working on decrotive arts and scribal (maybe clothing as well) for dragonspine A&S
I also might have a lead for my entertainment entry!
pics of sugar paste plates if you don't want to look in archives
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
another update
so queens prize is coming up but I can't find a sponser.... but I hope to enter a scroll and my beadwork and maybe my dress at the Dragonsspine A&S..... that would knock down my list big time... otherwise I've been busy with work sigh.......
Sunday, July 01, 2007
sweet bag update
so I just found out my inlaws will be visiting in 3 weeks so I'm not sure how much I will be able to work on the sweetbag but I'll keep updating when I do work on it
I really wish I had a better camera my dark green stem work is done and I have the light green highlights almost finished -this is at 4 total hours of work
sweet bag
I've started work embroidering the sweet bag for the decoritive arts part of my quest
sorry for the fuzzy picture but this is 1 hour into the project
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Travel and Shelter done
Where the queen goes, her court must follow. The chaos that followed Elizabeth's summer progress prompted one historian to write, "Nothing save war was more disruptive to the orderly well-being of court life than a royal progress." Elizabeth went on progress each summer, to maintain contact with her people and to get out of London during plague season. When the Queen went on progress "she was not content to be accompanied by a mere handful of courtiers and ladies-in-waiting; she took along a great multitude and a large train of luggage, furnishings, food, and other suplies". Burghley tried to get the queen to limit the number of people she took on progress, but she was unwilling to compromise on the matter. To maintain the level of magnificence expected of her, she expected both her courtiers and her household to behave as though they were in residence at one of her palaces.
In 1553 a travel guide described France as being twenty-two days wide and nineteen days long. Another travel guide of the same period put the distance at sixteen days long. William Harrison's The Description of England, written in the 1580s, does not count days per se but he does list the distances between places and the implication is that the traveler might stop at each for a meal or for the night. "The way from Berwick to York, and so to London" is accomplished in twenty-two stops. London to Dover has another six stops.
On foot, one might travel three or four miles an hour during the day. Few people wanted to be out at night, so travel was confined to daylight hours. There were rivers to ford, however, and mountains to cross, so this was not a pace one could keep up indefinitely. Those who could, rode, either on horses or mules. The one hundred twenty mile journey from London to Stratford upon Avon took three days on horseback.
English gentlemen thought it unmanly to ride in any vehicle or on a mare. They used small, hard saddles and rated their horses by color, bay being the best. Women rode astride (using a man's saddle) or apillion. A pillion was a leather or padded cushion on a wooden frame which was strapped to the horse's back behind the saddle. A footboard hung from the offside and the woman clung to the man in front of her. By the sixteenth century, the sidesaddle was also an option. It was popularized by Catherine d' Medici, who brought one to France from Italy when she married the king of France in 1533.
There were some vehicles available. Wagons and carts had been around for a long time. Ladies might also be carried in litters. The coach, however, was a new development in sixteenth century England. A far cry from later developments, these coaches were an outgrowth of the carriages used to transport artillery. The first coaches had no springs or window glass and little padding. They differed from the four-wheeled carriages and covered wagons used earlier in that they were closed and had seats inside for passengers. One seat outside held the driver.
The first coach was brought to England from the Netherlands in 1555. The first coach in Scotland came from France with Mary, queen of Scots in 1561. Because of poor roads, the conveyance did not catch on outside London for some time.
The cleanest was to travel is by boat on the Thanes River. Usually, traveling by boat is faster than carriages or wagons. If you don’t have a boat, you would hail one by crying “Westward (or any other direction) Ho!” , A water taxi would cost about a penny.
To cross the English Channel (also called the Narrow Seas) to France could take days, even weeks, or in perfect weather conditions, only an afternoon.
One map giving travel times from Venice indicates that it took ten days to reach Augsburg, sixteen days to get to Brussels, and twenty-seven days to go all the way to London. Overland routes made use of rivers and canals.
Briggs, Asa, A Social History of England, Viking Press, New York, 1983
Loades, David, The Tudor Court, Barnes & Noble, New Jersey, 1987
Orlin, Lena Cowen, Elizabethan Households, Folger Shakespeare Library, 1995.
Somerset, Anne, Ladies in Waiting, from the Tudors to the Present Day, Alfred A. Knopf New York, 1984.
An Elizabethan Progress by Zillah Dovey (1996)
John Leland's Itinerary, edited by John Chandler (1993)
In 1553 a travel guide described France as being twenty-two days wide and nineteen days long. Another travel guide of the same period put the distance at sixteen days long. William Harrison's The Description of England, written in the 1580s, does not count days per se but he does list the distances between places and the implication is that the traveler might stop at each for a meal or for the night. "The way from Berwick to York, and so to London" is accomplished in twenty-two stops. London to Dover has another six stops.
On foot, one might travel three or four miles an hour during the day. Few people wanted to be out at night, so travel was confined to daylight hours. There were rivers to ford, however, and mountains to cross, so this was not a pace one could keep up indefinitely. Those who could, rode, either on horses or mules. The one hundred twenty mile journey from London to Stratford upon Avon took three days on horseback.
English gentlemen thought it unmanly to ride in any vehicle or on a mare. They used small, hard saddles and rated their horses by color, bay being the best. Women rode astride (using a man's saddle) or apillion. A pillion was a leather or padded cushion on a wooden frame which was strapped to the horse's back behind the saddle. A footboard hung from the offside and the woman clung to the man in front of her. By the sixteenth century, the sidesaddle was also an option. It was popularized by Catherine d' Medici, who brought one to France from Italy when she married the king of France in 1533.
There were some vehicles available. Wagons and carts had been around for a long time. Ladies might also be carried in litters. The coach, however, was a new development in sixteenth century England. A far cry from later developments, these coaches were an outgrowth of the carriages used to transport artillery. The first coaches had no springs or window glass and little padding. They differed from the four-wheeled carriages and covered wagons used earlier in that they were closed and had seats inside for passengers. One seat outside held the driver.
The first coach was brought to England from the Netherlands in 1555. The first coach in Scotland came from France with Mary, queen of Scots in 1561. Because of poor roads, the conveyance did not catch on outside London for some time.
The cleanest was to travel is by boat on the Thanes River. Usually, traveling by boat is faster than carriages or wagons. If you don’t have a boat, you would hail one by crying “Westward (or any other direction) Ho!” , A water taxi would cost about a penny.
To cross the English Channel (also called the Narrow Seas) to France could take days, even weeks, or in perfect weather conditions, only an afternoon.
One map giving travel times from Venice indicates that it took ten days to reach Augsburg, sixteen days to get to Brussels, and twenty-seven days to go all the way to London. Overland routes made use of rivers and canals.
Briggs, Asa, A Social History of England, Viking Press, New York, 1983
Loades, David, The Tudor Court, Barnes & Noble, New Jersey, 1987
Orlin, Lena Cowen, Elizabethan Households, Folger Shakespeare Library, 1995.
Somerset, Anne, Ladies in Waiting, from the Tudors to the Present Day, Alfred A. Knopf New York, 1984.
An Elizabethan Progress by Zillah Dovey (1996)
John Leland's Itinerary, edited by John Chandler (1993)
Monday, June 18, 2007
update
Now when I update this page I will also post this little checklist
Checklist 5/10
Done
Courtesy and Etiquette- February 03, 2007
Introduction- April 28, 2007
Dancing- May 07, 2007
Food- June 16, 2007
Travel and Shelter-June 18, 2007
Calligraphy -in progress
Games and Pastimes
Clothing
Decorative Arts
Entertainment
Every Day Life
Habitat
Heraldry
Skills and Technology
Survival Skills
Checklist 5/10
Done
Courtesy and Etiquette- February 03, 2007
Introduction- April 28, 2007
Dancing- May 07, 2007
Food- June 16, 2007
Travel and Shelter-June 18, 2007
Calligraphy -in progress
Games and Pastimes
Clothing
Decorative Arts
Entertainment
Every Day Life
Habitat
Heraldry
Skills and Technology
Survival Skills
cooking part 2- finished
Over last weekend I entered my sugar paste plates under the food category at dragonsspines champions I scored a 39, 46.8, 45.75 giving me a average of 43.85! Needing only a average score of 35 to reach the average score of 70%! (I also want to brag that all three judges gave me the full 10 points for documentation!!) 
** part 2 of category ***food in your area, including what was available, where it came from, restrictions on food and how it would be prepared. You shall include a sample of a menu for a normal day and for a feast
A Sixteenth Century Dinner (normal day)
First Course
Brawn (boar meat)
Roast Beef
Roast Venison (deer)
Meat Pie
Vegetables in season
Bread
Second Course
Roast Lamb
Rabbit
Bread
Tarts and Custard
The staple diet consisted of meat and bread and was much sweeter than today's food. Manchet was a very fine white bread made from wheat flour with a little bran and wheat germ added. It was creamy-yellow in colour. This bread was for the nobility
The sea fish for eating included cod, haddock, ling, conger, and plaice.The fresh water fish included eels, pike, perch, trout, sturgeon, roach, and salmon.Cockles, mussels and oysters
Nobility didn't eat a lot of vegetables some medical texts advise against eating raw vegetables as engendering wind (gas) or evil humours. A variety of vegetables grown included leeks, garlic, peas, parsnips, collards, kale lentils, turnips, broad beans, onions, spinach, carrots, beets, artichokes, radishes, and asparagus. Herbs included borage, sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley and chives. edible flowers were also commonly seen in dishes
Sweets were common. Sugar became very popular and England was known for it's high quality honey. At Court sugar was added to ale, sauces for meat and fish, and sweetmeats like "marchpane" (marzipan).
Everyone avoided drinking water because it was very polluted. Hypocras was a sweet liqueur imported from the Eastern Mediterranean; it was the most expensive drink of all and was served at Royal banquets and special occasions. Wine was popular at Court; Sack was a sherry, a sweet wine from Spain; Aqua vitae (the Latin for the water of Life) was the name given to any strong spirit such as brandy. Ale was the word used for any fermented drink made from grain and water at Court more ale was drunk than wine. Small Ale (newly brewed) was often drunk at morning meals.
First Remove:
Second Remove:
Third Remove:
Fourth Remove:
Bibliography
** part 2 of category ***food in your area, including what was available, where it came from, restrictions on food and how it would be prepared. You shall include a sample of a menu for a normal day and for a feast
A Sixteenth Century Dinner (normal day)
First Course
Brawn (boar meat)
Roast Beef
Roast Venison (deer)
Meat Pie
Vegetables in season
Bread
Second Course
Roast Lamb
Rabbit
Bread
Tarts and Custard
The staple diet consisted of meat and bread and was much sweeter than today's food. Manchet was a very fine white bread made from wheat flour with a little bran and wheat germ added. It was creamy-yellow in colour. This bread was for the nobility
a wide variety of meat and game including what they hunted:- deer, boar, rabbit, quail, bustard, curlew, plover, cormorant, badger, hedgehog, heron, crane, pheasant, woodcock, partridge, blackbirds, etc. They also had meat from the animals they reared on their land:- beef, mutton, veal, lamb, kid, pork, rabbit, chicken, duck, swan, peacock, goose, pigeon, doves etc.
The sea fish for eating included cod, haddock, ling, conger, and plaice.The fresh water fish included eels, pike, perch, trout, sturgeon, roach, and salmon.Cockles, mussels and oysters
Nobility didn't eat a lot of vegetables some medical texts advise against eating raw vegetables as engendering wind (gas) or evil humours. A variety of vegetables grown included leeks, garlic, peas, parsnips, collards, kale lentils, turnips, broad beans, onions, spinach, carrots, beets, artichokes, radishes, and asparagus. Herbs included borage, sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley and chives. edible flowers were also commonly seen in dishes
There were many varieties of apples, pears and cherries grown in England. Other popular fruits included damsons, plums, strawberries and gooseberries. Most of the fruit was cooked as doctors thought that raw food caused illness. Oranges, limes or any fruit imported from abroad was expensive and therefore only eaten by the upper classes. "Apricocks" (apricots) were imported from Portugal and "apples of love" (tomatoes) came from Mexico.
Sweets were common. Sugar became very popular and England was known for it's high quality honey. At Court sugar was added to ale, sauces for meat and fish, and sweetmeats like "marchpane" (marzipan).
Everyone avoided drinking water because it was very polluted. Hypocras was a sweet liqueur imported from the Eastern Mediterranean; it was the most expensive drink of all and was served at Royal banquets and special occasions. Wine was popular at Court; Sack was a sherry, a sweet wine from Spain; Aqua vitae (the Latin for the water of Life) was the name given to any strong spirit such as brandy. Ale was the word used for any fermented drink made from grain and water at Court more ale was drunk than wine. Small Ale (newly brewed) was often drunk at morning meals.
Feast
First Remove:
Soup (2 varieties, vegetable & meat)
Second Remove:
Roast peacock
Pork & egg pies
Roast Tongue
Leg of Pork
Fried spiced onions
Roast root vegetables
Beans
Third Remove:
Mushroom pasties
Braised venison in pepper sauce
Roast Lamb
Rabbit
Tarts and Custard
Bread
Fourth Remove:
Pears in red wine
Cheese and fruits
Marchpanes
candied roses and violets
cakes
wafers
Bibliography
Hart, R (1972) English Life in Tudor Times, Wayland Publishers, LondonEmmison, F.G. (1964)
Tudor Food and Pastimes - Life at Ingatestone Hall, Ernest Benn Ltd, LondonFraser, A (1996)
The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, LondonDyer, C (1989)
Standards of Living in the Later Middle Ages, Cambridge University Press, CambridgeBlack, M (1992)
The Medieval Cookbook, British Museum Press, LondonRenfrow, C (1998)
Take a Thousand Eggs or More, Volume 2, Cindy Renfrow
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
cooking (part 1)
(Food is necessary for life. Thorough knowledge of this area would be essential. To complete this category you shall document your knowledge of food in your area, including what was available, where it came from, restrictions on food and how it would be prepared. You shall include a sample of a menu for a normal day and for a feast. You must also prepare a suitable dish at an event with appropriate documentation. This shall be judged by the Cook’s Guild. )
So I thought I would post some of the stuff I have been working on in this catagory
Here is my sugar paste dishes drying........ I can't wait to paint them!
And here is some candied carrots and parsnips (on the waxed paper, I ended up not using these as they just didn't take a lot of sugar... I might retry them in time for crossroads) and candied apples and pears... which taste pretty good
A bad pic, of jumbles (elizabethan cookies)
A little close up of the jumbles so you can see the little knots and fun shapes
Monday, May 07, 2007
Dancing
(Dancing was popular throughout all levels of society. You will be familiar with this art. You may demonstrate your ability by performing at least three dances of different kinds. You must name the place of origin and the time period of each dance and must be able to teach at least one of them. This category ill be judged at a Dance Practice. )
Dances listed below
I taught Black nagg and Black Almain on May 6th at the Raven Hyrst Dance practice
Black Nagg (Playford 3rd edition - 1657)
Setting: A longways set of 3 couples.
Verse:
1- 4 Double forward, double backward.
5- 8 Repeat.
Chorus:
9-10 Face partner, take 2 hands. First couple slips up hall,
11-12 followed by the second couple,
13-14 and then third,
15-16 all turn single.
17-24 Couples slip back to place in reverse order, all turn single.
Verse:
1- 8 Siding.
Chorus:
9-10 First man and 3rd woman change places,
11-12 first woman and 3rd man do the same,
13-14 followed by 2nd man and 2nd woman,
15-16 all turn single.
17-24 Do the changes again to return to place, all turn single.
Verse:
1- 8 Arming.
Chorus:
9-14 Men's hey,
15-16 [men turn.]
17-24 Women's hey,
25-26 [women turn.]
Heart’s Ease (first edition Playford [1651 - registered in 1650])
Setting: A set of 2 couples (facing each other).
1- 4 Double towards the other couple, double away,
5- 8 repeat 1-4.
9-10 Face your partner and double backwards, away from them,
11-12 double towards partner, 13-16 turn your contrary by the right.
17-18 Face your contrary and double backwards, away from them,
19-20 double towards contrary,
21-24 turn your partner by the left.
1- 4 Side right with your partner,
5- 8 side left with your contrary.
9-24 Repeat
9-24. 1- 4 Arm right with your partner,
5- 8 arm left with your contrary.
9-24 Repeat 9-24.
Note: Playford's ``contrary'' is generally called a corner or opposite in modern folkdance.
Transcription: Meet all a D. fall back a D. ?u?.? That againe ?u?:? Men fall back from your We. meet again and turne Co. once round with the right hand ?u?.? All fall back from the Co. they turne, meet againe and turn your owne with the left hand. Sides all with your owne, then with the Co. ?u?.? That againe ?u?.? As before ?u?:? Armes all with your owne ?u?.? That again with the Co. and fall backe from your owne first, as before ?u?:? As before ?u?:?
Black Almain- Inns of Court manuscripts.
Setting: A processional line of couples.
1- 8 4 doubles forward.
9-12 Face partner and drop hands. Double backwards away from partner, double forward towards partner.
13-16 Quarter-turn left (men face up the hall, women face down the hall), double forward up or down the hall, turn around over your right shoulder, double back to place.
17-20 Face partner; men set and turn in place.
21-24 Women do the same.
25-26 Take both hands, turn halfway using one double into partner's place,
27-28 4 slip steps up hall.
29-32 Turn halfway back to your own side, 4 slip steps down hall.
33-36 Drop hands, double backward away from partner, double forward towards partner.
1-36 Repeat with the women setting and turning in place first, followed by the men.
Transcription: Honour. Fowre doubles forward, part handes with a .d. backe, meete again with a .d., A .d. on your lefte hand, a nother on your right hand, the man doe .2. .S. & a .d. rounde, the woman as much, take both handes, change places with a double & slide upwardes .4., Into your own place with a .d., Slyde downe .4., backe a .d. one from another, meet againe. The same againe. Bodleian Library MS Douce 280 (c. 1605/6), transcribed by Wilson Discussion:
A comment in one of the Inns of Court manuscripts, mentioned by Wilson, says that the dance was one of `the newest tunes that are now in vse' in 1584. However, this ballad to the tune is reprinted in Collmann's Ballads and Broadsides chiefly Of the Elizabethan Period; this ballad can be dated to 1570-1 via the Stationers' Register.
A proper new balade expressyng the fames, Concerning a warning to al London dames.
To the tune of the blacke Almaine.
You London dames, whose passyng fames
Through out the world is spread, In to the skye, ascendyng hye To euery place is fled :
For thorow each land and place, For beauties kyndely grace :
You are renowmed ouer all, You haue the prayse and euer shall.
What wight on earth that can beholde More dearer and fayrer dames than you? Therefore to extoll you I may be bolde, Your pace and graces so gay to vieu.
Dances listed below
I taught Black nagg and Black Almain on May 6th at the Raven Hyrst Dance practice
Black Nagg (Playford 3rd edition - 1657)
Setting: A longways set of 3 couples.
Verse:
1- 4 Double forward, double backward.
5- 8 Repeat.
Chorus:
9-10 Face partner, take 2 hands. First couple slips up hall,
11-12 followed by the second couple,
13-14 and then third,
15-16 all turn single.
17-24 Couples slip back to place in reverse order, all turn single.
Verse:
1- 8 Siding.
Chorus:
9-10 First man and 3rd woman change places,
11-12 first woman and 3rd man do the same,
13-14 followed by 2nd man and 2nd woman,
15-16 all turn single.
17-24 Do the changes again to return to place, all turn single.
Verse:
1- 8 Arming.
Chorus:
9-14 Men's hey,
15-16 [men turn.]
17-24 Women's hey,
25-26 [women turn.]
Heart’s Ease (first edition Playford [1651 - registered in 1650])
Setting: A set of 2 couples (facing each other).
1- 4 Double towards the other couple, double away,
5- 8 repeat 1-4.
9-10 Face your partner and double backwards, away from them,
11-12 double towards partner, 13-16 turn your contrary by the right.
17-18 Face your contrary and double backwards, away from them,
19-20 double towards contrary,
21-24 turn your partner by the left.
1- 4 Side right with your partner,
5- 8 side left with your contrary.
9-24 Repeat
9-24. 1- 4 Arm right with your partner,
5- 8 arm left with your contrary.
9-24 Repeat 9-24.
Note: Playford's ``contrary'' is generally called a corner or opposite in modern folkdance.
Transcription: Meet all a D. fall back a D. ?u?.? That againe ?u?:? Men fall back from your We. meet again and turne Co. once round with the right hand ?u?.? All fall back from the Co. they turne, meet againe and turn your owne with the left hand. Sides all with your owne, then with the Co. ?u?.? That againe ?u?.? As before ?u?:? Armes all with your owne ?u?.? That again with the Co. and fall backe from your owne first, as before ?u?:? As before ?u?:?
Black Almain- Inns of Court manuscripts.
Setting: A processional line of couples.
1- 8 4 doubles forward.
9-12 Face partner and drop hands. Double backwards away from partner, double forward towards partner.
13-16 Quarter-turn left (men face up the hall, women face down the hall), double forward up or down the hall, turn around over your right shoulder, double back to place.
17-20 Face partner; men set and turn in place.
21-24 Women do the same.
25-26 Take both hands, turn halfway using one double into partner's place,
27-28 4 slip steps up hall.
29-32 Turn halfway back to your own side, 4 slip steps down hall.
33-36 Drop hands, double backward away from partner, double forward towards partner.
1-36 Repeat with the women setting and turning in place first, followed by the men.
Transcription: Honour. Fowre doubles forward, part handes with a .d. backe, meete again with a .d., A .d. on your lefte hand, a nother on your right hand, the man doe .2. .S. & a .d. rounde, the woman as much, take both handes, change places with a double & slide upwardes .4., Into your own place with a .d., Slyde downe .4., backe a .d. one from another, meet againe. The same againe. Bodleian Library MS Douce 280 (c. 1605/6), transcribed by Wilson Discussion:
A comment in one of the Inns of Court manuscripts, mentioned by Wilson, says that the dance was one of `the newest tunes that are now in vse' in 1584. However, this ballad to the tune is reprinted in Collmann's Ballads and Broadsides chiefly Of the Elizabethan Period; this ballad can be dated to 1570-1 via the Stationers' Register.
A proper new balade expressyng the fames, Concerning a warning to al London dames.
To the tune of the blacke Almaine.
You London dames, whose passyng fames
Through out the world is spread, In to the skye, ascendyng hye To euery place is fled :
For thorow each land and place, For beauties kyndely grace :
You are renowmed ouer all, You haue the prayse and euer shall.
What wight on earth that can beholde More dearer and fayrer dames than you? Therefore to extoll you I may be bolde, Your pace and graces so gay to vieu.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
intro posted
so as you can see by my last post I have posted my intro now I wait and see if it is good enough for the quest but in my eyes that is 2 categories done 8 more to go and about 9 months left until candlemas
my food category is almost finished I just have to finish fleshing out the menu and make the dish, the write up is already done (I plan on entering it at crossroads) and Sunday I'll get the dancing portion done!
not bad, moving right along!
my food category is almost finished I just have to finish fleshing out the menu and make the dish, the write up is already done (I plan on entering it at crossroads) and Sunday I'll get the dancing portion done!
not bad, moving right along!
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