Galatia Forums

Do we have any dates yet?

Still nothing, huh. Guess it won't get done until I do it. Hard to be a mercenary, when you don't go looking for war. You know who waits for war to come them? Cowards and the defeated.

SCA
Markland
Markland Facebook

April
7 Defending the Gate XI Sudentorre Spotsylvania, VA
28 Sergeants and Scholars Roxbury Mill Brookeville, MD
26-29 Blackstone Raids XXI Aethelmearc Ripley, MD
May
11-13 Steppingstone Medieval Days and Melee Practice Bright Hills Havre de Grace, MD
June
29-1 Novice and Unbelt Tourney Storvik
July
27-12 Pennsic WarExternal Link (R) Aethelmearc
September
4-16 Storvik Baronial Birthday Storvik Upper Marlboro, MD
November
10 Baronial Birthday Dun Carraig Brandywine, MD

FYI - The Markland Newsletter says that Cold War is 3/3/12.

So what the big event we gonna hit in april so I can take off that Saturday for fighting. Im probably only good for one event a month and I want to make it good.

Probably defending the gate. But the other event on the 28 th is real close like 40 mins. Towards your work if you could swing a half day on that day. We can have cook bring his sprayer. I am sure he would love to hose you down at the closest friendly neighborhood Royal Farms bathroom.

I wont be able to make any events in aprils. Tentively speaking the only thing Ill be able to make is pennsic.

Why Not, You can't get any Satudays off?

I miss our Applebees trips :(

Not in april. I can make the may event. My sales associates take the april off saturday off already with the events date.

List via Shamus - Thank you Shamus.

Maryland/Virginia/Southern PA "Fighting" Events:
3/10 - Siege of Black Tower (Petersburg, VA.... 2.5 hours south of DC)
Tournaments & Melees
http://acorn.atlantia.sca.org/event_fly ... d=83742de2
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3/11-18 - Gulf Wars (You know if your going)
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3/24 - Seven Hills Skirmishes (Lynchburg, VA....3.5 hours southwest of DC)
Tournaments & Melees
http://acorn.atlantia.sca.org/event_fly ... d=caf7cd81
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3/24 - St. Paddy's Day Blood Bath (Vienna, VA....30 minutes west of DC)
They claim: "The usual bearpit tourney and as many pickups as you can stomach"
http://acorn.atlantia.sca.org/event_fly ... d=23987428
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4/7 - Defending The Gate (Spotsylvania, VA....1.5 hours south of DC)
"Defend the gate in melee scenarios"
http://acorn.atlantia.sca.org/event_fly ... id=3029368
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4/28 - Sergeants & Scholars (Brookville, MD.... 30 minutes north of DC)
I think this is a new event & I'm not sure about it. The afternoon has possibilities from the post:
"Armored and Rapier melee tactics, authorizations with a focus on spear and pole arm for the Pennsic war. Heavy: The Armored melee training and practice will be from 10 to 12. The morning training will be fought with a minimum of breaks. Tactics and techniques will be discussed during our brief water breaks. After lunch and a longer rest break, from 1-3 there will be 3-man unit bear pit and from 3-4 singles and pick-ups."

http://acorn.atlantia.sca.org/event_fly ... d=c7063b30
NOTE: Since it's on an assisted living/nursing home property I think it's meant to be kept small....so maybe not worth it for us. Or we can torment the dementia/alzheimer's ward with glaives and scare them with our helmets! I know, I know, it's more immoral than tormenting children but, the residents probably have internal defibulators so it's ok!

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4/28 - East Kingdom Southern Region Spring War Practice (York Haven, PA...2 hours north of DC)

(This sounds better then Sergeants & Scholars)

They claim: "melee training and mayhem for the Eastern Armies"

http://www.eastkingdom.org/EventDetails.html?eid=2205

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5/12 - Steppingstone Medieval Days and Melee Practice (Havre De Grace, MD.... 1 hour & 45 minutes northwest of DC)

Melees, Equestrian...

This event is entered as a "demo" & it sounds like that's the requirement to obtain the site space. Anyway, the site says: "We are set up as an official demo to accommodate authorizations and fighting again this year"

http://acorn.atlantia.sca.org/event_fly ... d=9415b86c

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5/27 - Ruby Joust (Amelia, VA... 3 hours south of DC)

Melees on Sunday (but I'm not sure how motivated SCA people are on Sunday)

http://acorn.atlantia.sca.org/event_fly ... d=c2c09afc

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6/2 - Highland River Melees (Little Orleans, MD 2 hours Northwest from DC & maybe worth camping out)
Melees

http://acorn.atlantia.sca.org/event_inf ... d=f013077c

Ursus's take (always important to know where our photographer will be, especially since we don't have any pictures since early 2010)

A few comments on Shamus' list (thanks for putting this together, btw):

1) Black Tower - I doubt there will be a big turn out for this, since Atlantia is going in force to Gulf Wars. So unless you live close by, I don't think it will be worth it.

2) Seven Hills - Don't know this one, but it's a long drive. Go to #3 instead.

3) St Paddy's Day - Close by, and always a good fighting event, but traditionally not much melee. That could change if we show up in force and ask for it, though, depending on who's running things.

4) Defending the gate - Always a melee-heavy event, but they have been prone to crazy scenarios. (Two years ago, they did a medieval football thing. Very silly, IMHO.) Good day trip event.

5) Sergeants and Scholars - That is new, and it sounds like they want to do a lot of drill/teaching, so mucho talky-talky. It is close by, though, and the guy running it is very cool (he just got knighted, too - long overdue).

6) York War practice - We used to go to this quite regularly, and it was always a pretty good melee event since the East is getting ready for the war.

7) Steppingstone demo - This is an official demo as part of a fair, so I doubt the fighting will be very good, and may look kind of like a freak show. Last year, as I recall, they were begging for fighters to show up.

8) Ruby Joust - Good event. Many of us will go regardless (tourneys are fun to watch and we always have a great bardic with Bryce on Saturday night). They promise lots of melees on Sunday, but many fighters are tuckered out after the big tourneys they do on Saturday. Still, last year is was about 20 on 20, I think, and we'll have a camp where you can crash/hang out. It is on a 3 day weekend, too.

9) Highland River - Excellent event. Melee heavy and lots of fun. Come to this one, folks.

You left out Blackstone Raids (http://www.blackstoneraid.org/) in Charleston, W Va, April 26-29. All melee, lots of fighting, run by Aethelmearc and lots of people to hit.

Also, May 17-20 is "mini-Pennsic" at Cooper's Lake (http://www.aethelmearc.org/eventinfo.php?event=674), Aethelmearc's war practice. If you're not going to Ruby Joust (the weekend after this), go to this one. Say hi to Crystal, Jason, Gesa and Chopper.

King's Assessment, June 30 (http://acorn.atlantia.sca.org/event_inf ... d=4c8c3485) in Blacksburg. Long drive, lots of talky-talky (luckily Bryan will be King, and he is not a big speech maker), but also lots of melee and lots of fighters. Good Pennsic warm-up.

So my recommendations for the best melee events would be:

- Celt Wars - 3/31.
- Defending the Gate - 4/7.
- Blackstone Raids - 4/27. Long drive, but lots of melees and strangers (Aethelmearc and Middies) to hit.
- York EK practice - 4/27 also. We should choose between this and Blackstone, then show up in force at one or the other.
- "Mini-Pennsic", Cooper's Lake - 5/19.
- Highland River - 6/2.
- King's Assessment - 6/30.

Of course, these are merely my opinions, but I think it's great we're talking about them beforehand. I'll come to almost any of these if enough of you all decide to go and do my best to make you look goofy... er, good.

Ursus

Don't forget Highland river melee's June 2nd