A brief encounter with a leader of the Rebel Alliance...

Why, yes, the title of this entry does sound more like Star Wars than medieval Lithuania. But, seriously, it's not every day you get your photo taken with someone who helped bring down an Evil Empire!

Let me explain. On May 22 I went to the Lithuanian Festival with a couple of friends, one who had gone there with me before and one who hadn't. (I like to go every year, but last year a business trip got in the way.) Of course I wanted to show my newcomer friend all around the various booths selling crafts and food. After a lunch of cepelinai and a chance to watch the dance group Malunas, I took him into the side room to look at the military and historical exhibits.

In that side room, I noticed an older gentleman with slightly hunched soldiers, a light-colored jacket and a boutonniere in the Lithuanian flag colors. The members of the Lithuanian post of the American Legion were pointing out various exhibits to him and having their picture taken with him. Chatter flew back and forth in a mixture of English and Lithuanian.

My friend nudged me. "That's Vytautas Landsbergis!" he whispered excitedly. "You should introduce yourself."

True enough -- if I didn't do it right then and there, I knew I'd regret it, maybe not right away but soon, and for the rest of my life. (Channeling Casablanca there, I know.) After briefly wishing that I'd made a better clothing choice than a T-shirt and shorts, I walked up to him and (with the hope that I was pronouncing my surname in the correct Lithuanian fashion), introduced myself with my real name: Patricia Daukantas.

He shook my hand and replied, "Ah, you have a famous name!"

I nodded and explained that my grandparents came from Lithuania but died before I was born. Then I said "it's an honor to meet you!" and asked if someone could take our photo together. He agreed, and here's the result.

So that was my brush with real-life greatness! I had no idea that this festival in Maryland would attract a former head of state of the home country -- an important figure in Lithuanian history at that.

So, what's next?

Wow, once again it has been a long, long time since I have updated this blog. Mostly I have been plugging away on my freelance career, my SCA heraldic endeavors, and my SCA musical endeavors. I even started a professional blog. But every once in a while I think about the "bigger picture," so here goes.

In one of my favorite TV series ever, The West Wing, President Bartlet frequently ended discussion of an issue by saying, "What's next?"

This phrase comes up for me every time I think ahead to what I want to accomplish in the SCA. And by "what I want to accomplish," I mean my Lithuanian studies. Yes, I do have other responsibilities to my barony and Kingdom, and those tasks will get done because they are part of being an all-volunteer group. For instance, at the most recent baronial business meeting, I took notes and then typed up the minutes and sent them to the seneschal, because our regular chronicler was out of town for the weekend.

For me, my Lithuanian studies are the "special sauce" on top of all the other cool things I do in the SCA. But the "special sauce" won't happen if I don't procure the ingredients and mix them together in a way that makes sense.

I've taught classes about Lithuania and I've been recognized by Their Majesties, but still, I can't help feeling that I've only barely scratched the surface. There are still so many "persona questions" (from lists like this and this) that I cannot answer yet. Thanks to the Web, I see photos of Lithuanian reenactors such as the members of Pajauta, but I don't have firm documentation for what they're wearing, and I'm not sure that documentation exists (Lithuanian medieval graves contain metal artifacts, but no fabric -- and they didn't document their lives with paintings the way western Europeans did). A few books out there may provide some answers, in either English or Lithuanian, but they're not generally available outside a few academic libraries and/or the Library of Congress. (Yes, I do live in the general metro area of the Library of Congress, but I'm not very good at finding the time to visit the place.)

Once I define what I'm looking for, and then I find it, then what do I do with the information? In the short term, I know that I missed the deadline for getting classes listed in the "Pennsic book" for Pennsic XL, coming this August. I still really, really want to go to Pennsic, but I may be able to attend for only a few days, perhaps an extended weekend. (Now that I don't have a steady job, I have time but no money; if I land a full-time job, I will have money but absolutely no vacation time.) I think it's better for my sanity to avoid teaching if I'm just going to be there for a couple of days (with a third day for setting up and a fourth day for packing out).

Perhaps the thing I need to jump-start my Lithuanian research efforts is to write up a short generalist article for something like Tournaments Illuminated, the SCA's quarterly magazine. Maybe I could give it a clever title, like "Seven Reasons to Consider a Lithuanian Persona" or "Ten Things You Didn't Know About Medieval Lithuania." Would anyone even be interested in reading such an article?

I also can't help feeling that I need to specialize in "an art" that has something to do with my persona: tablet weaving, naalbinding, clothes-making, amber-carving, music-making, etc. I tend to dabble in a lot of different things and specialize in none of them. Not quite sure what to do about that.

Sometimes I think I should be apprenticed to a Laurel who would guide me in the "how to do what I want to do" part of the SCA. Again, I know a lot of Laurels, but no one individual close enough to apprentice to. Maybe someday....

'Your First SCA War'

The class I taught at the most recent University of Atlantia, "Your First SCA War," is now online at this location. The Web page is an extended version of the two-page handout from class. It's a bit rambling, but it still presents a lot of the information that I was given when I was a newcomer to the SCA and preparing for my first Pennsic War. I hope it aids people who might not have so many kind-hearted advisers in their own local branch.

(I was also motivated to get these notes posted because Master Liam St. Liam of the East Kingdom is thinking of teaching and/or organizing a newcomers' track, and here is something he can link to!)

Companion of the Coral Branch

I have been meaning to post about this for a while ... but at the Bright Hills Baronial Investiture on February 12, Their Royal Majesties of Atlantia saw fit to make me a Companion of the Coral Branch for "divers Lithuanian Studies," according to the court report. You can read my account of the event and presentation here.

Needless to say, I was very excited! Not just because it is an honor to join the Order of the Coral Branch, but also because I am glad that medieval Lithuania is being recognized as a fit subject of study within our Society.

Of course, I would have to have an "attack of life" immediately thereafter ... between the flu, the car repairs and my freelance-for-pay deadline, things got interesting. Fortunately, I got past all three of these hurdles; I'm just now waiting on the final word count for the big feature article so I can send in a nice fat invoice.

My next project for the SCA really isn't about Lithuania at all, though. I have signed up to teach a University of Atlantia class on "Your First SCA War." I thought it would be helpful to newcomers to talk about things that aren't on any packing list or FAQ list for big events like Pennsic -- for instance, how do you find a group to camp with and how do you shower?

A Pair of Peers

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.

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.

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!

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?

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....

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.