Coronet Tourney 17

An Tir’s seventeenth Coronet Tourney

Held on May 12-13, 1979 at Camano Island State Park, near Stanwood, WA.
Victor: Trelon of the Wood.

Event Announcement

THE AN TIR CORONET TOURNEY, MAY 12 & 13, A.S. XIV [From the June 1979 The Crier]]

This will be held May 12, and 13 at the Camano Island State Park. A group-camping site has been reserved for the weekend; a fee of 50¢ per person will cover site rental. No advanced registrations will be taken. Register on arrival. Additional family-camping sites are available at $3. 50 per night; these must be arranged with the camp ranger.

The site will be open until 10 pm Friday. New arrivals may check in all day Saturday at the entrance to the group site. The lists will be available for sign-up from 9 to 11 am. Fighters not qualified must report to the field before 11 am for qualification. Court will begin at noon and the lists will run from 1 pm to 4:30 pm. The semi-final round will be held on Sunday. Challenge matches will continue on Saturday until the second court begins at 5: 50.

The Madrone Culinary Guild will organize the potluck feast, to which they are contributing a piglet. Please provide a contribution for ten people.

Various activities, including (it is hoped) a bardic circle, will continue until whenever, although those not camping over­ night must depart before 10 pm.

The Coronet Lists will recommence at 11 am on Sunday, inter­spersed with challenges. After the Lists are closed on Sunday, there will be an outdoor games-fest. Shuttle-cock, quoits, etc. will be provided for the amusement of the populace and a jeu-de­-boules tournament will be featured. Final Court will begin at 1 pm, and cleanup and camp-breaking comes at 3 pm although we are not required to leave the area before 10 pm.

Sir Seamus will sponsor a contest for sculpture depicting a subject from SCA history. It may be made of wood, clay, stone, bronze, silver, or gold. High or low relief all will be acceptable, as well as pieces in the round. At least two entries are required before the contest will be judged.

There will be a Pied Piper's Place under the direction of Anne of Caerdydd. Children over ten years may come to help supervise. Parents and other volunteers will be asked to contribute time, probably in half-hour segments. The Place will be open from the end of Court until 4:30 pm Saturday and from 11 am to 1 pm Sunday. Activities for the children will in­clude Bean-Bag Toss, Treasure Hunt, drawing contest, twilsey­-wopping, story telling, and, for the over-10 crowd, a "page of the day" contest and a contest to design a "PPP Banner".

SITE: Camano Island is really a peninsula; you need no ferry. [Directions] For further information please contact the autocrat, Theodulf of Borogrove.

The next month The Crier (July 1979) published in their “Foot in the Mouth” department: “For some reason the directions to the Coronet Tourney May 12-13 were, when followed, found to be somewhat on the theoretical side. This was due not so much to the map as to the verbal instructions which accompanied it. We think we ran what came in. On the other hand, it may have been our fault; if so, we apologize. If it wasn't our fault, we still regret that folk got lost, and sincerely hope that everyone eventually found his way somewhere. Of such is adventure born.”

Event Chronicle

AN TIR CORONET TOURNEY, MAY 12-13, A.S. XIV, MADRONE chronicled by Catharine of Hãga Upon receipt of a much-belated but beautiful Kingdom scroll, Michael the Black tried to welcome all attendees to his domain of Black Fens. Theodulf of Borogrove objected on the grounds that Michael was, a) not standing under a black fern; b) was standing under a madrone tree; and c) Theodulf considered the site part of his Barony.

Numerous new awards were given at this Court (see list elsewhere in this issue). The cheering which ensued attracted few mundanes, however, as the SCA had already occupied nearly all of the park. Latecomers found that the warnings of space limitations were sincere.

Torgul being awarded the Shattered Shield. Manfred and Koressa are P&P of An Tir. Trelon and Tamsin, as the new heirs, are sitting off to the side with wreaths on their heads. Sir Seamus Peacemaker is standing on the right. Photo courtesy of Rowena de Manning.

The site (Camano Island State Park) did, however, boast a communal fire, which roasted a good-sized pig and several turkeys (ed.--anyone we know?) for the pot luck, one of the few that has ever had an surfeit of meat. The fire pit also served as the focus later for the bardic circle, a veritable vocal extravaganza.

The site was near a boat launch, which attracted the first floating Viking ship seen in An Tir. While giving Viking boat rides to An Tir citizenry, Stormcrow, the boat's master, discovered the King could row!

The coronet was won by Sir Trelan of the Woods, originally from some principality south of An Tir. He now resides in Three Mountains. [This information, as well as the Prince’s name, was incorrect and was corrected in a later Crier, Trelon was from Adiantum in An Tir.] We will soon be crowning our ninth prince. In honor of this event there will be a contest at the Coronation-- -a subtlety with the theme The Nine Princes [“in Amber” is crossed out] of An Tir, for which Catharine of Haga is, alas, responsible.

[From the July 1979 The Crier]

The Crier also included these notes: “FOLL0WING THE MOST RECENT CORONET TOURNEY, Theodulf of Borogrove and Anne of Caerdydd find themselves the custodians of copious lost items. They are considering opening a Curiosity Shoppe. If you would fain rescue your lost impedimenta, please contact them-­their address and phone # may be found on the Madrone Leaf.”

The final round was fought between Trelon of the Wood and Domric the Sober. Trelon was the victor.

SKELLANUS OF SKYE (Lions Gate) injured his hand in the Coronet Tourney while fighting Trelon of the Wood (who won) and will, as a result, not enter combat for some time--tendonitis. MORGAN OF ABERYSTWYTH also hurt his wrist and spent the weekend being cosseted by ladies.

Event web page on the Kingdom of the West History site.

Stormcrow's Viking ships approach the beach at May Coronet Tourney at Camano Island State Park in 1979. Photo courtesy of Rowenna de Manning.

Coronation

Prince Trelon of the Wood and Princess Tamsin of the Raven Tresses were crowned on 21 July 1979 at An Tir Coronation 17 at Coyote Group Campgrounds in Langley, B.C. Canada.

Stories

Rowenna de Manning remembers: The event was being run by Baron Theodulf and Baroness Anne of Madrone. The Madrone Culinary Guild had been in existence for two years. Previous projects had been two successful banquets and some potluck meetings with lots of good food. It was the idea of Roger the Goliard (Guild Head) to roast a whole pig over a wood fire at Coronet Tourney. I think Roger read a book or article about roasting a whole pig. He brought the slaughtered and cleaned pig to the event (luckily it was a piglet, about 100 pounds) and a long, heavy wooden pole he'd cut from a fresh sapling somewhere. He and a few others got up at about six in the morning on Saturday and started the fire, which had burn long enough to be producing hot coals by the time the pig was spitted. I don't remember where the wood came from, but we had a huge pile of firewood.

Roger said all we had to do was shove the pole from stem to stern of the pig's body, drive a few nails to hold the pig on the pole, and suspend the pig over hot coals by stanchions at either side of the fire. Well, pretty soon over the fire and the pig was rolling on the wood pole so that the pig was always belly to the fire. From somewhere, I don't recall where, a steel spit appeared, and the pig was spitted again down the same route by the steel spit. There was also a sheet of steel that served as a reflector of the heat. The pig was over the coals from about 7:30 in the morning until sunset. We had a fire burning at the side and raked new hot coals into the roasting area as the day went on. At dusk it was time for the meal. The pig was laid on a picnic table and guild members began to carve the pork to plate it for the all-camp potluck feast. The forehand of the pig was pretty well cooked but the haunches were still pink and that part of the pig was not carved and plated. I don't remember what happened to the uncooked part of the pig. I don't think we put it back on the fire because there was a bardic circle.

Pig on spit over the fire. In the background sitting r-l Lions Gate Coronets Baron Gerhard Kendal, Baroness Amanda Kendal, and Baroness Anne of Caerdydd of Madrone. Photo courtesy of Rowenna de Manning.