Born into a successful merchant family in Savona (Liguria, Italy), I was a young child when the Black Death swept through my town. It was devastating but I survived, along with my father and one of my brothers. Like the other girls from important trading families, I learned enough arithmetic, reading, and writing to help my family -- and, later, my husband -- with bookkeeping.
My husband was a kind young man, the son of our business partners in Savona. We had two children who survived to adulthood. Sadly, my husband never lived to see our second child reach majority. He was wounded during a battle at sea, against those horrible Genoese merchants. My children are married well and reside in Savona.
After some time, I re-married to Hugues de Bertoncourt. Now I live in his manor-house near Rethel, in France, not far from Ghent. He has a noble name, although his family is not very large. Together, we have access to Flemish woolens and Italian brocades and many other precious goods, using ships held by my family and to overland routes managed by Hugues. It is a comfortable life.
(Caterina's registered SCA arms are inspired by medieval Italian merchant family marks, which may have been used to label boxes and crates, as well as for correspondence, etc.)
Arts & Sciences
Garb Construction
14th Century Italian & French
My primary focus is continental fashion (Italian, or French with some Flemish influence) from the late 14th to early 15th century. Fabrics, styles, and accessories are chosen with the persona of "minor nobles engaged in trade" between 1385--1405. This is a fascinating time in fashion history, with exquisite tailoring, styles that changed every decade or two, and an adequate collection of surviving illuminated manuscripts, effigies, etc., to provide guidance. I strive for a head-to-toe collection of garb in a "capsule wardrobe" style, including outerwear and accessories.
Late 14th-century garb made by Caterina. Belts and brooches by Hugues.
I love to teach rectangular construction and how simple it is for new sewists to dive into their first garb, so we also have Slavic clothing from the setting of the First Bulgarian Empire. These represent well-off farmers/landowners, as the Bulgarian ruling class still holds sway over their culture. This was substantially more difficult to research; Slavs practiced cremation during this era and were consummate woodworkers, so little has survived of their material culture. I had to study and extrapolate from Slavic cultures before and after the time period and consider the possible effects of contact cultures. Fortunately, some of these early-medieval styles appear to remain similar over centuries, not just decades.
Finally, our third time period (work in progress) is a deep dive into Anatolian Greece, Ephesus 3rd-5th century BC.
Weaving, Braiding, and Cordage
(click to enlarge) In support of costume construction, I do some narrow-band weaving. I prefer plain weaving to tablet weaving and am comfortable with cotton or wool. Fingerloop braids add a splash of color to the never-ending 14th century need for MORE ties and drawstrings. And twisted cord is a quick-and-dirty way to make longer lengths of lightweight "rope" for a variety of uses.
Simple Embroidery
Simple embroidery in wool yarn adds a bit of "extra" to several of my pieces -- carrying bags, hoods, capes, etc. This is something I continue to add to existing pieces, time permitting.
Accessories in Metal and Leather
Veil pins, fibulae, belts, and sheaths, oh my! I brought my pre-existing skills in wireworking and leatherworking into my SCA hobby, and I pull them out as needed for small accessories.
Fermented Foods & Beverages
Bread & brews? The history of yeasted breads, both savory and sweet, flat and round, baked and fried, is always a source of joy. I enjoy the challenge of working with dense, whole-grain, and non-wheat flours.
But the journey we've taken in the SCA focuses on the variety of beverages created from brewer's yeast -- from non-alcoholic sodas, to lightly alcoholic "live meads", to fruit wines and sack meads.
Live meads? The sagas speak of "young mead" and "old mead", and from a variety of sources, we glean that "young meads" were drunk straight from the vat, while still sweet and bubbly. They must be drunk quickly, before it becomes more sour than sweet. When Loki receives the "old mead" in a crystal chalice, this implies a drink prized for its clarity -- suggesting that this might not be the case for young mead. Similarly, many historical mead recipes have very short fermentation times -- and instructions to drink them quickly. We've interpreted this as a "live" beverage with active yeast, about 5% residual sugar, a 5-6% ABV, and a little cloudy (just like a live ale). We have redacted several recipes, especially historical metheglins, in this style.
Did you know? Soda pop can be dated back at least to the 10th century!
It was made with yeast and honey, not chemical carbonation and sugar, but in all essentials it was soda! I am now diving into the variety of non-alcoholic brews in the 10th century Annals of the Caliph's Kitchens. And considering a side trip into vinegar brewing so we can make ancient Roman "posca" drinks.
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