Soon the Slavic Interest Group will be gaining two new Laurels. (For those of you not in the SCA, the Order of the Laurel is the SCA's highest award for excellence in the arts and sciences. It is one of the SCA's three Bestowed Peerages -- the others are the Order of the Chivalry, for martial arts, and the Order of the Pelican, for service.)
At the beginning of January, Pan Zygmunt Nadratowski received a Writ from Their Majesties of the Middle Kingdom. Pan Zygmunt, who resides with his lady in the Shire of Talonval, will be recognized as a Laurel at the February 12th Midrealm event known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre and Tournament of Chivalry. His website is plcommonwealth.org.
At A Market Day at Birka, Their Majesties of the East Kingdom caught up with Posadnitsa Sfandra Dmitrieva Chernigova and presented her with a Writ to be recognized as a Laurel at Their Last Court on April 2 (Coronation Day for Their successors). Posadnitsa Sfandra resides with her lord in the Barony of Carolingia, and her website is sfandra.webs.com.
Unto these fine gentles I say VIVANT! Not only am I extremely happy for them personally, but I'm also excited that the Society is paying heed to research in the Eastern European arts and sciences. As I've said before, if you ignore Eastern European history, you're omitting a huge part of European history.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Defenders of Freedom Day - Laisvės gynėjų diena
OK, I didn't get to posting this last week because of other stuff going on in my life, but better late than never. January 13 of this year was the 20th anniversary of an important event in the emerging modern-day Republic of Lithuania.
Yes, Lithuania had declared itself independent of the Soviet Union on March 11, 1990, but of course Moscow didn't recognize that and indeed tried to impose an economic blockade on its wayward "Soviet Socialist Republic." Figuring that they who own the communications media control the message, the Soviets tried to take over the Vilnius TV tower, only to meet with mass opposition. The troops killed 13 unarmed civilians (sometimes given as 14; one more died of a heart attack), the news of the massacre got out to the world anyway, the Soviet troops had to retreat, and subsequently Lithuanians voted hugely for independence in a referendum on February 9.
Iceland's recognition of Lithuania's independence was already five days old at the time of the vote. On September 17, 1991, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia joined the United Nations in their own right. The Soviet Union was crumbling.
Yes, Lithuania had declared itself independent of the Soviet Union on March 11, 1990, but of course Moscow didn't recognize that and indeed tried to impose an economic blockade on its wayward "Soviet Socialist Republic." Figuring that they who own the communications media control the message, the Soviets tried to take over the Vilnius TV tower, only to meet with mass opposition. The troops killed 13 unarmed civilians (sometimes given as 14; one more died of a heart attack), the news of the massacre got out to the world anyway, the Soviet troops had to retreat, and subsequently Lithuanians voted hugely for independence in a referendum on February 9.
Iceland's recognition of Lithuania's independence was already five days old at the time of the vote. On September 17, 1991, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia joined the United Nations in their own right. The Soviet Union was crumbling.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Grunwald reenactment videos
Greetings to all! Happy New Year!
The following is a post I started way back in September 2010 and saved as a draft. I am finally getting around to finishing it.
Happily (i.e., through Facebook) I stumbled across a fabulous post at Medievalists.net: a set of videos showing this year's commemorations of the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald. Woo-hoo! Of course, being there in person would have been the best thing of all, but I guess this is the next best thing.
The first video is a short one (less than two minutes) and seems to be a random montage of scenes from the commemoration ceremony. (In all these videos, the blonde woman with the white jacket and black pants is Dalia Grybauskaitė, the current president of Lithuania.
The second video comes from the Lithuanian news broadcast "Panorama," which is shown regularly on TheLithuanians.com. Granted, the only words I can understand from the audio track are "Labas vakaras" ("Good evening"), "Grunwald," and "Zalgiris." But the Panorama camera people got some good shots of jousters on horseback and, about halfway through, an interview with a female living-history reenactor whom I'm quite sure I've seen in still photos of Kernavė. You can also see President Grybauskaitė reviewing the medieval troops. The last couple of minutes of this video are devoted to some sort of concert related to Grunwald. I wish I knew more about the performers and the musical pieces.
The third video is a montage of scenes from the day's proceedings without any kind of voice-over commentary. You can see some of the speechifying and jousting and wreath-laying, and you can see President G. and her entourage enter the living-history encampment. She even takes a bit of meat off a two-tined fork and eats it.
The fourth video is of a concert, "Banderia 1410," held at Malbork on July 15 (that's what "15 Lipca" means). The garishly lit stage with its LED backdrop is definitely not medieval, but the music is stirring. At least some of the musicians (not all) are playing plausibly period instruments, including a portative organ.
The fifth and final video is a short news clip from a Polish website. As far as I can tell, the guy in the video is talking about a complex sculpture depicting the battle in 3D, but whether he's the sculptor or just an art critic, I can't tell.
Anyhow, I hope you all enjoy watching these scenes!
The following is a post I started way back in September 2010 and saved as a draft. I am finally getting around to finishing it.
Happily (i.e., through Facebook) I stumbled across a fabulous post at Medievalists.net: a set of videos showing this year's commemorations of the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald. Woo-hoo! Of course, being there in person would have been the best thing of all, but I guess this is the next best thing.
The first video is a short one (less than two minutes) and seems to be a random montage of scenes from the commemoration ceremony. (In all these videos, the blonde woman with the white jacket and black pants is Dalia Grybauskaitė, the current president of Lithuania.
The second video comes from the Lithuanian news broadcast "Panorama," which is shown regularly on TheLithuanians.com. Granted, the only words I can understand from the audio track are "Labas vakaras" ("Good evening"), "Grunwald," and "Zalgiris." But the Panorama camera people got some good shots of jousters on horseback and, about halfway through, an interview with a female living-history reenactor whom I'm quite sure I've seen in still photos of Kernavė. You can also see President Grybauskaitė reviewing the medieval troops. The last couple of minutes of this video are devoted to some sort of concert related to Grunwald. I wish I knew more about the performers and the musical pieces.
The third video is a montage of scenes from the day's proceedings without any kind of voice-over commentary. You can see some of the speechifying and jousting and wreath-laying, and you can see President G. and her entourage enter the living-history encampment. She even takes a bit of meat off a two-tined fork and eats it.
The fourth video is of a concert, "Banderia 1410," held at Malbork on July 15 (that's what "15 Lipca" means). The garishly lit stage with its LED backdrop is definitely not medieval, but the music is stirring. At least some of the musicians (not all) are playing plausibly period instruments, including a portative organ.
The fifth and final video is a short news clip from a Polish website. As far as I can tell, the guy in the video is talking about a complex sculpture depicting the battle in 3D, but whether he's the sculptor or just an art critic, I can't tell.
Anyhow, I hope you all enjoy watching these scenes!
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Wrapping up the year
Last weekend I traveled to central North Carolina for Unevent, the Kingdom of Atlantia's annual business meeting. I wonder whether any of the other SCA kingdoms have a similar gathering. The local branch officers get to meet their Kingdom superiors, and the polling orders (people who have already won certain high-level awards) get together to discuss their recommendations for passing along to Their Majesties. And of course all of us get face time with each other.
So another year goes down in history. For me, thirteen SCA events in twelve months. Who knows what the new year may bring?
So another year goes down in history. For me, thirteen SCA events in twelve months. Who knows what the new year may bring?
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Apologies for my long hiatus
The subject line says it all. For the last few months I have been quite wrapped up in personal issues -- specifically, transitioning from being a full-time worker bee to a home-based freelance writer who is still open to the idea of another full-time job with benefits, if such things can possibly be had in the new global economy.
Of course, I haven't completely abandoned the SCA. In September I was head troll/gatekeeper for the Storvik Baronial Birthday and Investiture, during which we welcomed our new Baron and Baroness, William and Sorcha. The following week I went to the East Kingdom Metalsmiths' Symposium, which was not in the East Kingdom this time around, but in Atlantia's Barony of Stierbach. Not only did I take an interesting class on learning how to distinguish Viking wire-woven (trichinopoly) chains from those made by the loop-in-loop method, I made my first-ever glass beads and forged an iron S-hook. Bead-making is highly addictive, because you get results in roughly five minutes from start to finish. And though I was tired and achy after all that iron-pounding, I felt truly amazed to pick up a hard S-hook that, only an hour previously, I had been twisting as if it were made of Sculpy.
In the meantime, if you want a fix of Lithuanian goodness, I commend you to the Loose Threads blog, where you can read a review of the Lithuanian costume calendar I've been drooling over. Gotta watch my pennies, though....
Of course, I haven't completely abandoned the SCA. In September I was head troll/gatekeeper for the Storvik Baronial Birthday and Investiture, during which we welcomed our new Baron and Baroness, William and Sorcha. The following week I went to the East Kingdom Metalsmiths' Symposium, which was not in the East Kingdom this time around, but in Atlantia's Barony of Stierbach. Not only did I take an interesting class on learning how to distinguish Viking wire-woven (trichinopoly) chains from those made by the loop-in-loop method, I made my first-ever glass beads and forged an iron S-hook. Bead-making is highly addictive, because you get results in roughly five minutes from start to finish. And though I was tired and achy after all that iron-pounding, I felt truly amazed to pick up a hard S-hook that, only an hour previously, I had been twisting as if it were made of Sculpy.
In the meantime, if you want a fix of Lithuanian goodness, I commend you to the Loose Threads blog, where you can read a review of the Lithuanian costume calendar I've been drooling over. Gotta watch my pennies, though....
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Back from Pennsic
Greetings to all!
On Sunday the 15th I traveled home from a very enjoyable Pennsic War XXXIX, where I taught two sessions of my Battle of Grunwald class and one session of "Survey of Modern Lithuania," which was essentially the same class as this.
Right now I'm just posting a short note to remind my students -- especially my students in the Grunwald class, who got just a one-page handout due to my pressing personal issues prior to Pennsic -- that I haven't forgotten about you and I'll try to get this information up as quickly as possible.
In the meantime, blogger Cathy Raymond ("Loose Threads") has posted a review of the first chapter of Medieval Clothing and Textiles 6, edited by Robin Netherton and Gale R. Owen-Crocker (not "Owen-Crocke" as the cover says!). That first chapter presents a survey of Latvian clothing and textiles from the seventh to the 13th centuries, all based on archaeological findings. Granted, the essay is about Latvia and not Lithuania, but there is some overlap. In particular, I did not realize from other sources that the soil gets slightly different as you move south through the Baltic region, so that scraps of fabric are found in Latvian digs but not in Lithuanian sites. I don't know exactly what creates the change in soil composition, but it does seem to have an effect.
Hmm. Maybe the class I would really like to teach in the future, "Lithuanian Women Through the Ages," will have to become "Lithuanian and Latvian Women Through the Ages." But that is an issue for another day.
On Sunday the 15th I traveled home from a very enjoyable Pennsic War XXXIX, where I taught two sessions of my Battle of Grunwald class and one session of "Survey of Modern Lithuania," which was essentially the same class as this.
Right now I'm just posting a short note to remind my students -- especially my students in the Grunwald class, who got just a one-page handout due to my pressing personal issues prior to Pennsic -- that I haven't forgotten about you and I'll try to get this information up as quickly as possible.
In the meantime, blogger Cathy Raymond ("Loose Threads") has posted a review of the first chapter of Medieval Clothing and Textiles 6, edited by Robin Netherton and Gale R. Owen-Crocker (not "Owen-Crocke" as the cover says!). That first chapter presents a survey of Latvian clothing and textiles from the seventh to the 13th centuries, all based on archaeological findings. Granted, the essay is about Latvia and not Lithuania, but there is some overlap. In particular, I did not realize from other sources that the soil gets slightly different as you move south through the Baltic region, so that scraps of fabric are found in Latvian digs but not in Lithuanian sites. I don't know exactly what creates the change in soil composition, but it does seem to have an effect.
Hmm. Maybe the class I would really like to teach in the future, "Lithuanian Women Through the Ages," will have to become "Lithuanian and Latvian Women Through the Ages." But that is an issue for another day.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
SIX HUNDRED years ago today...
As I said to a co-worker this morning, "How cool is it that we know that something big happened exactly 600 years ago today?" (OK, I'm ignoring differences between the Julian and Gregorian calendars here.)
I'm looking for online news of the commemorations. I hesitate to say "celebrations" today because, although the victory at Grunwald/Zalgiris was A Big Deal for Poland and Lithuania, an awful lot of human beings lost their lives that day. I grew up in a community of 20,000 people, so if you estimate the total toll of that battle at 12,000 to 13,000, then it's almost like two-thirds of my hometown vanishing in a single day. That's a lot of blood.
But back to the news....
PressEurop.eu calls Grunwald "the battle that changed Central Europe." Belarus Digest claims that most of the Lithuanian units at the battle were from lands that are now part of Belarus and that the Belarusian president was not invited to the official commemoration "for obvious reasons." (Jealous much?) Expatica.com takes a look at the reenactors.
For a more Lithuanian perspective on the anniversary, check out this article (in Lithuanian) and especially the miniature version of the battle created by a Vilnius museum. An English-language article appears here. (It's a bit difficult to search Google News for "Zalgiris" because the name is so big in basketball.)
Since the New York Times did such a detailed writeup of the 500th-anniversary commemoration of Grunwald, I was a bit miffed that the publication did not mention it on its "On This Day" page today. After all the things that happened in the last 90 years of the 20th century, one could argue that it's even more important today to remember Grunwald than it was in 1910.
Finally, thanks to Wikipedia (which *did* mention Grunwald on ITS "on this date" page), I finally found the official website for the 600th anniversary. It's offered in six languages -- including Belarusian. (Ha!) Some of the historical articles contain interesting ideas, which I must study in preparation for my Pennsic classes.
I'm looking for online news of the commemorations. I hesitate to say "celebrations" today because, although the victory at Grunwald/Zalgiris was A Big Deal for Poland and Lithuania, an awful lot of human beings lost their lives that day. I grew up in a community of 20,000 people, so if you estimate the total toll of that battle at 12,000 to 13,000, then it's almost like two-thirds of my hometown vanishing in a single day. That's a lot of blood.
But back to the news....
PressEurop.eu calls Grunwald "the battle that changed Central Europe." Belarus Digest claims that most of the Lithuanian units at the battle were from lands that are now part of Belarus and that the Belarusian president was not invited to the official commemoration "for obvious reasons." (Jealous much?) Expatica.com takes a look at the reenactors.
For a more Lithuanian perspective on the anniversary, check out this article (in Lithuanian) and especially the miniature version of the battle created by a Vilnius museum. An English-language article appears here. (It's a bit difficult to search Google News for "Zalgiris" because the name is so big in basketball.)
Since the New York Times did such a detailed writeup of the 500th-anniversary commemoration of Grunwald, I was a bit miffed that the publication did not mention it on its "On This Day" page today. After all the things that happened in the last 90 years of the 20th century, one could argue that it's even more important today to remember Grunwald than it was in 1910.
Finally, thanks to Wikipedia (which *did* mention Grunwald on ITS "on this date" page), I finally found the official website for the 600th anniversary. It's offered in six languages -- including Belarusian. (Ha!) Some of the historical articles contain interesting ideas, which I must study in preparation for my Pennsic classes.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
The Grunwald/Zalgiris anniversary nears...
Woo-hoo, it's almost that time! Here's a roundup of stuff I've found just through a quick search on Google News.
First off, Reuters has a short feature on an armorer, Tomasz Samula, who is racing to finish outfitting the knights in all their shiny accoutrements. The gentleman who will portray King Jagiello predicts that 6,000 people will be in the military camp and 2,200 will take part in the battle reenactment. (Another report, however, places the expected number of fighters at 1,500.) Reuters has also sent out a short historical blurb for those people whose first reaction is "Grun-what?"
Suite101.com reports that Lithuanian's pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo is the host of recreated Grunwald/Zalgiris battles today through July 20. The pavilion has had more than 1 million visitors so far this year.
Meanwhile, the leaders of Minsk don't want their youths to celebrate the 600th anniversary of Grunwald with a pillow fight, the way they celebrated the 599th. (Today's capital of Belarus was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the time of Zalgiris.)
Tomorrow, the president of Lithuania will join the president-elect of Poland in laying a wreath on the grave of the real Jagiello in Krakow.
Also, the modern-day director of Wawel Castle discusses how this year's anniversary compares to the 500th anniversary in 1910 and how Grunwald resonates through other aspects of Polish history. Another part of this interview -- less related directly to Grunwald, but still interesting -- is here.
First off, Reuters has a short feature on an armorer, Tomasz Samula, who is racing to finish outfitting the knights in all their shiny accoutrements. The gentleman who will portray King Jagiello predicts that 6,000 people will be in the military camp and 2,200 will take part in the battle reenactment. (Another report, however, places the expected number of fighters at 1,500.) Reuters has also sent out a short historical blurb for those people whose first reaction is "Grun-what?"
Suite101.com reports that Lithuanian's pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo is the host of recreated Grunwald/Zalgiris battles today through July 20. The pavilion has had more than 1 million visitors so far this year.
Meanwhile, the leaders of Minsk don't want their youths to celebrate the 600th anniversary of Grunwald with a pillow fight, the way they celebrated the 599th. (Today's capital of Belarus was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the time of Zalgiris.)
Tomorrow, the president of Lithuania will join the president-elect of Poland in laying a wreath on the grave of the real Jagiello in Krakow.
Also, the modern-day director of Wawel Castle discusses how this year's anniversary compares to the 500th anniversary in 1910 and how Grunwald resonates through other aspects of Polish history. Another part of this interview -- less related directly to Grunwald, but still interesting -- is here.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Halfway between anniversaries
We're more or less halfway between two anniversaries of big Polish battles. Now, if you've read this blog before, you already know about Grunwald (July 15, 1410), but today I learned about the Battle of Klushino, which took place on July 4, 1610. That part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's history is outside of the SCA time period, but only just, so reenactors could presumably use their winged hussar uniforms from the late 1500s.
(In case you're wondering, the Poles beat the Russians quite handily.)
I stumbled across this page chock full of photos of the recent Klushino reenactment. Looks as if everybody had a good time!
Meanwhile, back in the High Middle Ages, it looks as if the commemoration of Grunwald/Zalgiris is already beginning.
I wonder whether the Grunwald anniversary will get much notice on the western side of the pond. At least one of the blogs on the Wall Street Journal site has noticed. Who knew that the guy who heads Poland's largest bank in 2010 shares a name with the king who ruled Poland in 1410?
(In case you're wondering, the Poles beat the Russians quite handily.)
I stumbled across this page chock full of photos of the recent Klushino reenactment. Looks as if everybody had a good time!
Meanwhile, back in the High Middle Ages, it looks as if the commemoration of Grunwald/Zalgiris is already beginning.
I wonder whether the Grunwald anniversary will get much notice on the western side of the pond. At least one of the blogs on the Wall Street Journal site has noticed. Who knew that the guy who heads Poland's largest bank in 2010 shares a name with the king who ruled Poland in 1410?
The bank spoke of a war during a press conference on the subordinate bonds. Instead of a clear declaration that the bonds would finance the Bank Zachodni WBK buy, at the meeting with a small group of business journalists Mr. Jagiello spoke of the upcoming 600th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald, also known as the first Battle of Tannenberg — one of medieval Europe’s largest battles, in which the Teutonic Order was defeated by the Polish-Lithuanian monarch Wladyslaw Jagiello (incidentally, the PKO Bank Polski CEO shares the last name with the famous king).
Mr. Jagiello, the bank CEO that is, would make references to the battle, citing chronicles by medieval author Jan Dlugosz, each time he got questions about the planned acquisition.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Early-summer update
Whew, it's mighty hot and humid here in the USA's capital city, and I'm thinking Pennsic -- what about you?
Currently I'm reading a book called The Baltic Revolution: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Path to Independence by Anatol Lieven. It was originally published right after the events of 1990-1991, so it's actually got a bit of a dated feel to it -- it would be interesting to read whether the author's initial hunches were borne out over time. I suspect that Algirdas Brazauskas, the first post-Soviet president of Lithuania, plays a pretty big role in this book -- I just learned from Wikipedia that he died a couple of days ago. (You'd never know that from the American media.)
Although most of the history outlined in Lieven's book is way past the SCA's time period, the author keeps placing the more recent events in the context of the cultural history (both real and imagined) of each of the three Baltic nations. Personally, I'm glad to know about this, if only to answer the question of "why do we care at all about Lithuania?"
In other post-SCA-period news, Wikipedia tells us that today is the anniversary of the Battle of Berestechko, which seems to have primarily involved folks from present-day Poland and Ukraine, even though it took place during the era of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Currently I'm reading a book called The Baltic Revolution: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Path to Independence by Anatol Lieven. It was originally published right after the events of 1990-1991, so it's actually got a bit of a dated feel to it -- it would be interesting to read whether the author's initial hunches were borne out over time. I suspect that Algirdas Brazauskas, the first post-Soviet president of Lithuania, plays a pretty big role in this book -- I just learned from Wikipedia that he died a couple of days ago. (You'd never know that from the American media.)
Although most of the history outlined in Lieven's book is way past the SCA's time period, the author keeps placing the more recent events in the context of the cultural history (both real and imagined) of each of the three Baltic nations. Personally, I'm glad to know about this, if only to answer the question of "why do we care at all about Lithuania?"
In other post-SCA-period news, Wikipedia tells us that today is the anniversary of the Battle of Berestechko, which seems to have primarily involved folks from present-day Poland and Ukraine, even though it took place during the era of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
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