Main de St. Nicholas
It is an award created by King Vik Vikingson and Queen Inga the Unfettered to recognize those who have given substantially of themselves in the form of largess and/or costuming for the Crown.
Words from Her Grace, Inga the Unfettered :
How did this award come to be:
An Tir's has always received great word-fame for the creation and openhanded gifting of beautiful largess, both within An Tir and when traveling to other kingdoms Long before I had the great fortune to serve as Queen of An Tir I had noted that while many An Tirians had gladly turned their hand to providing this largess to the Crown, that there were a few artisans who donated countless works of wonder event after event, reign after reign. That there were a few Individuals whose generosity in their art made the Crown and Kingdom more splendid in many ways And while the Crown always acknowledged such generosity, there was to my mind a real need for an award suited to recognize this unique level of generosity and commitment to service to the Crown. I imagined it would be rarely bestowed, once or twice per reign at most, designed to celebrate extraordinary service. In speaking with others who had ruled, it became clear that this need existed and that I was not alone in feeling that individuals who supported An Tir in this fashion deserved special accolade.
The first Main de Saint Nicholas was given to Mistress Gwen the Potter. This lady had, by that point, donated thousands of items of pottery to largess including the creation of countless pieces specifically for the gift exchanges historically held at Estrella and Pennsic War. We were deeply honored to be able to recognize such a pillar of An Tir!
A listing of recipients.