Hey all!

We are looking at redoing our list poles here shortly. We are debating right now on how to do that. Could some of you post pictures of your list polls and what you like don't like about them?

Thank you all!

Question, I am working on choosing my name. I know my persona is Irish cause I have a lot of Irish ancestry and am quite proud of it. I have mu surname, O'Cullum, in honor of my mom's maiden name Cullum, but I need my first name. I have Faolan picked out as a possible choice, but I am trying to find and Irish name that means "dragon" or something similar, but I cannot find anything. I really like dragons (as you can probably guess from my username) and want to embody the fighting spirit of a dragon in combat. I cant find an Irish name that means "dragon" and google has been unhelpful. So I come here to people who know a lot more than I do.

I'm back with more questions, how does a coat of arms work? Like in terms of what you can and can't put on yours? Me and some friends plan on making our coat of arms based off of creatures from mythology or religious figures, so what are the actual rules for it?

Hey all - I'm wondering if there's a mini-community out there somewhere within the SCA where female and trans heavy fighters can hang out and trade tips?

I think it's important to learn from as many different people as I can, as a 5'3" tiny nonbinary fighter, but all the fighters in my area are 5'5"+ men. I mean no disrespect to them, and I love most of them and they're good teachers/fighting partners, but I do just always feel like the 'other' in the groups out here (south Ansteorra). I also just wanna make more heavy/chiv friends who are like me. I feel like there should be a Facebook group or Discord server out there for female & trans fighters, but I haven't been able to find anything.

Here is my predicament.

I had to quit doing fighting for health reasons, primarily due to 1 spot on my torso that is causing issues for me right now. I did not really fight a lot before I had to quit doing it which is due to a multitude of other reasons (money, shitty loaner, you name it). But my group is primarily composed of fighters. Its what they do. I like my group. But I do not like kind of being left out of a lot of stuff because I cant fight. As much as I love my music, its something I can do at home since I roughly am getting the same amounts of engagement with it from others there as I do at our meetings. And I'm itching to get out there and thwak people again since back when I could do that... those were much better times,

My health issue that caused me to stop has not gone away, It wont be any time soon I'm afraid, but it is ultra-localized to just 1 part of my torso and I refuse to put my life on hold anymore than I have for it. I cant take it anymore. Given the rest of me is fairly ok all things considered, I was thinking of seeing if I could get a kidney belt or some type of torso protection to cover that 1 spot and reinforce it so that it does not get hit. I looked around on Amazon, a lot of the things they had did not really cover the area I needed it to or focused more on back support. I was considering buying 16 gage steel plates to add extra reinforcement to one of the shirt-type kidney belts on amazon. But I am not fully sure what the best option is for me here since I am not going to thrust myself into heavy right away. Heavy is something I am going to work up to. Start with fencing first and work my way up. I know SCA fencing usually isn't something you need this level of protection for. But I want to avoid getting hit in that specific, easily armorable, spot.

Ive already been given some good information in regards on where to start. And I am going to go through with this I'm pretty sure since I do not think my issue is all that serious. Can anybody help offer me some additional guidance in terms of how to get torso protection that offers good coverage or how to outfit things to accomplish this?

Hey fellas, I'm completely inexperienced with anything to do with the SCA. Never attended any events, never really looked into it, and barely know what it is at this point. However, I recently got invited by a friend to join him at Gulf Wars and am wondering what to expect, how to prepare, and what it even really is that you do there. Atleast, at Gulf Wars as somebody without an SCA membership (which I think is a thing, but I don't know what it really does.)

As I'm sure many of you know, Gulf Wars is coming up in March of this year, and I need to know that I'll have time to prepare for it if I do decide to go. So, I have a few questions.

First, what is the SCA and what will the average newbie, like me, be doing there? I'm going there to accompany my buddy in jousting events and hopefully get set up for some lessons that his trainer teaches, but of course there's much more to the event than jousting. I will have guides in my two friends who have attended regularly, but I'd like to hear more about what it actually is before I make plans to go there for the week.

Secondly, what will I need to bring? I have some rudimentary clothes, and an early 15th century English plate harness without a matching helmet. I'm trying to build up a Milanese harness for jousting, but I have doubts that I will get it all done in time for the event that's only roughly three months away. I don't have many reenactment supplies outside of that since this would be my first event. I'll likely be able to bunk in one of my friends' tents while I'm there, so accommodations probably aren't going to be an issue. What will I need to partake in this event otherwise?

Thirdly, is there some sort of local political system? Will I be beholden to those with high ranking political titles? And is the SCA all connected or is everything an event-by-event basis?

Thanks for reading, all in all my goals are just to go there and have a good time with friends, but I'd like to be prepared to take it all in and have the advantage of getting the full experience of what the event has to offer.

Let me know if there’s a better place to ask this. I’m looking for historically accurate late medieval belt hardware. The problem is that all the buckles with plates and strap ends I’ve seen, even from the more reputable places, are only one sided with the “pins” visible on the inside surface of the leather. Historically, they would have been double sided, with the belt sandwiched in between. Any leads on “proper” hardware?

I’m think about joining the SCA and I’m looking for any good website for Helmets. Currently I’m with Schola but since my group is kinda half half with SCA I wanted to do so so more tournaments more fighting!! Any info would be awesome.

I’m looking into getting some first aid supplies for my throne box. I’m always watching the Eric’s from the fun seats so it’ll always be nearby.

Tensor bandages, ice, some band aids. What else would be good to have around?

(Preferably stuff that doesn’t require a bunch of skill to use. I’m no medic, just enthusiastic)

Branching off of something on the Recruitment thread page…

In my time bouncing around various kingdoms, I’ve invariably come across people remarking (in some cases bragging) about “Watch out for fighters/fencers etc. from Kingdom X, they hit hard!”, or “We’re from Kingdom Y, we hit the hardest/gotta hit us hard for us to take a shot.”

I can see in some cultures why this could be a bragging point, but I don’t get why that is in the SCA, per se. I don’t get why having to move armor standards progressively higher than Society minimums just to be able to participate in a particular locale’s events is seen as a Good Thing. I won’t even bring up all of the apocryphal Crown Tourney horror stories in various Kingdoms.

Does anyone have a good answer for this? I’d hate to attribute this to some weird toxic masculinity/“testosterone pointing” reason if someone can provide a better response.

https://www.culina-vetus.de/2023/11/20/beauty-advice-from-macer-floridus/

Again not exactly culinary, but here is some cosmetic advice from the 11th century Macer Floridus:

93 Its (wormwood) ash blackens the hair if mixed into a wax ointment and frequently applied

490 It is also said that if you often enjoy betony in wine, a leaden (plumbeus) skin tone departs and the previous better tone returns.

570 It (chamomile) also removes scaly skin and moles on the face it you lay it on pounded, on its own or with honey.

836 The bulb (of the lily), boiled and well mixed with a wax ointment, smooths wrinkles on the face, removes all blemishes from the skin, drives out scabies, and cleans the face of scaly skin.

881 The juice of sage, it is said, blackens the hair if you often anoint it under the warm sun.

1020 Mixed with honey, it (rocket) is said to clear the skin of blemishes and the face of moles.

1125 Its (onion) juice, mixed with honey, makes dim eyes see brightly, and mixed with vinegar, it removes blemishes of the skin, but you must rub it on often.

1375 Oil is produced from violets the same way as from rose flowers. It is useful in many illnesses … you can also drive out dandruff of the head with this oil.

1518 A drink of hyssop, fresh or dried, taken often is said to give the face an exceedingly beautiful colour. (…) Boiled and laid on the skin, it softens all blemishes of the skin (livores).

1594 It (Cyprus sedge) aids the viciousness of the armpits (alarum vitiis) if mixed with oil.

2045 Anaxilaos teaches us this: If a maiden at the time that her breasts begin to swell frequently anoints them with the juice of hemlock, they will always remain of moderate size and upright. And if you lay the green herb, pounded, on the breasts, it suppresses lactation.

2077 Mixed with natron and applied as a plaster, it (pepper) softens all skin blemishes.

2129 An odor of the mouth that passes the normal measure is alleviated by eating it (galingale).

2139 It (ceodary) drives from the mouth the odour produced by garlic, and no less that by drinking wine in excess.

2158 Pounded well and mixed with strong vinegar, it (cinnamon) removes ugly moles if you lay it on the face.

2176 (Both kinds of costus root) clear the face of moles if they are applied pounded with honey.

These are fairly standard recipes, and in proportion to the entirety of the work, they do not take up an inordinate amount of space. It is notable, though, how much attention a monastic writer around 1060 pays to preparations that beautify the face.

Again, Cyprus sedge, ceodary, and galingale remind us that the olfactory world of the Middle Ages was not so overwhelmingly awful that body odour or bad breath (“that passes the normal measure”) were not noticed and addressed. As to the application of hemlock to preserve the beauty of youthful breasts, the author refers to a specific ancient authority which suggests no personal experience. I sincerely hope this was not something anyone tried out. Hemlock is one of relatively few European plants that will absolutely kill you if you eat it. It should not need saying that liberally applying it to the skin is neither wise nor safe.

The Macer Floridus is a herbal that was extremely popular throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in all of Europe, and especially in Germany. It was most likely written in the mid-eleventh century by Odo of Meung, but this is somewhat uncertain and the early version could date from as early as the ninth century. Its final form of 77 chapters, drawing on material from Constantinus Africanus, certainly existed by 1100. We know with certainty that it was not authored by the classical Roman writer Aemilius Macer to whom early editors ascribed it.

The Macer is a relatively brief treatment of the pharmaceutical properties of various plants, drawing on various classical and medieval sources. It does not contain culinary recipes, but some remarks in it are nonetheless interesting from that perspective. I excerpted several paragraphs I found interesting with a view to culinary preparation, feasting, and lifestyle medicine. It should not need saying that these are not medical recommendations. While some recipes in Macer may actually have an appreciable effect, others can be seriously dangerous, and none hold up to modern evidence-based practice.

I am relying on the scholarly edition of 1834 and a German translation by Johannes Gottfried Mayer and Konrad Goehl that is still in print.

https://www.culina-vetus.de/2023/11/20/household-hints-from-macer-floridus/

Today, I only have a few small excerpt from the Macer Floridus. Eleventh-century housekeeping:

71 If you pound the herb (wormwood) with strong wine, you need not fear midges. If you burn it, they flee its smell.

105 If you dissolve you ink in wine this plant (wormwood) was steeped in and write on parchment, no mouse will gnaw it.

1307 Its juice (oregano), if mixed with onions and sumach and exposed to the sun when Sirius burns, exposed to the hot air for fourteen days, and placed under the bed is said to drive out all harmful small creatures.

There isn’t much to say here other than the problems of the household – mice, mosquitoes, bedbugs – were clearly seen as something to be addressed, however ineffectually. I don’t think any of this will work very well, but it is at least not actively harmful.

The Macer Floridus is a herbal that was extremely popular throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in all of Europe, and especially in Germany. It was most likely written in the mid-eleventh century by Odo of Meung, but this is somewhat uncertain and the early version could date from as early as the ninth century. Its final form of 77 chapters, drawing on material from Constantinus Africanus, certainly existed by 1100. We know with certainty that it was not authored by the classical Roman writer Aemilius Macer to whom early editors ascribed it.

The Macer is a relatively brief treatment of the pharmaceutical properties of various plants, drawing on various classical and medieval sources. It does not contain culinary recipes, but some remarks in it are nonetheless interesting from that perspective. I excerpted several paragraphs I found interesting with a view to culinary preparation, feasting, and lifestyle medicine. It should not need saying that these are not medical recommendations. While some recipes in Macer may actually have an appreciable effect, others can be seriously dangerous, and none hold up to modern evidence-based practice.

I am relying on the scholarly edition of 1834 and a German translation by Johannes Gottfried Mayer and Konrad Goehl that is still in print.

I figured maybe folks here would be able to figure it out: is the instrument played in the first piece in this video a Shawm? Something else? It is a really catchy tune but have not been able to find out much about it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZKLJMrxk_4

Just a random thought/question. Can a canton change the barony they are associated with? Example two baronies and a canton all closely located to one another. The canton belongs to barony A because at the time the canton was created there was only barony A. Now there is barony B which is just as close to them if not closer. Could the canton choose to belong to barony B?

For those who fight light or heavy and combat archers. What is your reason you either do not have or do not want channel? Is it the cost? Is it avaliability? Or does it not match your persona? Or is it not practical?