My friend Holland (Alasdair MacRoibert in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA)) is an accomplished professional woodworker. So I (and others) had been encouraging him for some time to enter pieces in competition and to seek other opportunities for showcasing his work. When a Request For Proposals for new thrones for the SCA Kingdom of... Continue Reading →
Projects
Rope Beds Reconsidered: Research and Reproduction of a Portable Medieval Rope Bed (Part one)
Once I began to have a more "authentic" encampment at Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) events, a good friend who had retired from camping gave me his rope bed. A rope bed can be defined as a bed frame wherein the mattress is supported by a net of interlaced ropes. The ropes provide a supportive,... Continue Reading →
Olcan’s Championship Scroll: 2016
In 2015 (A.S. L), Olcan became our Shield of Glymm Mere for a second year in a row. In planning the Charter to give him at the end of his year of service, I really strove to create a wholly original piece in a meter, rhyme scheme, and style consistent with his persona's poetic culture. ... Continue Reading →
Olcan’s Championship Scroll: 2015
In 2014 (anno societatis XLIX), the heavy fighting championship for the Barony of Glymm Mere in the Kingdom of An Tir was won by the honorable lord Olcan Mac Meanma, known affectionately as Olcan "the Gentle". He served us well for a year with the title 'Shield of Glymm Mere', at the end of which... Continue Reading →
SCA Charters: Wordsmithing in Medieval Styles (Part one)
Why poetry? Well, I like poetry; and as long as I am creating something that feels like it is medieval, but never actually existed in the middle ages, I have free rein to do with it as I wish.
Glastonbury Chairs: Ecclesiastic Faldstools of the early sixteenth century
Overview Among my earliest projects of researching and reproducing medieval furniture were a pair of faldstools in the ‘Glastonbury’ style, based on the two extant examples constructed circa 1530 and now residing in Wells, Somerset, England. The extant chairs are believed to be based on earlier examples witnessed in Rome circa 1500. These faldstools were... Continue Reading →
Workbench
A cabinetmaker's workbench is more than merely a table. The workbench provides a solid and stable, flat surface on which to work. Additionally, a workbench incorporates means to secure the work to the table, such as vises and "iron dogs".
Woodshop
Image of The Cabinetmaker from Jan Amos Komenský's 'Orbis Pictus', 1658 The woodshop itself can be considered a cabinetmaker's tool. The woodshop is a dedicated space for woodworking, with the necessary light and space for the cabinetmaker to work, shelter from the elements for the raw materials, and storage for the craftsperson's tools to keep... Continue Reading →
Elanor Stanhope’s Equestrian Championship: 2015
As her persona is of a twelfth century Anglo-Norman noblewoman, I decided to try my hand at writing in French.
I don't speak French.
