Egil Skallagrimsson Memorial Tournament

An annual event held over US Memorial Day weekend in the Barony of Adiantum.

The first Egil Skallagrimsson Memorial Tournament was held on Memorial Day weekend, A.S. X/1975, at Armitage Park in Adiantum. The event was graced with a lunar eclipse and a feast of roast suckling pig. The prize for the double elimination tourney was a silver mounted drinking horn by Thorgeirr Eikenskjaldi. This began a tradition of offering a tourney prize crafted by the Barony – subsequent years saw prizes such as a large iron-bound maple tourney chest with an iron lock and key in the Viking style made by Ulfhedinn, Edwin of Svartelder and Throstein; a decorated hand axe by Edwin of Svartelder and a soapstone mold by Gerek the Far-seeing; a Viking tool kit (wooden chest with tools); and vapnabunadr (Norse warrior’s accoutrements) of spear, axe, shield and leather for armor; a Norse warp weighted loom.

Initially Egil’s Tourney had three signature events – the double elimination tourney, a Norse costume contest, and a Norse Stickball game. Over the years that expanded. A drama contest appeared in 1986. In 1990 the Ithrottir competition was introduced by Gerek the farseeing. The Ithrotir showcased seven skills of an ideal Norseman: Skaldspar (poetry), Boggaslrot (bow shooting), Spojtsskot (speat throwing), Smid (Decorated useful object), Brugg (brewing), Glima (wrestling), and Tpfl (Board games). The prize that first year was a carved tourney table won by Torgul.

1986, at Elijah Bristow Park, we combined May Crown Tourney with Egil’s Tourney to create Cregils. Saturday was the Crown Tourney; Sunday was the Egil’s Prize Tourney.

Egil’s Tourney was held at Zumwalt Park from 1987 through 1995. Starting in 1996 the event was held at Elijah Bristow Park, then Buford Park, settling at last in 2003 at its present site, Lynx Hollow Park in Creswell, OR. Over the years the attendance has soared as high as 1400 people (at which point we had to cap the number allowed on site) but has settled more recently around 800.

2008 saw the first Three Pillars Competition, created by Marian Staarveld and Raven Qara ton to replace the Ithrotir and showcase the well-rounded SCAdian, proficient in the Arts & Sciences, Martial Arts, and Service, the “three pillars’ odfthe SCA..

Egil’s Tourney 46 was scheduled for 2020 but cancelled due to the covid plague. It was finally held in 2022 and deluged with heavy rains and hurricane force winds. We believe that Egil’s Tourney is the longest running prize tourney in the Knowne World.

Norse Stickball

The Norse stickball game was always a very big favorite. Ulfhedinn was the "un-referee" for many years, but after he retired from overseeing it, the game play became harder to control and it was eventually banned because of the rising injury level. However, it returned in the new century, spearheaded by Pykes Picti, and the prize is still the traditional large quantity of Athol Brose.

For narratives of individual Egil’s Tourneys, see

• Egil Skallagrimsson Memorial Tournament XII/1977 ** See also An_Tir_Timeline_XII#May_XII.2F1977
• Egil Skallagrimsson Memorial Tournament XV/1980
• Egil Skallagrimsson Memorial Tournament XXXVII/2002
• Egil Skallagrimsson Memorial Tournament XXXVIII/2003
• Egil Skallagrimsson Memorial Tournament XXXIX/2004
• Egil Skallagrimsson Memorial Tournament XL/2005
• Egil Skallagrimsson Memorial Tournament XLI/2006