Renée du bois d'Ambre

Photo
Renée du bois d'Ambré, April 2025
Information
Resides: Porte de l'Eau Pronouns: she/her/hers Date Started: A.S. VII Awards: Order of Precedence Name pronunciation: Not specified Prefered Title: Lady or Madame Offices: Boar Herald, former
Heraldry
Sable semy of hares salient contourny, a decrescent moon argent.

Renée du bois d'Ambre is a widowed woman of advanced years, of mixed ancestry, being of Franco-Scots and Sinti descent. She has now lived in An Tir for over half of her life, something she finds odd to believe, being a mere slip of a girl of 20. She currently resides in the Canton of Porte de l'Eau.

Persona

Renée du bois d'Ambre has lived a long and colourful life, and in many regards, it is surprising that she has survived as long as she has.

While known formally by respectable people as Renée or Madame du bois d'Ambre, she is also known as Baba Jaël (or Mémé Renée) to her Sinti vitsa, the extended family and close-knit community where she now resides at the age of 70. Living in the woods of the Forêt d’Halatte near Senlis, Picardy, her vitsa includes her maternal relatives and other Sinti families, forming a supportive network deeply rooted in shared traditions.

Persona Biography

Renée du Bois d’Ambre was born at the end of August 1524 in Crécy-en-Ponthieu, Picardy, the second of two surviving children to Marie Josef du Bois and Robert MacBean (Bain) d'Ambre. Frail and sickly, she nearly died several times following her birth. Her parents named her after Saint-René d'Angers, in hopes of his intercession, and she was christened on his feast day, November 12. Her older sister, Patrice Ottley, provided two nieces and a nephew through her five marriages.

As a child, Renée traveled with her maternal Sinti relatives through France and Spain, adopting their customs, learning palmistry and card reading, and earning the nickname Jaël. The name Jaël, derived from the biblical Hebrew name Yael, means "chamois," "ibex," or "mountain goat," symbolizing agility and perseverance. It was humorously given to her not for grace but for a spirited incident: following an argument with her sister Patrice, Renée declared she would “run away with the gypsies”—and she did. Her mother allowed it, knowing her family would care for her and seizing the opportunity to plan Patrice’s wedding without Renée causing mischief at home.

While living among her Sinti relatives, Renée embraced their customs, some of which she carries with her to this day. She learned to read the cards and palms, and in her youth, she could dance as well as any unmarried girl. Though age has robbed her of this pleasure, her skills with cards and palmistry endure, although she now practices them only for a select few.

When Renée came of marriageable age, her father brought her home, likely shielding her from the growing oppression of the Roma peoples. At home, she was taught numbers and letters and learned to read and write in Picard, French, and Latin, with difficulty in Gaelic, Italian, and English—languages she pursued later in life.

In September 1538, Renée married her cousin Jean-Henri des Banes (rumored to be an illegitimate son or grandson of a Guise family member), just before François I issued the Ordonnance de Chambray, which expelled Roma peoples from France. Jean-Henri, a military man 20 years her senior, was kind and gentle. He served under Captain Paulin in the Italian Wars in the Piedmont. However, tragedy struck in 1545 during the Massacre of Mérindol, where Provençal and Papal soldiers targeted Waldensian villagers. Jean-Henri was among the military casualties. Widowed and childless, Renée resumed her unmarried name, joined her family’s businesses, and later became a lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine de’ Medici. While at court, she also studied astrology under Michel de Nostradamus.

Despite the Ordonnance de Chambray and other anti-Roma laws across Europe, Renée's family maintained close ties with the French Court, bolstered by their rumored kinship with the House of Guise. In 1561, Renée accompanied Mary Stuart to Scotland as a Dame d'honneur, navigating the turbulent political and religious climate until returning to Picardy in 1570 after Lord Darnley’s murder.

Now 70 years old in 1595, Renée lives quietly in the Forêt d’Halatte near Senlis. A devout Catholic, she reflects on her life shaped by her Sinti upbringing, faith, and years at court. Among her cherished possessions are her grandfather’s recorders and a carte da trionfi gifted by her late husband. Cardinal Montalto has recently been elected Pope, taking the name Sixtus V. I am displeased that ten days have been robbed of my life by this new calendar.

Though she has survived wars, religious upheaval, and royal intrigue, Renée endures with grace, humor, and determination.

House Amberwood/La Maison du bois d'Ambre

• Was founded by Aislynn of Amberwood in July of A.S. XIX (via Caid) with the following badge associated: Per pale Or and gules, two fir trees eradicated counterchanged.

Renée is a member of this Household. She has hopes that other members of the Household will become active again, especially Aislynn (who, mundaely, is her spouse). Other members of the household have included Aislynn of Amberwood, Alaric Wulfgar of Amberwood, Maire of Amberwood, Elspeth of Amberwood, Gana of Amberwood and Maeve Moorland.

• Member of Clan Blue Feather

Offices and Positions

Boar Pursuivant Herald - September 2016 - February 2017; resigned office due to health issues.

Awards

None within An Tir as yet.

In Caid, under a different persona (see Alaric_Wulfgar_of_Amberwood), Order of the Dolphin on 12/07/1985 by TRM Glyn and Tressa at the Darkwell (Shire) Below the Salt event

SCA Miscellany

When I first joined the Society in Anno Societatis VII, at the suggestion of a Bard of the West, the late Gwydion Pendderwen, in the West, there were but four Kingdoms, and An Tir had only recently become a Principality. I later lived in Atenveldt, Ansteorra and the then Principality of Drachenwald before returning to the United States, where most of my active time within the Society was spent within the Kingdom of Caid where I was a founding member of the former Shire of Darkwell, where in another life (and persona) earned awards and arms, which are irrelevant to Renée.

In Anno Mundanis 1987, our family moved to Washington, and for many reasons, our participation within the Society ended not long after. My mundane career was spent in Civil Service, working variously for the Social Security Administration,the Kern County Department of Human Services (California), and lastly Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, from which I medically retired in 1997.

In addition to my Civil Service caeer, I have been a professional astrologer, Tarot reader, and author for many years.

Over the years, I have stayed abreast of some changes within the Society, and have renewed membership multiple times, but only recently felt able to return to active participation, and renewed my practice of heraldry, primarily research and consulting.