Anstoerra-Middle Wars

[KiheBard at aol.com]

In a message dated 97-03-20 16:14:22 EST, you write:

> Ansteorra-MIDDLE War???
>  I joined the SCA the year before the last Ansteorra-Outlands War. This
must 
>  have been a long time ago when Calontir was still part of the Middle 
>  Kingdom.

Well, at least for the first two...
 
>  Can someone give some descriptions or recollections of these Wars? 

The First Ansteorran-Middle War aka "Queen Willow's War": my first 
formal SCA event. Longer mass polearms (esp. a certain poleaxe) were 
devastatingly effective during the bridge battles.  SCA combat was not 
that far beyond the age of the freon-can helmet, and my memory places
a whole lot of shag-carpet armor on that field.  Site to the north-east of 
the bulk of the current Barony of Northkeep.  First SCA bardic performance
by Valadonis the Wanderer happened that Saturday night; also my first
bard-fire singing.  
     If you ever see me taking a guard shift around 4-6 AM,
it is in part an homage to that first event.

The Second Ansteorran-Middle War, which I refer to as "The Mud War". 
(I'm told this apellative may have slipped in popular usage to another
event entirely.)  Site was in Arkansas, north-west from Small Grey Bear
(?? SCA geography).  The mud won. What fighting did manage to get
carried out on the field was inconclusive, and the sight was closed
by noonish.  
     For all I know, there may STILL be the skeletal remains of small pets 
and portions of vehicles sunken into the mud of the one road where I 
was trying to help the push-me-pull-you crews ... Burke, was it as 
early as 5pm when you and I actually managed to get off-site?

By the time of the Third, "chigger", War, I was largely 
inactive in the SCA. When Burke notes the Ansteorran 
"bridge charge", remind yourselves who the three were
making up the charge.  Burke, pardon me for forgetting myself,
as I only heard of this feat in later stories.  I'm *guessing* that
Dragomyr & Ricardo were two of the three. Was the third Andreas,
Edward the Proud, or ????

I missed the Outlands wars entirely, and have not yet attended
a war of any type since my return to the Society.

> How did  they differ from say the Ansteorra-Outlands Wars or Gulf Wars?
 
Smaller than current Gulf Wars, certainly.  If I remember the counts
with any accuracy at all, there were less than four hundred under arms
(total for both Ansteorran and Middle) for the first War, and maybe as 
many as 200 total actually suited up for the second. Noting Burke's more
official figures for the Second, I will note that there were more people
armored than actually took the field, particularly due to concerns about
the footing.  (Rain the previous evening, moderating to mist, ALMOST 
clearing -- Thor must have been teasing us, was the joke told later -- 
and drizzle turning steadily to rain coming down in increasingly heavy 
amounts as the day progressed.

     Absolutely not as many merchants as can be found at Gulf Wars,
or even Steppes Warlord for that matter.

All memories under usual Amra warranty, also known as MLAWS: 
Memory Like A Wool Sock, moth-eaten & full of holes.

Amra / Kihe / Mike

(gone to Tulsa for the weekend, time for Conestoga...)