[Steppes] A Call for Largesse

Fri Aug 1 08:31:11 PDT 2008

Good Gentles,

  My response to this is not very timely; however, my Internet access is currently problematic at best.  

  Many are unsure of what constitutes appropriate largesse and have requested ideas over the years.  What follows is a list compiled a number of years ago by members of both Steppes and Elfsea to give ideas about largesse for those of us (including myself) who are periodically (in my case, chronically, devoid of ideas).  The list below will at least give some of you a place to start.

  Largesse Ideas

  Table linens
  pillows
  period looking coffee mugs
  An illuminated page from a period book
  hand knitted mittens
  necklaces made of semiprecious stones
  handmade glass bottles
  crocheted lap warmers
  pouches with tablet-woven edges
  a children's activities book about knights
  wine
  gloves
  a full apron for a cook
  tablet woven trim
  jewelry
  magnifying glasses with a nice handles
  Damask napkins
  Basket cloths
  A full set of hand-turned wooden feast gear
  Hand-made tassels,
  Champleve' medallions of the Kingdom's arms.
  a bag painted with the Kingdom's arms,
  big turned wooden candlesticks from Hobby Lobby,
  chip necklaces,
  handmade paper
  a hand made ocarina
  long-distance gift cards,
  beanie-baby dragons,
  silver vases,
  sandalwood fans
  a soapstone box and candle holders,
  boo-boo medicine,
  bath salts
  trim.
  painted wall hangings in Celtic motifs
  Honey Mead
  Herbal cough remedy
  A pair of vambraces
  a necklace of coral and bone
  yardage of damask brocade
  a selection of various trims
  wooden chests
  napkins painted with the arms,
  some really spiffy jewelry pouches
  extra long wooden hangers
  an extra long garment bag in kingdom colors
  belts
  bath oils
  little glass jars with various dried/fresh herbs or honey.
  hand made cake of hand lotion,
  hand made bruise balm
  embroidered pouches
  dress hand kerchiefs
  fresh water pearl necklaces
  Giving edibles can be a bad idea - they tend to get shut into boxes
  for travel and forgotten about.
  Getting potables is always nice
  Hoods in kingdom colors are really cool!
  matching goblets.
  Battery powered hand-held fans, socks, little chemical hand-
  warmer packets to go in your gloves on chilly nights, tiny
  flashlights, etc....
  Canvas tote bags
  Material(esp white for veils/shirts)
  Feast gear
  Artificial sinew
  Duct tape
  Embroidery floss
  Needles
  Gesso
  Wood
  Books on art in the Middle Ages
  Embroidery hoops
  A belt blank
  Books on heraldry
  Books on armor
  A seam-ripper with the little light on the end
  lanterns
  Good paper (ask for 'elephant paper' at a paper shop)
  A piece of good leather
  Paintbrushes (ten bucks can get the good ones rather than the
  cruddy ones)
  A length of trim
  A length of lace
  A basket
  Some ostrich plumes
  Some pheasant feathers
  A Nine-men Morris game
  Dice
  nice period looking buckles
  Rivets for armor
  A strap-cutter
  A rawhide mallet
  A brick of beeswax
  A hydrometer
  A wine thief
  A package of corks
  Patterning paper
  Books on brewing or vinting
  Camp stools
  Decks of renaissance style cards
  A yeast culture
  Period cookbooks
  Buttons
  Hooks and eyes
  Good thread
  Some antler
  A cows horn
  A yard or two of buckram
  Tracing paper
  Blank tapes
  Brewers logs
  Carving linoleum
  Drawknives
  Rattan
  Some 550 cord
  Tent stakes
  Banner Poles
  Seeds for different herbs
  Lamp oil
  Beads/Pearls
  cloaks,
  painted banners and "tapestries"
  small binders or booklets in which to list gifts given These binders
  can have embroidered, painted or leather-worked covers put
  on them.
  period belt findings,
  period table ware,
  antler buttons,
  bone/bronze needles,
  hand-spun silk or wool thread,
  small yardages of brocade that can be used as trim.
  award insignia
  Special Manly Largesse Items 
  1) Manly soaps ~~ works except for royalty and such, who get far too many candles and soaps to use in the rest of their lifetime. Also be careful, as some people are allergic to scents 
  2) Notebooks ~~ especially covered or slip covered (can cover an inexpensive composition or spiral notebook) ones that look nice.
  3) Pouches, especially tapestry, felted wool or leather, with flap pouches more popular than drawstring. They need to be at least big enough to hold a checkbook, as most pouches are too small for this -- also sized for a cellphone is great. The kind with a flap over the top is better than a draw string.
  4) Massages. Again, hard to put into a largesse basket but a gift certificate is good.
  5) Unguents to use on bruises. Be sure and list ingredients, same thing with soaps, bath salts, etc.
  6) Rings. For example, safety pin full of copper rings in all sizes, that can be given out as tokens. 
  7) Rattan.
  8) Shield blanks
  9) Salt cellars. Also pepper holder. These are too often missing at
  feasts.
  10) Napkins, table runners or cloths. 
  11) Chests or boxes (use to hold other gifts instead of a basket). 

  YIS, 
  Lady Fionnghuala the Fair "Nuala" and/or Liz and/or my evil twin, Cedric 
  Curmudgeon, Misanthrope & Gadfly
  The Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire." ~ Voltaire ~

Esther <reese_esther at yahoo.com> wrote: Remember, space will be limited in the car, so things like bottles of wine or mead or such like, or small, unique pieces of jewelry, weaving, pottery, etc.!  Also, please put your SCA name, your modern name, and the largesse on a 3 x 5 card, or a piece of paper, so you may be thanked!  HL Emma     --- On Mon, 7/28/08, April Page wrote:  Subject: [Steppes] A Call for Largesse  Date: Monday, July 28, 2008, 
Dearest Friends and Family:  (SNIP!) However, we need your assistance as we hurriedly prepare to travel to Pennsic this weekend. The heirs are in desperate need of largesse, both to take with us and to have on hand here in our fair lands. Lady Emma is coordinating a
"donor drive" over the next few days on our behalf and can be reached at   (972) 535-8485. Baroness Katheryn Cunningghame will be an additional collection "point", and she will be attending Glaslyn's fighter practice tonight and the Steppes' heavy/rapier practice Tuesday night. Any assistance you can provide in this quick project would be greatly appreciated by both of us. We hope to represent you and our Kingdom well at Pennsic and look forward to seeing all of you at Steppes Artisan in a few weeks.  YIS, Gunthar and Elizabeth  Prince and Princess, Ansteorra

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