What a weekend...
Jan. 4th, 2004 10:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sylkeÆthelmearc's 12th Night celebration was yesterday. For those who've been subjected to my fretting, you know I've been wondering WTF is up with the choice of Sylvan Bard. (For those not in the loop, Sylvan Bard is the title for the Kingdom Bard of Æthelmearc in the SCA.)
Yesterday afternoon, I was summoned to the Royalty Room and informed that I had been chosen. I then promptly gave Illish (she who informed me) a huge hug. Apparently HRM Henri absolutely loved S'ilz A Qui when I sang it as my audition piece (this was at Harvest Raid, where I afterwards came down with a cough so bad I cracked a rib), and wanted me to sing it either at feast or at court. Feast is a hideous time to sing (there being much noise, and people wanting to eat and talk with their friends), so I chose court. However, that only marginally helped as we were on a stage that was inset to the wall of a gymnasium. Giulietta and Remus, both operatically trained singers, commented on the utter suckage of the acoustics. I had spoken with Remus at an earlier event about acoustic placement of a performer in a hall, and when I said I'm singing for court and asked where I should stand, he takes one look at the stage and says, "You're screwed." Um, thanks... He did point out a potentially less evil spot, and while standing there I was apparently audible and understandable to someone in the back of the hall (thanks to Remus for asking around for me), so maybe everyone *could* hear my nervous quiver and cracking voice. I haven't had an attack of nerves like that in quite a while, and I felt bad for not showing the populace that their Sylvan Bard was a competant performer.
Before standing to join the retinue behind the king, there was one last bit of business. It seems the court of Æthelmearc saw fit to elevate me to the rank of Lady and award me Arms. :) From tidbits that I heard or was told later, I got the feeling it wasn't originally on the docket and Lady Failenn was doing battle-scribe duty, so thanks are due to her for that. :) I'll have to remember to thank her in person when I bring her the scroll back to get my registered device (now arms!) written in. Do I try and contact the original illuminator to draw in my shield, or should I just find someone convenient? Delftwood has a monthly scriptorium where people bring their stuff that conveniently coincides with belly practice, so that would be easiest, but I don't want to trump the original illuminator if the custom is to get back with them. Fortunately all the scrolls are attributed (except the callig on the Russian Sylvan Bard scroll [edit: the court report has their name]), so I can know who did my pretty artwork. :) And yes, I said the Russian Sylvan Bard scroll because the King is apparently *ahem* so pleased with his choice of bards (Giulietta's words) that there are two scrolls. Which is a total of three scrolls, plus some regalia, all of which are displayed here with the help of the wonderful Kai.
So there I am, wearing an official baldric, holding a well-loved banner, head still spinning from my first time being called into court and actually standing up there in front of the populace next to the King, and I hear, "Where's your Sylvan Bard when you need her?" Bridgette Kelly MacLean, a friend of mine from Windmaster's, had been called up to court to receive her Fleur, and she was being retrieved from the kitchen. After being vested for about 10 minutes, I was called upon to entertain the populace. Hoark! Thanks to the Bardic Muse, I was blessed with the inspiration to sing a chorus of "Fair Lady Atlantia", which is a favorite of Bridgette's, which makes up for singing a song about another kingdom as my second performance for the populace. ;)
The kicker was after feast when a young proto-SCAdian (age 12, second event) came up to me and asked for my picture. Her mother was wondering what SCA events are like, and she was taking pictures to bring back. I'd stopped by her table during feast and sung them something silly like "Allouette, gentil allouette" to go with the chicken dish, and we'd talked a bit about how she's taking French and my song was in an old dialect, kinda French-like, but technically Old Provençal, so not to worry about not being able to understand it fully. I apparently am now a significant enough part of an SCA event to be film-worthy. Whoa. Talk about flattering! Many thanks to that young girl who I think was named Sarah (though that might've been the blond girl with her, my apologies, I'm absolutely atrocious with names, but I can do faces), she made me feel glamorous.
Oh, right, and after feast we took Michael Alewright back over to Edmund's (giving him a ride was the only way we could keep his company for feast) and we hung with the heraldically-inclined crowd of whom I am quite fond. We enjoyed strawberry buttercream in honor of someone's birthday. (See previous paragraph behind the cut tag for my comment on remembering names.) Somehow after the fabulous feast we managed to eat a small sliver of cake. Oof.
Yesterday afternoon, I was summoned to the Royalty Room and informed that I had been chosen. I then promptly gave Illish (she who informed me) a huge hug. Apparently HRM Henri absolutely loved S'ilz A Qui when I sang it as my audition piece (this was at Harvest Raid, where I afterwards came down with a cough so bad I cracked a rib), and wanted me to sing it either at feast or at court. Feast is a hideous time to sing (there being much noise, and people wanting to eat and talk with their friends), so I chose court. However, that only marginally helped as we were on a stage that was inset to the wall of a gymnasium. Giulietta and Remus, both operatically trained singers, commented on the utter suckage of the acoustics. I had spoken with Remus at an earlier event about acoustic placement of a performer in a hall, and when I said I'm singing for court and asked where I should stand, he takes one look at the stage and says, "You're screwed." Um, thanks... He did point out a potentially less evil spot, and while standing there I was apparently audible and understandable to someone in the back of the hall (thanks to Remus for asking around for me), so maybe everyone *could* hear my nervous quiver and cracking voice. I haven't had an attack of nerves like that in quite a while, and I felt bad for not showing the populace that their Sylvan Bard was a competant performer.
Before standing to join the retinue behind the king, there was one last bit of business. It seems the court of Æthelmearc saw fit to elevate me to the rank of Lady and award me Arms. :) From tidbits that I heard or was told later, I got the feeling it wasn't originally on the docket and Lady Failenn was doing battle-scribe duty, so thanks are due to her for that. :) I'll have to remember to thank her in person when I bring her the scroll back to get my registered device (now arms!) written in. Do I try and contact the original illuminator to draw in my shield, or should I just find someone convenient? Delftwood has a monthly scriptorium where people bring their stuff that conveniently coincides with belly practice, so that would be easiest, but I don't want to trump the original illuminator if the custom is to get back with them. Fortunately all the scrolls are attributed (except the callig on the Russian Sylvan Bard scroll [edit: the court report has their name]), so I can know who did my pretty artwork. :) And yes, I said the Russian Sylvan Bard scroll because the King is apparently *ahem* so pleased with his choice of bards (Giulietta's words) that there are two scrolls. Which is a total of three scrolls, plus some regalia, all of which are displayed here with the help of the wonderful Kai.
So there I am, wearing an official baldric, holding a well-loved banner, head still spinning from my first time being called into court and actually standing up there in front of the populace next to the King, and I hear, "Where's your Sylvan Bard when you need her?" Bridgette Kelly MacLean, a friend of mine from Windmaster's, had been called up to court to receive her Fleur, and she was being retrieved from the kitchen. After being vested for about 10 minutes, I was called upon to entertain the populace. Hoark! Thanks to the Bardic Muse, I was blessed with the inspiration to sing a chorus of "Fair Lady Atlantia", which is a favorite of Bridgette's, which makes up for singing a song about another kingdom as my second performance for the populace. ;)
The kicker was after feast when a young proto-SCAdian (age 12, second event) came up to me and asked for my picture. Her mother was wondering what SCA events are like, and she was taking pictures to bring back. I'd stopped by her table during feast and sung them something silly like "Allouette, gentil allouette" to go with the chicken dish, and we'd talked a bit about how she's taking French and my song was in an old dialect, kinda French-like, but technically Old Provençal, so not to worry about not being able to understand it fully. I apparently am now a significant enough part of an SCA event to be film-worthy. Whoa. Talk about flattering! Many thanks to that young girl who I think was named Sarah (though that might've been the blond girl with her, my apologies, I'm absolutely atrocious with names, but I can do faces), she made me feel glamorous.
Oh, right, and after feast we took Michael Alewright back over to Edmund's (giving him a ride was the only way we could keep his company for feast) and we hung with the heraldically-inclined crowd of whom I am quite fond. We enjoyed strawberry buttercream in honor of someone's birthday. (See previous paragraph behind the cut tag for my comment on remembering names.) Somehow after the fabulous feast we managed to eat a small sliver of cake. Oof.
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no subject
Date: 2004-01-04 08:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-04 09:25 pm (UTC)*scratches head* Why do I know guy in picture? Herald who would know Cathan, maybe?
no subject
Date: 2004-01-04 09:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-05 09:33 am (UTC)Congrats!
no subject
Date: 2004-01-05 11:41 am (UTC)(Hi. I'm She'erah. We met at spring Coronation.)
no subject
Date: 2004-01-05 12:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-05 12:43 pm (UTC)Looks like I'll be attending a number of the royal progress events coming up. ;)
Seems likely, yeah. :-) I don't have a lot of firm plans right now; I don't tend to travel all that much due to logistics issues. Have they announced where spring coronation is going to be yet?
no subject
Date: 2004-01-06 02:37 am (UTC)Looks like they just announced Spring coronation, though! April 17 in Beau Fleuve. I even checked just a few days ago and it wasn't on the web page. (My membership lapsed, oops, and I missed a couple issues of the AEstel.)