Silvae Magnae

Shire of Silvae Magnae

The January 1974 Crier added yet another new branch when Silvae Magnae announced it would hold a St. Valentine’s Revel in Olympia. Francesca and Osmondia were to host.

The April 1974 Crier listed another event, a weekend faire, to be held in Silvae Magnae, but this time it is to be located in Centralia.

Raymond De La Terre (Ray Letteer) seneschal of Silvae Magnae, left, and Artos The Green (Matt Moeller) April 1974

In 1974, Olympia’s major local summer festival, Lakefair, saw Silvae Magnae’s members pose for the local newspaper and host a fighting demonstration during the fair itself.

About the group and its people, Mike Oakland wrote in the Daily Olympian for July 7, 1974:

Step into the Past.

Silvae Magnae folks at Olympia Lakefair demo, 1974

You are crouched behind a small shrub on the edge of Capitol Lake. The year is 400 A.D. Before your very eyes the Capitol Dome has disappeared. In its place stands a medieval castle.

On the grassy slopes not 50 feet from your brushy cover stand two men. Their names are Artos The Green (Matt Moeller) and Sigurd Von Die Nordencrasse (Frank Burham).

Each clutches a sword. Artos has two, Sigurd one. Strapped to Sigurd's other arm is a silver shield.

Sigurd is weighted down with a 50-pound chain vest to protect his chest from a crushing blow. A three-inch wide belt circles his middle. His lower torso is covered with a shin-length cloth cover. On his head rests a steel helm. Protruding from beneath the helm is a gorget. His arms are protected with leather guards.

Artos is clad in yellow and white. The white tunic is strapped in the middle with a leather belt. White leotards cover the remainder of his body.

Kneeling behind the two is tournament marshal Edward the Indolent (Edward Dawson). He, too, carries a sword.

Standing over his shoulder is Jeffery of Claire (Joe Wills). At his right is Raymond De La Terre (Ray Letteer). Raymond is the seneschal (governor) of Silvae Magnae - The Great Forest (Olympia area).

Seated in the foreground are Rosalind the Disbeliever (Roberta Cox) and Osmondia (Barbara Hunter).

Artos and Sigurd begin to battle.

Sigurd swings his sword with a powerful left hand. It is blocked by his opponent who counters with a swing of the sword in his right hand. The battle continues, Sigurd forcing Artos backwards.

The two come dangerously close to the assembled crowd. Marshal Edward intervenes and with a swift swing of his sword he knocks Sigurd to his knees. The crowd applauds as the two tournament battlers return to the center of the circle.

Swords flash through the air and once again the battle is on. Moments later Artos lies face up on the ground. He has been struck in the side with a death blow.

You rub your eyes disbelieving what you have just witnessed.

When you open them again, the scene is the same. Only now you notice the Dome has returned. The warriors and witnesses remain, but the crowd is different somehow.

Suddenly you realize you are no longer in the fifth century, but back in Olympia. It's no longer 400 A.D. but instead Saturday, July 13, 1974.

What you have just seen is authentic enough. It is a medieval tournament staged by members of the Society for Creative Anachronism.

It is a new event added to a growing list of Lakefair activities which will be staged in the Capitol Lake swim area park from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and again from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

Come to the swim area and step into the past.

Fighting Demo held at Capitol Lakefair, 1974.

On July 20-21 at Thousand Trails Campground, the Shire of Silvae Magnae (listed in the July 1974 Crier as “Chehalis”) advertised a Midsummer Tourney. “There will be dancing, music, fighting and contests.” Reservations were to be sent to Roderick of the Hunt (whose given address was in Bellevue).

On March 7-9 1975, Silvae Magnae hosted the fifth Coronet Tourney for the Principality of An Tir.

At the Coronet Tourney, “Viscount Sir Gerald of Galloway reminded all and sundry that he had, last summer, successfully held the field against all comers at the Olympia Lakefair and thus claimed the shire of Silvae Magnae : he renewed his claim and offered to surrender the shire if vanquished, or for a price. Twenty-five cents was bid, but no challenges were offered; Viscount Sir Gerald still gloriously holds Silvae Magnae.”

The Crier sometimes, in jest, referred to the Shire as "Silver Maggot". In the February 1976 Crier, the Principality Calendar list of branches included “Silver Maggot (also known as Silvae Magnae) is Olympia, Washington and vicinity.”

Silvae Magnae was one of the longer-lived but soon defunct branches of An Tir’s Principality days.

The last known mention of Silvae Magnae appears in the April 1977 Crier, where an All Fool’s Revel and Abu Hassan Memorial Day Tourney was announced for April 1-3 “at Millersylvania Park near Silvae Magnae.”