Heraldry Class Zoom

by

July 15th 7:00pm Zoom class for information Heraldry style – questions about a NAME ? DEVICE? BADGE? VOLUNTEERING? VOICE HERALDING ? SUBMISSIONS? Come visit – see whats happening Sigrun de Birca is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Time: Jul 15, 2020 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/4101260148?pwd=aE9LZUxlODEwdE9xRUpiQS9RZnlxdz09 Meeting ID: … Read more Heraldry Class Zoom

Cordial Tasting – 27 June – Limited Spots!

by

Hello fellow brewers! I have recently gotten back into brewing and would like to hold an informal tasting over zoom if anyone would be interested. This is for The Austin area. Nicaize and Elen will be getting the supplies from me and passing them out to those interested. The zoom get together would be for … Read more Cordial Tasting – 27 June – Limited Spots!

King’s College: Online Event tomorrow, 13 June!

by

Greetings unto the friends and populace of Bryn Gwlad! Tomorrow, Saturday the 13th of June, is Kings College! Kings College is a class-focused event where you can attend discussions and demonstrations ranging from studies of historical events to how-to guides for historical candies to round tables discussing running events in the SCA. There are 12 … Read more King’s College: Online Event tomorrow, 13 June!

Purpose for the DEI Blog

by

“The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Office of the SCA is committed to promoting the values of inclusion throughout the SCA. The focus is equity, which is just and fair inclusion into an organization in which all can participate, prosper, benefit, and reach their full potential.” https://www.sca.org/dei-office/ What do “diversity”, “equity”, and “inclusion” even mean? … Read more Purpose for the DEI Blog

NCA Costume/Persona Class — Watch Here!

by

The 1 June Newcomer Academy Costume/Persona Class was recorded! It is now available online for people to watch! The link below will direct you to the Zoom Recording. You do not need a Zoom account to watch the video. It’s approximately 1 hour and 25 minutes long. The full video is available here! Password:  7e$oE&0j

Upcoming Activities in May!

by

Good morrow to the Barony! We have a few activities that have been added to the calendar I want to draw your attention to. Check them out below! 19 May (tonight) – Populace in the Virtual Park1900 – 2100 CSTVoice/video chat in the Baronial Discord Server 24 May – Flameworks Guild Watch Party1400 – 1530 … Read more Upcoming Activities in May!

Officer & Guild Leads — Making Posts on the Blog

by

One of the core features of WordPress is the blog. We have the ability to make announcements, blog posts, through our website to let the populace know of upcoming activities, recent changes, useful or educational information, and more. We still have to follow SCA policy, however, so I’ve summarized the relevant website policies here as … Read more Officer & Guild Leads — Making Posts on the Blog

Fall Baronial Update – 7 May

by

Greetings unto the Barony of Bryn Gwald!

I am excited and honored to have been chosen by the Barony to fill the role of Event Steward for our upcoming Fall Baronial event. I recognize that we 5 months away from the event, and much could change in Austin, the surrounding cities, and the society between now and then that could impact this event. I intend to keep that close in mind as I continue forward, and I hope that this will be a fun and rewarding process regardless of what the final product will be!

My goal is to create an environment where we can learn, create, and play in the Dream that is the SCA!

I started the bare bones for the event website. Check it out if you’d like 🙂 I’m planning to keep pretty much all of the event resources accessible from that page. As much for my own sanity as I figure it’ll be useful for people to see what’s what. Gonna make a “contact the event steward” form soon so that it’ll be easy for people to contact me.

Next things I’m working on will be updating/fleshing out the theme ideas I’ve had so far and making those accessible to everyone. After that will be reaching out to champions and officers/guild leaders, and then hopefully scheduling a brainstorming session for the barony.

My goal is that by the end of May we will have a pretty good handle on what in-person competitions we want to plan for, what virtual alternatives we want to aim for, and a solid idea (or at least starting ideas) for how we want to incorporate the theme into our event.

Respectfully,
Lady kolfinna inn kyrra Otarsdottir
Event Steward for Fall Baronial 2020
Bryn Gwlad Webminister

Hospitaler Hump Day – SCA 101 recap

by

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood hospitaler. I am going to start up a string of hump day posts to help you make it through the week with some SCA resources, tips, stories, videos, and other errata. I hope you find it useful. On Monday our Bryn Gwlad Newcomer’s Academy held it’s very first virtual class! … Read more Hospitaler Hump Day – SCA 101 recap

Learn How to Make Athol Brose

by

https://facebook.com/events/s/making-atholl-brose-oatmeal-in/2536556713287025/?ti=cl

This class will be virtual and will be available to view after, so if you can’t make it, no worries!

Atholl Brose (or Athol Brose, Athole Brose) is a Scottish drink made by mixing oatmeal, honey, whisky, and sometimes cream (particularly on festive occasions). This class will go over how to make this delicious drink and the different variations.

What you need for the class:
– Whiskey
– Oatmeal (preferably plain but whatever you have will work)
– Honey
– Secret Ingredient
– Silver Spoon (optional)

This class will be taught by Mistress Willoc.

Kassandra de Haas
Brewing Guild Principal

SCA 101 — 4 May — Updated Class Details

by

Update for SCA101! As previously announced, the first class of the 2020 Bryn Glad Newcomer’s Academy will be held next Monday, May 4, 2020. Due to the plague ravaging the Current Middle Ages, we are moving this class online to Zoom! P.S. A reminder – this class will NOT be held in person at Nosh … Read more SCA 101 — 4 May — Updated Class Details

Virtual Combat Resources!

by

Have you been searching for a way to keep up your combat skills while we are sheltering in place? Well, SCAdians all around have been putting together online classes, demos, and discussions that you can join in on! Knowne World SCA Virtual Fighter Practice (Facebook Group) SCA Virtual Classroom and Artisan Display (Facebook Group) Virtual … Read more Virtual Combat Resources!

Populace in the Virtual Park — Tonight!

by

Join us for a virtual gathering of the populace! We will be using the Baronial Discord server and hanging out with voice and video! There are many voice channels for us to you, break out into small groups, share content with the group, or just enjoy the sounds of people talking. If you’re new to … Read more Populace in the Virtual Park — Tonight!

Bids are in for Fall Baronial – VOTE TODAY!!

by

Fall Baronial 2020 is the first weekend of October this year. We have had two presentations for event bids tonight during our Zoom Business Meeting.We are going to be using Survey Monkey to vote on which bid will be chosen.

If you want to look at the documents for each bid you can find them here on a Google Drive Folder;

Bid#1 Camp Arrow Head
Bid#2 Rockdale Fair Park

Survey Monkey Voting Link;
Voting will be open for 24 hours (Closing 8PM 4/28/2020) only so please spread the word and the links and use this chance to voice your opinion and choice.

Robert de Bray
Bryn Gwlad Seneschal

Reminder: Offices are Open for Application

by

The offices of Seneschal, Rapier Marshal, Minister of Children and Webminister are Open for Applications! Applications for Rapier Marshal are due by APRIL 30, 2020. Applications for Webminsiter are due by APRIL 30, 2020. Applications for Seneschal are due by MAY 31, 2020. Applications for Minister of Children are being accepted at any time. Want … Read more Reminder: Offices are Open for Application

SCA 101 — Newcomer’s Academy Class – 4 May

by

Good evening Newcomers! In one weeks time (Monday, May 4) we will be hosting our first class of this years session of the Bryn Gwlad’s Newcomers Academy: SCA 101. Come learn the basics of what the SCA is all about! Due to the state of affairs in the current Middle Ages, instead of meeting at … Read more SCA 101 — Newcomer’s Academy Class – 4 May

Fall Baronial Event Needs Heralds!

by

Training provided if needed! Event will have Herald post station with snacks and water Need 2 book heralds to sit and help with questions and information (1 for each shift – AM and PM on Saturday) Need several List field heralds – depending on what the fighting schedule is – for Saturday and Sunday as … Read more Fall Baronial Event Needs Heralds!

Clothier’s Guild Mtg – 23 Apr – Discord

by

The April Clothier’s Guild Meeting will be held this Thursday — 23 April — via Discord from 6 to 9pm CST. Join the chat with other guild members, stay for a short time or the entire meeting, and look forward to live streams! Join the Discord server and introduce yourself! kolfinna inn kyrra OtarsdottirActing Bryn … Read more Clothier’s Guild Mtg – 23 Apr – Discord

Populace in the Park is going Virtual!

by

Join us tonight, 31 March 2020, at 7pm for a virtual gathering of the Populace! We had our first-ever virtual business meeting last night via Zoom, and we’re going to continue our path into an online realm by using the BG Discord to gather the populace for voice chat, text chat, and just generally hanging out. There won’t be video for this chat, though individuals can screen share if there’s something you want to show everyone.

Grab a snack, grab a drink, consider ordering food from your favorite local establishment, and log into Discord tonight for social time with the Barony!

At-Home Archery Drills!

by

For all the archers that don’t have a range to visit or cannot shoot safely at home. Here are some exercises to help us maintain or build our strength. Stay safe and healthy. Looking forward to when we can all shoot together again. Practice will remain on hiatus until we receive word that it is safe to gather for shooting. Miss seeing all of you.

At-Home Archery Drills, courtesy of World Archery

Lady Maria Donald of Windmasters Hill
Bryn Gwlad Archery Marshal

Photographer’s Series – #6

by

Assignment 6: take the best 5 images you created and make them even better!

This is all about post-processing using tools like Capture One, Photoshop, Lightroom, Camera RAW or whatever tool you prefer. Use skills you have or ask questions.I can help you with this at almost any skill level—seriously.

If you do not have a tool you like, most have free trials you can download.Capture One even has completely free versions if you use Sony or Fuji cameras.

Maybe Knott
Photographer’s Guild Principal

Check out the Photography Guild Page and Share your progress, ask about specific phot-editing tools, and join the discussion on the Photographer’s Guild Facebook Group!

Photographers Series – #5

by

Assignment 5: time to use the skills from 1-4. Create 5 great images of your chosen subject in good light!

So you have worked on finding good angles and perspectives for your subject. You have learned about light angles and how they look on your subject. You have explored how window light works (which contributes a lot to the use of strobes, if you have not tried that yet).

Now take your chosen subject and try to create five distinct images using what you learned in the first assignments.If your subject is a person or pet, how can you get the best or most interesting expressions?

If you are not already using RAW files on your camera, please start doing so. You can set your camera to shoot RAW plus jpeg, so you still have jpegs you might be used to. But, trust me, you will be happier in the future if you get in the habit of shooting RAW now. (Plus, you’ll want RAW files for the next assignment!)

Maybe Knott
Photographer’s Guild Principal

Check out the Photography Guild Page and Share your progress and join the discussion on the Photographer’s Guild Facebook Group!

Photographer’s Assignment Series – #4

by

Assignment 4: use a reflector.

This can be combined with assignment three to further explore window light. Or you can use the light-source from assignment two.

Grab something white and something black. A piece of poster board is ideal, but many items can work (hold up a t-shirt, paper, a bed sheet…be creative). Hold up either white or black item near your subject (start with opposite from window and then experiment.

What do you notice? How can you make the shadows lighter or darker? How many different ways can you make your subject look better or worse? Learning what doesn’t work is often as valuable as what does.

Maybe Knott
Photographer’s Guild Principal

Check out the Photography Guild Page and Share your progress and join the discussion on the Photographer’s Guild Facebook Group!

Photographer’s Assignment Series – #3

by

Assignment 3: use a window for light

So this is fantastic for people, naturally, but window light is also fantastic for food or almost anything.

The relationship of the light source to the subject, as we learned in the last experiment, makes a difference. So does the angle and distance, as we learned from the first. So keep going as long as patience lasts and find out new things!

Maybe Knott
Photographer’s Guild Principal

Check out the Photography Guild Page and Share your progress and join the discussion on the Photographer’s Guild Facebook Group!

COVID-19 Update from Kingdom Seneschal

by

Greetings Ansteorra,

I hope all are well and finding ways to deal with our mutual isolation. Thank you to all who have been helping put out content for people to enjoy and to all the groups having virtual meetings. Connection is still needs, glad to see folks doing so.

Originally, we had announced that all SCA Official activities would not happen in Ansteorra until March 30. Given that the situation is what it is, and mostly that it is so fluid and not predictable, I, in agreement with the Crown, am going to change that statement to not include an end date. For now, we will continue the “no official activities” for as long as needed. We will wait and see how things are looking, we will comply with government directives. I will make sure to update as we move forward. Let me know if you have questions.

We are still planning on Coronation to happen, along with Queen’s Champion and King’s Champion, on May 9th. We have been given permission by Society to hold a Virtual Event for Coronation, if needed. This permission also includes the ability of the Crown to give awards at that time, up to and including Peerages. Hopefully, we will not have to do that, but it is good to already have permission if needed.

Take care of each other, stay safe. We are Ansteorra, we are stronger than anything this situation can throw at us. We will rise again.

Avery
Kingdom Seneschal

Virtual Viking Treasure Chain Class on 26 Mar!

by

Greetings, BG! Tomorrow evening [Thursday, 26 March 2020], at 7 PM on FB live, I’ll be teaching my Viking Treasure Chains (AKA Norse Festoons) class for Bonwicke’s A&S night. I hope you’ll make some time and tune in! I’ll be discussing the history of the festoons, extant examples from Norse graves, and how to make your own.

Lairde Hextilda Corbett

For more information about the class, links to join the stream, and more, check out the Class on Viking Treasure Chains (Norse Festoons) Facebook event!

Monthly Business Meeting – 30 Mar – Virtual!

by

The March Business meeting for the Barony has been rescheduled for 30 March and it will be held virtually via Zoom. The officers will be having a test-run meeting tonight to make sure everything works without a hitch!

This month we will be meeting virtually via Zoom. You can download the app for your phone or tablet if you want to be able to speak and be visible. Otherwise you can just join the meeting via the link to watch and listen.https://zoom.us/j/7104142920
Meeting ID is 710 414 2920 

Sir Robert deBray
Bryn Gwlad Seneschal

Embroidery 101 — Online via Discord

by

Attention! Morina O’Donovan, from the Shire of the Shadowlands, will be hosting Embroidery 101 online via Discord, on Thursday March 26 at 7pm CST! Check out the announcement below. If you want to join, hop over to the #fiber channel in the Shadowlands Discord server. I will be hosting an Embroidery 101 class on Thursday … Read more Embroidery 101 — Online via Discord

Photographer’s Guild Series – #2

by

Assignment 2: Pick a single subject and a light source. Keep the subject and camera in the same place and move your light source to different places.

The light above or at least at the same height is “traditional” since the sun is above, but you should feel free to experiment with it. Play with light behind, change angles around the subject. Change angle up and down. Change the way the light faces if this can be changed. So many options.

Maybe Knott
Photographer’s Guild Principal

Check out the Photography Guild Page and Share your progress and join the discussion on the Photographer’s Guild Facebook Group!

Photographer’s Guild Assignment Series – #1

by

Assignment 1: pick a subject and photograph it or them from five distinct angles.

You can be in front, next to, behind, above, below, closer or further away. This could be something you have made, a family member, a pet, garb, armor or anything else.

Maybe Knott
Photography Guild Principal

Check out the Photography Guild Page and Share your progress and join the discussion on the Photographer’s Guild Facebook Group!

Photographer’s Guild Assignment Series

by

Virus keeping you from going to events? Want to get your camera out and learn, practice, and discuss photography with other people? Well, the Bryn Gwlad Photographer’s Guild has an assignment series for you! Every few days, Maybe Knott (Guild Leader) will be posting assignments to the guild. Look for assignments posted here, and join … Read more Photographer’s Guild Assignment Series

16 Mar 2020 – COVID-19 Update

by

Announcement from the Bryn Gwlad Seneschal: UPDATE: All baronial activities are now cancelled until March 30th per our Kingdom Seneshcal. We will be notifying Sherwood that we will be suspending our participation for the season. Please stay tuned on details on when we will arrange to remove our booth and demo items out at Sherwood. … Read more 16 Mar 2020 – COVID-19 Update

Bryn Gwlad is Live via WordPress!

by

This has been a work in progress for some time now, but I am happy to announce that the Bryn Gwlad website on WordPress (this site, you’re on it!) is now live!

Please feel welcome to peruse the site. I’ve tried to have as much up-to-date content on here as possible. But, this is intended to be a living, growing, dynamic resource for our Barony.

If you see content that is missing, can’t find what you’re looking for, want to make an announcement, need to update calendar items, please submit feedback! There are links on each page that will allow you to submit feedback and request updates.

Lady kolfinna inn kyrra Otarsdottir
Deputy Bryn Gwlad Webminister

Greetings from the Baron & Baroness!

by

Good day, good Gentles, and Welcome to the Fairest Barony in the Knowne World!

Let us extend the hand of friendship and fellowship to those brave individuals who have chosen to find out what all those people in costume are doing! We are people from all walks of life and careers: high-tech and low, college age, middle age, mom-and-dad age and children. But we all share the love of Things Medieval. We thrill to the stories of knights in shining armor and ladies fair, to minstrels singing heroic tales in the Great Hall—and we yearn to wear a sword, or don a flowing gown and veil and enter those stories. Here in the Society for Creative Anachronism you can do exactly that! Come and join us; be a part of our Baronial Champions Tournament where armor glitters and knights compete for honor and glory. Or our Feast of Candlemas, where artisans and scholars display their work, where song, poetry and dance abound, and candlelight flickers over a feast fit for a king! Welcome, my friends, to this great barony, and the Current Middle Ages.

If you have seen great acts of skill, guile, service, or note worthy actions by the populous of Bryn Gwlad or wish to contact the Baron or Baroness for any other reason please feel free to email us.

Don’t forget great acts can be acknowledged at the Kingdom level, too.

Gavin mac Giolla Ruaidh & Wentiliana le Chandeler
Baron and Baroness of Bryn Gwlad

Candlemas Class Schedule is NOW AVAILABLE!

by

Update from the Candlemas Class Coordinator: The Candlemas 2020 — Festa della Candelora — class schedule is not available! There are two tabs on the sheet below, one with the class listing and one with the class schedule. Colors correlate to areas where the classes will be held to be indicated with a banner. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kLz48XoWU7nr6KJyBb-XDg3XGI1D4BH9LygvNE-YeaU/edit?usp=sharing … Read more Candlemas Class Schedule is NOW AVAILABLE!

An Archer’s Journey

by

Years ago, I was invited to attend Pennsic War by a friend of a friend who was a vendor.  This was my first introduction to the Society.  It was the equivalent of drinking from the firehose.  After a week of that craziness, I was overwhelmed, but I wanted to know more.  I’d always been a fan of the Renaissance Fairs, and thought that this was just an extension of that.  I was pleased to find that it was… and wasn’t!

Read moreAn Archer’s Journey

Ansteorra Regions

by

The Kingdom of Ansteorra is made up of multiple branches representing different locations in the mundane world. Ansteorra is broken into Northern, Central, and Southern regions.  This is strictly to provide geographical separation, but all are ruled by the Crown. Within that Kingdom are various branches overseeing their respective regions. Bryn Gwlad is the region … Read more Ansteorra Regions

Branch Designations

by

Branches of the SCA are setup based around a geographical area or an institution. Within the Kingdom of Ansteorra, these are the designations. Kingdom: area ruled by a King and Queen Principality: area within a kingdom ruled by Prince and Princess Barony: area administered by a Baron and/or Baroness, the ceremonial representative(s) of the Crown … Read more Branch Designations