Annotated "History of the West" - The History of the Kingdom of The ...

The Origin and History of the Society for Creative Anachronism and the Kingdom of the West
II “Ken and Mary were living in a small studio apt. at Fox Court on University Ave. in Berkeley and had very little room and Ken
may have considered it a white elephant and gave it away as an award to prevent hurting Dave’s feelings.” – Henrik of
Havn
III [... gave it to Berzark ...] “No - to Henrik.” – Henrik of Havn
A “While it's obvious that Steven and I have slightly different memories of events (I could have sworn that I was told David Hodghead
was the one to first bite down on the little wooden doll -- oh well), we were roommates at the time and most of our memories are
coming from the same angle. There were whole realms of activity that we were not privy to. And I'm not even asking about the
political lines that were being formed between Berkeley and the rest of the Bay Area (largely because of commute distance and
telephone costs) even in these early days ...
“A lot of what I'm saying is speculation and hearsay (albeit speculation and hearsay from the period, as I remember it). Does
anyone have any other rumors from the period they want to share?” – Stefan de Lorraine, who is actually relishing the memories
of the sounds of the voices of the people who were passing on the gossip and the memory pictures of the people talking in various
living rooms and porches and kitchens long gone (except in the case of the Andersons – definitely one of the First Stops in the Bus
Tour of Pivotal SCA Sites).
1 [There were whole realms of activity that we were not privy to.] “I remember the 12+ hour drive up to participate in "Northern"
events for those of us who lived in San Diego. That was before I-5 was built - afterwards it only took about 10 hours.
“I heard about the SCA from a friend's showing me the article in Time Magazine, must have been '68 or '69. I looked for
it after that, because I had gotten my first costume book several years earlier and wanted to join a group where I could wear
costumes like that. Then one day, when I was a car hop for A&W, I put a tray of root beer on somebody's window and asked
them what that satin thing was hanging in the back of their car. They (I can't remember Tina ne. Hobart's SCA name [Elonwy
de Lur]) said it was a banner for the SCA, and I said I'd been looking for them for two years.
“Wilhelm von Messer was the passenger in the car, and he gave me his card, along with the info on the next local event.
I remember pulling an all-nighter to finish a costume (which I still have) for that event. I showed up right when he said it would
start, and wondered where everyone was (it was my first event).
“I joined in AS 4 in time for the second Caid Twelfth night (in San Diego/Barony of Califia), with (must have been King and
Queen) Paul and Carol and their three-year-old only son (who went around proudly announcing the anticipation of a baby
brother or sister). Bevin Frasier of Sterling had her neck in a brace disguised by a ruff.” – Käthe Willig von Mainz
I “Nope, wasn't me with neck in a brace disguised by a ruff. (Don't think I've ever worn a neck brace.) Also, I didn't join until
A.S. VI, though I'd first run into the SCA at Baycon, in 1968 – the first and, I believe, only time I ever saw Sir Bela fight.)” –
Bevin Fraser of Sterling
II “Just an observation regarding dates - it couldn't have been AS IV if Paul and Carol were reigning and Brion was on the
way. Paul was Knighted in AS VI and won his first tourney at the following crown, I think it was their fourth reign when Brion
was pending.” – Kevin Peregrynne
III “Also,Caid's Tourney of Union was in 1974-I don't know when we started having 12th Nights but before 1974 we were
called the Southern Baronies. Angels & Calafia were founded in 10/V & 11/V respectively.
“Incidently, if anyone has a copy of the June 1977 Page (which was printed by Lord Randolph the Devious-an Old
Brotherhood of the Blade guy who fought with us at the last war with Atenveldt in February) one can see a full color picture
captioned "Duke Paul of Bellatrix chortles with sardonic amusement as Prince Martin the Temperate dies by his own hand
after slaying his comrade-in-arms Sir Loren sur la Roche."” – Colin of Dublin
C “As for the scheduling of Crown events (equinox-solstice-equinox) ... I had it on good authority long ago (Diana, in fact) that the third
(October) tournament was specifically scheduled for Bilbo and Frodo Baggins birthday.
“According to Siegfried, who ought to know, the MGC was a gift to Fulk from him. It was made of a chunk of elm blasted loose
from its parent tree by lightning, shaped smoothed and polished in (soon to be) Master Beverly's workshop. The wood was so hard
that they burnt out several drill bits making the hole to drive the spike through (and it bent in the process). Fulk originated the use
of the MGC as the award for ferocity in combat. The first time that Patrice and I saw it the bearer was Caradoc ap Cawdor, it looked
so natural that we thought it was a permanent part of his costume. A tradition that went with the Clubbe was that, before presenting
it at the next crown tourney, the bearer had to rub at least a quarter pound of wax into its finish.” – Kevin Peregrynne
D [... the idea of having Kings had been discussed ...] “This was done before the Sept. 25, 1966 Tourney since Henrik’s victor’s scroll
presented to him at the end of the tournament proclaims him King!” – Henrik of Havn
A [Regarding a morning star that Henrik used] “I think it might have burned up in a fire some years later, but Henrik might still have
it around ...” – Stefan de Lorraine
~ 12 ~