Populace in focus - Lord Fearghus mac Eoin

Real Name: 

Nathan Littlejohn

SCA Name and Title: 

Lord Fearghus mac Eoin

Years in the SCA?

Just south of 20

Persona:

14th century Scottish wandering crusader type.

Group or Household affiliations if any:

House Gladique Scoparum

Tell us a bit about your life outside the SCA:

I work in the construction, primarily large industrial projects. I spend a fair amount of time tending my garden and working in my wood shop. I currently reside with my lovely lady, a Skye terrier whose name is Oscar, two geckos, and a rather grumpy bearded dragon. I also bonfires and beer. 

What SCA activities do you participate in: 

Primarily heavy fighting, but also woodworking, calligraphy & illumination, and armoring. Also period cooking and food preservation. Someday I may dabble more in brewing but there’s only so many hours in the day.

Tell us a little bit about your SCA experience (offices, etc):

My semi nomadic lifestyle has led me across three kingdoms (the East, Aethelmearc, and Atlantia) so the only office I’ve held was Knight Marshal of Thescorre. I have autocratted, run more demos than I can count, helped in the kitchen, and generally try to make myself useful or at least amusing.

What are your goals in the SCA?

Besides making prettier garb and armor, my main goal has always been to have fun and encouraging others to do the same.

If you could accomplish only one thing in the SCA in the year 2018 what would it be?

Besides attending more events, make more scrolls.

What advice would you give to a new person in the SCA, or if new yourself what question would you ask and who would you ask it of?
Don’t worry about rank, joining households, awards, or any of that, just go to events and have fun.

If you magically woke up with an SCA talent you do not already have what would it be?

Probably embroidery, I like making pretty things.

Scroll from the past, finally delivered!

One of the fun jobs of a Baron & Baroness is handing out scrolls and awards. Sometimes these come from our hands, but sometimes the task falls on us to deliver the words of the King and Queen. Not long ago, while attending the College of Three Ravens in Thescorre, a backlog scroll came to us. A Silver Buckle  (youth service award) for a "Robert of the Rhydderich Hael". I decided to take the scroll and search for the owner. Thanks to the power of social media I was able to contact Robert and (if my math is correct) deliver his scroll 14 years after is was awarded. Thanks to everyone who helped in the quest! Robert, enjoy the scroll. Maybe we will see you around again.

Meet the Officers: Minister of Arts and Sciences

Now it's time to meet the next officer of the Hael, if you do A&S in our barony this officers wants to help you and guide those who are interested to the art they love. Time to learn about it from THL Eleanore Godwin our Minister of Arts and Sciences

What does the Minister of Arts and Sciences do?

The Minister of Arts and Sciences is a facilitator of education. The officer does a few things that are connected to learning. MoAS's make sure people wanting to learn about a subject are connected to a teacher or place they can have access to the subject they are interested in. The minister also finds students for someone wanting to teach, or opportunities for teachers to teach others.

The MoAS also helps artisans find opportunities to display their work. The MoAS is responsible for arranging classes for their group in subjects that are wanted or helpful to newcomers. Another responsibility is to maintain records of demos, activities participated in by members, who has taught, who took classes, and who made something.

The final responsibility is filing quarterly reports of all these activities. The reports are easily written with the on-line report form provided by the Kingdom Minister of Arts and Sciences Office.

Meet the Officers: Pursuivant

The next installment of our Baronial Officer Blog posts, this one written by our spectacular Pursuivant Mistress Ekaterina Volkova, please enjoy learning about what our Pursuivant does!

Pursuivant

A Great Barony is run with precision

A Baronial Court requires nothing less!

Tradition, discipline, and rules must be the tools

Without them - Disorder! Chaos! Anarchy!

In short, we have a ghastly mess!

What is the Pursuivant?

The Pursuivant is the Baronial Herald. This is a required posting as laid down by the Laws and Policies of the Kingdom of Æthelmearc in Article Vl, Section VI-200. In the Rhydderich Hael, this position has the title of Ice Dragon Pursuivant. The Pursuivant has a drop-dead deputy, in the Hael they are the Haelstone Pusuivant.

What does the Pursuivant do?

1. The majority of the time, the Pursuivant runs Baronial Courts. This means:
   1. keeping track of the docket,
   2. coordinating with the Scribal Guild to make sure scrolls will be coming in and from whom,
   3. running Baronial court,
   4. and filling out court reports for the Silver Buccle Herald.
2. If they are available, the Pursuivant also heralds in Their Excellencies in processions at such events as the Seven Pearls Tournament, Pennsic, War Practice and Coronations (depending on the wishes of Their Majesties).
3. Sometimes folks will come to the Pursuivant for help in designing and submitting SCA names and devices. I personally have a deputy that handles this aspect of the job.
4. Quarterly, it is the responsibility of the Pursuivant to submit a report to Kingdom. This is done via an online form found on the Kingdom Herald’s website.

What is required to be Ice Dragon Pusuivant?

1. You must be a member in good standing in the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.
2. You must submit your resume to the Seneschal of the Barony with a copy to the current Pursuivant
3. You must be voted into the office at the voting Barony meeting.
4. Other things that are a bonus:

1. Getting along with the current and potential future Baron/Baroness of the Barony,
2. the ability to keep confidences as you will know award information sometimes months ahead of time,
3. a loud and carrying voice,
4. little to no stage fright,
5. organizational skills (preferably spreadsheet and google docs abilities),
6. a comfortable pair of shoes (Ice Dragon court is LONG),
7. a sense of humor is a big bonus too.

What are the perks of being Pursuivant?

1. You get a front row seat to see people’s faces as they receive awards,
2. you get to see up close all the pretty scrolls the scribes of the Barony make,
3. you’re not straining to hear what they are saying in court

Baronial Nominations April 4th 2018 - A word from the Election Steward

On April 4th 2018 the Barony continues the process of electing a new Baron and/or Baroness with the call for nominations and the selection of potential candidates. The nomination process will happen at the April Baronial business meeting under the guidance of the Election committee and in accordance with Baronial policy. Her Excellency and I invite the populace to join us in support of the Barony and encourage people new and old to participate in the process. A link to the Baronial policies is provided below and explains the election policy, the nomination process, and the requirements to serve as Baron and/or Baroness. If you have any questions about serving as Baron and Baroness, please ask. We are always willing to discuss the job. Serving as the Baron and Baroness has been a great honor and we look forward to watching the selection of our Heirs. Please join us! 

Several people have asked question about the election and the election process that are not covered in the Baronial policy. Her Excellency Baroness Elisabeth Johanna von Flossenburg was nice enough to answer several of these questions. If you have other questions please direct them to Her Excellency Elisabeth by e-mail at: (bostonhahn at aol dot com)

Can people accept the nomination immediately or are they required to wait 48 hours?  

They can accept verbally immediately if they meet all the requirements outlined in the policy. They must furnish a copy of valid ID and a valid SCA membership card. They can also write an acceptance letter in advance and turn it in at the time they accept the nomination. They can also wait until the last minute. 

Policy says people must accept nominations in writing. Can that be an e-mail, Facebook, etc? Or does it have to be pen and paper?

I personally do not care, but we do need a file copy of the acceptance if asked by the Kingdom Seneschal or the Crown, so I feel it is best to write an acceptance letter in paper and pen/pencil. Again, this can be done in advance if they so choose. 

Who do they send this acceptance letter to? The policy does not specify.   

The acceptance letter should be given to the Seneschal or to any member of the election committee. However, in the end they should be kept by the Seneschal with any other election materials in case they have to be produced if any questions about the election should arise. 

Can people who accept the nomination make it public right away, or should they wait the 48 hours until all the nominees have responded? 

The acceptance can be made public immediately. 

Can people campaign after accepting the nomination? 

I see no reason against campaigning if someone so chooses. There are no restrictions. 

There is a tradition of asking the nominees a series of questions. These questions are then post in the newsletter along with photos. This is not in policy. Do you plan to do this? 

The introduction of the candidates will be left to the Chronicler. This will include a series of set questions given to the candidates to answer. These answers will be published in the newsletter prior to the election. The nature of the questions will be determined by the populace. Prior to the nomination meeting the Chronicler will ask the populace (via Facebook and Yahoo) what questions they would like to ask the Candidates. A selection of these question will be drawn from the populace responses and sent to the candidates to answer. Please watch for more information on this.  

Any additional thoughts? 

I would like very much to add a reminder for everyone to check their membership expiration and to renew if there may be a chance that it will expire or already is expired. Each person must be an active member in order to vote.  This means that they must have an active membership at the time the mailing labels are created or they cannot vote.  I remember that the first time there were elections in the Barony I had just renewed my membership but for some reason my mailing label was not included.  Sir Calidus called Milpitas and checked, I produced my receipt and was able to get it rectified.  But there is never a guarantee that this can be done.  So let's try to avoid this kind of situation!    

Baronial policy:

Link to Baronial Policy

Meet the Officers: Knight Marshal

His Excellency and I are doing a series of blog posts written by the Barony's Baronial Officers. We asked the officers to write about what they do as a Officer, what you need to know if you want to ever do the job yourself, and just some fun info as well. Enjoy and we hope you learn something too.

Here is the first by our awesome Knight Marshal Lord Horatius Cincinnatus.

Knight Marshal

Job Duties

Keep everyone safe and encourage more people to fight and become a Marshal. During practices make sure the fighters are having a great time and following all the rules. Help out with new fighters and point them in the right direction. A side note you may be asked to help during Baronial events and rules clarification when needed.

Tech stuff and Expectations

Be a Marshal, run for position, get voted into position and have fun in position. Know the rules of the list found in the Marshals Handbook. Have back up waviors ready and authorization paperwork.

Show up to as many practices as you can. This means showing up even when nobody is there to fight.

Show up to Baronial meetings and help "Count" votes...

Do paperwork as required, yearly and quarterly and if you run fighting at an event.

Help keep good relations with the practice site. Make sure the doors open on time and a keyholder is on site.

Keeping the loaner armour up to date and in working or working*ish* order. Tape and padding fixes most things. Make sure you return armour to him after it is loaned out.

When random people return or make armour donations get them back to the loaner bin. With this said... not all donation meet safety standards we do appreciate all offers but as cool as they are Freon Helms are best used on display.

Consult with the secret order of practice cancellation, that's a trade secret...

Remember at all times you are responsible for keeping people safe and making sure they have a good time. Make sure you pick a good deputy. You never know when you might have to have back up

Hael Groups in Focus - The Woodland Watch

A while ago Maynard von dem Stein was nice enough complete a group interview for the Woodland Watch. The Watch is one of the larger groups represented in the Hael but has an impact far beyond our borders. My apologies for taking such a long time to actually publish this interview.

Who is the head/leader of your group?

Woodland Watch does not have a leader. All peers in the group take a leadership role and help organize, coordinate and provide for the members

When was the group started?

The Watch was started in 2010.

Is the group still active?

The group is still active.

Approximately how many members are in your group?

We will have 45 members as of April 2017 most of which live in AEthelmearc.

Does the group have a device or heraldry?

Our device and name were designed by Duchess Liadain. 

What type of group is it (fighting household, A&S, mixed)?

The Watch was started as a fighting company to fight and train together and to defend AEthelmearc in times of war and to support its people in times of peace. It is a group of like minded people that enjoy each other’s company. We fight, train, eat, camp, and help each other in and out of the society. The group has grown into more than a fighting company; we have many pelicans and laurels. We even have a great group of rapier fighters and a Master of Defense.

Is the group primarily in the Rhydderich Hael?

About half of the groups members  live in the Barony of the Rhydderich Hael. Almost all live in the Kingdom of AEthelmearc.

Please provide a brief history of your group.

The Watch was started by Maynard von dem Stein and Liadain ni Dheirdre Chaomhanaigh and a group of their friends including Anna Blackleaf, Otto of Westphalia, Eirikr inn Havi and others that camped and participated together at events and wanted to form a fighting unit on the field.  The group has grown over the years to include rapier fighters, artists, archers etc. and spans to nearly every corner of the Kingdom.

Woodland Watch Device,
designed by Duchess Liadain

Is your group accepting new members?

The Watch does accept new members. We never actively recruit members. For the most part, new member become friends first. They ask about the group and have an interest in joining. We have a period where the person gets to know other members of the group and all members vote to decide if the new person is a good fit.

Who should interested people contact?

The best people to contact are Duke Maynard von dem Stein and Duchess Liadain ni Dheirdre Chaomhanaigh. They are founding members and help coordinate and organize the group. But, you can go to any member of the Watch and ask about the group.

Woodland Watch camp at Pennsic