Bryn Gwlad Candlemas and Baronial Investiture

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Classes

New classes are being added frequently. Stay tuned for more information!

Time/Room Class Description Instructor
10:00am
Area 1 		Nålbinding on the Thumb: the Oslo Stitch and Its Variations (9 to 10th c.)
Basic nålbinding stitch and variations you can use to make mittens, gloves, shawls and hats.
Class limit: 5 people. Fee: Handout free, wool and needle $5.		 Mistress Charla Noel du Lac
10:00am
Area 2		 A&S 50
Informational meeting on the A&S 50 Challenge. The Challenge is a celebration of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Society. This session will introduce the Two Approaches to the Challenge—the Depth Challenge—50 items of any one type of thing—and the Breadth Challenge—make/do/learn 50 new and different things. Open to all, including children.
No class limit. No fee. 		Lady Ætheldreda of Dun Breadan
10:00am
Area 3 		Early Period Food
An overview of early period food. I will have handouts. I may have some sample foods to try.		 Mistress Meadhbh ni Ruaidh
o Chonnemara
11:00am
Area 1		 Men and Women's Anglo Saxon Garb
We will cover a little history of Britain and the origins of Anglo Saxon and then cover what they wore, both costumes and accessories.		 Mistress Rondinella le Tyrolesa
11:00am
Area 2 		Fun with Runes
This class will learn about the younger (Viking-Age) runic alphabet of sixteen letters. We will practice pronouncing and reciting the Old Norse Rune Poem (don't worry, no memorization required; we can use our handouts) and we will explore the eclectic cultural assumptions behind it. We will practice transliterating some famous old texts, including some from memorial stones. Potential topics to be addressed include: What are the names of the runes? (Hint: Maybe not what you think.) Why are they angular; i.e., not rounded? What about divination and cursing? What about references to runes in the Eddic poems and in ballads?
No class limit.		 Mistress Brynhildr Kormaksdottir
11:00am
Area 3		 Anglo-Saxon Herbalism; or, What to Do When the Baby Comes Down with a Bad Case of Elfshot
A very brief introduction on the use of herbs in Anglo-Saxon culture, some of the plants used, as well as a brief look at the leech books and herbals used from the late 9th through 11th centuries. A small portion of the class will be spent on charms against worms, women’s ailments, and forms of elfshot. A handout will be available.
Class limit is 10.		 Mistress Clare RosMuire St. John
11:00am
Outdoors		 To Be a Skald
A free-form class covering the types of tales a Skald would relate, and some training in pitching the voice to carry, without straining it, as many heralds seem to end up doing. I will also declaim some of the Havamal, the Words of the High One (better known as Oðin) and then I will finish by teaching a tale of Thor.		 Lady RagnhildR Torvinn in Seiðthkona
noon
Area 1 		Viking Knitting with Wire
Learn how to make a bracelet, torc or necklace weaving and looping with wire. The class will include starting supplies and handouts. I will bring tools to share.
Class limit: 10 students. Supply cost is $5.		 Lady Celestria leDragon
noon
Area 2 		The Mead-hall in Anglo-Saxon Society and Literature
The Anglo-Saxon mead hall was a place for eating, drinking, boasting, oath-taking, and forming social bonds. Yet it was more than simply a building; it was an institution in and of itself. This class is a brief overview of what we know of the mead hall in Anglo-Saxon tradition, with selected archaeological and literary sources contributing thereto. Our general topics will include Feasting as a Social Function, The Architecture and Ideology of the Mead Hall, Entertainment at the Feast, and Mead Hall Rituals. The primary reference for this class is Stephen Pollington's The Mead Hall, Feasting in Anglo-Saxon England, 2003, Anglo-Saxon Books, ISBN 1-898281-30-0.		 Master Cynric of Bedwyn
noon
Area 3 		An Introduction to Early Northern European Board Games
The class will include a brief history of the games, extant examples, and common methods of play. The main games covered will be those in the Tafl and Tables families. If time allows other games may be covered. No limit on class size, but I only have a set number of boards for practice play. I will supply 'paper boards' for everyone else. Please note this is not a children's class; however, I welcome those children truly interested and able to pay attention for the complete class.
No fee. Handouts limited to first 12 people.		 Lady Debora of Durham
noon-2:00pm
Outdoors		 Viking and Anglo Saxon Stamped Jewelry Work
Viking and Anglo Saxon armbands, brooches and other ornaments were often made by using metal stamps to create patterns on plain metal objects. These same techniques can also be use for later period pieces, so don't stay away just because you are not a Viking or Anglo Saxon. I will bring reference sources and a take-away CD of reference material and examples, as well as metal and stamps for people to make their own items with. This will be a workshop class, open as long as there is interest with no hard beginning and end time.
Fee: $5 for materials		 Master Peter of the Golden Isles (Max)
1:00pm
Area 1 		Anglo-Saxon and Viking Embroidery
This class will include a very brief history of embroidery. Then we will discuss the use of embroidery by the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. We will talk about what stitches they would have used, materials, design, and how and where they would have used embroidery. I will have a limited number of handouts but will gladly email it you upon request.		 HL Caitriona inghean Mhic Lochlainn
1:00pm
Areas 2 & 3		 Viking Line Dancing
This class will learn to sing the refrains of popular narrative ballads from all over Scandinavia, and will learn the very simple, bransle-like dance step that goes with them. Who carried the dragon's gold home from Gnitaheithi after Sigurd killed him? Why were the elves angry with Olav Riddararos? Why did Villeman want to "win" the runes? And why didn't Ramund like the clothes the queen gave him? Come to class and find out—and learn how to do kædedans, kvaddans, and songdans too! (Hint: They are all the same thing.)
No class limit.		 Mistress Brynhildr Kormaksdottir
2:00pm
Area 1 		Beginning Sprang
Sprang is a textile technique which interlaces or intertwines warp strands to form a flexible fabric. It was used in the European Bronze age, through the medieval period, and into the modern period, to form items which needed flexibililty: socks, hats, pouches, hammocks, etc. This class will introduce the student to the beginning techniques (S and Z twist) to form a sampler that can be turned into a small pouch. Peter Collingwoods' Techniques of Sprang is the classic instruction manual.
Class limit: 6-8 students. Fee: Free if you want to just use the frame for the class; $5 if you want to keep the frame and string.		 Baroness Radegund of Tours
2:00pm
Area 2 		Venerable Beads: Beads and Necklaces in the Norse and Anglo-Saxon Cultures
The class will cover a timeframe from circa 7th century to circa 10th century. We'll learn about glass, stone, and metal beads; where the raw materials came from; the basics of how the beads were formed; and their place as status items. We'll learn about the various styles of glass beads, what colors and shapes were popular, and what styles were prevalent in each culture. We'll learn which stones were popular during which time periods, and how amber and jet were used. Then, we'll look at how beads were worn in necklaces, as danglies, and as swags hanging between two brooches. We'll look at pictures of historical beads and necklaces, and practice stepping out of our modern aesthetic and learning what pleased the eye of the Viking and Anglo-Saxon woman (and man!). The student will go home with a basic grounding in the Norse and Anglo-Saxon sense.		 Lady Jesmonde de Halys
2:00pm
Outdoors		 How to Sound Like a Herald
Basic to intermediate use of the human voice for heraldry. Includes projection, preservation of the quality of the voice, and common formulations and suggestions for presentation. This class is intended to be a good voice heralds starter kit, as well as some polishing techniques for intermediate heralds.		 Lord Fatthiopap Laszlo,
Orbis Herald