The Armour Archive

To all good gentles of fair Atlantia, do Lord Connor Sinclair de Winterfell, Lord Jonah Mac Coghlin, and Lord James de Biblesworth, send greetings and crie a challenge to all such able bodied knights, squires, and men at arms to meet our emprise of three and attend the deed of arms known as <a href="http://challenge.duncarraig.net/">the Challenge of the Heart,</a> upon the twenty fifth of June A.S. Forty, within the borders of the Barony of Dun Carraig. Where upon we three shall stand as Tennans for our patroness, Her Excellency Belphoebe de Givet, Baroness of Ponte Alto, and meet all challengers either in melee teams of three or singular, as it pleases our noble companions in arms, in martial contests and in accordance with the rules of the list.

We ourselves shall be arrayed in cotes of sable, bearing three lions argent, over our harnesses and on the outside of our tents will be hung our shields blazoned with our arms. Lord Connor Sinclair de Winterfell, bearing sable, on a fess gules fimbriated between three fleurs-de-lys a lion passant guardant argent. Lord Jonah MacCoghlin bearing, sable, on a chief argent a lion passant guardant gules, three hands argent. Lord James de Biblesworth, bearing per pale gules and azure, crusilly argent. Whoever may choose to tourney with us, has only to come, or send anyone, that day to touch either or all of these shields, according to thine own courage. Everyone who may come, or send to touch our shields, may also give their names and titles, or their team’s name so that it may be cried out honourably before combat and recorded for our most excellent patroness.

We do humbly entreat all such knights, squires, and men at arms, as may accept our challenge, to believe that we do so, not in presumption, or out of pride, or with malice forethought, but only so to experience such honourable company that we make acquaintance of, and most especially to honour the love that we bear for our devoted and loving wives and the sweet grace of our most worthy and noble patroness.
Set this day 23rd of March, A. S. Nine and Thirty, by the hand of Lord Connor Sinclair de Winterfell, squire to His Excellency Sir Thomas of Calais of the noble house of Lion’s Keep, from the Barony of Ponte Alto, in the Kingdom of Atlantia.

Well spoken mi'lord. If only I did not live so far to the north I would most hardily choose to mete this challenge. Hopefully many other worthy men-at-arms, knights & squires will be there to accept. Good luck & let us all know the results.

This is a noble challange. My Mesinee will meet it with the vigor it deserves.

Unto the noble esquire Connor Sinclair de Winterfell does Baron Hamish MacLeod send good greetings this 23rd day of Marz, being the feast of Saint Wulfhilde of Barking.

Good my Lord, having been duly chosen to represent the Barony of Caer Mear in this matter, I and my companions shall take up your gage. Look for us upon that day and you shall be requited. In surety of which I place my hand...

THL Hamish MacLeod, Baron(court), OGage

This is prettily said, and I wish a great blessing upon this deed that all men at arms who engage in the doing of it find only pleasure.

Jehan de Pelham, esquire and servant of Sir Vitus

This is a true Pas.

SOB.
I wish I were farther along in my training ( not the fault of the good sir knight who is helping me , but my own )
I wish my armour was finished.
I wish I were authorised.

I wish I were ready to participate.

DWolfhunter wrote:the feast of Saint Wulfhilde of Barking.

Please tell me this is a joke...

I can only hope the that participants in this deed will approach it with the honor, chivalry and seriousness that it deserves. That they will struggle continuously for hours to please the ladies of the gallery and will not while the hours away without trading battle's coin.

It is my fervent hope, that it may it be pleasing to those that are charged with the care of this deed, that we strive in the old style of household knights, contesting in the bounds of the list, driving each other to excellence and hazarding our bodies to advance the cause of chivalry.

I will make a pledge that if enough men are game for the sport of it, I and my mesinee will hold the field in continuous combat for as long as the King of Arms allows. We will meet all brothers with joy and with fierceness. We will offer ransom if bested and give quarter if required. We shall acquit ourselves as gentles of coat armour and do mighty deeds that will be remembered long after we quit the field.

This is my oath, my promise, my vow.

Byram, Miles et Litteratus


(Sir Richard is making banners for all teams that annouce thier presence at this Pas. Please contact him very soon so that he may begin his labors.)

Again, I would entreat all good gentles, far and wide, hear our challenge! If answered in small measure or disguarded by the noble, we three can never aspire to bring honor and please our most noble ladies, each of whom we have yet to deserve! As my words are feeble and lack the will of my sword-arm, please attend the words of those far wiser than this poor man-at-arms and hear their wisdom on the knightly virtue of Valor:

"Valor grows by daring, fear by holding back." -Publilius Syrus

"But where life is more terrible than death, it is then the truest valour to dare to live."
- Sir Thomas Browne, Religio Medici (pt. XLIV)

"The valor that struggles is better than the weakness that endures." --Hegel

I humbly remain yours in service,

Jonah Mac Coghlan

Bump

Krieghund wrote:Again, I would entreat all good gentles, far and wide, hear our challenge! If answered in small measure or disguarded by the noble, we three can never aspire to bring honor and please our most noble ladies, each of whom we have yet to deserve!

I spoke with Baroness Amalia of Dun Carraig upon the occasion of Highland River Melees. She informed me that 18 teams have signed up for this event.

Wow.

Please, please, please let everyone of those teams try their utmost to bring thier finest array to the field, and to act as nobles should. This could be an amazing event...

Can anyone obtain a schedule for the event? Like, when fighting starts? Terribly important for us day-trippers. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Actually, yes, since I am daytripping as well.

Sir Richard, the MiC informs me that there will be a pre-fighting meeting at 9:30, with the processional and fighting to start at 10. He says there will be no 'scadian time' delay and things will start promptly at 10am.

I'm going to try by best to be there by 10, but no promises (2.5 hour drive plus set up, arming up, etc...)

It was a hot day, but good fighting. I snapped some photos, which can be found here: http://ursus.smugmug.com/gallery/617048

And I wanted to share a few with you.

Here's a closeup:



Check out this move at the bottom of the picture.



The King of Calontir participated, and here he is with a couple of his friends in the 3 man tourney.



I'll l finish up with an action shot of Duke Ragnarr (whose House Blackhammer team were the tourney winners) swinging at Sir Tomas of Calais.



Hope you like them.

Ursus

Ursus

Were you the guy with the real nice camera I was taking photos next too?

James B. wrote:Ursus

Were you the guy with the real nice camera I was taking photos next too?

Probably I was. But I prefer to cling to as much anonymity as I can get.

Ursus

Ha funny BdeB. Funny thing is that is mostly an Archivers photo:

From the left: First guy standing in Kevin, behind him is Ringlancer, next to him is BdeB, Little behind BdeB is Haldan, then WilliamThomas I believe, the King of Calontir who is a lurker, and with his back to us is Donigal (sorry if the spelling is off) who is a Calontir Duke.

Also likely one of the two folks behind the King of Calontir is MalcolmdeMoffat.

I am going to slap up some movies and pictures either today or tomorrow. I had a blast watching this event, wish I had not sprained my ankle, looked like lots of fun.

Great shots as always Ursus! Thanks.

If anyone else has photos please, please, please post them! This was an incredible event that we'd all like to remember, I am sure. The fighting intensity of the fighting surpassed even the heat of the day. Many valorous deeds were done in the name of courtly love and chivalry. I would urge those who didn't get a chance to attend this year to make room in their schedules for it next year.

Thanks to Lady Kaolin Inn Ourga, Laird Muirghen Rhuadh, Sir Richard, HRM Denise, Lord Connor Sinclair de Winterfell, Lord James de Biblesworth, Devon, all my outstanding Queens' Guards, the lovely and graceful Ladies-in-waiting, Master Kevin, Sir Bryce, Lord Uilleag, Sir Thomas, HRM Tristram, Rhianna, Matthiau, the Lions of Lion's Keep, the Graceful of Fallen from Grace, Her Excellency Belphoebe for her faith and inspiration and lastly my beautiful, witty and hard-working Lady-wife Branwen Bach who is my light and life.

This was the most astounding event I've ever had the honor in which to participate since Her Royal Majesty's coronation. Many thanks to one and all!

Jonah

My Lord Conner as always it was great seeing you but I see your great shot and raise you a number of FANTASTIC shots!
UR-SUS!!!! UR-SUS!!!! UR-SUS!!!! UR-SUS!!!! UR-SUS!!!! UR-SUS!!!! UR-SUS!!!! UR-SUS!!!! UR-SUS!!!!


My favorite it shows my 'I'm tired and I'm still ready to fight' face
you can also see the knot on my cheek that William the Younger gave me early in the day. Fought through out the day with what felt like a broken cheekbone. To Wm the Younger "I owe you a few passes Cousin and I'll look you up in a few weeks when I'm up in your area"

James B. wrote:Ha funny BdeB. Funny thing is that is mostly an Archivers photo:

From the left: First guy standing in Kevin, behind him is Ringlancer, next to him is BdeB, Little behind BdeB is Haldan, then WilliamThomas I believe, the King of Calontir who is a lurker, and with his back to us is Donigal (sorry if the spelling is off) who is a Calontir Duke.

Also likely one of the two folks behind the King of Calontir is MalcolmdeMoffat.

I am going to slap up some movies and pictures either today or tomorrow. I had a blast watching this event, wish I had not sprained my ankle, looked like lots of fun.

And just over HRM Calontir's shoulder is Malcolm.

MalcolmdeMoffat wrote:My favorite it shows my 'I'm tired and I'm still ready to fight' face[/i]

I like that photo, too... but that's because of that really handsome blue and gold heraldry in the background. And who's that stunning woman lying on the ground in the loose red dress? She's surely a vision of beauty.

Ursus, you rock! There were some awesome pics of CaerMear's melee team "Les Tres Turrettes". Thank you so much for showing how much effort my two teammates put forth. They deserve all my thanks for the work they did on Saturday.
The day was well worth the trip and our making the quarters was just sauce for the goose. I am still happy beyond all bounds that we did so well in such puissant company. Thanks to all we faced that day and apologies to those we did not have opportunity to cross swords with. Please tell me that this event is an annual thing and that we'll get another chance to do this!!


Baron Hamish

Kevin wrote:

Right next to Malcolm on the bench is the Couter of Chivalry atop its box. It will be on display at one maybe two more events before it passes on to the next tennon.

Thanks to all for your kind words, and I'm glad you enjoyed the photos. You guys are making it difficult to remain anonymous, however.

Many of the best shots I get (like the one of Malcolm sitting), I kind of have to sneak in so people won't see me shooting them, especially at smaller events. I think candid pictures, when you are tired, pumped up, happy, etc., are usually better than the old "I-gotta-smile-for-the-camera-no-matter-how-I-really-feel" shots.

So do me a favor if you see me at an event, although this is going to sound a little strange: Ignore me. Pretend I'm not there. Especially if you happen to catch me pointing a camera at you.

I don't mean that I am unapproachable, and I'm usually happy to talk to folks although I tend to get really focused on the fighting so it may not look like it. I'm talking as a photographer.

I'll try to be unobtrusive (as much as you can be carrying a big honking camera around), and rest assured that I am not out to embarrass anyone (except fellow Anglesey members, but I consider them fair game...). If I happen to catch you at your worst, the pictures will disappear into my vault for future blackmail material (Oops! Did I say that out loud?). Or, as I've done in the past, I will give you a copy privately for your own amusement, but I will not post them on my website or here. And if you happen to see any photos of yourself that offend you, please let me know and I will remove them.

In closing, I would like to add my own thanks to all the fighters who worked so hard on looking good (and making me look good), and even more so to all the people who rarely get recognized for the hard work of setting up the tourney field and site so that most of my pictures (bloody cars intruded in some) have a wonderful backdrop for fighting and portrait shots.

Looking forward to Pennsic, where I plan to be a shooting fool with my new equipment... assuming I can stay sober enough to stagger up to the battlefields on time.

Ursus

UrsusofAnglesey wrote:Many of the best shots I get (like the one of Malcolm sitting), I kind of have to sneak in so people won't see me shooting them, especially at smaller events.

Ursus, I never saw you when you took that shot. The Stealth-Foo is strong with you.

On Saturday, the 25th day of June a mighty assemblage gathered in Dun Carraig. Before the eyes of our gracious queen Denise did no fewer than eighteen teams of vennans stand forth to do battle in the Challenge of the Heart.
Each Barony and household's battle arrayed itself in martial colors and met to compete, by threes, for the title of Champion. Words of welcome were spoken to all by the Queen and by Syr Richard, the sponsor of the tourney.
Unto each team was banner given. A banner painted by the hands of the very same Syr Richard who did bring the tourney to being. These rich things did signify the vennans to meet upon the list at intervals during the day.
My team, "Les Tres Turettes" or "the Three Towers" of Caer Mear first met with "the Pawns of Tir-y-don". My noble companions Gustav von Silberwald and Domenico Barbieri acquitted themselves well and we made short work of the foe.
Then we were faced by A trio captained by Lord Grendal, a member of Duke Gyrth's holding, who though fierce were no match for us this day. I myself felled Lord Grendal, as my friend Domenico held his atention for the vital seconds needed to do the deed. The I turned to the last of that trio standing. Tarren, who had felled Gustav stood awaiting Domenico and myself. The wily Italian and I stalked this Noble man, whose heron badge stood so boldly upon his shield. Until, in a lightning exchange of blows, he acknowledged that I had struck him well. Thus he ended his day, and we advanced.
The quarter final round loomed ahead of us and we were surprised to find ourselves still in the running. Teams far more puissant than ourselves had fallen by the wayside. We were joyful of our success.
The quarter final round saw us faced with a mighty foe indeed. For now came Tristram, King by right of arms of Calontir, and his equally preaux companions de guerre. One of whom was known to me as Duke Donngall, also of Calontir and His Grace's squire THL Mathieu Chartrain armed with a great two-handed sword.
We advanced in good order to meet these mighty guests. Mindful of Duke Ragnarr Blackhammer's admonishment of moments before: " Gentlemen, we have foreign guests with us today. Show to them how Atlantia welcomes such mighty visitors...".
Thus I called the line. We dressed ourselves to the right and advanced. But alas, as we drew nigh , a well thrown blow from Mathieu felled me ere we had struck a blow of our own. Gustav fared little better, save that he managed to strike His Royal Majesty Tristram upon the thigh as he was falling. Domenico, came forth. Crushing the Duke to the ground and turning to face His Majesty. A furious and wondrous battle ensued... but his Majesty, fighting from his knees could not sustain the onslaught and he fell to Domenico's slashng sword. At last it came to Domenico and Mathieu.
Having sustained an injury during the initial flurry of blows, the great swordsman had fallen to his knees and awaited our grim Italian companion with countenance firm and steady hand. The two noble men joined in battle, and very quickly, Domenico had been brought to his knees by the long blade of his foe. Then it seemed as if both men had been lit on fire...a furious flurry of blows was exchanged. The very air was rent and torn by their report as the two men strove, each to be the others' undoing.
Alas, it came to pass that Mathieu, the noble squire of Duke Donngall , slipped a blow past Domenico's defense and laid him low. We had lost the day,by the slimmest of margins, but lost nonetheless. We rose, after the fight had ended and greeted our erstwhile foemen with hearty congratulations, thanking them for the honor of their company upon th field.
In the end, His Grace Ragnarr's trio won the day. But I, Hamish MacLeod, warlord of Caer Mear and Baron of the Court say this;No one fought better or with more spirit than we , who contended for the love of our Home and the honor of our Baron William and Baroness Katherine. The men I led that day took great pains to fight well, stand together and to bring glory and good repute to the Barony of Caer Mear. This victory, though not the laurel of the day, they earned for themselves. This I aver this 27th day of June in the year of our Lord,2005.


edited with the assistance of Winterfell to do justice to THL Mathieu, whose name I had quite failed to get.

Unto Your Excellancy Baron Hamish MacLeod,
A fine and true account of the fighting upon the day, alas you were not able to catch the name of the swordsman who completed Calontir's Triad. His name is Lord Mathieu Chartrain, a good man and able bodied squire to His Grace, Duke Donngal Eriksson of Calontir. And would attest that he is also a right and true gentleman of quality:
http://squires.atlantia.sca.org/chartrain.html

Thank you for apprising me of the good man's name. I knew I was doing him slight justice by misremembering it. Truly his sword was mighty and his prowess keen.

Baron Hamish

Well I have not had a chance to put them into html format, but here are the pics that I have so far from this weekend.
Waiting on James B. to get his out too.
http://home.armourarchive.org/members/winter/challenge/
[img]http://home.armourarchive.org/members/winter/challenge/ragcon1.JPG[/img]

My images and movies are up: http://home.armourarchive.org/members/f ... rt2005.htm

A few favorites

Krieghund, me, Miguel (my fill in thanks to a sprained ankle), and Winterfell.
[img]http://home.armourarchive.org/members/flonzy/images/SCA/CotH_June25_05/2/Full/PICT0006.jpg[/img]

Check that footwork out!
[img]http://home.armourarchive.org/members/flonzy/images/SCA/CotH_June25_05/4/Full/PICT0020.jpg[/img]

Krieghund getting owned by Duke Donngal Eriksson of Calontir. Hey if you are going to get owned might as well be by a duke right
[img]http://home.armourarchive.org/members/flonzy/images/SCA/CotH_June25_05/4/Full/PICT0039.jpg[/img]


Proof it was Ursus standing next to me

His Image:


My Image:
[img]http://home.armourarchive.org/members/flonzy/images/SCA/CotH_June25_05/2/Full/PICT0016.jpg[/img]

Proof it was Ursus standing next to me

Busted! I still like my picture better.

That was a joke, of course. Next time we'll have to make sure to split up more. You got some very nice shots, though.

However, I was getting error messages when I clicked on thumbnails for the larger versions. Not all by any means, just some. You may want to check that out.

Ursus