Call for Largesse!

Salve accolens!

Many great things are happening in the Kingdom of Æthelmearc in these days, with a new Baronage being invested in Delftwood and new royalty soon to ascend the Sylvan thrones. Our Baronessa and Praetoria wish to celebrate these occasions with gifts of largesse, and for this I call on you all for help. If you have anything you would like to contribute, or any questions about how you might do so, please contact the largesse coordinator, Laird Forveleth Dunde, on Discord or at forveleth@gmail.com. Thank you!

Yours in Service,
Laird Forveleth Dunde

I Feastii Pre-Registration Continues!

Salve Accolens!

I Feastii – The Greatest Period Feast in the Known Worlde – has limited seats and they are filling up steadily!

I’m sure you’re asking yourself, “But Michi, what kind of food will be served? Who is in I Genesii? What roles do they play?” And I’m glad you asked these specific questions! For these answers (and more coming soon), check out our newly launched website!

https://sites.google.com/view/ifeastii/home?authuser=0

At this website you’ll be able to find headshots of the cast, information about who they are and their role, and the delicious multi-course feast that will be served. You can also find a convenient link to get your Pre-Registration in.

As a reminder, Pre-Registration is required and seats are very limited! Pre-Reg is open until March 25th, 2026.

For questions and concerns, reach out to Me, Michi, at:
Facebook: Mira Kaplan
Discord: #mitth
Email: mirakat60 at gmail dot com

YIS,

Michi

Iris Festival and Iron Comet Challenge on Sunday May 24

Salve Accolens,

Coming on May 24th the Debatable Lands Iris Festival and Iron Comet Challenge event. This year’s event will be the 5th Iris festival and 15 year anniversary of the first Iron Comet Challenge. The Iris Festival is a Japanese themed event. It may include martial tournaments, A&S competitions and displays, classes, equestrian competitions, and/or guild workshops. The activities need not be Japanese themed. This year the Iris Festival hosts both the Iron Comet Challenge and the Iron Skillet dessert cooking competition.

The Iron Comet Challenge has independent tournaments for heavy fighting, fencing, archery, thrown weapons, and Arts and Sciences for adults. For youth there will be archery, thrown weapons, and Arts and Sciences. There will also be an A&S display for those who prefer to just display rather than compete. In addition, there is the combined Iron Comet Challenge:

Here are words from Laerifadir Jorundr hinn Rotinn who ran the first Iron Comet 15 years ago: We challenge all martial participants to show how well you do in the disciplines of Heavy Combat, Fencing, Archery, Thrown Weapons, and Arts and Sciences. All entrants in the Iron Comet Challenge must participate in at least three martial forms and provide an entry for the arts and sciences competition. If you participate in all four martial competitions you get to drop your lowest score for your final ranking. This competition for fun and glory shows just how multi talented our members are.

The icon skillet dessert competition is being organized by Lady Arthes MacLeod. Details will be coming soon. Please email arthesofbmdl@gmail.com for to participate.

All this fun will happen Sunday May 24th and the site is the Barn at Old Economy Park, #5 Forcey Drive, Baden, PA 15005. Here is the location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/1K2ZTiw4uqRvNu8i9. The site opens at 9 am and closes at 7pm. The autocrat for this event is Hara Shonagon , Sharon Booth, 1105 Shady Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, 412-441-1607 sbooth@sbooth.net. This is a land-line with an answering machine. Please leave a message. No calls after 9pm.

Accessibility Information:
The site is hilly. The site has a large outdoor field next to a barn. There is a second field behind the barn. There is limited parking next to the barn and a large parking lot a short distance from the barn. There will be reserved handicapped parking in the lot next to the barn. There will be outdoor changing pop-ups. The barn has two floors. Each floor has it’s own entrance. Each entrance has a step. The restrooms are accessible from the outside on the lower level and there are no steps to get into the restrooms.

There is a scrumptious boxed lunch planned to keep with the Japanese Iris Festival theme. The cook is Lady Oyama Michiharu: mirakat60@gmail.com. Lunch is an additional $6.00 for youth or adult.

Event Cost:

  • Adult Event Registration: $20
  • Adult Member Discount Event Registration: $10
  • Youth 17 and under are free
  • Optional Bento Box lunch: $6 – you must fill out pre-registration form to reserve a bento box.

Make checks payable to SCA PA, Inc. – BMDL. The reservations clerk for this event is Forveleth Dunde, Miranda Gavrin, forveleth@gmail.com. Please pre-register using the online form, especially if you want to reserve a bento box lunch. However, we ask that you pay at the door.

Here is the barony event page: https://debatablelands.aethelmearc.org/events/2026-05-24%20Japanese%20Iris%20Festival.php. It will be updated when we create the schedule, and details have more details about Iron Skillet.

Archery Practices Commence! (Weather Permitting)

Salve accolens, Debatable Lands archers!

As the ice and snow begin to thaw and the temperatures begin to rise, our bows and quivers grow restless, eager to resume their vigilant protection of the barony’s skies.

To that end, our valiant archery marshals will be monitoring weather conditions in the coming weeks, on the lookout for opportune conditions to hold outdoor practices at our regular martial practice site – this includes this coming Sunday, March 8th!

For newcomers, our archery practices run from 11:00 am until 2:00 pm in Highland Park (https://share.google/5FMkIxQRNfVMIXeoO) next to the Northeast Parking Area, at the northern end of the Cat Tail Trail. Loaner gear will be available.

Watch this space for information on cancellations due to inclement weather.

Yours in service,

Niall mac Raedwulf, Captain of the Archers

Archery Muster at the Castle – April 18th

The Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands invites you to a Regional Muster celebrating Archery, Thrown Weapons, and Arts & Sciences at the Castle home of Their Graces. Byron and Ariella (755 Stonegate Dr, Wexford, PA 15090-7593) on Saturday, April 18th. The muster will begin at 10:00 in the morning and continue until 4:00 in the afternoon.

Archery ranges will open at 10:30 am and archery from the roof will begin at 1:00 pm. The Barony’s loaner gear will be available.

During the afternoon, a tournament will be held to select the Barony’s representative for this year’s Scarlet Guard Challenge. The Scarlet Guard Challenge will take place at Scarlet Guard Inn in Hunters’ Home on Saturday, June 6th. To be selected as the Debatable Lands representative for the Challenge, you must be able to attend Scarlet Guard Inn and you must not currently be a member of the Scarlet Guard (or equivalent order – i.e. another kingdom’s grant-level archery order).

Thrown weapons will occur as marshals and equipment are available, and will be paused during the roof shoot.

There will be plenty of space indoors for any and all A&S activities!

Please bring something for a potluck. We’re going to be there all day, so let’s eat. Attendees may have certain dietary restrictions (vegan, gluten-free, etc.) so please provide ingredient information with your dish. Cards/pens will be available.

Their Graces have asked that you dress in garb for the day. No pets allowed indoors.

Parking is along the road, however Their Graces would like to remind you to use space efficiently on the street, diagonally where possible, and heed the parking signs.

ICYMI: New A&S and Bardic Champions have been Chosen!

On January 24, 2026, Baronessa Violeta and Praetoria Prima, Baronage of the Debatable Lands, chose Their new Arts & Sciences and Bardic champions! We had several exciting entries for A&S and two beautiful performances for Bardic and all deserve to be highlighted and congratulated.

Our new Champions are Lord Ingvar Sviatoslavich, with his A&S project of “An Alanic Caftan and the Simurgh“, and Lord Turlough O’Feolain, with his performance of Pais Dinogad, a 6th century Welsh poem! Lord Ingvar and Lord Turlough will both be representing our barony and competing at Seven Pearls in the fall. Lord Ingvar is seconded by Vaczi Matyas and Lord Turlough is seconded by Lady Tristyn of Griffyn’s Keep, both of whom had impressive entries of their own!

Our new baronial champions amidst their art – Ingvar wearing his winning caftan and Turlough mid-performance

Though I was unable to capture the ethereal nature of the bardic performances, please enjoy a glimpse of the rest of our A&S competition entries. I’m thankful that the baronage alone had to select their champion – I would have struggled to pick one myself! Vivant to all who entered and I look forward to seeing more from you in the future – maybe Iron Comet?

Cat Ear Hood by Noble Thomasyn Fletcher
Heraldic Embroidered Box by Lady Kolfinna le Blanc
The Forever Bardic Piece by Lord Patrokles Athenaios
A modern edition of “Ovunque volgi il piede” by Vaczi Matyas
Embroidered parchment by Magister Ceindrech verch Elidir
Grabby Dagger by Lord Turlough O’Feolain

Baronial A&S Championship, AS LX

No Practice Sunday 02/15/2025

There will be no practice Sunday 02/15/2025, as Adult Swim is taking place at the Galleria in Johnstown, 500 Galleria Dr. Johnstown PA, 15904 on Saturday and Sunday this weekend. As the majority of our fighters and fencers are going to be attending this event, there will be no Armored Combat OR Fencing at Become Better Sports Performance and Personal Training on Sunday 02/15/25.

Arts and Sciences at St. Brigid’s Inn!

a black and white line drawing of a shield-shaped pub sign, featuring a chatloup and a raccoon rampant, presenting between them a woven St. Brigid's cross. banner text around them reads "Saint Brigid's Inn" in a blackletter font.
image description: a black and white line drawing of a shield-shaped pub sign featuring a chatloup and a raccoon rampant, presenting between them a woven St. Brigid’s cross. banner text around them reads “Saint Brigid’s Inn” in a blackletter font.

Salve Accolens! I come bearing tidings of the most excellent classes and A&S activities at St. Brigid’s Inn, which takes place February 21st at the Buffalo Inn in South Park.

Perhaps most exciting, we will be featuring both a craft supply swap and an armor swap: round up those unused tools and that weird yarn you were sure would be useful, and the gorget or gauntlets that never quite fit right, and we’ll help them find a new home. Browse the armor swap and pick up some new-to-you kit in time for outdoor practice season, or leave ready to explore a new and exciting craft! You don’t have to bring something in order to take something, everyone can participate.

Come visit the armor repair workshop and help get our Baronial iron key armor in fighting shape, or get your own all gussied up and ready to go for the season.

Bring your threadbare and holey garb to the mending & sewing circle, where we’ll ply you with tea and teach you how to shore up that ripped tunic for another year of camping events.

We have activities hosted by the Foresters, Æthelmearc Moneyers Guild, Debatable Brewers, and Skyguard (the Debatable Lands Archery Guild); petting zoos for wild mushrooms and (definitely domesticated) musical instruments; make-and-takes for St. Brigid’s crosses and effigies, brick stitch embroidery, cordage, and tablet weaving; classes on painting, calligraphy, and manuscript research; blockprinting and machine sewing; and a heraldry consult table for all your name and device needs.

You can see the schedule and class descriptions here in spreadsheet form or here as a pdf (better than the spreadsheet on mobile).

The best thing about St. Brigid’s Inn is that the classes all run for at least two hours and are designed to be drop-in-drop-out. This means it may actually be possible to attend ALL THE CLASSES, which we all know is the Ultimate Nerd Goal.

Whether you schedule every second of your day or hole up in a corner with a hot drink and good company, we hope you’ll have a lovely time.

Stay warm out there,
– Owen Tegg, St. Brigid’s class coordinator