Class Descriptions appear after the class schedule tables to provide detailed information on each class being offered.
Weekday Classes will be presented each evening at 7:30pm EDT using Google Meet. Please click on the class title to attend.
Monday, May 3 | Scribe like a Graphic Designer Bran Mydwynter |
Tuesday, May 4 | Fabliaux Baroness Ceridwen fetch Owain |
Wednesday, May 5 | Sestinas, Triolets and Ballades Rædesmann Andreas Blacwode |
Thursday, May 6 | Scouting Out the Bead THL Sindara Lind Rachael Fessel of the Falconshield |
Friday, May 7 | Virtual Visit: The Uffizi Gallery Epy Pengelly, Armiger |
Saturday Classes will presented at the following times using Google Meet. All times are EDT. Please click on the class name to attend.
Room 1 | Room 2 | |
10:00am – 11:00am | 14th Century Italian Secular Vocal Music Mistress Arianna Morgan | Introduction to Weaving on an Inkle Loom Svana Marsdóttir |
11:00am – 12:00pm | Beyond Kells Bran Mydwynter | All About Canva Aurri le Borgne |
12:00pm – 1:00pm | Lust and Lechery Lady Esa inghean Donnchaidh | Understanding & Writing Alliterative Revival Poetry Lady Ealawynn Maeru (alias Ela) |
1:00 pm – 2:00pm | Selections of Bells & Whistles Epy Pengelly, Armiger | LUNCH BREAK |
2:00 pm | BARONIAL COURT OF HIGHLAND FOORDE | The Baronial Court Watch Party will take place on Discord. Simply click the link, no app or account required. |
Class Descriptions
Scribe Like a Graphic Designer
Monday, with Bran Mydwynter
Modern graphic designers have various techniques to ensure their designs are clear, communicate what they intend, and serve their needed function.
But few of these techniques are modern. Scribes and illuminators in our period may not have thought about them in the same terms, but they certainly employed them.
Come along and learn a handful of basic design principles, see period examples, and learn to see where period creators made choices that our modern eyes also appreciate.
Regardless whether you are reproducing existing pages or interpreting a style to create something new, weaving these techniques into your design will help you produce effective and beautiful scrollwork.
Fabliaux
Tuesday, with Baroness Ceridwen fetch Owain
This class is for the poets among you who would like to investigate the funny, seedier, “saltier” side of medieval poetry-the fabliaux. These are the “dirty” French poems that amused one and all with their deft turn of phrase and wordplay. The class will delve into the forms, themes, and comparisons of the French form to the similar “racy” forms found in other languages and cultures….to include how the Boccaccio reworked fabliaux into some of the stories in the Decameron.
Sestinas, Triolets and Ballades
Wednesday, with Rædesmann Andreas Blacwode
SCA Period is full of period poetry forms. Rare is the culture or subculture that didn’t have some kind of generally formal form of poetry, from the haiku of Japan to the sagas of the Norse, to the sonnets of Europe. But many SCA poets and bards limit themselves to the simplest of these forms. Today we’ll talk about three complex European forms: the sestina, the triolet, and the ballade, where they come from, and most importantly, how to write them.
And then we’ll write.
Scouting Out the Bead
Thursday, with THL Sindara Lind Rachael Fessel of the Falconshield
This class who show the students how to locate documentation of various forms of period beadwork.
Virtual Visit: The Uffizi Gallery
Friday, with Epy Pengelly, Armiger
Join Epy Pengelly, Armiger for a virtual visit to the Uffizi Gallery. Built in the 16th century for Cosimo I de’Medici, it was originally full of offices for the Florentine magistrates with just the top floor being art galleries for the family and their guests. Over time, the galleries took over more and more space, displaying artwork owned by the family that ranges from Classical statuary to Renaissance paintings. The Uffizi Gallery is also a stunning piece of artwork itself, so attendees are in for a visual treat!
Epy is a museum professional that specializes in museum lighting and exhibition design, so expect some behind-the-scenes practical considerations for the museum, as well as some in depth information on highlighted objects.
14th Century Italian Secular Vocal Music
Saturday at 10:00am in Room 1 with Mistress Arianna Morgan
This class provides students with an overview of the musical and poetic characteristics of three popular vocal music genres of 14th century Italy.
Introduction to Weaving on an Inkle Loom
Saturday at 10:00am in Room 2 with Svana Marsdóttir
I will cover the basics of inkle and table weaving. The parts of the loom, the terminology of weaving, how to warp your loom for tablet weaving (a period technique) and inkle weaving (an out of period, but very useful, technique). I will cover how to read a pattern and how to draft a pattern.
Beyond Kells
Saturday at 11:00am in Room 1 with Bran Mydwynter
The Book of Kells—and, for that matter, The Lindesfarne Gospels—are not the only Insular manuscripts ripe for inspiration.
Come along and explore a few beautiful, lesser-known alternatives, and learn how they can enliven, embolden, and enrich your scrollwork.
All About Canva
Saturday at 11:00am in Room 2 with Aurri le Borgne
Learn in detail about this exciting online graphic design platform, used by Aurri to create all of our beautiful social media posts.
Lust and Lechery
Saturday at 12:00pm in Room 1 with Lady Esa inghean Donnchaidh
Sex and Gender Taboos of medieval Western Europe
Understanding and Writing Alliterative Revival Poetry
Saturday at 12:00pm in Room 2 with Lady Ealawynn Maeru (alias Ela)
Alliterative revival is an English verse form in use from ~1350 to ~1500. In this class, we will discuss the history and structure of alliterative revival poetry, as well as how to begin composing in this form yourself!
Selections of Bells & Whistles by Colette Vitalis
Saturday at 1:00pm in Room 1 with Epy Pengelly, Armiger
Bells & Whistles, a class series developed by Colette Vitalis based on the teachings of Bruce Lee in his Tao of Jeet Kune Do, seeks to approach improving your martial prowess from an atypical angle- by focusing on the very basics we all take for granted. These include: Flexibility, Coordination, Balance, Precision, Endurance, Power, Good Form, Vision Awareness, Speed, and Timing (both reaction and movement). Bruce Lee calls them ‘qualities’. Only a few of these are usually focused on when nurturing fighters both new and old, yet the lack of many of these leads to injuries such as torn ACLs, ruined knees, back pain, shoulder pain, tendinitis, and more.
See the Challenges of Virtual Highland River Melees to do more of the Bells & Whistles!
Lord-Says Yoga Poses: Put the picture of the pre-assigned 6 yoga poses with the numbers 1-6 on them either up on your screen or posted in an easy to see location if in person. Make sure everyone knows what each is. Roll a die and call out the yoga pose. Without rushing between them, keep lag time to a minimum and try to keep calling out the poses as continuous as possible. Anyone who goes into the pose when you didn’t say ‘Lord-Says’ is out. Anyone who hesitated longer than it takes to check the picture of the pose for reference is out. Anyone who does the WRONG pose is out. Run several sessions of this.
Wall-Tapping Precision Challenge: Mark three fist sized locations on your wall- one at your head height (#1), one at chest height (#2), one at hip height (#3). The locations should be zig zagged so one of the three should be off to the side. Stand where you can loosely (not at full extension) place the back of your hand on the 3rd location (hip-high). You will be tapping your palm of your dominant hand to the 1st location (head-high), then rotating your hand down to tap the second location (chest-high) with the back of your hand, then tap the third location (hip-high) also with the back of your hand at all times.
EASY MODE: The caller will tap, click, or otherwise set the speed for the challenge. Follow a pattern- 1-2-3-1-2-3 until the caller says to reverse your direction.
HARD MODE: The caller will call out each position number at random and quickly. You are to respond by tapping the correct spot with the correct hand position quickly and with only the desired calibration (light). The following are the disqualifiers for the round:
If you failed to tap the marked location (missed it), the correct location (went to the wrong one), with the intended calibration (light), or in the wrong hand position (back of hand or palm), you are out.
If you failed to keep up with the speed of the challenge, you are out.
If you are hurting your hand/wrist or damaging your wall, you’re hitting too hard and you’re out.
Caller reserves right to add more disqualifiers.
Red Light Green Light Squats– Individual or pairs holding hands a few feet apart will stand with their feet hip-width apart. Begin body-weight squats. A caller will randomly announce ‘red light’ at which time you must freeze, even if in the middle of a squat. Anyone who is caught moving is ‘out’ and must get into the plank position until the end of the game. If in a group setting, the winner then becomes the caller.