[Steppes] Steppes Fighter Practice - 05-14-2006

[Mike]

Heilsa,

A bright sunny day
Sun providing warmth to 88
With Blue Sky and Wind from East
In all a nice day for Mom
Plus being in the park as well as being in armor

Are you ready? Steppes Warlord is just 11 days away.
If not, then come to practice.
Steppes Warlord is:
   May 26 through May 29.
Heavy Tournament is May 27th - Saturday.

A welcome to four new people who came out this Sunday.
Duncan who moved here from Altantia. Duncan was playing in
Altantia but has not fought before, interest in heavy fighting.

Sherwin with his family -
    his lady - Nikki
    and daughter - Kwani
Sherwin has played and fought before, and becoming active again.

Thank you to Duke Miguel and his lady, Duchess Conal
for providing both watermelon and a shade pavilion this
day of practice in the park.

Baron Wylfred painted his shield in black and red stripes.

Luck to Robert on his paper concerning "War". In addition, a new
birch wood heater shield painted with fiberglass based paint.

Please start drinking extra water several days prior to the day of practice.
This is also true of going to an event, be it SCA related or not.
You will have a better time and enjoy yourself more
if you are hydrate before you start your activity.
Energy drinks may give you a lift, but will not carry you as far,
  when compared to water and gatorade.

Remember - Pace yourself!

Please bring at least 1 gallon or more of water and gatorade. I
recommend 2 gallons of fluids and snacks to replenish your
energy levels if you are in armor and fighting.
Suggested of items you might wish to bring out:
- cold pickles
- oranges - energy bars - etc...
- Bring Chairs for you to sit upon.
- Perhaps a grill to heat snack food
- Dress for the weather
- Sunscreen
- Hats
- Sun pavilions can be set up

Oya, Oya - Week In Review, reflecting both period events as well as 
modern day
events that might effect actual sites of period:
May 7th:
Constantinople - Before 601
On May 7, 558: The dome of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople
collapsed after an earthquake. The first great masterpiece of Byzantine 
architecture,
the Hagia Sophia -- "Holy Wisdom" -- perfected the
use of an architectural element called the pendentive,
which allowed a round dome to be placed above a square room.
The row of arches at the base of the dome allowed light to enter
the structure, creating its distinctive luminous interior. The Emperor 
Justinian
built the Hagia Sophia as an Orthodox Christian church. During the Latin 
Occupation
of Constantinople, it became a Roman Catholic church, and since 1453
has been a mosque. It has been restored and refurbished several times
after damage from earthquakes.

Welsh - 1201 to 1300
May 7th:
An archaeology buff in South Wales spent approximately US$50,000
to purchase a 4.5-acre plot of land to see if the ruins of a village lay
beneath it. He has found four buildings and believes it may be the ruins
of the iron-producing village of Trellech, which was abandoned around 
1300 C.E.

May 8th:
England and Portugal - 1301 to 1400
On May 8th 1373: Seriously ill, Dame Julian of Norwich had a series of 
visions of
Christ's love. She spent years in contemplation of their meaning, 
finally producing
Revelations of Divine Love, the first known English book written by a 
woman.
Julian lived her entire life in Norwich, England, where her image 
appears in two
stained glass windows of St. Julian's Episcopal Church. She was thirty 
years old
when she received her visions. Upon her recovery from that illness, she 
became
an anchoress, or contemplative nun, until her death. Unlike many of her 
contemporaries,
Julian saw suffering not as divine punishment for sin but as God's means 
of drawing
the faithful closer to himself. Her understanding of a loving and 
patient God is
preserved today in the Anglican Order of Julian of Norwich.

May 9th:
On May 9, 1386: , England and Portugal signed the Treaty of Windsor,
a pledge of mutual assistance which remains in effect to this day. The 
following year,
the alliance was strengthened when Phillipa, daughter of John of Gaunt, 
Duke of
Lancaster, married João I of Portugal. Their son was Prince Henry the 
Navigator,
who inaugurated Portugal's Age of Exploration. The two countries traded 
extensively,
Portugal exporting wine  and importing English cloth and fish.

May 10th:
England and Scotland  - 1201 to 1300:
On May 10, 1291: Edward I of England met with the nobles of Scotland
to select their king. Edward, called Longshanks for his great height,
had planned to marry his son to Margaret, Maid of Norway, the youthful heir
to the Scottish throne. But Margaret died before the marriage could take 
place.
The Scottish nobles initially accepted Edward's judgment in selecting her
successor, and John Balliol was chosen and crowned at Scone.
However, when Edward demanded to be acknowledged as the overlord
 of Scotland, the Scots resisted. Rebellion ensued. It was Edward 
Longshanks
who removed the sacred Stone of Destiny from Scone and took it to
Westminster Abbey. Every English monarch since has been crowned
while seated on the Stone. In 1996, the Stone was returned to Scotland, 
but it is
planned that it will return to London for coronations.

May 11th:
China - 801 to 900
On May 11th, 868: The earliest known printed book was created China.
The text was the Buddhist Diamond Sutra, a classic work of meditative
Buddhism which stresses the importance of avoiding extremes of
attachment. The work was actually a scroll composed of seven sheets
and printed using woodcut blocks. It included one woodcut illustration.
Although it is the earliest printed example extant, its quality suggests
that woodblock printing was already well developed in China by 868.
The scroll was discovered in 1900 in a cave in Kansu Province. 

May 12th:
England and France - 1101 to 1200
On May 12th 1191: The valorous but irresponsible Richard Coeur de Lion 
married
Berengaria of Navarre in a city he had captured a few days earlier. The 
wedding
took place at the Chapel of St. George in Limassol on the island of Cyprus
during Richard's crusading.

May 13th:
Monks Began English Gardening Traditions - 1100
Monasteries were a stronghold of medieval gardening in Europe. The 
manual labor
of gardening taught humility and thus benefited the monks' souls, while 
the herbs
and vegetables they grew aided their health. A 12th century plan of
Canterbury Cathedral includes the herb gardens that supplied the infirmary.
Early gardens contained edible or medicinal plants; the ornamental garden
was a late-period invention. However, the monks also used their green 
cloisters
as places of rest and contemplation.

Portugal - 1501 to 1600
On May 13th, 1501: Amerigo Vespucci departed Lisbon on the
voyage that would put his name on two continents. Vespucci,
a Florentine cartographer and navigator, made his second
New World voyage in the service of Portugal.  He reached the
coast of South America and claimed to have gone as far south
as Patagonia, although internal evidence in his letters suggests
this claims is exaggerated. He corrected Columbus' error that the
New World was a part of Asia. Contrary to popular legend, Vespucci
did not name the Americas for himself. The name America was first
applied by German printer Martin Waldseemüller in his 1507 atlas,
"Cosmographiae introductio".

May 14th:
Rome - 901 to 1000
On May 14th, 964: Pope John XII died in his mistress' house.
Elected at age 18 through his father's influence, John (born Octavian)
behaved more like a teenager than a Pope. Even the Catholic Encyclopedia
calls him "a coarse, immoral man." His unclerical conduct became notorious,
but when a group of bishops attempted to depose him, he promptly
excommunicated them. He was the second Pope to change his first name upon
assuming the office, the only Papal tradition he seems to have observed.

Welsh - 1401 to 1500:
An action group has been formed to save a hillside pasture
near Knighton, Powys, Wales from the gavel. The 30-acre field
is the site of the Pilleth Battlefield where Welsh rebel
Owain Glyndwr clashed with English soldiers in 1402.

Training involves separate levels of heavy fighting -
Basic level to "Good"
Man-At-Arms and/or Squire entry level
Centurion level
Tournament level
Combat Archery

Training this day in sword and various shields:
(buckler, round, heater, kite, war shield)
Sir Duncan
Sir Miguel
Baron Wylfred
Centurion Morgan
HL Honour
Lord CinaedOHosey
Lord Hrafn

Weapons used this day:
Sword
Broken Lance

Shields used this day:
Heater
Round
Buckler
Kite
Oblong
War Shield - Condottieri
Rectangle Shield

People in armor:  11
Children: 5
Total in attendance: 24

In attendance this day:

Vicar and Vicaress of Steppes:
  Duke Miguel Sebastian de Oporto - (WSA and KSCA - Knight in SCA)
     and his lady, 
         Duchess Conal Alexandria O'Riordain (WSA)
    of House Porto

Baron Wylfred of MorganVayle

Clan Ross:
  Earl Duncan Arthur Ross (KSCA - Knight in SCA)
   and his lady, Duchess Larissa Alwynn Clarewoode of Aquitaine
     with their children:
        son - Murdoch MacDuncan
        daughter - Tressa
Centurion Morgan Buchanan (Squire to Sir Duncan)  - Central Region 
Knight Marshal
      and his lady, Lady Ciannait Chaimbuel
Lord Hrafn Olafsson (Squire to Sir Duncan) - Steppes Knight Marshal

Condottieri:
Lord CinaedOHosey
     with children
         daugther - Tori
         and son - Jon
         and son - Nikko
HL Honour du Bois -Squire to Sir Galen of Bristol
Lord Michael Kettering

Duncan, recently moved here from Altantia
Justin - who did managed to stop by briefly for his "fix" of fighting.
Thrann
John
Robert
Sherwin
   and his lady, Nikki
    and daughter - Kwani

Individual fights witness this day:

Centurion Louis with heater and sword
       vs Lord Hrafn with round and sword
HL Honour with buckler and sword
       vs Lord CinaedOHosey with buckler and sword
Baron Wylfred with oblong and his sword
       vs Centurion Morgan  with kite and sword
Sir Miguel with rectangle and sword
      vs Sherwin with war shield and sword
Centurion Morgan  with kite and sword
       vs Robert with kite and sword
Sir Miguel with rectangle and sword
      vs Centurion Morgan  with kite and sword
Sir Miguel with rectangle and sword
      vs Robert with kite and sword
Sherwin with war shield and sword
      vs Centurion Louis with heater and sword
Baron Wylfred with oblong and sword
      vs Sir Miguel with rectangle and sword
Robert with kite and sword
      vs Centurion Louis with heater and sword
Sir Duncan with round and sword
      vs Lord Hrafn with kite and sword
Sir Duncan with round and sword
      vs Baron Wylfred with oblong and sword
Centurion Morgan with buckler and sword
      vs Sir Duncan with buckler and sword
Sir Miguel with rectangle and sword
      vs Robert with kite and sword
Centurion Louis with heater and sword
      vs Baron Wylfred with oblong and sword
Lord CinaedOHosey with buckler and sword
      vs Sir Duncan with buckler and sword
Sir Miguel with rectangle and sword
      vs Centurion Louis heater and sword
HL Honour with buckler and sword
      vs Baron Wylfred with oblong and sword
Lord Hrafn with sword and broken lance
      vs Robert with kite and sword
Lord CinaedOHosey with buckler and sword
      vs Centurion Morgan with buckler and sword
Sir Miguel with rectangle and sword
      vs Lord Hrafn with kite and sword
John with heater and sword
      vs Baron Wylfred with oblong and sword
Centurion Louis with heater and sword
       vs Sir Duncan with round and sword
John with round and sword
       vs Baron Wylfred with oblong and sword
Thrann with round and sword
       vs Centurion Morgan with buckler and sword
Centurion Louis with buckler and sword
       vs Centurion Morgan with buckler and sword
Thrann with oblong and sword
       vs Baron floretine (two swords)
Baron Wylfred with oblong and sword
       vs Thrann with round and sword
HL Honour with buckler and sword
      vs Lord CinaedOHosey with buckler and sword
Lord CinaedOHosey with buckler and sword
      vs Thrann with round and sword
Baron Wylfred with oblong and sword
      vs HL Honour with buckler and sword

  
YIS,
 Lord Michael Kettering
  Combat Archer for the Condottieri
  King's Archer
  Steppes Deputy Knight Marshal
  Steppes Deputy Hospitaler