September Crown Tournament XVI/1981

(Add your personal event memories here. End them with a blank line, four dashes and another blank line. Don't forget to sign them with dash-dash-tildex3. Reminder: it's considered VERY rude to edit someone else's memories.)

(Discussion gleaned from the North Road e-mail list, 20- Apr 2007)

Rowan:

Let me think.

Lovely site [MacLean Boy Scout Camp].

Large list turn out.

Gerek remembers it was 70. He was marshalling and a Scellanus squire. Oh, this just surfaced -- he recalls going out to marshal with Friar William and the two of them comparing their disreputable floppy felt hats! -- Gerek and Chimene

There was some controversial Steingrim decree about the conduct of the lists, MAYBE the heralds starting matches instead of the Marshals??? (Gerek) remembers that having been the procedure for about a year, and maybe it was started at this event? Well, there was SOME dispute, it may have been that one or something else. Whatever it was, it caused a flap on the day. --Gerek and Chimene

Not sure about this, but what I do remember was a formal 'Handing Over of the Field' from the Constab to the Marshalls just before the start of the Lists. I was standing behind Sir Morgan [of Aberystwyth?] and he turned to me and said 'My Lady, could I entrust my helm to your care?' A Knight! I was on Cloud Nine! (and remember, still fairly new to a lot of things, so very flattered. You know how Morgan could be when he turned the charm on.)

Gerek remembers Scellanus had a brand new helm. Sometime during the fighting they discovered a sharp of some sort on the inside of the nasal, because it got hit and poked a bloody hole in the bridge of his nose. --Gerek and Chimene

Ah yes. His lovely, brand new, BRASS helm that caused him to spend a lot of the night in the Great Hall while we (the Chirurgeonate staff) watched his pupils try to decide what size they both wanted to be. --Rowan

Gerek remembers also the eerily complete silence during the final rounds. --Gerek and Chimene

If an entire crowd could hold their collective breath, that was the sound it made. --Rowan

My first time marshaling a Crown list (learned with Baron Gerhard, now Syr Garan, Master Draggi and Princess Mathen of the Mists)

Very cold at night, but the stars were beautiful!

I'll say it was cold! I almost froze the first night -- not enough insulating layers between me and the ground. (I was bedding down on the ground, years before bedsteads!) Was able to borrow blankets and a space blanket from friends, and the second night was a little better. --Gerek and Chimene

Yep. Very hot during day and very cold at night. It was one of my first camping events (especially with my ex) and I remember it all too well. --Rowan

Most of [my] Sat night was spend playing Medic in the Hall, so I discovered just how cold when I finially got off duty at 'Oh-Dark-Awful'. :{ --Rowan

There was a wonderful 'Great Hall' which was used extensively on Sat night to treat various fighting injuries and hypothermia cases.

Due to everything running very long, with post-lists court going WAY late into the, indeed, extremely cold evening, there were LOTS of hypothermia cases (maybe 6). Some people got bundled into their tents with not-frozen volunteer bodies to apply heat (I -think- I was on one side of Draggi -- just trying to do my part! ha ha). No, Gerek says Draggi was taken to the hall, so my good deed must have been someone else. --Gerek and Chimene

Yes! Thanks to all who went out and beat the bushes for 'chemically impared' hypothermia cases. I spent a chunk of time in the Hall sitting next to Unka Draggi and we talked about a lot of things. The fun of being a civ & military medic at the time. --Rowan

"...with post-lists court going WAY late..." 'Way late. Nicknamed 'Hypothermia Court' not long after. --Rowan

His Grace Torgul (back then he was Torgul Bahadir [Bahadur], the Tentwrecker, Squire to [His Majesty of the West] Steingrim) was Knighted by torchlight at Saturday Evening Court.

Gerek remembers a tiki torch blowing up in the wind at that court. --Gerek and Chimene

Yes!! A big flare a couple of times and almost went out and over a couple of times. But it was still beautiful! --Rowan

And watching Torgul com forward in his mail and bare headed (how was I to know that his gambeson and one tunic was pretty much [all the] garb [he owned] right then) was a memorable sight. -- Rowan

There was a Live Chess Tournament, where, perhaps, one of the players really should have been wearing something under his kilt.

Was that the famous black lace kilt of Baron Frederic of the West Tower? --Roger, who was Chronicler of the West at that time.

Hum. Could well have been. I was off to one side and didn't get a ...'good' view, as it were. But Her Highness, Princess Sumingo certainly got a laugh out of it. Hummm. Thinking about it, that may not have been a positive response for the Good Gentleman involved. --Rowan

Let me keep thinking...

Rowan Blatha an Oir

Gerek and Chimene added:

Gerek got his Pelican at Saturday night court (his birthday was on Sunday!), after an amusing day of Marshalling, Heralding, Squiring, his one and only turn of Throne Seneschal, Sciences meeting, Medic-ing (he was one of the hypothermia-rounder-uppers, and stepped out of the van on Thurs or Fri and had a busted foot (rabbit hole) to fix before he eve started unpacking). "I was crazy in those days, full of youthful energy." I (Chimene) think he still had the long hair at his Pelican ceremony, he can't really remember. We have one pic of his Pelican ceremony, and this was during the period I was taking lots of pics on travels, so I may have some squirreled away, too.

Post-Lists Court didn't start til well after dark, because there was a dinner break inserted so people could feed and collect cloaks and so forth -- theoretically a good idea, but it got a lot colder, a lot faster than anyone expected.

Gerek remembers Manfred was pretty loopy by the end of the day; and talking to him about thrones the next day (Sunday).

G[erek] remembers being shocked when he got called up for the Pelican (Steingrim quite sweetly saying "we though you already had one"), and when his then-lady Ceridwen was called up for her Laurel.

Was this the MacLean event where the hot-air balloon went over?

Yep --Rowan

Gerek says he probably still has site handouts & so forth, somewhere in the files. Which we are scanning. Let us know if anyone's interested.

That's about all we can come up with at the moment.

Gerek & Chimene

Manfred had come in second at the June Crown of the West in Olympia earlier in the year, so we were prepared that he might do well at the September Crown of An Tir. He had been steadily improving over the prior year in his combat techniques, and was at the top of his form (in my opinion) as we went to that first Crown Tournament.

I don't remember a lot of that day, but some things still stick out in my memory. Sir Morgan of Aberystwith introducing us in the final round. Sir Fredrick of Holland (of the West) telling me that night that we would forevermore be "the first King and Queen of An Tir". I remember that the tournament was very long, and how hungry we were as court began. We were supposed to have eaten some dinner during the very short break between combat and court, but of course we had no chance to do that. Someone brought Manfred beer at the start of court and by the end of it he was definitely listing to starboard. Somewhere in there we were brought a plate of food, so it got better.

I was glad that Steingrim and Lenora were King and Queen of the West. It meant a lot to us that they placed the victory wreathes on our heads.

I have photos of the final round participants, but can't find them just at this moment. I did try uploading the two of Manfred and me from that day.

--Countessmorag 14:05, 4 Jan 2009 (PST) Morag

September Crown Tournament XVI/1981

Event Highlights

Pictures

Personal Memories

Navigation menu

Search