[Ravensfort] Fw: [Ansteorra] Janet of House Morningstar, R. I. P.

Sher M runa.herd at earthlink.net
Thu May 22 13:27:23 PDT 2008


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jay Rudin" <rudin at ev1.net>
To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>
Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2008 10:15 AM
Subject: [Ansteorra] Janet of House Morningstar, R. I. P.


>I have just heard that Janet of House Morning Star has passed away.
>
> Many of you don't know her, or know her as a merchant in her later years.
>
> When I joined she was a dynamo of action in all fields -- service, arts 
> and fighting.
>
> Though of small stature, Janet was a fierce competitor on the field.  Her 
> shield was well known. I can still picture it --tierced  per chevron 
> throughout azure, gules, and vert, overall an Egyptian hawk displayed Or, 
> crowned of a bezant and maintaining two bezants.  She was loud, joyous and 
> fierce.
>
> The records show that she was the fifth Queen of Love and Beauty in the 
> Steppes, as Amra of Acre won the fifth Steppes Warlord tournament carrying 
> her favor.  What the records don't show is that, going into the final 
> round, she already knew she'd won.  She just didn't know which title she'd 
> have yet.  The finalists were Amra, her husband Telbyrne, and Janet 
> herself.
>
> In a war in which her knight, Sir Simonn, was legged, she stood at his 
> side to defend him.  A blow was aimed at Simonn, but Janet threw her own 
> shield out to cover him, exposing herself for a half-second.  Asked about 
> it later, she said, "I did that?  That's dumb."
>
> But nobody who knew her is surprised that, instantly and unconsciously, 
> she did something dumb in service to somebody else.
>
> She was equally aggressive in everything she did.  Disagreeing with Janet 
> was never fun, because she would fight for her beliefs with every fiber of 
> her being.  She carried her passion into everything she did.
>
> She was known for her arts, but her greatest contribution to Ansteorra was 
> her work with the Texas Renaissance Festival.  She co-ordinated our 
> extremely well-paid activities there, and thus made huge contributions, 
> not only to her own group's coffers, but also those of every active branch 
> in Ansteorra.  If your branch dates back to the seventies or early 
> eighties, then Janet materially helped you fund your events and 
> activities.  All Ansteorran branches were relatively rich, at a time when 
> the rest of Atenveldt (our home kingdom then) were close to scrounging 
> Coke bottles on the side of the road to help pay for events.  Her arms had 
> three gold coins, and it was quite appropriate.
>
> But it isn't about the money.  She was part of Ansteorra developing its 
> own character and its own identity, and was therefore instrumental in the 
> rising of the Star from a principality to a kingdom.
>
> The Egyptian Eagle is no longer displayed.  It has soared into the 
> heavens, and has a crown more glorious than a bezant.  But as long as 
> Ansteorra is a kingdom, there will always be an Egyptian hawk following 
> the Black Star.
>
> Robin of Gilwell / Jay Rudin
>
> 




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