Recently I have been exchanging Facebook messages about medieval Baltic topics with a couple of my Slavic Interest Group (SIG) friends, Mistress ffride (Kingdom of Lochac) and Lady Magdalena (Kingdom of Aethelmearc). As a result, I have lots and lots of browser tabs open. Before my computer's memory gets tied up in knots, I really ought to save those links somewhere and close those tabs. What better place to save such links than right here?
Without further ado:
Link that mentions the Gediminas Sceptre in the context of Baltic cosmology. I really wish this page provided some sources.
Academia.edu page for a Lithuanian graduate student in archaeology. Her name is Augustina Kuriliene.
A Vilnius museum's exhibit on Grand Duke Alexander.
History of the palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania.
Some tiles from a cathedral (in Lithuanian). One of those medieval tiles shows a woman wearing what may be a very tall, flat-topped hat. In another tile, two rabbits seem to be consulting a recipe book while cooking a stew. In a third tile, two rabbits appear to be roasting a human chef over a spit. (Revenge of the bunnies!!)
PDF of a 2003 article on Lithuanian archaeology by Daiva Steponaviciene.
Website of some Lithuanian group called Vita Antiqua (I believe Daiva S. is involved with it).
This page seems to list all the commemorations of Lithuanian historical events that will take place in 2015.
Evidence of Lithuanian platform shoes. (Somebody wanted to look taller!)
Another 16th-century tile, this one showing rabbits fending off the hounds. (Somebody really, really liked bunnies!)
Finally, here are a few links that are not specific to the Baltic and Slavic regions but that I find interesting anyway:
The Tudor Tailor website is a companion to the series of books on 16th-century clothing.
Free, downloadable monographs on various topics pertaining to English archaeology.
A Web page on inkle weaving.
Beautiful clothing that one of my friends made for the Baron and Baroness of Dun Carraig (a nearby SCA branch).
And, finally, did you know that there's an authentic butterbeer recipe from the Tudor era? Now you can combine your SCA brewing with your Harry Potter fandom! :-)
As far as the rest of my SCA life goes, well, things are always quieter this time of year. Earlier this fall I skipped a couple of SCA events that I really would have liked to attend because of cash-flow issues. At least I had great fun participating in a "medieval maker faire" demo that Storvik was invited to organize as part of the University of Maryland at College Park's celebration of the 60th anniversary of the publication of Lord of the Rings. This fall Storvik has been welcoming a number of newcomers, both from the university and the region at large. And our barony is planning a performing-arts event in January 2015. And I'm still knitting socks for Lady Sonya's sock classes. So things are quiet but good.
