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Their Royal

Majesties of An Tir Tiernan Mor Dal Cais and

Miranda Faoltiarna

Their Royal

Highnesses of An Tir Crown Prince Skeggi Hrafensfuri and Crown Princess Taisiia of Ma Elring

Dregate Shire officers Seneschal: Master Killian Carrick

Exchequer: Honorable Lady Runa Knarrarbringa Chatelaine: Lady Teagan McKie

Herald: Honorable Lord Ihon McFearn Arts & Sciences: Lady Elfwynn

Chronicler, Web Master: Honorable Lord Cerdic Stuart Master of Stables: Honorable Lord Squire Garvin MacBrannon

Equestrian: Lady Mondu List: Companion Osogarow

Chamberlain: Lord Ihon McFearn Iron Key: Lord Broc Aillig Gold Key: Lady Thorhalla

Great Boke: Lady Mellisa MacCampbell Warlord: Honorable Lord Conual the Carrick

Chirurgeon: Open Water Bearer: Open

Shire Champions Archery: Lord Latineous Balsamon

Arts and Sciences: Honorable Lady Runa Knarrarbringa Bardic: Lady Seraphine Raleigh

Equestrian: Lady Nora of Dregate Heavy Armored Combat: Honorable Lord, Squire Tio

Rapier: Don Andrew Williams

Shire Defenders Archery: Lord Broc Aillig

Bardic: Lord Dalbach MacDara Equestrian (stick): Quinlan McLean

Heavy Armored Combat: Honorable Lord, Sir Lochlan MacLean Rapier: LaVern

Kingdom of An-Tir

Central Region

The Shire of Dregate

The Creakings

December 2010

Table of Contents Lady Melissa 3

Upcoming 4

Minutes 5

Uppity Women 6

Red Lantern 7

Champions 8

Misc 9

Saturnalia 10

This is the December 2010, issue

of the Creakings, a publication of

the Shire of Dregate of the

Society for Creative Anachronism,

Inc. (SCA, Inc.)

The Creakings is available from

www.dregate.com.

It is not a corporate publication of

SCA, Inc., and does not delineate

SCA, Inc. policies.

Copyright © 2010 Society for

Creative Anachronism, Inc.

For information on reprinting

photographs, articles, or artwork

from this publication, please con-

tact the Chronicler, who will assist

you in contacting the original crea-

tor of the piece. Please

respect the legal

rights of our con-

tributors.

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I am much saddened to announce that Lady Melissa MacCampbell (Lois Campbell) passed away last

night approximately 10:15 PM on De-cember 2nd 2010 after a valiant battle with

cancer. She is a founding member of the Shire of Dregate, longstanding keeper of the Dregate Grate Boke and financial committee member. She is a past Red Lantern autocrat and Revel feastocrat. I will always appreciate her honest and straightfor-ward input into the many discussions and projects that Melissa helped with as well as offering the Campbell residence for many meetings over the years. It is this steadfast support – the wind in the sails- that is more impor-tant in reaching a goal, than the person steering the ship. Melissa has more than earned her well deserved rest.

Lois has donated her remains to re-search on her rare form of cancer. A wake will be held sometime in February.

Our thoughts and sympathy go out to the Campbell family.

Killian Carrick

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Upcoming Events December Champions and yule feast December 04 Vulcanfeldt Lions Gate Baronial Banquet December 04 Lions Gate

January An Tir 12th Night January 07-09 Adiantum Ursalmas January 28-30 Aquaterra

February Winter defenders tourney February 26-27 Lions Gate March Tir Righ Investiture March 04-06 Tir Righ Kingdom Arts & Science March 11-13 Dragons Laire Grimwith Guardian Feast March 19 Grimwith

Would you like to make an

announcement? Send it to

dregate@yahoo.com

The end of December was a perfect time for celebration in most areas of Europe. At that time of year, most cattle were slaughtered so they would not have to be fed during the winter. For many, it was the only time of year when they had a supply of fresh meat. In addition, most wine and beer made during the year was finally fermented and ready for drinking.

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The middle of winter has long been a time of celebration around the world. Centuries before the arrival of the man called Jesus, early Europeans celebrated light and birth in the darkest days of winter. Many peoples re-joiced during the winter solstice, when the worst of the winter was behind them and they could look forward to longer days and extended hours of sunlight.

Dregate General Meeting Minutes

Meeting called to order

at 1:50 Present: Dalbach,

Conuil, Lochlan, Kit, Aelfwynn, Thorhalla, Broc, Mondu, Tegan, Joe, Kayla, Killian, Rhiannon Seneschal report: received the Exchequer report in. Received many officer reports. Sene-schal report due today. Not rerunning. Crown bids? Exchequer: Checkbook balance $1151.13 Herald: Nothing much to report. Working with some of the people in the shire about devices. Iron Key: Almost a full suit of armor. Fighter Practice in Virginia Granger this winter Lady Olivia will be letting us in. Hour of Anarchy Results Seneschal Master Killian Exchequer HL Runa Herald open Gold Key Lady Thorhalla Chataline Lady Teagan Iron Key Lord Broc, Sir Lochlan asked Tegan to see if Tio would be deputy Marshall (Heavy) HL Garvin Chronicler/Web Chronicler HL Cerdic A&S Lady Aelfwynn Equestrian Lady Mondu Lists Companion Oso Rapier Lord Dalbah Archery HL Conuil Old business; Discussion continues regarding barony Will be another discussion in December at Cranehaven’s Yule Feast. Most are still on board with the combination to create the barony. New Business: Red Lantern Date set for Feb. 5

th, Master Killian is Auto-

crat. Lachlan acting as Royal Liaison. Location to be To-nasket Cultural Center. People in attendance in agreement to put in a bid for May

Crown 2011, but as many of the people with Crown experience were not in attendance more input will be sought during the next meeting. Calendar; General meeting scheduled for Dec. 12

th. 2pm @ Rm

301 at WVC. Meeting adjourned 3:20PM

Dregate.com

I wish to congratulate Sir Ulfgar on his recent victory at Vulkenfeldt's champions tourney this weekend, he fought with great honor and valor. Also, representing Dre-gate were, Sir Lachlan, HL Squire Tio, HL Squire Garvin, and Squire Fitzroy. There was 16 fighters signed into list and the format was dou-ble elimination round robin style, which accounted for a lot of fighting, nearly equal to Ursalmas. There were many big name fighters in attendance as well as a few of newbies. A great Huzza to the Baron of Vulkenfeldt and thanks to HRH Skeggasaurus Rex on a great tournament. Long live the King and Queen of An Tir!!! -Squire Tio

Vulkenfeldt Champion Tourney

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Katharina Johans

& Alewives Whether you called

them typelers, gannokers, hos-

telers, tapsters, or just plain

alewives, women dominated

the bed-and-brew field in me-

dieval times. From making it to

selling it, beer was a female-dominated occupation,

and long had been.

Brewmasters like Lisebette de Hond, a pros-

perous citizen of Ghent, Belgium, appear often in the

municipal records. This lady came from a beer-

making dynasty, married a

brewster, made beer herself

after he died, trained workers,

and later rented out her brew-

ery when she wanted to sit

back and sip in the late 1300s.

Another bold brewster

and innkeeper named

Katharina Johans juggled a

variety of jobs. In the Ger-

many of her day, inns served

as much more than places for

food, drink, and lodging. Inn-

keepers acted as information

centers and mediators, pro-

vided entertainment and medi-

cal services, arranged credit

for their customers, and even

served as pawnbrokers. Obvi-

ously that system broke down

on occasion. Katharina had to

get ugly with one of her regu-

lars, writing him nasty letters

to pay up his bar tab. Al-

though this plucky alewife was within her rights, Mr.

Accounts Way Overdue was a local figure and took

the matter to the Erfurt city council-whereupon poor

Katherina had to apologize to him at a council meet-

ing. (It's not recorded

when-or whether-she

got her money.)

Vikings loved

ale as much as the

English; women as

well as men were

judged on their ability

to down huge quanti-

ties of the stuff. Eng-

lish alewives were

often immortalized in print and portrait. During the

time of Henry VIII, a pub at Leatherhead run by Elea-

nor Rummynge became the favorite watering place

for John Skeleton, poet laureate of England and

Henry's first tutor. A thirsty man with a cruelly, witty

pen, John caricatured the owner's unforgettable mug

and wrote a ditty about her, called "The Tunning of

Eleanor Rummynge."

Incidentally, it was in

Eleanor's time that the beer ver-

sus ale controversy began.

While monkeying around with

new brewing technology in

their monasteries, European

monks had discovered that add-

ing a plant called "hops" to ale

balanced the sweetness of the

drink; even more important, the

hops kept the beer from spoil-

ing so quickly. Before long,

Eleanor could pull her custom-

ers a draft of beer or ale. Ale,

how­ever, remained the tradi-

tionally English drink of

choice. And Eleanor's rated

among the best. As the often-

quoted line from poet Skele-

ton's ditty said, "When Skeleton

wore the laurel crown, my ale

beat the alewives down."

Uppity Women of Medieval Times

By Vicki Leon www.vickileon.com

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Festival of the Red Lantern Shire of Dregate February 5th, 2011 The year of the rabbit is upon us, the 14th celebration of the Red Lantern Feast in Dregate. Our cooks are well known throughout the inlands and the HL Conuil the Car-rick is cooking this year. Please join us for an evening of feasting and entertainment. Seating is limited to 100! We are taking pre-paid reserva-tions. We also have limited crash space. For reserva-tions or crash space contact Oso Ujin (Kim Jacobs) odredful@hotmail.com (509) 486-1021 mail to: 106 Lo-cust St. Tonasket WA 98855 Autocrat: Killian Carrick (Kelly Cariker) PO Box 61, Omak, WA. 509-422-5101 cariker@gmail.com Early reservation discount ends January 26, 2011! Site Info: Community Cultural Center, 411 Western Ave, Tonasket, WA 98855. The site is discreet. The site opens at 5 pm; feast will begin at 6 pm. Site closes no later than midnight. The site fee for pre-registered gentles will be $12 for adults ($5 NMS), $5 for youth 7-14, 6 and under are free; Family cap of $30. After January 26th or if you arrive without a reservation the fee is $15 for adults ($5 NMS), $7 for youth 7-14, 6 and under are free. Make checks payable to SCA, Inc, Shire of Dregate. In February snow will most likely be on the ground, for those that would like to make hotel accommodation here is rec-ommended hotels within 30 miles of the site. Okanogan Inn & Suites - 509-422-6431 Omak Inn - 509-826-3822 Rodeway Inn & Suites - 509-826-0400 Best Western Peppertree Omak Inn - 509-422-2088 Site Info: Cultural Community Center 411 Western Ave.Tonasket, WA 98855 Directions to Site: Make your best route to Tonasket WA. The Cultural Community Center is in Tonasket (North Central Washington), two hours north of Wenatchee and one half hour south of Osoyoos, BC, on Highway 97. From the main street (Whitcomb Ave) turn West onto 4th Street. Go one block then turn Left onto Western Ave. The Cultural Center will be on the left one half block.

For all the latest information and schedules visit:

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2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

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The Shire of Dregate Champions

HL Runa Knarrarbringa

Arts and Sciences Champion Lord Latinius Balsamon

Archery Champion

Lady Seraphine Raleigh Bardic Champion

Lady Nora of Dregate Equestrian Champion

Don Andrew Williams Rapier Champion

Honorable Lord Tio Heavy Armored Combat Champion

Tudor Christmas (borrowed from www.historylearningsite.uk)

The first record of a turkey being brought to Europe was in 1519. It was to be

many years before this bird had reason to fear the Festive season. For the rich, the traditional meat

on Christmas Day remained swan, goose etc as in a Medieval Christmas feast. In fact, in 1588, Elizabeth I ordered that everybody should have goose for their Xmas dinner as it was the first meal she had after the victory of the Spanish Armada and she believed that this gesture would be a fitting tribute to the English sailors who fought off the Spanish. However, it is not known how many of the poor of the land could carry out this order as goose remained an expensive luxury - though Christmas was seen as a special celebration.

Peacocks were also on the menu for the rich. However, it became a Xmas tradi-tion to skin the bird first, then cook it and then place the roast bird back into its skin as a main table presentation. Therefore, on the table would be what would appear to be a stuffed and feath-ered peacock, when, in fact, it had been thoroughly cooked !! This practice had also taken place in some Medieval households.

The homes of the wealthy also used to cook a wild boar on Xmas Day and its head was used as a dinner table decora-tion. However, cooking made the head's fur go pale and so it was covered in soot and pig's grease to make the cooked head looked more natural.

Christmas puddings were made of meat, oatmeal and spices. However, cooking this combination meant that if would fall to bits once it was ready to serve. The Tudors got over this by wrapping the mixture in the gut of a pig and cooking it in a sausage shape. It was then served by slices being carved from it and being served.......with the boar's head !!

It was also the fashion in Tudor times for mince pies to be shaped like a crib. The rule of Oliver Cromwell in the mid-C17th ended this practice as it was seen as bordering on blasphemy.

With all this eating taking place, it would be difficult to imagine anyone in Tudor times wanting to do anything energetic at all. In this sense, Henry VIII helped them as

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in 1541, he had a law introduced (the Unlawful Games Act) which banned all sports on Christmas Day except archery. All dangerous sports were banned but archery was seen as essential to maintaining the country's mili-tary strength. This was later joined by "leaping and vault-ing" which kept young men fit and strong.

In 1551 a law was passed by Edward VI that everybody had to walk to church on Christmas Day when they at-tended a church service. Technically this is still the law today though it is difficult to imagine anyone getting into trouble for using their car etc.

In the mid-1550's a law was also passed by the church that banned all pictures of the baby Jesus having a bath. It had been a tradition for years for artists to paint Jesus having his first bath but the church stated that Jesus was so pure that he did not need a bath - hence it was illegal to paint a picture of Jesus being bathed by Mary and Joseph.

Legends abound about Christmas. One in-volves where and when candles were first as-sociated with Christmas. One of the more popular stories concerns the great Protestant leader Martin Luther. It is said that on a jour-ney home in the winter of 1522, he was struck by the beauty of the stars shining through the fir trees that were common where he lived in north Germany. He cut off the top of one of the smaller trees and took it home. Once in-

doors the beauty disappeared as the stars were not there. To impress his children, he put small candles on the ends of the branches to resemble stars - hence can-dles at Christmas which were eventually to be replaced with Christmas tree lights. Even so, the modern Christ-mas tree lights are meant to represent the stars seen by Martin Luther as he journeyed home that winter's night.

But Tudor England was still many years away from Christmas cards, Christmas turkey, Christmas crackers, Father Christmas in his red costume and even the com-mon use of Christmas trees.

In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from Decem-ber 21, the winter solstice, through January. In recogni-tion of the return of the sun, fathers and sons would bring home large logs, which they would set on fire. The people would feast until the log burned out, which could take as many as 12 days. The Norse believed that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year.

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Religious observances, feasting, gifts, gambling, school holidays.

These activities sound a lot like modern Christmas, but they’re attached to one of an-

cient Rome’s most popular religious festivals: Satur-nalia.

“It is now the month of Decem-ber, when the greatest part of the city is in a bustle. Loose reins are given to public dissipation; every-where you may hear the sound of great preparations, as if there were some real difference be-tween the days devoted to Sat-urn and those for transacting business... Were you here, I would willingly confer with you as to the plan of our conduct; whether we should eve in our usual way, or, to avoid singular-ity, both take a better supper and throw off the toga. (Seneca, Epistles 18, 1-2 CE)

Saturnalia honours Saturnus, the very ancient Roman god of seeds and sowing. His festival originally was set for December 17 (a time, according to Colu-mella, when farmers are through with their fall plant-ing), but by Cicero’s time, the festival had grown to a week in length. “The “whole mob has let itself go in pleasures,” complains Seneca, tired, perhaps, of the incessant shouts of “Io Saturnalia!” (roughly, “hurrah for Saturnalia!”).

The emperors Augustus and Caligula attempted to shorten the festivities, in part to limit the amount of time that civil courts were closed, but attempts to limit the celebrations were met with revolts by the citizens.

The holiday itself was marked with religious obser-vances: the bonds that bound the feast of Saturn’s statue were untied and a lectisternium, or dining couch, was set out in front of His temple where a public banquet took place (established, writes Livy, in 217 BCE to raise citizen morale after a devastat-

Roman December Holidays: Saturnalia—By Julilla Sempronia

ing defeat handed to Rome by Carthage. A Saturna-licius princeps, or “prince of Saturnalia” was elected to serve as master of ceremonies.

Private parties took place as well: Roman men threw off the heavy and cumbersome toga to don the synthesis, a loose dining garment, and all

donned the felt pileus cap, sign of a freed slave. Public gambling was permitted, and slaves were exempted from punishment and were even served by their mas-ters at feast.

Small gifts were exchanged, in-cluding wax tapers, small sigil-lata (pottery) figurines and other small gifts. Generally, there were two types of gifts exchanged: xenia, which were sent to recipi-ents’ homes, and apophoreta, which were small favours ex-changed at dinner. The poet Martial writes extensively of the presents given during the holi-day. Many of his epigrams read like gift tags, such as this one for a lamp with openings for several wicks: “Although I illumine whole banquets with my light, and have

so many necks, I am called but one lamp.” (Martial, Epigrams 14:41)

For most Romans, it was unimaginable to contem-plate that Saturnalia would someday cease to exist. Statius wrote in the latter part of the first century "For how many years shall this festival abide! Never shall age destroy so holy a day! While the hills of Latium remain and father Tiber, while thy Rome stands and the Capitol thou hast restored to the world, it shall continue" (Silvae, I.6.98). The Roman writer Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius wrote his Saturnalia in the early fifth century CE, however, by the middle of the fifth century, the celebrations had been absorbed into the Christian holiday of Christ-mas, though the spirit of Saturnalia marks that holi-day to this day.