In early 2019, Master Eldred Ælfwald requested that Lady Kaaren Valravn create his court baron scroll (scroll information here). In turn, she asked Lord Ishmael Reed to write an original poem and me to translate the poem into Old English. Ishmael wrote the poem in the style of the 14th-century alliterative revival, which I then translated into Old English alliterative verse.
Category: England
“Epona” Scroll
Battle on the Bay 2019 had an Epona-themed challenge—and as a horse lover, I had to enter something. I was on a huge knotwork kick, and I wanted something soothing, so I combined knotwork, a horse-shoe shape, and the Staffordshire Hoard’s “stylized horse” in this scroll blank. Materials are permanent pen and gouache
Knits for Rapunzel
In Spring/Summer 2019 my friend Adelaide decided it was finally time to tackle a project she’d been wanting to do: a genderbent, period-accurate outfit based on Disney’s Rapunzel. As a knitter, I immediately volunteered to knit her a flat cap and garters. I was not particularly good at taking photos of my work before passing it off to Adelaide, but luckily our friend Kaaren Valravn took an excellent photo of Adelaide in the garb this fall where the garters and hat are perfectly visible.
You can read all about Adelaide’s hard work here.
Early 15th Century Fitted Dress
In early 2019, I finally finished my first-ever 15th-century fitted and self-supporting dress. Described in reenactment circles as a “Gothic fitted dress” or GFD, mine was inspired by a fieldhand in June page from the Très Riches Heures of Jean, Duc de Berry:
Period Shoes!
In summer of 2019, I made my first pair of shoes with Michel Almond de Champagne’s shoe kit. They were remarkably easy, and will fill a nice gap in my wardrobe, as they will work roughly for most time periods.
The leather and rubber soles came in the kit, which I handsewed with silk thread. The shoes fit very well both with and without socks, but the soles are incredibly thin, even with a pair of insoles. Because of this, I only plan to wear these when I know I will mostly be standing on dirt or grass.
Poeta Atlantiae 2019
The prompt for Poeta Atlantiae in 2019 was too good to pass up: choose two poetic forms that are from locations at least 500 miles from each other. I chose the ghazal, from Persian and Arabic traditions, and alliterative verse, from Old English tradition.
Corene Cneoris
Late-Period Old English Riddle in Alliterative Verse
Presented at Ruby Joust, Barony of Caer Mear, 2019, for the Poeta Atlantiae competition.
Revenge of the Stitch 2019
In April 2019 I had the pleasure of leading the Shire of Roxbury Mill team at Revenge of the Stitch, a 24-hour sewing competition. After consulting with our model, Ava Deinhardt, we settled on a 12th-century bliaut. I was particularly interested in bliauts, as they’ve been finicky to pin down, and I happen to know Dr. Monica L. Wright, an expert on bliauts, and I wanted to apply her research.
After several requests for our team’s documentation, I am posting it here. You can also download a PDF copy.
Coral Branch Scroll Text for Lord Ishmael Reed
In 2019, I had the honor to write the scroll text for my friend Ishmael Reed in a fantastic collaboration with Lady Adelaide Half Pint (illumination) and Lady Kaaren Valravn (calligraphy). Of course, I had to write a Shakespearean sonnet for Lord Ishmael:
From Ragnarr King and gracious Queen Lynette:
Hail and heed our words, Atlantia fair!
For poetry written and many a doublet
A Coral Branch for Ishmael Reed declare.
He toils with sharp and pointy things each night:
A quill, a pen, a needle, sometimes wit.
His laborious toil makes Atlantian arts shine bright
and keeps the lantern of arts well-tended and lit.
He calls forth words from both the brave and afraid
By easing others’ fears of meter and rhyme.
And oh! diverse doublets he helped be made,
Manifold shirefolk dressing now sublime.
Thus have we with royal power decreed:
Present this Coral Branch to Ishmael Reed.”
To see the scroll, visit Lady Kaaren’s site.
Revenge of the Stitch, 2018
In April 2018, I had the great honor to be part of the Shire of Roxbury Mill’s Revenge of the Stitch team for the first time. Our chosen garb was middle-class Tudor garb.
I had one responsibility: knit a Tudor flat cap and full it in the 24-hour time period. Folks were (understandably) a little concerned about the amount of time it would take me to knit, so I knit a test hat first.
It took 8.25 hours. Flat cap was a go!
On the day of, though?
It took 6.5 hours, from cast-on to bind-off.
Fulling, of course, took a little longer.
