[Ansteorra] Trials of St. Anthony awards and thanks (Long)

[Baroness of Bjornsborg]

Greetings, Ansteorra!

Philippe and I would like to extend our gratitude to everyone who
joined us for the Trials of St. Anthony this weekend. Each and every
one of you helped to make this event come to its fruition, and bring
forth The Dream to many others.

If you were not able to join us in our celebration, you missed a truly
spectacular event, of which tales will be told for many years.



Thank you to Her Stellar Majesty Nicollet for joining us. Your
Presence made our event so much more than we thought that it could be.
We were blessed to have You join us as we gathered together in
celebration (and in such beautiful fall weather!).



Congratulations to the winners of our fighting competitions:

-   Selected as the winners of the War Chest, rewarded for prowess
upon the field, was represented to the Representatives of the Kingdom
of Silesia: Duke Stephen on Bellatrix, Sir Gaston, Lord Wilhem, Jonsi,
and Richard

-   Selected as the Country worthy of the relic of St. Anthony was
Spain, represented by Baron Alejandro, Countess Amelot, Baron Daire,
Centurion Gerhart, and Lord Edwin.

(His Excellency proved his team worthy as he bravely opened the
Reliquary and it shone with a Celestial blue-white light, shining its
favor upon him and his comrades. This was shortly after it had shone
red with wrath and melted a certain German who claimed that this relic
belonged to her and her comrades, all of whom fled screaming at the
sight of the destruction).



His Excellency and I were most impressed with the prowess and
comportment of *all* of those upon the field, but were especially
taken with the ferocity and sheer joy that Countess Amelot Lisette
brought to the day, and so Philippe called her into court and tore a
section of his personal war banner off, presenting it to her as a
token of his esteem.



Our archery competition also had two winners:

-  Overall winner: Don Lorenzo Bagliani (I look forward to receiving
my replacement falcon!)

-  Novice winner: Zagel Fents Muller BarooMann von Coxhaven mit Damburt



Congratulations also to the winners of the Arts and Sciences
competition – we were unable to come to a consensus on a winner, so we
chose to honor two individual entries:

- Lady Elen ferch Philip – for her embroidered reliquary box

- Soteme Shimazu – for her icon



We would also like to congratulate the winner of our Performance
Competition, Lady Rosa de Armanno. Her piece was wonderful, and left
everyone spellbound.



Well done, all!



There were many hands who labored for many months to ensure that this
event was such a glorious experience, and we cannot possibly list them
all. Please know that we appreciate the hard work and dedication of
each and every one of you.. We do, however, want to say a special
thanks to the following good gentles, (in no particular order): *Note:
please forgive any omissions or spelling errors - we assure you that
they are unintentional!



- Our event steward, Lady Elisava Iliesca, for organizing and leading
the staff of such a large event with so many activities.

- Lord Donald and Lady Elisabeth, who not only hosted the hospitality
pavilion (and ensured that our guests had shade and comfort and were
well-fed), but also allowed us the use of their  beautiful ranch,( and
their home), as our event site!

-  Mistress Radegund  of tours, who not only ensured that our site was
beautifully decorated, but also headed up the

Pilgrimages (The shrines and their tokens were incredible!), the Arts
and Sciences competition (the entries were wonderful, and certainly
made choosing our winners a delightfully difficult task!) and the
Performance Arts competition (thank you to all who entertained us, and
who indulged us with singing one of our favorite rounds!). She did a
mountain of work, and we are ever in her debt.

-  Honorable Lady Amerinda de Prage, who, with her staff, cooked a
fantastic feast for all of our friends and family.

-  Lord William Harper, who cooked a delicious and
beautifully-presented luncheon for our noble Cousins and friends.

-  The Bjornsborg Early Music Ensemble, who processed the relic into
our morning court, and also sang beautifully so that we and Her
Majesty could make our processions into evening court .

-  Lord Donal Grahm, who headed up the site setup and take down teams
with such aplomb.

-  Lord Dunnchad and Lady Celeste, who not only took such good care of
us, but helped to ensure that everything went as smoothly as possible.

-  Honorable Lord Haraldr, who coordinated the serving of the feast
and ensured that everyone was fed with a smile.

-  Mistress Adelaide, who coordinated gate and ensured that all were
made to feel welcome.

-  Master Iago and Mistress Lucia, for running a fun and very
well-received tavern.

-  Lady Jeronima, for coordinating the many marshals that were needed
to ensure the safety of the fighters and spectators, as well as
assisting us with the demise of some particular Germanic brigands.

 - Lady Reine, for coordinating the waterbearers, and ensuring that
everyone was well-hydrated.

-  Mistress Oksana, for not only our beautifully-decorated head table
and wonderful presentations, but also (with Lady Magdalena), our
gorgeous new Baronial feastware!

- Last but not least, thank you to Master Godwyn Alfricson, for the
most epic and wrathful reliquary ever created!



And to the artisans of Bjornsborg, who donated prizes and gifts for us
to present to all, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Both
your skills and generosity are legend!



In evening Court, Her Majesty presented newcomers with tokens to
commemorate their first event, as well as recognized those members of
the Sable Shield who did not already have a token.

The Crown also recognized Faolan MacCairbre with the Award of the
Sable Crane of Ansteorra

In our Baronial Court, we were honored to recognize the newest members
of Bjornsborg’s Order of the Firebrand:

-          Jeronima Arias la Roja

-          Donal Grahme

-          Elisabeth Grahme

-          Mariana Garcia




We continue to be humbled by the generosity, strength, and camaraderie
of our Barony, our chosen family, Bjornsborg. We are honored to
represent you.



Long Live Bjornsborg!



Your servants,



Philippe and Suzanne

Baron and Baroness of Bjornsborg