted the first ever Known World Commedia gathering. We had the pleasure of hosting so many talented visitors and rumor has it that it’s going to be held again.

October
Agincourt, now in its 12th year, was held during its traditional weekend and was autocratted by Baroness Constance and Meesteres Odriana.

November
We had our traditional Harvest Revel Barony Meeting at the Castle – there was pie, GLORY!!!, singing, pumpkin launching, and fellowship.

December
We had our first joint fencing practice with Broken Plow, which will now be held the first Sunday of the month at the Broken Plow studios in Creighton, PA. We also had end-of-year retrospectives from quite a few people published on Stórfréttir. We also saw the untimely passing of Lady Amanda and Jamie MacMichael, over which most of us are still processing our grief and our hearts are with their families.

The coming year is starting out just as full as last year —
Kingdom Twelfth Night on 5 January.
Baronial Twelfth Night a week later, 12 January, where we will also have our Barony Meeting.
Aethelmearc Grand Tournament on 2 February.

There was a recent call for letters for the Office of Baronial Minister of Arts and Sciences, those letters are due at our February Business Meeting on Wednesday, 6 February. If you are interested in the position or serving as a Deputy to learn more about the realities of the office, please check out the call for letters on Stórfréttir. We welcome new people to put in letters and become part of the Barony’s Leadership.

We also have a call for letters for the Office of the Comet Persuivant. While the current Persuivant is interested in serving another two-year term, if you are interested in the position or would like to serve as a Deputy Herald to get an idea of what that job entails, please read the call for letters on Stórfréttir. Those letters are also due at our February Business Meeting.

We have the most amazing Barony in the Known World and I am perpetually impressed by the breadth and depth of opportunities that we have here, not only in knowledge but also in service and martial skill.

aude aliqid dignum*,

Odriana, Senschal

*dare something worthy

New Policy from the Society Seneschal

This is the official Kingdom announcement of this change in Corpora. Please read until the end. There are requirements that involves event Stewards (as well as me).

If you have any questions, please contact Duke Christopher, Æthelmearc Seneschal at his published email address, or through the Æthelmearc website (www.aethelmearc.org).

Odriana, Seneschal

Unto the Glorious Kingdom of Aethelmearc, Greetings from Duke Christopher, Seneschal.

I want to take a moment and make you all aware of a new policy that has been passed down to the Kingdom Seneschals from the Society Seneschal regarding Harassment and Bullying. This policy is now in effect.

The policy may be found here: http://socsen.sca.org/the-sca-harrassment-and-bullying-policy/

Here is the policy as it was passed along to the Kingdom Seneschals from the Society Seneschal:

*The SCA prohibits harassment and bullying of all individuals and groups.* Harassment and bullying includes, but is not limited to the following:
offensive or lewd verbal comments directed to an individual; the display of explicit images (drawn or photographic) depicting an individual in an inappropriate manner; photographing or recording individuals inappropriately to abuse or harass the individual; inappropriate physical contact; unwelcome sexual attention; or retaliation for reporting harassment and/or bullying. Participants violating these rules are subject to appropriate sanctions. If an individual feels subjected to harassment, bullying or retaliation, they should contact a Seneschal, President of the SCA, or the Kingdom’s Board Ombudsman. If a participant of the SCA becomes aware that someone is being harassed or bullied, they have a responsibility pursuant to the SCA Code of Conduct to come forward and report this behavior to a Seneschal, President of the SCA or Kingdom’s Board Ombudsman.

Additionally, you will begin to see this policy posted in the following manner at events and in site handouts. This statement is taken from the Society Seneschal webpage:

The following statement must be posted at gate/troll at every SCA event in a size large enough for people to see it as they enter our events. This language must likewise be quoted in ALL site handouts at every event a site where a handout is made available.

– THE SCA PROHIBITS HARASSMENT AND BULLYING OF ALL INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS.

– Participants engaging in this behavior are subject to appropriate sanctions.

– If you are subjected to harassment, bullying or retaliation, or if you become aware of anyone being harassed or bullied, contact a Seneschal,
President of the SCA, or your Kingdom’s Board Ombudsman.

Please understand that if you are a local Seneschal or an event autocrat, you must make sure that the above policy is adhered to regarding posting of the required signage and verbiage in the site handout.

There is going to be a period of adjustment here and I would hope that common sense prevails in any complaint that may arise as a result of this new policy.

As always, if you have questions about this policy, please do not hesitate to contact me at the email address listed for me on the Kingdom Webpage.

In Service,

Duke Christopher
Seneschal, Aethelmearc