Renaissance Volume 17 #1, Issue #83 $5.95 US/$7.50 Can
The 2012 Wedding Issue
Live Wedding Music Symbolism of the Lion
The True Meaning of the King of Beasts
Make a Wedding Coronet
An Heirloom of your special day!
Authentic Renaissance Wedding Contest 2012 Meet our winners! Tips from the pros!
Renaissance
Vol 17 #1 Issue #83
Features
4 Live Wedding Music
by Emily McIntyre
9 Symbolism of the Lion
by Jody Helme-Day
12 2012 Authentic Wedding Contest 22 Make A Wedding Coronet An heirloom for your special day by Kate Copsey
Columns
26Castle Kitchen
by Alice the Cook
28Feasts & Holidays
by Nate Pedersen
30British Treasure
by Judith Kane
32Living History
by Merril Moyer
34Period Poetry
by Gereg Jone Muller
From the Editor Weddings. A time of new beginnings. A time to throw out the old single life for a new shared life opened to new possibilities. That’s what I was thinking when the subject of our 2012 Wedding Issue was broached a few months ago and it is also what put into motion the re-design of this enchanting magazine. New possibilities and the promise of a wonderful future seated in the rich history of the Renaissance. Since Renaissance Magazines conception, we have strived to be an informative yet entertaining resource for all things Renaissance. We appeal to those who love to immerse themselves into this world of beautiful clothes, traditional customs, and chivalry. But we also strive to pique the interest of anyone who has ever been inclined to enjoy the music, stories or history of this special period in time. What a better issue than our 2012 Wedding Issue to showcase everything we love about the Renaissance. Looking to the prints and publications of the 1400-1500’s we wanted to re-create a publication that could very well have been distributed during the Renaissance. For printing, it was a time of great new possibilities. The invention of the printing press meant that a very small world could open up to the masses. No longer did pamphlets, books, or publications have to be reprinted by hand. In re-designing this periodical, we wanted to capture the “feel” of the Renaissance and at the same time, embrace all aspects of the new found Renaissance printing press. Handcrafted illustrations, textured paper and scholars margins are all now an important part of Renaissance Magazine. Readers of our magazine love to wear time period clothes, attend Medieval Fairs and truly embrace the renaissance lifestyle. This magazine is now truly a Renaissance publication. So, welcome to our 2012 Wedding Issue filled with enticing recipes for a Romantic Valentine’s day. Food, poetry, and Renaissance magic are all showcased in this issue. Then meet our 2nd annual Wedding Photo Contest winners! Enjoy the photos of their romantic Renaissance themed weddings. Learn about the music, food and traditions that these special couples incorporated into their ceremonies and receptions. It was very difficult to choose winners from all the imaginative entries we received so congratulations to all the couples! I cannot close without thanking all of our contributors, our sponsors, and our advertisers. It is the people and companies that are as passionate about the Renaissance as I am that keep this publication in print and readers like you that keep the Renaissance spirit alive. So, without further ado, enjoy our 2nd annual Wedding issue of Renaissance Magazine. Courtney Kirk
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Wedding Music
HOW CAN YOU MAKE YOUR RENAISSANCE WEDDING EVEN MORE AUTHENTIC?
The goal of most Renaissance weddings is to transport participants back in time. Live music is a fundamental detail to an authentic wedding experience.
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By Emily McIntyre 4
Wedding Music in Renaissance Weddings
Among the many elements that comprise a successful renaissancethemed wedding is music. The right music can establish an air of authenticity, playfulness, solemnity, or mysticism, unify the various aspects of the ceremony and provide cues for the participants. While many couples opt for the ease and affordability of pre-recorded music, live music offers much more.
Bert and Dorothea Barth, renaissance wedding musicians based in Northern California, say, “As with all weddings, the immediacy and spontaneity of the event are compromised if the music is pre-recorded. In particular, the renaissance theme wedding, having some element of historical re-enactment, required lie music.” Live musicians add an undeniable visual and aesthetic authority, particularly if they are in costume and playing period instruments. Most musicians can adapt music with a minimum of bother and extend or cut short any piece, allowing for complete flexibility in each aspect of the ceremony. It is essential when considering live music for your wedding that you understand the place music held in renaissance wedding, as well as what styles are popular in such ceremonies now and what kinds of instruments are used. Once you know what you’re looking for, you need to locate musicians and communicate with them.
Whatever we may picture, there was rarely instrumental music during weddings in the Renaissance period. A wedding began at the bride’s home with a noisy processional. Bagpipes, drums, and other loud instruments would accompany the rowdy crew who carried the cake and the bride to the church. Once at the church, the mood grew solemn, and indeed instrumental music was very rare in this part of the ceremony. Vocal madrigals would at times be sung while all the guests would stand for the long official rite. Traditions varied widely according to religious persuasion. Once the marriage had taken place, the musicians played again at the feast. Whitney Rowlett Senn, period dance instructor,choreographer, and all around expert, says dancing usually began with a stately Pavane to allow for guests to show off their clothes and progressed to other more physical and hands on dances. Music set the mood and enabled the dancing. Given the common wedding practices, one may argue that use of instrumental and secular music during the ceremony is not historically accurate. However, as Andrew McKee, Celtic renaissance musician and member of the Brobdingnagian Bard, says, “A modern renaissance wedding is to an authentic renaissance weeding as Pre-Raphaelite art is to history. It’s romanticized. It is always about what
Styles of Music There are several common types of music used for renaissance-themed wedding, roughly falling under three headings: Renaissance, Celtic, and fantasy. Actual renaissance music, of course, refers to a time period and varies widely by geography and culture. Be aware that any “authentic” wedding is really just a modern approximation of whatever wedding traditions you think applicable, so you are free to pick and choose all you like.
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McKee says, “You have to realize too that there is a lot of crossover. For instance, Queen Elizabeth loved Celtic music and dancing. It is not even anachronistic to play Irish tunes during a British renaissance wedding. “Books such as “The English Playford’s Dancing Master,” particularly the 1651 first edition, provide musicians with tunes that may be easily arranged. If your wedding contains elements of medieval style, Scottish highlands attire and customs, or Druids, Celtic music is a natural fit. Most musicians are familiar with at least the basics of Celtic music, instrumentals such as “Irish Washerwoman,” and ballads such as “Danny Boy” and “My Love is Like a Red Rose”. It helps in discussing Celtic music with musician to know a few basic definitions: a jig is a fast piece in a rollicking 6/8 timing; a reel is also a foot-tapping fast, but in 4/4/ time; and a slow aire is just what is sounds like: a slow instrumental. Ballads are vocal songs with accompaniments that are often stories, love songs, or lullabies. Fantasy music covers a wide category as well, referring to music from role-playings games, fantasy movies, or any kind of music with a fantastic or sometimes ethereal aspect. Are there any fairies, pixies, pirates, wizards, or elves in your wedding? You may want music arranged from “The Lord of the Rings” or a Loreena McKennit song. The possibilities are limitless, and here the imagination has full reign. If you want to research theses styles of music, try listening to YouTube clips, borrowing CDs, and using internet search engines. Listen to demonstrations of each instrument so you can familiarize yourself with its unique sound
Instruments Once you know what style of music you want, think about the combination of instruments that would work best for your wedding. If you want an “authentic” wedding, choose authentic instruments: recorders are common, but you can also look for viola de gambas, fiddles, simple percussion, or harp. If you want a more modern sound most renaissance music can be arranged for a variety of instruments. Bert and Dorothea say, “Brass quintets sometimes include Susato dances in their repertory, a cello can substitute for a viol, a trombone can take the place of a sackbut. Traditional Celtic instruments are of course the bagpipes, though use caution with them. McKee says, “ Bagpipes can be quite a thrill at first but I have yet to meet someone who thinks one hour straight of bagpipes is fun! They were meant to scare the enemy!” The Celtic harp, whether a lap harp or a floor harp, is also an excellent choice, though harps may be quiet and need to be amplified. Fiddles, Irish flutes and whistles, guitars, and bodhrans (Celtic drums) are common as well, both individually and in a group. For fantasy-themed music, any instrument will suffice. A harp provides what many consider an ethereal sound. Quartets and other ensembles will be able to offer a complex layered sound which my simulate movie or game music.
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How to Find Musicians The Internet is your best friend in finding musicians. Try and Keyword search including your area or city and the kind of music you’re wanting. If you want recorders at your wedding, contact the American recorder Society. Often local renaissance festivals will offer information about performing musicians. If you are in a larger or university city, there may be an Early Music chapter or group. Music stores may be another resource.
It is normal for a musician to ask for a 50% down payment upon engagement and the rest a week or two before the wedding.Can you ask a musician to furnish his or her own costume? If your wedding is aiming at authenticity and your musician has advertised as a renaissance musician, certainly you may. Of course amplification isn’t authentic, but if you’re concerned about the music projecting, it’s fine to discuss it with your musician, who may charge an additional fee.
Communicating with Musicians When contacting a musician, do your best to include all the details that may be pertinent: what kind(s) of music you want, whether you need help in picking the music and/or you have already chosen specific songs or styles, whether you want the musicians in costume, the location of the ceremony, and obviously the date. Most musicians are willing to learn new music and are excited about a challenge, so don’t hesitate to ask, say, a classical harpist, if she is willing to play a Celtic harp at your wedding. Feel free to ask for sound samples. Make sure that you communicate well with the musician, establishing a common vocabulary. (If you say “Celtic” and you mean Enya or Loreena Mckennittt-style, and she says “Celtic” and means traditional instrumental style, you might be disappointed and the relationship could go sour). Remember that musicians are people too, and have spent many years cultivating a specific skill set in order to help you have the wedding of your dreams.
The best part of having live music at your Renaissance-themed wedding is that you have the privilege of working with people who enjoy what they are doing and can make a huge difference at this crucial moment. Using live music for your ceremony will distinguish it and create a unique atmosphere, leading to unforgettable memories. If, however, you want your harpist dressed as an angel, a pirate, or any less common character, you may need to pony up and provide the costume. Renaissance artists may require a cleaning fee from you if they own their own costumes. Keep in mind that outdoor weddings are often challenging for musicians. Weather, insects, shade or lack of it, treacherous terrain and other factors wreak havoc with instruments and portability. Many musicians will charge an additional fee for playing out-of-doors.
Most difficulties can be worked out with simple communication. When it comes to payment, don’t expect to get music for free. If you want a a professional musician, you should expect to pay professional rates. That said, you may be able to find a hobbyist or a group of musicians who are happy to play for nothing by exposure and experience. Be nice to them! They deserve it!
Previous:The dancing scene from “Shakespeare in Love” Above: “The Tudors” dancing scene Opposite: Arial shot, “A Knight’s Tale”
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Links of Interest: American Recorder Society: American-recorder.org Bert and Dorothea Barth: flutesoffancy.com Andrew McKee: thebards.net Whitney Rowlett Senn: countstonine.com
The Symbolism of the Lion “ And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their king, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.� ( Genesis 1:25) By Jody Helme-Day
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the Middle Ages in Christian Europe, this quotation from the Bible was accepted whole heartedly: the world was not the corrupt distraction from God that it becomes in later times, but rather a reflection of the pure, benevolent Creator who made it. Animals as subjects of symbolism instead of science formed the foundation for collections of stories and descriptions of various animals and their meanings and were most popular the twelfth through fourteenth centuries.
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The early medieval bestiaries were essentially straightforward Latin translations of the Physiologus, a collection written in Greek between the second and fourth centuries CE in Alexandria by a unknown author. Many church elders wrote about animal symbolism, including St. Ambrose, Isidore of Seville, and Francis of Assisi and their ideas influenced medieval authors and artists as well. Animals such as lions, dogs, foxes, monkeys, eagles, and hawks, rabbits, and even mythical animals such as unicorns and dragons appear in many artistic works of the Middle Ages, and the Physiologus was the book that gave them their meanings. The lion is the first animal traditionally described in the bestiaries, mostly due to his position as “king of the beasts.” There are three major characteristics of the lion described, the first is that the lion will sweep away his tracks with his tail wherever he wanders. This likens him to Christ, who hid His divine nature from disbelievers. The second characteristic is that he sleeps with his eyes open, comparable to Jesus’ physical body sleeping on the cross but with His divine nature awake and watching. Thirdly, if a lioness births a dead cub its sire will breathe on it three days after its death and awaken it. The reference to the Resurrection is obvious here. The physical characteristics of the lion are also indicators of its temperament. Lions depicted with short bodies and curly manes have peaceful natures, while those with long bodies and straight hair are fierce. Its courage and ferocity as well as the allusions to its being the “kings of the beasts” were certainly an incentive for many aristocratic families to feature the lion in their crests. Indeed, the famous” Lady and the Unicorn” tapestries depict a lion in each of the six panels of the series. Next to the unicorn it is the only one that appears in all six. The lion is usually shown
Opposite: The Crest of Queen Elizabeth I Above: A Knight’s Helmet, Parmigianino, 1645
The fierce and noble lion submits to the protagonist. holding the crest of the Le Viste family, which is the family thought to have commissioned the tapestries. Clearly the lion is supposed to allude to the nobility of the family in its favored position of bearing the standard. Many aristocrats adopted nicknames concerning lions, the most famous being Richard I of England, “the Lion-Heart.”
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In several stories of the courtly love tradition of the Middle Ages, the fierce and noble lion submits to the protagonist, such as Sir Yvain in Chretien de Troyes story “Yvain” where he assists the lion and not the serpent like dragon in the animals fight and thereby wins the gratitude and loyal submission of the king of the beasts. In the poem “ Dit du Lyon” by Guillaume do Machaut, a lion greets a traveler who arrives on a magical island and leads him to the lady who rules it. The lion is the favorite pet of the lady and for this reason the other animals of the island abuse it out of jealousy. The lady herself is hardly more kind in her treatment for she dominates the lion completely and keeps it in a constant state of emotional turmoil; whenever she favors it with attention it is in ecstasy, but when she shifts her attention to another animal it despairs. In these stories, the king of the beasts being controlled by the characters illustrates the lion’s inherent nobility and pure heart, as in “Yvain,” or the triumph of love over its strength, as in the beautiful lady keeping it under her spell in “Dit do Lyon”. The fierceness of the lion is used in a rather cautionary way in describing love in a different work.” Master Richard’s Bestiary of Love” by Richard de Fournival (1201-1260). This work is a blend of the traditions of bestiary literature and courtly love literature of the time, addressed to one lady of whom the author is obviously enamored. The traits of several animals are used to describe the behavior of people in love, or of Love itself. Love, is like a lion, for Love will attack no man unless he looks upon it. Therefore, woe to the man who dares to gaze at it! The submissive lion is used in the same trope in religious stories of the saints as well. In the story of St. Jerome, the saint removes a thorn from the paw of a pain maddened lion and it becomes his loyal pet. Many paintings of the Middle Ages and Renaissance depict either the act of the removal or the lion sitting at Jerome’s feet while the saint reads at his desk. In these stories the submission of the noble and courageous lion to the protagonist reflects the brave, pure heart of the individual. The individual who believes wholeheartedly in and dedicates his life to God is stronger than even a lion. Clearly, the people of the Middle Ages were fascinated with the natural world they found around them and particularly the beasts that inhabited it. In the defining characteristics given it, scholars and poets saw a lesson in front of them to be taken from the lion: be strong of heart and of faith, be noble in your being and in your actions, and all good will come to you. However, remember that love is stronger than all and great caution should be taken when dealing with it or your result will be despair. If the king of the beasts can be brought low, then man should take heed and live in prudence and humility.
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Huzzah! Renaissance magazine is proud to present the winners of our 2012 Wedding Contest. For our seventh competition, we received entries from all over the United States. Our couples created events in a wide variety of styles from medieval to renaissance to gothic fantasy. We were impressed by how many of the brides (and grooms) made their own garments and decorations, in addition to patronizing many of the wonderful artisans you see every month in Renaissance magazine. And many of the events were held at renaissance faires-what better locations could there be? We congratulate everyone who entered, and wish all of you long and happy lives together!
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The 2012 Authentic Wedding Contest
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Grand Prize Winners
Their wedding at a glance: Matt and I wanted our wedding to be two things: personalized and fun. We knew that our definition of those two concepts would not be better fulfilled anywhere but at The Texas Renaissance Festival, an establishment that has been a nearly life-long tradition for both of us. We are also both history nerds and lovers of fantasy, so it seemed only logical that we choose a location that embodied both of those things.
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Matt and Michelle met while preparing for the Stone Tower Glenn Renaissance Faire that Matt was producing. Michelle is a Teacherin-training/Nanny and Matt is a Computer Technician. They were married at The Texas Renaissance Festival in Magnolia, Texas on November 26, 2011.
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Tell us about the ceremony: Our ceremony was an original piece written by the festival itself, and it was designed to sound as though it were from the Renaissance period.
What was your biggest challenge? Our only real
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challenge was keeping everything organized and on schedule so that we wouldn’t leave anything out. This got rather exhausting as the wedding neared and I can remember reaching a “screw it” point with a lot of the minutia. Whatever we got done, got done, and whatever we forgot was simply omitted. All of those little, tiny details that had seemed so important during early planning quickly became very low priority later on. After the wedding, I was especially glad I allowed myself to stop obsessing over it.
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“The law of life is love unto all beings. Without love, life is nothing. Without love, death hath no redemption. Love is anterior to life, posterior to death, initial of creation, and the exponent of earth. If we learn no more in life, let it be this.”
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Favorite moment: I will never forget standing up at the altar and holding Matt’s hands as he did his best to say his vows while choking back tears. It was especially meaningful because I had never felt more supportive or connected to him than I did in that moment as we vowed ourselves to each other in front of the people we loved most.
Her advice for offbeat brides: Keep in mind that the actual wedding day will go by faster than you could have ever imagined, and you will be so swept up in the love and happiness and fun of it all that you will not notice the absence of a certain decoration or the omission of a song on the reception playlist. Or if you do, it will seem quite trivial at that point, trust me. Don’t stress yourself out, especially over little things. I encourage not having inhibitions with showing your personality. Matt and I considered, for a time, doing something more traditional and adding in little hints of our offbeatness, like a nerdy cake-topper or something. While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that if that’s truly what you want, I think no one should have to compromise in this area if they truly want to do something different and maybe a little more “outrageous.”
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Both the Bride’s dress and groom’s outfit came from Pendragon Costumes. “I highly recommend this company to anyone who is considering a period-style wedding and want authentic garb, all of their costumes are of very high-quality and are all extremely beautiful.”
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Photographs by Amanda Allen. Venue: The Texas Renaissance Festival.
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Aaron Bennett and Aimee Pere Aaron and Aimee are avid fairegoers and students of history and they wanted to share their enjoyment of this era with friends and family.
Wedding and reception: Castle McCulloch, Jamestown, NC Photos: Aaron Riddle Photography The bride’s dress and that of the ladies in waiting were handmade by Aimee’s mother.Most of the groom’s and courtiers’ dress were purchased at several faires or hand made. Many decorations were both period and seasonal (autumn) such a pumpkin, dried herbs, rosemary, and sunflowers. The couple did much research as to which decorations to use and why. They went with a local caterer who prepared a period style banquet feast, including a dressed pig and mead and dressed the part as period servers as well.
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Winners
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A minstrel group and a harpist played period wedding and festive music during the ceremony and reception and led the guests in period round dances.
Tell us about your wedding: The whole goal of our wedding was to have fun, and help our guests have fun too. I think we succeeded, since two months later that’s still all we ever hear about! Before the ceremony, we had a joust, and Gavin and I were the guests of honor in the King’s box. Then we had a short outdoor ceremony, a half-hour break, and then a sit-down dinner with a show.
What was your favorite moment? The most striking part of the ceremony that I remember was when my normally strong and confident father-in-law was reading our ceremony (he was our officiant) and his hands and voice were shaking. It was very sweet. We’re both so blessed to have had such a wonderful experience.
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“But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest; So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.�
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Winners
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Dianna L and Michael J. O’Conner
Wedding and reception: RavenStone Castle, Harvard, Illinois. Photos: LadyKeelah photography The Bride’s dress by Kelly Cochran Davis of Waisted Efforts. Fore panel beading by MaritaBeth Caruthers, and the bride also contributed beading. Dianna worked with de Signet International to make handcrafted period one of a kind rings. Wilson Revelle ( the Troll of the LARF) took the wedding photos dressed in his troll garb. Recorded music featured 3 Pints Gone and Craig of Farrington, plus belly dancing. Besides spending several days after the wedding at RavenStone Castle, the wedding party spent the following day at the Bristol Renaissance faire.
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What was your biggest challenge? Life. I think what makes planning a wedding difficult is that your life doesn’t stop happening just because you’re planning a wedding. We were both looking for work, dealing with terminal family illness, getting ready to move, and struggling with all the daily minutia that takes up your time. We did the best we could, and at some point I let of go of the expectation that our wedding would be flawless. Our lives aren’t flawless, our future won’t flawless, so why should our wedding be flawless? I tried to refocus on having a life full of love and a wedding that reflected that. On a practical note, we supported each other by dividing up the work according to our talents. I am comfortable contacting strangers and I enjoy being crafty, so I set up a lot of the initial vendor meetings and made lots of our crafty items.
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Dianna and Michael have both been involved in renaissance faires for several years. They are cast in both the Fishers and Tennessee Renaissance Faires, and travel the country going to different faires.
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Ben has a background in event and stage management, so he organized all the folks who offered to help and he acted as coordinator on the wedding day. What was your favorite moment? There were moments I will remember until the end of my days. First, dancing with Ben to “I’m Your Moon”. I always thought that “everything faded away” was a poetic metaphor, but I really felt that we were dancing in a moment out of time. Second, I loved dancing with my father and my stepfather. We were so happy and I felt like I was paying homage to the little girl child I used to be. Funniest moment: There were lots of laughs throughout the whole day. We are a nerdy bunch, so there were a lot of geeky references in toasts and blessings, including a friend that brought down the house by just pointing at us and saying, “Mawwiage.”
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“I loved dancing with my father and my stepfather. We were so happy and I felt like I was paying homage to the little girl I used to be.�
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Congratulations!
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To the following Couples whose recent Nuptial were celebrated in the period style Wedding in the Year of Our Lord 2008:
Landrew and Linda Olson, June 21, 2008, Shell Lake,WI
Weddings in the Year of Our Lord 2009:
Derek and Meliss Miller, October 2, 2009, Fairfield, OH Rex and Leah Hiebert, October 17, 2009, Texas Renaissance Festival Stacy and Bernadette Weaver, October 17, 2009, Gloversville, NC
Wedding in the Year of Our Lord 2011:
Jeremy and Alisa Hartsell, April 16, 2011, Scarborough Renaissance Festival, TX Jeffrey and Heather Schrunk, April 23, 2011, Scarborough Renaissance Festival, TX The Drews, May 1, 2011, Cave Creek , AZ Jeffrey and Diana Slusher, July 5, 2011, Parkersbury, WV John and Wynell Bounds, August 6, 2011, Las Vegas, NV Gary Wright and Karen Mulcahy, October 1, 2011, Baltimore, MD
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Landrew and Linda Olson Photo by:
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Rex and Leah Hiebert Photo by:
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Alisa Hartsell is walked down the aisle Photo by:
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Make A Wedding
By Kate Copsey
When planning your medieval themed wedding, use flowers to put the stamp of authenticity on your bride’s outfit. You can assemble floral headpieces and posies for the bride and attendants to carry quite easily using natural leaves and blooms. 22
The focus of your wedding flowers should be what is available from your garden or local fields so will vary depending on the season. For weddings that are scheduled very early in the year, try drying some flowers the season before, but the bulk will hopefully be fresh early spring material. Unlike modern wedding flowers, medieval bouquets were primarily composed of green leaves from herbs and vines with a few accent flowers, rather than an assemblage of floral blooms. Apart from visual aesthetics, the wedding flowers were also selected for their meaning. Wheat was very commonly used for fertility, ivy was used for fidelity, and roses for love ( not yellow roses though, which indicate jealousy). In general, look for darker colors like rich burgundy roses and dark green holly leaves, rather than white, which is more for modern brides. Spring flowers can include dark red tulips and blossoms from cherry or apple trees. Appropriate summer flowers would include sage, thyme and other herbs, plus roses and calendulas. Traditionally, the bridesmaid had the task of dealing with the flowers and most of the everyday weddings had a rustic flavor to them. Bouquets for the attendants and bride are composed of background stems with accent flowers all tied with a contrasting ribbon. The same material as the bride’s coronet would work well for the hand held poises.
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How To Make Your Own Coronet For help assembling this coronet I headed down to my local florist, Karen Nady, who is the manager a Joe I Cooper in Waterville, Ohio. If you choose this route, be prepared to supply at least some of your own stems and herbs for the posies and coronet, as they are not standard floral materials. For our example we used a base constructed of grapevine. Other vines can be used. Look for long pieces of fresh, flexible growth that will bend easily.
Bend the fresh vine into a circle that has four or five strands of vine. Secure the end of the coronet form either by using thin wire, or by tucking the ends back into the vine base. If you prefer not to use wire, wrap the base with ivy or other vine material to keep it tight and secure.
The background material is then added. We used long stems of sage to make a lush and full background. The stems were tucked into the circle and overlapped to cover the whole form. A pale, quarter inch wide ribbon was loosely wrapped over the sage to neaten and secure the background. Flower blossoms and more greenery were then added as accent to the arrangement. We used stems of rosemary, red roses, hydrangea and holly followed by a few stalks of wheat.
The final touch was a second ribbon that was placed at tight angles to the first ribbon. A bow and streamers made from both ribbons were attached. The streamers contained the traditional three knots to represent the bride, groom and f uture child. The whole coronet took less than an hour to assemble and would be best if it were made the day of the wedding. For maximum freshness the arrangement should be stored in a refrigerator if possible. With the exception of the roses and some smaller blooms the arrangement can be dried and preserved as a keepsake of the wedding day.
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The Castle Kitchen With the approach of St. Valentines Day, and as we celebrate love and marriage with those around us, I thought I would offer several recipes that are romantic and tasty. The modern understanding of the word romance has been connected to Flowers, chocolate, and wine. By Alice the Cook
Early tales of romance can be traced to the Acritic songs from the Byzantium Empire, which were then introduced to the French and Italian knights during the occupation after the Fourth Crusade and influenced their songs and stories. Similar traditions existed in Northern Europe and were in the form of great epic sagas taking place in exotic locations, usually involving mythological elements and dangerous quests. The earliest medieval romances dealt heavily with themes from folklore, which during the early thirteenth century were increasingly written as prose. As these romances gained popular favor, clerical critics of the late Middle Ages thought that romances were harmful worldly distractions from more religious or moral works. By the seventeenth century, many secular readers would
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agree with religious leaders ‘ opinions that romantic stories were trite and childish. The early Romantic Movements consisted of larger than life heroes and heroines, drama and adventure, with fantastic adventures and themes of honor and loyalty or fairy tale like stories and story settings. The French developed the modern concept of romance as it moved away from the spic tales of the past and focused on two people and the conflicts they overcame to be together. Each of the recipes below is fancier than my usual dishes, but this is for a special occasion. The recipes are French in origin and fairly easy to prepare.
Pomegranate and Raspberry Wine Pork 1 pork shoulder ( 4-5 lbs) 2 tsp oil 2 cups pomegranate juice ( unsweetened) 3 cups raspberry wine 1 tsp black pepper 1 tsp sea salt
Potato Dauphinoise Preheat oven to 350 3 lbs red potatoes thinly sliced 6 large garlic cloves minced 1 large garlic clove halved 4 absp butter 2 ½ cups heavy cream ½ cup milk Salt and pepper to taste. Place the potato slices in a bowl of cold water to remove the excess starch. Drain and pat dry with paper or cloth towels. Blend the cream and mild together. Take the halved garlic clove and rub the cut side around a wide, shallow, ovenproof dish or cast iron pot. Butter or spray oil the dish pot generously. Cover the bottom of the dish with a layer of the potatoes. Dot a bit of the butter and minced garlic over the potatoes and season with the salt and pepper. Pour a bit of the cream and mild mixture over the layer. Continue making layers until all of the ingredients have been used, ending with just a layer of cream. Bake for about 1 ¼ hours. If the potatoes are browning too quickly, cover with a lid or a piece of aluminum foil. The dish is done when the potatoes are soft and tender and the top is golden brown. Serves 8
Heat oil in large pot and brown the pork shoulder. Once browned, add the wine and juice together and cook on a stovetop on medium heat for 2.5 hours. After the first hour, add the black pepper. After the second hour, add the salt. The pork is done when it falls apart(like pulled pork). Remove
Poached Pears 4-6 pears, peeled 1/12 cups red wine ¾ cups granulated sugar 2 tbsp lemon juice 2 tsp vanilla 2 tsp ground cinnamon Preparation: combine all ingredients except pears and bring to a boil. Once the wine boils, turn heat down to a simmer and add the pears. Simmer pears for 10-12 minutes, turn pears and simmer for an additional 8-10 minutes until they are tender. Remove pears and let them cool. Boil wine sauce until the liquid is reduced by half. Pour sauce over pears and serve with mascarpone or crème fraiche.
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Valentines Day Divination By the fourteenth century, Valentine’s Day had shed some of its Christian coil and was returning to its roots in pagan celebrations of love and fertility. Love divination provides insight into the mysterious forces controlling the universe. By Nate Peterson As the petals fall from the flower in the common love divination ritual, we comfort ourselves with an excuse for lost love(‘she loves me not”) or steel our hearts for the pursuit of a new lover ( “she loves me”). In this month’s column, we present some common love divination rituals from the Renaissance that you can try today. See if they help you navigate the complex waters of love and fate.
Hemp Seed Ritual Fetch a wide, shallow bowl of water and place it behind you. Carefully drop hemp seeds into the water, passing them over your left shoulder without looking at the bowl. Chant the following: Hemp seed I sow Hemp seed will grow Let him (or her) who loves me Come after me and mow Turn around to see the pattern the hemp seeds made in the water. The seed hint at your future beloved’s name, profession, or background. For example, if the seed resemble a letter, that letter is the first letter of your would be lover’s name. If the seeds pattern themselves into a crown, you can anticipate a royal or an aristocratic lover. A house implies wealth, an arrow implies a hunter, a butter churn, a dairy former. Presumably, the forces of divination have updated themselves to the modern day so also beware of the seeds forming into a bit of software code implying a software engineer lover.( If you don’t have hemp seed, rice also works for this ritual).
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Yarrow Ritual At the start of your Valentine’s day feast, hand each pair of lovers a fresh sprig of the yarrow plant. If by the end of the feast the yarrow sprig remains green and lively, then the love it symbolizes will be strong and true. If, on the other hand, the yarrow sprig dries up and withers, the same can be expected of the lovers emotions. This interesting, if somewhat cruel ritual, must have introduced a dose of anxiety into Valentin’s Day feasts. Imagine the laughter and gaiety of many lovers cut short by the horror of a withering yarrow sprig before them. So introduce this ritual to your feasters at your own risk.
Nighttime Yarrow Ritual If the terror of the previous yarrow ritual hasn’t done you or your guests in, you can extend the fun into the nighttime. Pin five yarrow leaves to
Oppostie page: Wild Yarrow Plant Above: Sea Holly Photos from MexicanWildflower.com
the pillow of sleeping lover and then sprinkle them with rosewater (the yarrow leaves, not the sleeping lover, preferably). If the yarrow leaves remain healthy in the morning, the lover can rejoice, their love will last. If the yarrow leaves are dead or withered, their love is doomed.
Nighttime Pillow Ritual Fill several pillows with the leaves of the Sea Holly plant, or a combination of other divination herbs such as rosemary or whatever is left of your yarrow supply. Place the pillows at the foot of your bed. The aroma of the herbs will provide prophetic dreams of your future lovers, similar to the Sea Holly ritual above. But, as an added bonus, the pillows will become disheveled over the course of the night. In the morning, view the pillow from a distance. The creasing in the pillow will reveal the outline of your future lover’s face.
Nighttime Sea Holly ritual If you used up your entire yarrow supply in the feast ritual, fear not you can still divine your future lover by using the leaves of Eryngium plant, also known as sea Holly. Placing the leaves inside your pillow before sleeping will grant you dreams of your future beloved.
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British Treasure presenting the lastest discoveries in medieval and renaissance era treasure.
By Judith Kane
A sixteenth century gold pendant thought to be worth up to $4 million was unearthed in Essex by a three year old who was out for a day with his father and using a metal detector for the very first time. The child found the artifact, which depicts the Virgin Mary and other Christian symbols, after only five minutes of searching buried eight inches deep in a farmer’s field. The pendant has a sliding back with a cavity, suggesting that it was a reliquary, used to hold a religious relic. Only three other reliquaries of this type are known to have survived. The proceeds of its sale will be split between the boy and the landowner. A medieval gold pendant in the shape of a phallus, found in Norfolk. The phallus is less than ¾” lon, hollow, and described as”…rounded at the terminal with a small aperture left open at either end… with separately applied solid globular testicles…(and) grooves on the underside that define the edge of the foreskin.”
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Since there I no native tradition of phallus worship in England, the pendant is likely a remnant of Roman influence; Romans believed that phallic symbols had magical properties and wore them as talismans, to ward off the evil eye and invoke the protection of the phallic deity Fascinus(from the Latin word meaning “to cast a spell” or fascinate). Other phallus amulets have been found in areas where there was a Roman military presence, but most are bronze and a gold one is a rare find. A sixteenth century silver badge that bears the image of one of the companions of Saint Ursula, the subject of one of the most popular mystical legends of medieval Europe, found in Lancashire. Ursula was said to be a British princess who sailed with 11,000 virgin companions to marry a pagan prince in Brittany, but diverted to go on a pilgrimage and after many adventures, came to Cologne, Germany where all were slaughtered by Hun tribesmen.
Opposite:Pendant, The Victoria and Albert Museum Above: The Tudors, screencap showing a silver headpiece A Viking Hoard, Ian Richardson
came to Cologne, Germany where all were slaughtered by Hun tribesmen. When a large Roman era cemetery was found in Cologne in the eleventh century, the remains were declared to be those of the saint and her companions and a cult dedicated to Ursula quickly spread across Europe and a shrine to her in Cologne became one of the great pilgrimage sites of mainland Europe. It is likely that the badge, which was found in Lancashire and is the only one of its kind ever found in Britain, came from the shrine. A Viking hoard found in Furness, in northwest England, that includes a silver bracelet, several silver ingots, and 92 silver coins, including a pair of Arabic dirhams. The dirhams(silver currency that circulated in the tenth century) are two of only five ever found. Experts think the hoard dates to around 955 CE, when Viking invaders had established a foothold in northern England, and suggests a significant Viking presence in Cumbria during the period, which was a critical transitional period between invasion and settlement, and a time for which there is little archaeological evidence for a strong Norse presence in the region. The hoard is thought to be worth tens of thousands of dollars.
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The Mount Hope Trayn’d Band this group of skilled reinactors brings renaissance warfare to life. people correspondant merriel moyer brings you their story and their expertise on the matter of all things military. By Merriell Moyer Most people, when questioned about Renaissance era warfare, usually visualize mounted knights, catapults, and archer. Rarely does anyone mention pike wielding footmen and peasants armed with matchlock muskets. Pikemen and musketeers were a staple military unit in the later Middle Ages, through the Renaissance, and into the early years of the Age of Exploration. With sixteen foot long pikes used to dismount riders and seventy fine caliber bullets capable of punching through armor, the “Trained Bands” represented the beginning of the end of the mounted knight. The men and women of The Mount Hope Tryn’d Band bring this staple of renaissance military to life.
The reenactment group acts as the militia of the fictional Shire of Mount Hope when the grounds of the Mount Hope Winery are transported back in time for the Faire. Outside of their long term tour of duty at The Shire, The Trayn’d Band also participate in events like the Army Heritage Days in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where they represent an early colonial militia, and the School of the Musketeer at the historic Fort Mifflin on the Delaware. Captain Howley, Sergeant Theodore Moyer, and Lieutenant Joanna Barber are instructors for the latter event, an actual school that trains participants to safely handle and shoot everything from matchlock muskets to cannon.
Led by Captain James Howley, the members of The Bealtuinn Free Company spend most of their time at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire performing as The Mount Hope Trayn’d Band.
Captain Howley describes the members of The Trayn’d Band as “experimental archaeologists.” This is due in large part to the hands on research the group does regarding its weapons
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For more information about the Mount Hope Tryn’d Band, visit their website at bealtuinnfreecompany.com or their page at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire website, parenfaire. com/-faire/history. All photos were taken by Michael Ulrich
its weapons and equipment. For example, The Band has performed extensive field testing with their .75 caliber, replica matchlock muskets, finding them to be accurate at ranges up to one hundred yards, thus dispelling the myth of the weapon’s legendary inaccuracy. Privet Kyle Harkins points out The Band have consistently achieved nine inch groups at one hundred yards with their replica weapons handmade by John Buck of Virginia. Private Harkins explains the misconception may have come about due to a religious stigma, which considered aiming and shooting a projectile weapon with the intent to kill the same as murder. To circumvent this stigma, musketeers would tip their hats over their eyes and fire blindly into an oncoming mass of enemy soldiers and knights.
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The Mount Hope Trayn’d Band has not limited itself solely to field research. Their main source of inspiration and information is “English Warfare 1511-1642”, a modern treatise on the subject by Mark Charles Fissel, and “The Exercise of Armes” by Jacob de Gheyn, a period piece detailing the drills, tactics and equipment of the Elizabethan era trained band. The group uses these books as a source for determining what equipment to use and how to use it before being applied to the field and undergoing tests for reliability, durability and proper usage. After drilling throughout the spring, the Trayn’d Band demonstrate their use of pike and musket for the public at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.
Period Poetry By Greg Jone Muller
His Nights and Days Are of the Happiest In sheets I turn and, sleepless, pass my nights: Nor the herbwife’s simple, nor the leech’s rites Suffice to gain me Morpheus’ delights. Yet I my bed’s proved quality do protest: For she lies by me that I love the best. My guts do grumble discontent by day, Sup howsoever caresomely I may: Yet bear I this distress without dismay: When by me at my board my spouse shall rest, My table I’ll count laden with the best. This truth, then, am I proud for to protest: That though night’s hours may earn me little rest, And bile, belike, should plague my poor digest, I smiling yet account me royally blest: For’tis my wedded wife I love the best. Wherefore am I thus mov’d to laud her so? Think’st I her wrath fear, or for favour sue? False be my troth if either lie be true. My love’s nor flattered flower nor tryant foe. His nights and days are of the happiest Whose fortune’tis to love his wife the best.
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I Go Not Far As I ride out, I feel there’s somewhat missingSmall need to plumb my wallet for the lack. From onward business I once more gaze back To spy thee, hand long casts aloft with kissing. Would I could bide! My heart would turn my course If one sweet hour’s delay could bid time hold, Or grant a life where lovers ne’er grew old, Or e’en by hay to feed our hungry horse. And yet I go not far: there’s that about me That yet remaineth, when from thee I part: Thou’st glamoured me with honest nature’s art, So I’m without myself it I’m without thee. Beside thee or apart, awake or sleeping, My heart is ever held in thy safe keeping.
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