Class Descriptions

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Below are class descriptions alphabetically by class title.

Teacher	Class title	Class description
Jon Chesey	A Brief History of Medieval Astronomy	This class presents a high level overview of astronomy from the Greek geocentric model, through the Islamic golden age, and ending with the development of the heliocentric model at the end of period.
Master Gomez de Crecy	A practical guide to constructing a ruff	This class is a step by step guide on how to construct a 16th century ruff.  It will cover the range of design choices and the materials you will need. This is a class on what decisions you will need to make, what techniques I found helpful, and the many things that I found not to do.
Duchess Nerissa de Saye, OL	Advanced Illumination: Taking your scribal skills to the next level	This lesson is for the illuminator of intermediate to advanced skill level, who aspires to create convincingly period, original miniatures.
Dáire Ó Lochlainn	Agriculture in Early and Medieval Ireland	Looking at documentary and archaeological evidence, agricultural practices in early Medieval Ireland (400-1100 CE) will be explored. Earlier Bronze and Iron Age evidence will give context as to how these practices arose.
Ígulfríðr Magnúsdóttir	An incomplete history of Sprang weaving	This is an introductory Sprang lecture with a bit of a difference. I will only briefly touch on what sprang is and the different sprang techniques seen. I’ll provide links and references to learn how to do sprang, and do a little Q&A however this will not be the focus of the discussion. I am looking forward to sharing images of extant examples from throughout the world, discussing what types of sprang we have found, when and where. Hopefully providing a broad, yet woefully incomplete history of sprang, while discussing some of the challenges of sprang research. We’ll finish with another Q&A, and I will answer as best as I can. I have learned a lot about sprang so far, but it is a much deeper rabbit hole than I originally realized!
Alice Le Lacer	Before Laces Went Frilly: an intro to historic string	A short overview of the history of fingerloop braided laces, their uses, an explanation of braiding terms, and a brief demonstration of how to make a basic five loop lace (ie “a round lace of v bows”).
Master Crispin Sexi	Choral Music with Many Voices	This lecture is an amazing roller-coaster ride covering the music theory side of how large choral pieces were written in the Renaissance. The ability to read music would help, but it’s not mandatory.
Magnifica Beatrice Domenici della Campana	Clothing through the Ages – a basic overview of popular SCA clothing options	Want or need garb, and aren’t sure where to start, or even what your options are?  We’ll be reviewing a timeline of the most common (and in many cases, easiest!) eras and cultures from which SCAdians choose what to wear, and look at resources for how to get started making your own next garb!  If time allows, instructor is happy to answer one-on-one consult questions (and if time doesn’t allow during class, instructor email will be provided for post-class conversations).
Dame Sophia the Orange	Commedia dell’ Arte Throughout the SCA and why it works	Commedia dell’ Arte is 16th century Italian improvised comedy theatre. It’s what people were watching at the same time as Shakespeare but in the Italian peninsula throughout the Italian Renaissance. This class introduces the students to the stock characters, half face masks, improvised scenarios, and culture around the style of plays we now call Commedia dell’ Arte.
Padraig Lowther, Professor Philosophiae Universitas Politarchopolitensis	Cool Tools to Fool Tools: Rhetorical Flourishes as Described in Rhetorrica Ad Herrenium	Rhetoric is the art of presenting your argument in such a fashion that it convinces the audience of the rightness of your position. Thus it is useful for all public presentations, whether arguing your innocence in court, convincing the Senate to delete Carthage, or why that last slice of pizza is yours. This lecture shall discuss the rhetorical devices described in a Roman source, relating them to modern examples.
Baron Llwyd Aldrydd	Creating YouTube videos for the SCA	Do you want to share your energy and excitement about your SCA interests beyond your local area? YouTube is an excellent way to do that, even for folks with no plan to become famous social media influencers. This class will discuss planning your video, equipment that you can use, and how YouTube works. The class instructor has a small YouTube channel that he has been running for 9 years that has about 40 videos and about 220 subscribers.
Baron Llwyd Aldrydd	Creating YouTube videos for the SCA	Do you want to share your energy and excitement about your SCA interests beyond your local area? YouTube is an excellent way to do that, even for folks with no plan to become famous social media influencers. This class will discuss planning your video, equipment that you can use, and how YouTube works. The class instructor has a small YouTube channel that he has been running for 9 years that has about 40 videos and about 220 subscribers.
Jon Chesey	De la Stella Fisse – The First Celestial Atlas	Published in 1540, “De la Stella Fisse” is regarded by historians as the first celestial atlas. This class explores the history and content of this little known work.
Master Vidi Hovdestad	Handbow shooting advice	Review of different handbows, and tips and techniques for shooting them.
Padraig Lowther, Professor Philosophiae Universitas Politarchopolitensis	How to Pathos Someone’s Ethos: Logical Argument Types, and How To Spot Them	Logic is the art of structuring your thoughts in such a way that they can be conveyed. Greek philosophers identified a few classes of argument based on how they work, and this lecture shall discuss them, giving modern examples to further elucidate.
Sir Bain of Stornoway	Intermediate small unit tactics in the SCA context	This intermediate-level class is for fighters who have already led small units on the field and understand the fundamentals of reserves, flanking, pressure, and kiting. We will move beyond what these tools are and focus on when and why to apply them in the SCA war context. The class explores command intent, reading the field, adapting to terrain and enemy behaviour, and turning a group of capable fighters into a disciplined, responsive unit. Expect practical discussion grounded in real war scenarios, with an emphasis on decision-making under pressure and making your unit fight smarter, not just harder.
Mistress Clara Bone-Aventure	Intro to Lochac Clan Blue Feather & Q&A	A short history and information session about Clan Blue Feather in Lochac. Clan Blue Feather is an SCA-wide LGBTQIA+ household with open invitation to any LGTBQIA+ folks and allies.
Theophrastus von Oberstockstall	Justifying taking acid at a medieval event: exploring the history of ergot toxins in the medieval consciousness.	This presentation is intended to invigorate a deeper appreciation of altered perceptions of history, through the lens of a notorious toxic fungi, Ergot. Whilst the audience may be familiar with frivolous SCA feasts, the historic reality of distorting reality through contaminated food and drink will be presented in an entertaining narrative. During the medieval ergot plagues it may have been more likely that your barony was awash with wild hallucinations and madness. The lecture will introduce Ergot, the toxic fungi, to the audience; the growing conditions and social trends that shaped the ergot plagues; the symptoms of ergotism and curers, finishing with a cautionary tale. Whilst technical skills for ergot cultivation and toxin extraction will NOT be presented; this presentation primarily been a science-based storytelling for the enhancement of reenacting pleasure, the audience may consider the distorted perspective that we enjoy in historical contexts. Lord & Doctor Theophrastus holds a PhD in science and has participated in the SCA for over 15 years, entertaining the SCA kingdom with lectures and classes, and appeared at the Abbey Medieval Festival. His current pursuits are in medieval ceremonial magic, turning his back on science, as Faust did, to find more entertaining answers from the darker arts.
Li Xia	Largesse 101: Demystifying the “W”s –and– Largesse 102: Navigating the Do’s and Don’ts	Let’s face it… the SCA is full of the most generous people… we simply love to give gifts. Come learn about general gifting (largesse) culture in the SCA, with the majority of the time being spent on tips for successful gifting of largesse of all kinds. If there is time, the floor will be opened for open discussion on kingdom differences and participants will be encouraged to show off their favourite largesse they have created or received. This session will be presented by one of the founders of the Fellowship of the Things, a non-geographical (society wide) Fellowship devoted to enabling people to both make all the things, and give all the things.
Master Drake Morgan	Make your feasts more accurate: an analysis of the Drapers’ Company guild feast receipts in Tudor England	Join Drake in a guided tour through the feasts of the London Drapers’ Company from 1564 to 1602. Rather than the traditional method of finding your favourite recipes and putting them together to make a feast, Drake will take you through the method of seeing what they ate at a guild feast from the receipts they recorded and turn that into a more representative way they would have feasted in Tudor England.
Mistress Miriam bat Shimeon	Mamluk Egyptian embroidery	A short but jam packed history of Mamluk ruled Egypt and the embroidery styles that were there during the 13th-16th century C.E. This covers textiles, colours, stitches and designs.
Mistress Rowan Perigrynne	Managing a Collaborative Kingdom-wide Project	Group Projects – what could possibly go wrong? So many things… I’ve drawn on my experience as a professional project manager to run many successful SCA projects. This class will walk you through the key steps, from choosing projects to managing every stage, with practical SCA examples of both local and Kingdom-wide projects.
Mistress Rowan Perigrynne	Managing Loaner Garb – a practical solution	Good loaner garb can be a great way to help newcomers feel part of the group, and can help them understand how medieval clothing works. But so often loaner gear is an ad hoc collection of cast-offs – hard to store, time-consuming to fit people, and lacking inspiration. This case study explores how the Barony of Politarchopolis turned a long term problem into a system that works well for everyone.
Baroness Anna Felice Tavestoche	Pageantry of announcing people into the lists	This short 45 min interactive class will give you the basic skills to not only up your heraldry so all may hear you, but will teach you how to get the best flounce into your announcements of people entering the lists. Great for large tournaments of pageantry, particularly Crown lists! Come learn how to turn phrase without misrepresenting your fighter! This class will have interactive sections throughout. Bring pen and paper and your voice!
THL Lydia Webbe, Nicasia Leontodes and Mistress Tegan de Moreton	Raise Your Hands! Using manual language in SCA court – focus on scroll texts	Join us as we take a close look at the structure of typical scroll language and some texts from some very punny scribes! This course will be an in depth analysis of the language(s) in our award scroll texts and the myriad of ways we can represent them using American Sign Language (ASL). An understanding of basic ASL vocabulary is encouraged,  but not required.
Padraig Lowther, Professor Philosophiae Universitas Politarchopolitensis	Resonance and Intervals: The Mathematics Inside Music	Music is the art of making mathematics transitory; that is, operations to make numbers change in time. We find aesthetically pleasing certain combinations of sound frequencies that are linked mathematically. This lecture shall discuss certain of these relationships, with reference to the mathematics involved; it is assumed that the audience knows how to do arithmetic involving fractions.
Baroness Anna Felice Tavestoche	Running your first tournament – a list officer’s guide	AAAAaaaah! You volunteered to run lists at your first tourney and have no idea what to do or where to start! Luckily this short 35 minute class will tell you the bare minimums you need to run lists, from sign in sheets, checking authorisation cards, organising a round robin/Valhalla/war lord tournament, to helping your heralds. Come learn how to run a list field and be sought after for your amazing list skills! This class is less interactive but will have extensive Q&A at the end. Slides and resources will be shared at the end so you can download them and use them for your next tournament!
Thegn Knut Bjornsson	Strike fast, Strike clean, Strike all of them: rapier melee tactics for the effective unit	This class will be a 50 minute discussion of rapier melee tactics for varied scenarios: the class will also provide opportunity for the group to collaboratively discuss questions in a question and answer session.
Dúgū Jìnán	Tea in China – another look at the bitter herb	Tea throughout Chinese history was used as both medicine and a beverage. It was served in multitude of styles – as a thick beverage with milk and meat during the early period, to the exquisite teas during Song Dynasty period (960 – 1279) though it was not our Earl Grey. I will discuss the various uses of tea and the proper way to prepare flavoured tea.
Mistress Aliette Delecourt	Teaching Dance Online	Yes, dance can be taught online. This class will cover some tips about practicalities, choice of dances, suggestions and options for maximising the effectiveness of online classes.
Eva von Danzig	Thorn to be Wild – Roses tell their stories	Companions of the Order of the Rose from the Tri-Kingdoms speak about their role as Royal Peers, experiences as Royals and share wisdom on the philosophy of the SCA. This will be a panel discussion. Questions are welcome.
Robert de Canterbury	Troubleshooting casting Pewter dress accessories from Stone Moulds, Q&A	This session is aimed at those who are already casting pewter badges in stone moulds, mostly in the form of Q&A if you have moulds and pieces you are willing to have discussed, so much the better. Not getting consistent casts? Too much Flash on your cast pieces? Tips on getting your pieces lighter, brighter and faster to produce. Robert de Canterbury has been casting in stone moulds for about 20 years, with about 250 moulds made to date, and tens of thousands of pieces cast.
Ollivier Le Floch	What’s That Charge Group?	A good understanding of Charge Group Theory is a must for any SCA armoury herald. This class will be an informal trip through SENA Appendix I, with diverse examples gleaned from the Lochac Roll of Arms and recent submissions and lots of class participation.