Monboggian Midwinter New Moon Festival IX/1975

Date

18 Jan IX/1975

Branch

Lions Gate (Incipient Shire of) (Vancouver, BC)

Autocrat

Site

UBC Student Union Building Ballroom

Weather

unknown

Activities

Attended by Baron Liam of the Barque and Baroness Dierdre Muldomhnaigh of Madrone.

Event Highlights

(From The North Wind - "News of the Incipient Shire of Lions Gate". Vol. I No. 3 May 17 1975 A.S. 10)

Dawn at Monboggia (with Lots of Thunder)

At Monboggian Dawn (early afternoon) on January 18, A.S. 9, local authorities were disconcerted to find that a warrior from the South, one Sigurd von die Nordenkreuze, had taken possession of the fighting surface and proposed to keep it by force of arms. Mildly taken aback by what is now known to be a southern tradition, the local marshals began to arrange to deal with Sigurd. Several fighters were delegated. The first, as was proper, was Monboggian. He failed, and his place on the field was taken by a local Celt. He, too, failed. . . then a Russian met death at the hands of this Sigurd. Outraged, a fighter known as Bognonymous finally grought Sigurd to reason, to the glory of Monboggia.

Bjorn of Hav Ok, Knight Marshal in Training for the Shire, was then able to begin combats of a more usual type, ably assisted by lords from Madrone and other points south. Challenge combats were intersperseed with demonstrations: Bjorn showed off his clumsy two-handed ax, "Ballock-biter," and later took the field against Bulwark of Momchilovich (sic) and her nauga-nata.

The field was dominated in more ways than one by the "Man-mountain" from Madrone, whose 6'8" struck terror into at least four members of a local household. This gentle later received recognition in the form of an award for considerate, training-oriented behaviour (basically, abstaining from flattening local talent too severely).

Liam of the Barque, baron of Madrone, took the field in his impressive equipment, once opposing the "Iron Maiden" (Carry Ran Aurora) from southlands. As is usual in combats between the sexes, it was not clear who had won.

Twilsey-wopping received enthusiastic attention. Twilsie (?) were provided by Susan the Opaque; a timing device, by the household of the Barque. Bulward of Momchilovich found that, in this sport, she possessed a height advantage of one inch over Man-Mountain -- when he was on his knees, and she standing up.

The martial portion of the day was brought to a conclusion in a four-warrior-per-side melee, locals against foreigners. Bjorn of Hav Ok was left alone facing all four opponents before, with a cry of "Yalu, Yalu," he too fell.

All in all, much praise is due the south-landers in matters martial; in general, for their patience in waiting while the sharply limited amount of local equipment passed from body to body; in particular, to those southrons who volunteered to assist in marshalling and heralding the event.

The evening's banquet was laid out in the manner of the southern Duke, de Potluc. There were many awards and competitions given, including one for the best edibles and potables. Ilya Gryaznie adjudged that the small pasties prepared by Lady Janice were deserving of the Lions Gate Award for Excellence. Meanwhile, off in a dark corner, Raven the Jester (lineal descendent of the legendary souse, Bung) was sampling the wines, meads and mulled beverages with the Craven excuse that he would pick the best of them. For edonistic enjoyment, the prize went to Akbar the Beast for his mulled sherry; the prize for best brew went to Seaghda of Green Mountain (a minority Celt).

Monboggian Mid-Winter New Moon Festival - Prizes and Festivities

For fighting awards there were many, both contendes and categories, and winners came from both sides of the 49th parallel. Space forbids our mentioning them all here, but the household of Volnitsa Sech, who coordinated the award-giving, have a record of the same.

The Shire was gratified to welcome about 25 Southerners who made the long journey to fight and eat and lodge overnight, including the greatly esteemed Baron of Madrone, Liam of the Barque and his lady, Baroness Dierdre Muldomhnaigh, as well as a Motley [h?]orde.

During the feasting, our acting Baron Michel le Voyageur (the ersatz Cossack) bade Liam speak a few words to commemorate the occasion of the Shire's first major event. And so Liam spoke: "You of Lions Gate are on the very edge of the known world . . . and in the past, those on the edge of the world were entrusted as the guardians of civilization, keeping the memories alive while other societies waxed and waned." Liam stated that the Shire was indeed worthy of that trust and guardianship, which gratified the Monboggian hordes present, and all the Cossacks and Vikings.

The tale-telling event was adjudged by our Baron Michel. This was a popular contest, and there were many entries, including two from Lady Dierdre, one of which earned her the Lions Gate Stein for the best tale. Needless to say, it was a rhyme which pandered shamelessly to the vanity of the Baron Michel and his love of the Vodka. Other tales from other folk ranged from the bawdy through the witty to the delicacy of an Oriental fable, and many of these won prizes; others won a hail of bread and other foodstuffs from the Monboggian horde, who may not know art but know what they like.

The very favorite tale received the highest form of Northern applause, the "rhythmic table-thump" for many minutes, and one so honoured was a traveller from the South, Sean Galt (sic), with a legend of a rabbitty monk who drove off a Monboggian invasion single-handed. Not to be outdone, the household of Volnitsa Sech provided an entry, also in rhyme, clarifying a Madrone myth from the point of view of the Vikings -- calling their epic "The Lay of Bjorn the Beardless." This won the Lions Gate award for excellence, and being number two -- we'll be trying harder next time.

And so on into the night. It was a pleasure and enlightening experience to host the Monboggian Festival in Lions Gate. May your crops have a good planting, and no lack of warm rain.

Vereska I. Zhidka, Chronicler Shire of Lions Gate

(Our apologies to Lady Vereska for our lateness, not hers in publishing this report. And our sympathies to you on the death of your husband, Lord Ilya.)

Pictures

(Links to event pictures off-site)

Sample: Twelfth Night Pictures By Lord Joe Populace

Personal Memories

The Kendal family discovers the S.C.A.

---