Magna Faire - Medieval Holiday
On a damp and chilly day in December, Anno Societatis LVIII,
I took a trip south from the Cumbrian Plateau of Northern Meridies to the
gently rolling plains of the Sanguine lands of the iron folk for a traditional
pre-Yule revel called Magna Faire, being held on the grounds of Dalwhinnie by
the Barony of Iron Mountain. The trip was quiet and the roads were kind and
free of congestion that can sometimes be a challenge this time of year. The
weather was overcast for the entire weekend as Old Man Winter battled to take
control of the sky from the gentler Madame Autumn who was stubbornly hanging
on. The result was a grey bleakness, a minor dampening of the ground and
extremely mild, albeit warmer, temperature for the time in the season.
Nonetheless, spirits were high for those in attendance and a good time was had.
Dalwhinnie Fields was its usual, charming self. Attendance
was low, which was a shame. I had never attended a Magna Faire before that I
can recall. There were many activities planned by the Barony for those in
attendance. There was a King and Queen of Misrule chosen from the youth in
attendance. The ‘Mis-Rulers’ influenced many of the planned activities
throughout the day. There were armored and rapier tournaments. The Faire itself
is focused on an A&S judging with several categories and tracks for review.
There were classes for young and old. Both, Their Majesties and Highnesses
Meridies were in attendance and there was a changing of the guard for the
Baronial seat of Iron Moutain later in the afternoon prior to a very good
feast. Magna Faire had a lot of offerings for those who made the trip. The
event was well thought out and executed.
I spent the first part of my day in the eric for the Toys
for Tots tournament. The entry for the list was a toy and there was a avalanche
of toys by the end of the day that made for a very worthy donation to the
charity. With the low attendance, there were only 5 combatants in the list. It
was declared that we would compete in a bear pit format to a total of 62 total
passes (not counting draws). Added to this format was the occasional ‘Misrule’
injection. We had periods of ‘If you lose, you must fall down and roll in the
mud’ and ‘You two must fight left handed’ then there was the ‘You can only win
by a thrust’. The competition was jovial and very entertaining. Toward the end,
we started adding our own silliness by adding the infamous ‘Duke Garick Spin
Attack (patent pending)’ as a requisite to our passes. It was a good time. In
the end, Baron Richard na Teanga Mhin won the day barely edging past Duke
Garick and myself for the most total successful passes. I think we fought for
almost 2 hours with only 1 declared water break. Metal was tested, bonds were
strengthened and the warrior spirit found sustenance.
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| Photo Credit: Emelina le Norreys |
My afternoon was dedicated to socializing and just ‘hanging
out’. I was able to watch some of the rapier combatants vie for Baronial
Champion. I got to talk ‘shields’ with a few people (my current pastime hobby)
as well as just spending some ‘getting to know’ folks time. I had a relaxing
time. For court, I paid service as retinue for Their Majesties. I was able to
witness honors bestowed from the best ‘back row’ behind the thrones. At feast,
I shared table and ‘helped’ with things in the hall. There were 4 removes and
many very tasty dishes that sated my hunger after the days earlier fighting.
Post feast, I attended a gathering of ‘Smoking Squires’ (note: that was not the
name given to the activity, It is just the silly name I remember and that silly
name is really misleading without context…) (UPDATE: So, the name is 'Squire Pipes' that I forgot. More fitting.) This was an informal gathering of
peers and path walkers themed on ‘Smoking Pipe Tobacco’ (honestly, the name TRM
had for the gather was much more catchy that ‘Smoking Squires’) and
intellectual discussion.
The day ran late and I bid my farewells to the gathering,
Dalwhinnie and Iron Mountain. My heart was warm from the attending. The people
are good in Iron Mountain. Very good indeed.
Discussions through the day and the closing group social had
me thinking since I left. My thoughts are a bit of inner reflection and a bit
of my current philosophy of how our hobby works. Some themes kept recurring and
being reinforced as I socialized during the day.
First, a bit of my current philosophy. Share joy. Do that. A
smile is infectious. I believe that if this hobby does nothing else (out side
of teaching people that history is cool), the best service we can provide each
other is a little bit of happiness. How do you do that? It took me a while to
figure that out before I stumbled into the answer. The simple answer is to
‘enjoy what you do’. The enjoyment will be seen by others both directly and
indirectly. Once seen, human nature helps it spread. A smile breeds a smile. A
laugh is contagious (yes, I know not a popular word these days). Just showing
up, enjoying the moment and sharing your enjoyment will create magic. More than
once in recent memory, I have encountered someone having a bad day at an event
and I have been able to turn their day around just by sharing some fun with
them. I have noticed this more in the past couple years. I think its something
we (as a society) need. To that end, I try hard to show up at an event and just
be in the moment. I let my ‘kid’ brain takeover at times and just live in the
moment. I try to do things that make me happy (fighting, helping where I see a
need, etc). In the doing, I have found the formula for spreading my happiness
through the sharing. It took me a long time to figure this out and put in
words. But, I like it. This is what I aim to do these days and I have a
stronger bond with my hobby now than I have ever had. These are good days.
Second, it’s a bit of ‘The Path’ reflection. ‘The Path’ is
the idea of the journey we are on toward a peerage. It is of our own creation,
influenced by the peer we are bonded to and the community of peers that
occasionally nudge us as we move along our merry way. My path is very ‘Me’. I
am not ambitious. I am minimally goal oriented. But, I have a strong sense of
loyalty. I was asked about ‘My path’ this weekend (where am I, where do I hope
to be, what am I doing to get there, etc.). So, what is my path?
My path has been a long one. I’ve been on it 35 years now.
My earlier years were with Count Hadi, my friend. We hung out. We shared shop
time and field time. I don’t see these early years as me moving much on the
path. I was mostly just stationary. I had no real concept of ‘The Path’ or that
it even existed. Honestly, I didn’t really give moving forward on the path a
thought. I was just enjoying the moment with Hadi. Move forward just wasn’t
part of what I was doing. For many years, I did nothing to progress and had no
thought of progressing in my mind.
With his passing in 2015, I spent some time in reflection.
That year, I went on the ‘banner tour’. Fighting and in remembrance of the
times we had shared. I think I was trying to find the SCA he and I had in those
early years. In the searching, I became aware of and found the now weed-choked
path I had started with Hadi but never nourished. I had let my path become
overgrown and unattended. It was very hard to see and harder to follow. I
was aimless for a bit. I had some good peers within reach in that time. Wise
council. I eventually established a new bond with Earl Benen who guides me now.
These days, the older me sees ‘The Path’ more clearly. The
older me accepts that what I do it important. My path is not about awards and
recognition. These things are outside of my control and will never be something
I have set as a goal or something to strive for. And yes, I know, ‘But, Eoin,
isn’t a squires goal to be a knight?’ Yes. You got me there. That is a big
point of taking a red belt. That ‘Knight’ achievement is not the meat of what
the path is about though, in my mind at least. Never has been. And, I think
never should be the sum of its total parts. The ‘Knight Goal’ is just a weigh
station one might get to as you journey forward. It will never be a guaranteed
stop though.
‘My Path’ is about me and doing right by me. In this, I
honor Hadi’s memory and Benen’s belief in me and both of their investments in
bonding with me. I honor myself and fulfill my needs. I don’t need to be the
best at everything and win all the things. I just need to try be the best
version of myself I can be in that activity. In fighting, in service, in arts…
its all the same. I just need to be the best version of me in that thing. And
most of all, I need to enjoy doing it. In doing that, I win for myself and
progress. My goal, as it is, is to respect the path I have set before me
and feed it by trying to be the best I can be at whatever I do. In that effort,
I honor a those whose bond I share and I find the ‘knight-like’ version of
myself that I can be.
Where am I on my path? That is not for me to say. I am no
judge of my progress. I am still learning, improving at the things I do and that is enough. I am moving forward, content with what is before me.
Where do I hope to be? Where I am. Living in the moment. Contributing to my dream and the dream of others.
What am I doing to get there? Sharing. Sharing a good
attitude. Sharing the knowledge I have learned. Sharing a helping hand. Sharing
my time.
‘You are not what you were born, but what you have within
yourself to be.’
-Godfrey of Ibelin, Kingdom of
Heaven
Shire of Easaraigh
Kingdom of Meridies
