In the final round it was Eric van Roosebeke, fighting for his lady Lisa van Roosebeke, versus Thor Stagg, fighting for his lady Eowyn d'Agincort. Eric won the first two rounds, and the Investiture of the Lord and Lady of the Swan was held immediately thereafter, on the field.
Congratulations also to Reinar Jorgenson and Raven of Drachenheim, who each went to the semi-finals. Thor Stagg bested Reinar, and Eric bested Raven.
In the Lord Defender of Cynagua competition, Alvar Pacheco de Cadiz bested Gunther, although it took three bouts for him to do so. He will take the position of LDoC at Investiture.
In the Bard of Cynagua competition, the winner was Khadijah. She will be invested as BoC at Investiture.
Great fun was had by all who participated in, or watched, the Valhala games. The adults' games culminated in a tug of war, in front of the Royal Pavilion, over a wading pool full of water. The winning teams had the fun of watching their opponents take the plunge. And His Highness ended the day by declaring that Her Highness would challenge the final winners, alone. I am proud to say that our Princess is quite the scrappy tug-of-war player She bested an entire team of young men, led by Her own son, all by Herself! (Yes, Her Guard was behind Her, but they were only *supporting* the rope so She needn't tire herself with the excess weight.)
At Saturday evening court:
Beatrix zum Dunkletern received a Scutifarius Cynague.
Their Highnesses invested the first Minister of the Fence for Cynagua, Juan
Miguel del Coronado.
Evenstar Keep presented His Highness with 50 pounds of Gummi Bears, in honor
of His birthday (next month). They also presented another round of Hosiery
Theatre, with a new song that was quite amusing.
At Sunday morning court, Master Lorenzo and David Falcone presented Their Highnesses with the new Lord and Lady of the Swan circlets. The circlets are gorgeous they are silver, with stones set in the sides, and the front of each has a cameo of a swan. The Lord's circlet has a gold swan set on a piece of amber the Lady's has an actual swan cameo, set on a blue stone (agate, maybe?). The cameos were pieces of jewelry that had belonged to David Falcone's late wife, and the circlets were donated to the Principality by him in her memory.
I missed most of Sunday evening's court because I was out playing with the horses. However, according to Gwenhwyfaer, Sunday evening Court turned out to be longer than first expected. (Their Highnesses gave out 9 AoAs, and a bunch of other awards that I can't recall because Gwenwhyfaer has the list.)
Also at Sunday evening Court
There was a bit of shtick about who owns the Quincy area, which is now being
called Gargoyles Keep. The choice was between Silver Desert (who claimed it
in the past under a different name) and Rivenoak. It ended with His
Highness declaring that it belongs to Him, until such time as a decision can
be made. Their Highnesses called up all the first-timers, and Her Highness presented
each of them with a butterfly. Their Highnesses called up four young people who spent
the day acting as List Pages, and gave each of them a token of appreciation. They also
received a hearty "thank you" from all of that day's field heralds.
I believe Helga, a young member of Gargoyles Keep, received her AoA.
A new award for excellence and achievement in Rapier was given to its
charter recipient, Lord Simon Martillo de Cordoba.
A new award for excellence and achievement in Archery was given to its
charter recipient, Baroness Cassandra Chernakova.
Master Edward le Kervere was named as the new Page School Chancellor.
Wilhelm von Homburg received a Scutifarius Cynague.
Geoffroi D'Aubernon and Birgitta Sorensdatter received AoAs.
Gargoyles Keep presented Her Highness with several gifts, and included more
Gummi Bears for his Highness.
There were Equestrian activities on both Saturday and Sunday, and I know that quite a few folk either competed or were authorized this weekend. Anton and Ryssa Polander brought their horses (Hot Stuff and Juliet), and the young Lady Helga brought three of her horses (Strider, Baracus, and Dweeb), and one colt who could not yet be ridden. Mistress Siobhan ni Seadgh brought Juliet to Saturday morning court and taught the populace what a horse is, and what the dangers are for small children around them.
As for the weather Friday was hot and humid, and we watched a thunderstorm dance lightning across the hills during setup. Luckily, it only spat at us when it passed over, and saved the remaining downpour for other locales. The evening was cool, and overnight temperatures were chilly. Saturday afternoon was warm, and a little humid but not terrible. A nice (if gusty) breeze kicked up later in the day, and it cooled down nicely by late afternoon/early evening. Overnight temps wre warmer than Friday, or at least they felt like it to me. Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day for fighting. A nice breeze stayed with us all day, and although the clouds threatened, they never dropped anything on us. They cleared late that evening, and there were stars visible by 1000. Today was warm once again, but not unbearable.
On a more personal note Gwenwhyfaer, Geoffroi and Birgida, Edward, Jehanne, and I, were all greatly impressed by the energy, positive attitude, and sheer enthusiasm that the young members of Gargoyles Keep showed this weekend. They helped us, and untold others, with setup and tear down, and did it with smiles on their faces. These are just the sort of young people that the Society needs, and I hope that all the others of their age group took notice.
-- Alison Gray
Description of this event (if any), taken from The Page, or from memory of at least one person who attended the event.
The West Kingdom History Website was created by and is maintained by Hirsch von Henford (mka Ken Mayer).