[Glaslyn] More on Steppes' 12th Night from the event understeward

[Richard Culver]

Wihtric hlafard Wihtmunding sends greeting to my king and queen and the folk of Ansteorra.
In service to Master Duncan and Mistress Genevieve, the king’s thegns in Steppes and Lord and Lady Glaslyn and Lindenwood, and on behalf of Lady Vyolante, as her understeward for Steppes’ 12th Night, I am happy to send you this first news in planning.  My role as the understeward is to address and bolster the aesthetics and overall feeling of the Meadhall theme.  In this regard I will also act like on old thyle, who protected and encouraged tradition and protected the luck of his lord’s hall from wrongful boasts and behavior unbecoming.
Among the things happening at our great Yuletide event, I have been asked to speak about two: the garb/costume contest and the table decorating.  Both speak for themselves, yet we thought it prudent to help those who wish to join in but many not have the resource.
On costuming, as with the event, the time period is mid-fifth century to the late 11th century.  This encompasses the Migration Period, the Heptarchy, Danish invasions, the Danelaw and Wessex, the Anglo-Danish “Empire” of Cnut and his line, and up until the Battle of Hastings in 1066.  The best costume will be based on documentation and quality and scope of work.  At the end of this brief, I am including some links (SCA and not) which might help spark ideas concerning garb.
As to the table decoration contest, here you have more freedom for imagination as, not usually observed in popular media, table were frequent moved or struck in the traditional hall when eating was not taking place.  However as we are talking motif and while eating, there are a few things which can serve as points of ideas.  The art of such burial finds like Sutton Hoo, the new Staffordshire find, Vendel and Viking era graves of similar period, and of course manuscripts can provide a wealth of artistic ideas.  We also have _Beowulf_ with its descriptions of the hall, Heorot, which are rich in detail.  While certainly wooden wares were common, high status finds show a variety of metals, from a variety of cultures, frequently made their way to England in this period, especially Frankish and Byzantine.  That said, really let your imagination go and see what you can do within the generous limits of the period.  Do try to keep it to Anglo-Saxon if you
 can.  
 
Gódspéde!
Wihtric hlafard Wihtmunding
Understeward and Thyle
972.765.6590
captbigdamnhero at gmail.com (for organizational purposes though this e-mail is fine too)
 
 
Website for your reading and research pleasure:
http://www.saxonrabbit.com/index.htm  - Ælfflæd’s website with many articles and links, including costuming.
http://mahan.wonkwang.ac.kr/link/med/england/anglo-saxon/culture/dress.html--  An archived page from the old Angelcynn site on early period wear.
http://tinyurl.com/2fxlbed  - a Google Books file of Gale R. Owen-Crocker’s _Dress in Anglo-Saxon England_.  It seems to have stripped portions with illustration but some still get enough background and can usually search on the web for examples of garments described.
http://www.anglosaxonengland.net/rana/docs_files/Anglo-SaxonClothes.pdf - A .pdfused by the Regia Anglorum, a living history group, with textual descriptions of clothing of their period- 950’s to Hastings.  Their site is http://www.regia.org/main.htmand has articles and pictures as well.
http://www.midrealm.org/starleafgate/Documents/Making_Anglo_Saxon_Garb.pdf- A file from the Midrealm site with very good illustration from one of the other authoritative books of the period as well as the article’s author.