We got up around 08:00 and Keldor started getting his wild pig onto the spit roast, and I helped Erich Hane set up his tent for the market for several of us to share.
Then I went to laurel meeting followed by spending the day at market, where I sold some of Sorkar och Strängar’s songbooks, one bodkin arrowhead and a couple of belt hooks.
I also helped Erin do her shopping by paying Swish for a few of her purchases, and then she sent me a single Wise transfer to cover it.
By the time I had packed up the merchant tent Keldor’s pig was nearing the appropriate temperature for eating, and a few people were sitting and chatting with him as he continued to brush it with melted butter (and sometimes honey). Every so often he would rotate it a little more, and keep feeding the fire to keep it at just the right level to cook without burning.
As he cooked, I sat and helped Felicitas with mending venetian trousers, but it didn’t look like the trousers would be usable on time for court, which was a shame, as Felicitas was to attend the Prince and Princess of Insulae Draconis at court.
Then someone noiced the blue flashing lights of an ambulance up by the hall, and a bit later Daniel, who lives in our camp, came by, looking very shaken, to say that there was a medical emergency and that the area near the hall was closed while emergency services dealt with it.
We made the assumption that this would cause a delay in court and I continued to mend the trousers as Felicitas mended the doublet.
Since the nature of the emergency wasn’t stated I was curious which end of the spectrum it was on, remembering various deaths and accidents at SCA events that I have heard of over the years ranging from sudden heart failure to freak accident/injury, to carbon monoxide poisoning in a well-sealed modern tent. I hoped that today’s emergency was a solvable problem, preferably one that stemed from medical issues already present in one individual human, and not from someone making a mistake that had severe and painful consequences for more than one individual.
Eventually word went out that yes, court would be delayed, probably by around an hour, and Keldor kept basting the pig, and Felicitas and I kept sewing.
As a result, I managed to finish darning the waistband fabric and reconstrusting the waistband where the original metal eyelets had catastrophically failed, and even got the first new eyelet half done before the call for people to assemble for court went around.
At this point Felicitas got dressed in the now much better, but still not fully mended, clothing, and I gathered my nålbindning project in progress (Blue handwarmers), put on my warm outer layers (including my Viking Cloak) , grabbed a ground cloth to sit on (the day having been sunny, the ground was dry again), my mug of water, a bow for the cermony, gave Keldor a smooch, and left him on pig roasting duty and went to court.
Court opened with Tyndal, Drachenwald’s Seneschal, making the somber announcement that yes, there has been a medical emergency, that an individual had been found in their room breathing but unresponsive, the medics on site and an ambulance were summoned, and the individual had been transported to the hospital accompanied by their family. No further information is available at this time. Out of respect for them and their family, please refrain from spreading rumours and speculations.
Then court itself started with Siobhan’s Pelican ceremony, which included a very nice variation on calling the speakers for the canidate. Instead of mentioning what each order is known for, and how a peer of this order must also embody that trait and then pausing as a speaker for one order is called forward to do a speech, and then continuing with the litany “the order ___ is known for ___ , but ___ , too must also embody ___ ” For the next speaker/order, the herald read the entire section in one go, without pauses, and then called for speakers, starting with the populace, who came up, made a beautiful and touching speach, and then stood to the side, carrying a sign with a symbol of the people and an “e”. Then each speaker in turn came up, did their short speeches, and then joined the line of speakers, holding up a sign with a letter and the symbol of their order.
E CE ICE VICE RVICE ERVICE SERVICE
I really liked this approach, as it felt quicker than the traditional approach, and watching a word form, one letter at time, backwards, added an additional level of interest for the audience.
I, for one, had fun thinking of a number of words that end with the letters already revealed and how they are or are not apt for the canidate (the combination of letters “vice” seemed especially apt for a peer who regularly hosts gambling nights in camp).
Court then swithed over to Nordmark, who presented some well deserved awards and acknowledged other good things before it swithed back to Drachenwald, who had a few more pieces of business, including gifts to the children and welcoming newcomers, of whom I had spent quality time with at least five if the ten or so who came up.
Then the archers were summoned to make an honour guard arch to welcome Alys to court for the beautiful cermony to become Drachenwalds third Premier member of the order of the mark.
After court people gathered in our camp to sample roasted wild pig, and many other good foods provided by our friends and enjoy quiet conversation.
Later in the evening the Seneschal dropped by with the sad news that her Excellency didn’t make it, which will be hard on everyone in Drachenwald, but especially her family and local group.
Sometime quite late I left our gathering to go soak in the hot tub for a bit, came back, chatted a while did some yoga, chatted some more, and went to bed a bit after 02:00.
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