Ysane la Gaillarde
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 Ysane la Gaillarde at Daffodil Tournament, AS 45 | ||||||||||||
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 Ermine, in pale two stoats passant sable |
SCA History
Started out in the Kingdom of Ealdormere, selling trinkets and hand-crafted items to SCAdians and the mundane populace at fairs and demos. Since moving to Seagirt Ysane has served as Seneschal, event steward for several events, and has given many a song and story to the bardic circle.
Protégé to Mistress Meredith of the White Cliffs.
Whereabouts
- Currently Living in the Barony of Seagirt
Awards
- Award of Arms - Seagirt's Yule Revel: Dec 9, AS 41/2006 Amalric and Caia
- Order of the Rocke (Seagirt) - Jun 9, AS 42/2007
- Silent Harp (Seagirt) - Aug 16, AS 43/2008
- Order of the Goutte de Sang - Daffodil Tournament: Mar 14, AS 43/2009 Vik and Inga
- Order of the Seagull (Seagirt) -
Coat of Arms
Devised with the help of Maester Iago, the blazon for the device actually reads as three different ways to say 'weasel'. Stoat, Ermine, and Sable.
Persona History
In her words:
I am Ysane la Gaillarde. The year is 1252. My parents’ names were Robert & Ysabelle. My brothers are Robert, Philippe, Louis, Jacques, Mathieu.. Louis died young; I never knew him. Robert and Phillipe were killed many years ago, fighting alongside the King in the Holy Land, my father died of a fever two years ago, and my mother died giving birth to Mathieu when I was four.
My father’s elderly sister lives with me, as do my two youngest brothers’ wives and their seven children. These brothers have gone once again to escort the King on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, leaving us women and children to fend for ourselves again. The old auntie is Matante Ysane, for whom I am named. She was taken out of the convent and brought to live with us when my mother died and my father decided I needed female company and attention.
I oversee our farm while the men are away. Three of my nephews, my oldest brother's sons, work the neighboring farms nearby with their families. We are near the town of Rouen, in Normandy, on the lush lands bordering the river Seine. We farm many acres: wheat and corn for flour, hay to feed the animals in winter, lettuce, shallots, beets, peas and beans. We also have a large herb garden near the kitchen with parsley, rue, mint, borage, and lavender. Bordering our apple and pear orchards are massive, tangled raspberry bushes, and my nephews have successfully harvested their grape vines for the first time. We tend two flocks of sheep, countless chickens and geese, enough cows for milk to make our cheese, and the mules that carry our surplus to market once a month. Our combined families will travel to market in a large caravan of wagons and mules. We will arm ourselves and make much noise to discourage brigands. It will be difficult this year with most of the men away.
Our land was given to my father by King Philip Augustus after the successful siege of Château Gaillard. My father was a sapper, and told us many times when we were children the story of how he helped dig the shaft that brought down the wall of the outworks of the castle, allowing the King and his men access to the inner walls. He called me 'la Gaillarde' in honor of this siege. He told me it means I am hardy and robust, like the walls of that castle. My brothers have always teased me and told me it means I am brazen, and a hussy.
Our house is a rambling, two-story timber post-and-beam structure, sagging and leaning with age. The walls are of wattle-and-daub, cracked and fissured, and in need of constant repair. There is a big hall on the main floor where we work and dine, with several store rooms off to the side. The floor is dirt, covered with rushes. There are benches, and two long trestle tables for meals and for working. The kitchen is at the back, with a large fireplace shared by the two main rooms. We sleep above, under a drafty roof of thatch. There is a privy out back, near the barns. My father dug a deep well on the other side of the house. It provides fresh, clean water all year long.
A normal day begins before the sun rises. One of my nieces will have lit the fires and made herbal tea for us to warm our insides. The animals must be tended before anyone can eat: the chickens and pigs fed, the eggs gathered, the cows milked. The children will be fed before we come in for breakfast.. They will begin their lessons while we eat the breads, cheeses, and simple stews that my nieces have prepared. I no longer work in the fields much, since the nieces and nephews are many. The old auntie will teach some of the children, and the rest of us will continue the day’s chores. We need to make herbal soap and tallow candles, more than last time, and there’s the mule wagon harness that needs repairing. The herb garden needs weeding, and I’ll have to spend some time today on the household accounts. We’ll have to watch the sick cow, maybe separate her from the others. After our last meal, at dusk, there will be time for play with the children, maybe some music, and later, some embroidery or sewing to ready for market. There are also always clothes to mend and alter in this house. Maybe tomorrow we will hunt, since the king allows our family the privilege.
It is my fervent hope that my brothers, nephews, and King will return safely from their pilgrimage. We women are in need of protection, and have taken to wearing trousers when we work the fields so as to trick brigands into thinking there are men on the farm.
Infamy
Known to some as "The Weasel Lady" for her love of ermine vermin (both alive and in collectable format), Ysane is famous for many things. I will now list some of the my favorites:
- Writing and performing a song about leeks (and having it requested with some regularity)
- Making 'Car Garb' for her old Toyota Hatchback, dressing it up to appear as a motte and bailey castle
- 'Weasel Keep', her encampment where she keeps all her weasels.
- Buying and naming second-hand Flea-Furs so they may acompany her to events.
- Rashid al-Qasim, July 3 AS 46/2011