[Steppes] Twelfth Night --traditions from the start

[shark]

Your Grace, thank you very much for helping me remember! 

When I was in high school, I attended 12th Night with my boyfriend, he was very interested in the SCA - me not so much. My Mom had to drive us. This would have been late 70's. Anyway, I remember a procession and folks bringing really over-the-top food (a whole pig's head?) down the long isle to the head table. I don't remember what we ate, but I remember thinking FEAST and feeling like I was in another time and place. Lights were low, candles everywhere. I even remember some impromptu rapier fighting, though that could have been some Errol Flynn movie I had seen the day before (getting old here). Anyway, I've often wondered about all of that and whether I just remembered it wrong. My garb was a mix of 12th, 14th and 16th century, I now know from learning more about it in recent years, how embarrassing! We didn't know anyone so we sat in the very back corner. I think it was held at an Episcopal church in Dallas. I couldn't hear much and didn't realize there was a court going
 on, But I remember being stunned by the lights and the pageantry! It took me so many years to find my way back, but this may be why 12th Night is my favorite event. 

We lived in Oak Cliff and you should have seen the neighbor's reaction when I would sit on his front porch and embroider, while he and his buddy practiced heavy fighting in his front yard. So long ago now...

Glad that some of what I remembered really happened! 

Susanne



----- Original Message ----
From: "willowjonbardc at juno.com" <willowjonbardc at juno.com>
To: chiara.francesca at gmail.com
Cc: steppes at ansteorra.org
Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2007 12:20:46 AM
Subject: Re: [Steppes] Twelfth Night --traditions from the start

 12th night has been around and traditions have come and gone. Duke 
Sir Koris then just Koris autocrated the first one and the first 
tradition was started. We did a scene form a play. It was a bit 
showing the meeting of Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary of Scotland. I 
played Queen Elizabeth and Kathryn de la Cousay played Mary. 

The 2nd 12th night started a lot of traditions. The Clan Caldal 
autocrated it under my father Red Dog MacKenzie and myself. We started 
the tradition of very good decorations for the event. We lighted the 
event with candles. We had a play again I think it was the witches’ 
scene from Macbeth. We started the table decoration contest and 
Lady Isobel of the towers won it. She had provided the prize of the 
Silver tongs. The same silver tongs that were given this year. We also 
started the costume contest and it was the three period, early, middle 
and late and male and female winners. We had a march of the people at 
the event to show off costumes. The contest was for look and effect 
not construction of clothing. After that sometimes the contest was for 
best male and female dress and sometimes it was with an expanded 
field. We sang the 12th night song and had a lords leaping contest. 
Over the next years we did this off and on. 

Over the next years we outdid ourselves with decorations. In those 
days we didn't have the painted wall hangings so we decorated with 
fabric. Clan Caldal often provided it because we had the biggest 
collection. 

The march of the people in the costume contest became bigger and 
bigger. It was short of fazed out. We became so large that marches of 
any kind became too big and we stopped them, but that was after Sir 
Randal von Norlickwald was Prince.

`1 Serving was done with teams and 
often  done with some kind of show. The year Sir Koris was king of 
Atenveldt the bread was bought in and thrown to the people. Typically 
the food was served on large platters that sat in the center of the 
table. Music was played. We prided ourselves that we would serve 
some things that were absolutely period, but we wanted to make people 
emote with idea of a feast so we would build up the platters and put 
the bowls and things on them so they really looked like a feast. We 
did a lot of fun foods-- turkey legs, things people could pick up and  
eat with gusto. The food was announced. 

The head table was a show. They got special food and subtleties. These 
were paraded around the hall. Often special treats we sent to and from 
the head table. One time Master Lloyd sent a raw chicken to the King. 
Of course that is another story. 

I had a lot of other things to say, but my computer ate it and now I 
am tired. Maybe I will try again to remember things.  Do any of you 
remember special things that we did at 12 night.



_______________________________________________
Steppes mailing list
Steppes at lists.ansteorra.org
http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/steppes-ansteorra.org