Hello Debatable Lands! Salve Accolens!

Ballots for the current Baronial election are anticipated to be mailed by the middle of September. An addressed return envelope will be provided with each ballot. They must be mailed back or hand delivered, sealed, in the return envelope to the Chair of the Selection Committee, Hara Kikumatsu, and received IN HAND by 2:00pm on Sunday, October 18th. Do not write your name on the ballot. Please watch the blog for updates and reminders.

The baronial candidates will participate in a meet-and-greet as well as a Q&A session at the Post-Pennsic Social on Saturday, September 5th from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the Miller Shelter in North Park.

The counting of the ballots will take place on Sunday, October 18th, starting at 2:00 pm at Buffalo Inn in South Park.

Below are statements from the three candidate pairs. To read the Baronial Election policy, see section V.G. of our Baronial policies here. Contact Hara at bmdl@aethelmearc.org if you have questions.

Greetings!

We are Sir Maghnus de Cnoc an Iora (Joel Welling) and Meistr-y-gân Gwendolyn the Graceful (Lee Hillman).

Sir Maghnus (he/him) joined the SCA in 1979, while a graduate student at Pitt, and has lived in the Barony-Marche since then. Over his four-plus decades in the Barony, he has served as the Earl Marshal of Cour D'Or, the Seneschal of the Principality of Æthelmearc, Exchequer of the Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands, and has "lost more Crown Tourneys than any combattant in the kingdom, a record that is likely to stand indefinitely." He was knighted in AS 25 (1989) and inducted into the Order of the Pelican in AS 34 (1999). His current interests still include heavy weapons fighting and siege. He is also a deputy kingdom seneschal for special projects (COVID safety).

Gwendolyn (she/her or he/him) (AKA Eiliueth verch Llewellyn Sutor de Gwynedd) encountered the SCA in 1989, in the Marche of the Thistle (Midrealm), and lived in the Barony of Thescorre permanently following a brief period in the Shire of Mynydd Seren (Midrealm). She has been at various times a pursuivant, chronicler, dancing master, choir master, fencer, Baronial Bard, and Baronial Chatelaine, and served many reigns in Æthelmearc as retinue, Sylvan Bard, and more recently Jewel of Æthelmearc Herald. While living out of kingdom (Boston, MA area), she served as Clerk of the Fleur D'Æthelmearc for four years, and often traveled to the Debatable Lands. Gwen moved here in 2014, joined the choir, served in the past as Social Media deputy as well as Comet Pursuivant, and is currently one of the baronial dancing masters. Since last election, she was inducted into the Orders of the Pelican and the Copernicus and named 57th Jewel of Æthelmearc. She is currently Clerk of the Laurel (term ends next Pennsic) and has been Assistant Dean of Pennsic Performing Arts for the last three years. In addition to the arts, Gwen is a deputy seneschal for special projects and an active member of the Æthelmearc siege community.

Statement:

Maghnus: Look, none of this history stuff actually matters. It’s not like if we get elected, I’m going to be saying “Oh, this exact same thing happened back when I was Barony Exchequer way back before there were airplanes and computers!” The only thing I think you can get from our SCA resumés is that we’re enthusiastic about the Barony and have been for a long time. And we are, and we have. For my part, I think the big worry is that I’m really into combat and ballistas (ballistae?) but I might ignore the rest of the Barony. My statement now is that I won’t, or at least I’ll try my best not to. I promise. Please note that I do plan to continue entering Crown Tournaments, and you never know- it might go better than it did the previous 80 times.

Gwen: My worry isn't that Magnus "only" cares about fighting; it's that our organizational skills can be disjointed since we don't co-habit. Of course, this time around, there are two pairs who don't live together, and we would commit to communicating regularly with each other and with the Barony officers and others who need us to respond. But we do have complementary skills and we actually do work well as a team even when we have different opinions about how to proceed.

Why we wish to serve: As Maghnus says, we truly love the Barony and we feel called to serve in this way. We are at a point in our SCA careers where we wish to give back to the Barony that has given us so much. It would be a true honor to serve, particularly with the class of other Baronage who are invested now or are about to be invested. We want to make sure that the Barony has good choices, and we know with the other two pairs in the race, the Barony will be in good hands no matter what.

Plans for the Barony: Well, Gwen had planned a new T-shirt if we had won last time, but we're already doing that! Maghnus dreams about a vast ballista battery all in black and gold... but we mainly wish to support this amazing place and all its people, to continue to make it as welcoming and diverse and productive as it has ever been. We would also love to increase our presence in the greater community in various ways, including some of the old-school recruiting opportunities like group movie field trips, additional demo possibilities, and perhaps adding the Pride parade to the St. Patrick's Day parade appearances for the Barony. Apart from that, we want to hear from the people what you all think needs focus.

Arthes and Skjoldr became active members of the barony in 2015. We began attending archery practices and as we became more involved we have been baronial officers, marshals, event stewards and experts in what we do. We want to make our group a fun, safe, comfortable place where everyone can enjoy it as much as we do.

Archery is our main passion within the SCA, and we have been honored to be baronial and kingdom champions in this sport. Skjoldr also fences, Arthes sometimes fights and is authorized for combat archery. We both love to cook and experiment with period dishes. We enjoy bardic. We both throw occasionally. We can list a resume of all of the accolades and amazing moments we've had within the organization, but that list doesn't tell you who we are. We love hearing about what medieval thing you're doing and why its cool.

We want to serve the barony as the Baronage because we want to help our members bring history to life. We want to grow our passion and share it with more like-minded individuals who haven't found the SCA yet. We want to help current members thrive. Sometimes that is helping to remove barriers to attending events. Sometimes it is being a cheerleader, sometimes its recognizing the amazing talents that our members have, and sometimes its just helping to make that magic moment real.

We want to work with the populace to create more structure and recognition paths for our youth.

We want to support everyone to pursue their passions with regard to the SCA, and to share that with one another. There are many parts to this; but the most important is that we want to be there as much as possible to encourage both our martial communities and our artisans to showcase their work and skills and to make sure that everyone in the community is seen. We want to continue the monthly tournaments at martial practices to encourage community within the barony as a whole.

We want to support the kingdom, and our fellow baronies with the wealth of knowledge, prowess and service that the members of our barony have, to support the growth of all of Æthelmearc.

Most of all, we want to represent our populace well, and to be their champions and advocates to the rest of the known world.

Owen and Elinor are running for Baron and Baroness together in a friendship forged in fire, a years-long relationship that has persisted through the highest and lowest of life circumstances, both in and out of the SCA. (Also our respective introverted partners say no thank you. Haha) One of the advantages we see in running as close friends is that we both have individual support systems and people to rely on for assistance and council. We have collaborated on numerous large projects, both at a baronial and kingdom level, and have spent a lot of time traveling together across the kingdom. We have extensively discussed our many shared values of community and recognition and our goals for the position, if we were to be elected. We both believe it is the role of the baronage to help create a welcoming and accessible medieval world for our populace and to recognize their achievements, to walk with them on their SCA journeys, and to encourage and enable their new endeavors. Serving the Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands in whatever capacity it has needed us is a core theme that has run through both of our SCA lives and serving as baronage feels like the epitome of our goals in supporting the populace of our great lands.

Elinor Walden started attending Debatable Lands archery practices in 2019 after discovering the SCA through a Midrealm demo at a board-game convention and dove head-first into historical costuming, which persisted through the pandemic while she waited for events and practices to return. Since then, she has served as Head Retainer, Chief of Staff, Social Media Officer, and A&S Minister at the baronial level and Chancellor of the AEcademy at the kingdom level, as well as serving as a founding member and board member of the Skyguard Archers Guild and Kingdom Clothiers’ Guild. She has autocratted events that range from small A&S gatherings to Coronations and future Knowne World Symposiums and assisted several Royal reigns by running games and tournament series, leading Royal Wardrobe Projects, and serving as royal retainer in both AEthelmearc and other kingdoms. She serves on Pennsic Staff as the Lead Rapier Minister of the List and frequently helps run rapier tournaments across the kingdom. She is a Companion of the Orders of the Fleur d’Æthelmearc (2024), the Millrind (2025), and the Golden Alce (2025), along with others. Her endeavors in the Society have covered a wide range of activities, both A&S and martial, as she feels it is important to experience as many different facets of our Society as possible so that she might better understand what it is that creates such love and devotion to our game and a strong community that no others can rival.

Owen Tegg attended his first event, a Baronial Twelfth Night, at 16 and instantly fell in love with the SCA. In the 15 years since then, he's shot archery and fenced with more enthusiasm than skill, worked in kitchens and at troll tables, and served as core staff on Baronial and Royal Reigns. He currently serves the Kingdom as the Sigil of Æthelmearc Herald (deputy to the Silver Buccle), volunteers at Heralds' Point at Pennsic, and helped coordinate Known World Virtual Heralds' Point during lockdown. Owen's first love in the SCA was embroidery, and he has sewn and embroidered countless pieces of garb for everyday wear and for elevations and worked on multiple Baronial and Royal Wardrobe projects. After an injury in 2016 mandated a long break from needlework, he picked up illumination and has painted innumerable scrolls for the Barony, the Kingdom, and beyond. He teaches scribal arts at Pennsic and at Kingdom events, and has served as Signet for Baronessa Violeta and Praetoria Prima and co-led the Baronial Scriptorium since January 2025. A lifelong musician, he sings tenor in the Debatable Choir and plays violin in the Debatable Consort, and can be found playing for dancers at events and practices. Owen was elevated to the Order of the Laurel at Pennsic 52 for his illumination, and he is also a Companion of the Millrind (2022) and the Fleur d’Æthelmearc (2019). He loves the way the SCA builds community, making a better world in and out of our Society, and feels strongly about creating a space where everyone feels safe, welcome, and heard.