A couple of weeks ago I took my friend Rykeld (not her real name) to a Scribal symposium. It was her first exposure to the SCA, and we had a wonderful time doing scribal and heraldic stuff. She learned a lot, she got to meet a bunch of people, and she even got to goof around with gold leaf, so she’s one up on me 😉

As excellent an event as it was, it only showed her one side of the SCA. Thankfully, rapidly approaching on the calendar was an event focused on the martial side. Where the Symposium had taught about the artistic side of the SCA, A Warrior’s Path promised to focus pretty much entirely on hitting people with sticks and the like. While there was no Court scheduled, it still meant an opportunity to see heraldry on display and lots of loud whacks and thumps.

Classes and tournaments for armored combat and fencing went on throughout the day, but we’re going to get all instagrammy in this one, because the Feast was totes amazeballs… ONWARD!

One of the best parts of going to SCA events is freaking out the mundanes when you stop by McDonalds for beakfast in garb.

Once we got the site, I found me a Berenger! As one of the very first Scadians I interacted with, I was chuffed that Rykeld got to meet him too…

… though his helmet didn’t quite fit over her hair.

Some 5-Minute Dungeon broke out. Boardgames and the like are somewhat inevitable at Ealdormerean events.

His Excellency somehow ended up collecting everyone’s hands at one point… thankfully, we had the Wizard in the party, so we could pause the clock long enough for him to sort his hand.

TAKE THAT, DUNGEON MASTER! 6 SECONDS LEFT ON THE CLOCK!

Out under the gaze of the hateful burning daystar, stabbery was taking place on one side of the building…

… and Thwackery on the other.

Getting a good night’s sleep is vital before an event. You don’t want to be taking a nap in the wrong place.

The gentleman with the green shield was, if I overheard correctly, new to thwackery.

Nonetheless, the other fighters realized how awesome he was, and proceeded to pay homage.

Loudly decrying “We’re not worthy” and bowing is a great distraction technique, allowing your friend with a polearm a clear shot at an unguarded noggin. CLANK! Headshot.

… Ladies… 😉

With his Highness Quilliam waiting for opponents between bouts, it took surprisingly little encouragement to get Rykeld to grab a glaive and charge him. His Highness, being a most excellent sport, dropped his shield and ran in terror from the diminutive polearm-wielding newbie. She caught his sleeve in the end, and had made a most entertaining memory.

Okay, it’s time to get instagrammy and show off the ridiculously awesome feast. Duchess Domhnail and Master Corwyn wrangled their household and put together the a six course meal, with each course based on a different period of history, and it was bloody amazing. There were booklets on the tables explaining each course…

We started with the Roman empire, and a soldier’s fare. Delivered to a number of people were tablets engraved with letters from home and some small gifts sent from friends and family to their campaigning sons and husbands and more.

“Legionaires were stationed at Vindolanda from about 85AD to about 410AD. Writing tablets have been unearthed from its occupation that provide personal and intimate detailed of life on the front, including care packages from home. We are fortunate that there is a great deal of documentation to be found on the rations of the common soldier, and we suspect this course would be a common way to break the fast and prepare for duty.”

Breakfast for the Roman soldier was often a sour dough bread, some cheese, and bacon. Olive oil and salt were available for seasoning – the bread would be dipped in the oil, of course – and there was honeyed wine, because it’s 5 o’clock somewhere.

For the second course, we move to the Vikings. Regrettably, I didn’t get a pic of the platters, but each table had their course delivered on a large, round shield, which one lucky person at the table got to take home. Rykeld took the one from our table, and it now hangs on the wall in her living room, much to her husband’s consternation.

“We are told Brave Beowulf led a band of 14 stout warriors to aid Hrothgar against the terrors of Grendel. He would have had to eat sometime…

While there are no extant recipes of what the Vikings ate, the knowledge we have on the subject comes from references in existing writings, and from the excavations of graves, cess pits and cooking places. Most meats were boiled in broths, but there is evidence to support small roastings. Peas were a solid staple that could be stored and carried easily, ready for boiled meals on the road. Bread made with blood has been found in Birka.”

The shield-platter bore on it a roast chicken, a loaf of blood bread, pickled beats, and a large damp cloth bag. Inside said bag was mushy chickpeas – presumably, the bag had been dropped in a pot to boil it all up.

Now, Feast isn’t just about food. We had some members of Ealdormere’s Barbarian household at the table, so a modicum of quaffing was expected.

We were not disappointed.

We were also entertained before the third course with some period dancing.

The Mongols were next, and a decorative saddle was placed over the shield boss on our table, much to our temporary consternation.

“While the Mongolians were nomadic by natgure, Genghis Khan is well known, by the end of his life in 1227, for uniting the tribes and conquering the swath of lands from China to Eastern Europe. There are frequent suggestions of warriors placing slices of meat under their saddle whether to eat or treat saddle sores. We like the tale that a warrior’s wife would hand him a bag of meat onions and rice that would be stored under the saddle and heat over the day to a kind of stew. Looking at traditional dishes, we can imagine this dish would be satisfying after a hard days ride.”

The third course was Shulla – a stew of lamb, rice and chickpeas, accompanied by a salt tea. Now, I’m Australian – I know from good lamb – and this shulla stuff was freaking delicious. They could have just given me a big plate of this course alone and I would have called the feast a success.

The saddle wasn’t the only decorative part of this course – I also got a cucumber horse!

Drinking with the Barbarians at our table continued and… wait, that’s not beer…

His Highness joined us briefly and confirmed that it was, in fact, a pitcher of gin and tonic.

The fourth course brings us up to the 16th century – an era of exploration and Armadas.

“The Mary Rose sank abruptly in 1545. Within the wreck have been found excellently preserved remains that give us a very clear picture of life on ship at this time period. From the stores, we see evidence of ingredients common to many Tudor recipes. What is also exciting, is that the salt cod aboard was found to have come from off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. Lastly, it has been suggested that many among the crew hailed from Spain, and the following dish can be traced back to the Mediterranean, using ingredients found on board.”

Smoked sausage, salt cod with prunes and hazelnuts, and hard biscuit with weevils… or, ya know, hard biscuits with shrivelled up gummi worm thingummies, because it’s hard to find a good weevil supplier nowadays.

Next, it’s time for a coffyn…

“Meats cooked in elaborate coffyns (or great pies) represented a degree of affluence, generally reserved to those with money to afford all the meats to fill them and the ovens to bake them in. Definitely, such a pie would be seen at festivals and feast days. What better way to revel in a tournament well fought, than to have your arms on every single pie served in the hall?”

There were two tournaments fought after all the classes were done – one for the armored combatants, and one for the rapier duelists. The coffyns that were served – which were full of schnitzel by the way, because hell yes, were all decorated last minute to include the heraldic arms of the winners.

Our fifth course was coffyns, fancified with the victor’s arms, accompanied by pork schnitzels, mushroom gravy and buttered spatzle. How buttered?

BUTTERED TO YOUR DOOOOOOM!!!!!

Finally, it was time for dessert, and… what… why is there an oversized wooden wolf in the hall?

BECAUSE IT POOPS FRITTERS!!!!!

Mmmm Wolf poop fritters…

Accompanied by fresh cream and gilt cookies so you can feel exorbitantly affluent as you chew on gold and silver…

Well, it was only a matter of time before we started getting carried away with the strawberries and cream. Yes, my hood went in the laundry when I got home.

All in all, A Warrior’s Path was an excellent event. I had wanted to show Rykeld another side of the SCA, and she got pretty much everything except for Court – though their Highnesses did call her up (and two other good gentles who were new) and presented her with a gift to welcome her into our little club of history fans. She left with a beautiful cup, the shield-platter from our table, some great photos, a bunch of memories, an insider’s point of view on combat archery, and some inspiration for new projects. Oh, and the knowledge that we’d kicked the Dungeon Master in 5-Minute Dungeon, because our crew was awesome like that.

Huge thanks to the event staff, the teachers, and everyone who made A Warrior’s Path well worth the long drive from the Gdaycave into the wilds of Septentria. You folks put on an most excellent event, and I look forward to geeking out with you at the next one.

Wassail!