MITGaard IAP Activities

This list is for January 2002. Check MIT's IAP site for more recent information.

Not all of these activities are listed on the IAP webpage, because they are open to and attended by SCA members from throughout the Boston-area. However, all of these activities are open to anyone at MIT.

Our three lecturers are Mara Tudora Kolarova, Kali , and Deirdre the Good. They'll each give a short (10 minute) lecture from their persona's perspective (University of Carolingia style), after which there will be questions and answers (perspective varied). Refreshments will be provided!

The Topics:

• "Dowries and Inheritance"

  Mara will speak as the daughter of Diego Martinez, of the faculty of law at the University of Salamanca, who is ill and could not attend the lectures (circa 1290).

  This lecture will primarily be context and setup for the law (from 13th-c charters of 2 towns in central Spain) that specified that a woman who married without her father's consent was disinherited. The immediate modern reaction is "that's not fair", but in the context of that culture, it actually works out to be an advantage for women.

• "On the Great Schism in the Papacy : Origins and Solutions"

  Kali speaks as Calius Arlani, of the Faculty of Canon Law

  It is the year of grace 1410, and Western Europe has not one, not two, but three Popes. This schism has not sprung from arguments of theology but rather of procedure. How did we get into this mess, and how can we get out? Two principles of Canon Law urged by the University of Paris offer new hope: Total Subtraction of Obedience, and Conciliar Supremacy.

• "The Bardic Tradition"

  Deirdre will be a 15th century scotts bard, playing the lap harp.

  The talk will touch on early music (modes, form, etc.), the history of the harp and bardic traditions, and the origins of harp circles.

IAP-Only Activites Chainmail Workshop Calligraphy Workshop Rhythmomachy: The Philosopher's Game Tunic-Making Workshop Fire Building: Flint and Steel Historical Lectures Medieval Sight-Sing Barony-Wide Activities Renaissance Dancing SCA Fencing Practice Renaissance Fencing Demo Garb Workshops: Elizabethan Era Men's Garb Commedia del Arte: Improvisational Comedy Creating Characters from Stereotypes MITGaard-Only Activities Painting the MITGaard Office Individual Garb Reconstruction Higgens Armory Museum Trip from http://www.arador.com/main.html Back to top. from http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/dance.html Back to top. from http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/ Back to top.

Chainmail Workshop Myndroh Wednesday January 9, 16, 23, 30, 5-7:30pm, PDR3 (W20-303) No enrollment limit, no advance sign up Repeating event. Participants welcome at any session Chainmail is a flexible fabric constructed of linked metal rings, used since ancient times as a form of armor. Learn how to make chainmail. All tools and materials will be supplied; however, please bring needle-nose pliers if you have them. Contact: Myndroh (Jimmy Rising), jrising@mit.edu Rhythmomachy: The Philosopher's Game Myndroh Tuesday, January 15, 5-6:30pm, 24-611 No enrollment limit, no advance sign up Single session event Learn to play this mind crushing, mathematics-based relative of chess. Rhythmomachy was known throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance as the "Philosopher's Game", an intense board game combining positional and number-based strategies. Contact: Myndroh (Jimmy Rising), jrising@mit.edu Calligraphy Workshop Rhonwen glyn Conwy - Head of Boston-area SCA Guild of Calligraphers Tuesday, January 15, 2-4:00pm, 8-205 No enrollment limit, no advance sign up Single session event Learn calligraphy by practicing the Gothic script. All materials will be provided. No experience necessary! Contact: Rhonwen glyn Conwy, CCHCrow@aol.com Tunic-Making Workshop Rose Otter - Boston-area SCA Minister of Arts & Sciences Monday, January 21, 10:00am-6:00pm, 16-168 No limit but advance sign-up required (see contact below) Single session event Make your own medieval tunic, like those used throughout the middle ages by both men and women. Costs: $10, or your own fabric. Contact: Myndroh (Jimmy Rising), jrising@mit.edu Fire Building: Flint and Steel Frydherik Eysenkopf Date and Location TBD No enrollment limit, no advance sign up Single session event Learn to make a fire with flint and steel, like a reasonably intelligent Anglo-Saxon. Contact: Frydherik Eysenkopf (Carl West), fritz@carolingia.org Historical Lectures: Talks from a Historical Perspective Mara Tudora Kolarova, Kali Harlansson of Gotland, and Deirdre the Good Tuesday, January 22, 7 - 8:00 pm, 4-163 No enrollment limit, no advance sign up Single session event Three lectures given from the historical perspective of one living in the middle ages: "Canon Law and the Papal Schism", "Early Music and the Bardic Tradition", "The Interaction Between Inheritance, Marriage, and Abduction". Q&A to follow. Contact: Myndroh (Jimmy Rising), jrising@mit.edu Medieval Sight-Sing Tibicen - Director of the SCA Waytes of Carolingia Date and Location TBD No enrollment limit, no advance sign up Single session event This is an activity for altos and tenors to sight-sing medieval music. Contact: Tibicen (Vanessa Layne), dagoura@mit.edu Renaissance Dancing Maria Elisabetta Gonzaga - Boston-area SCA Dancemistress Wednesday, January 9, 16, 23, 7:30-9:30pm, W20-491 Wednesday, January 30, 7:30-9:30pm, W20-407 No enrollment limit, no advance sign up Participants welcome at individual sessions (series) Learn and practice renaissance dances from Italy, England, and France. Dances range from slow and relaxing to fast and intricate (simpler dances are practiced earlier each night). No partner or previous experience needed! Contact: Maria Gonzaga (Bess Libby), (978) 250-9385, besslibby@mediaone.net SCA Fencing Practice Brokk Jarlson - Boston-area SCA Marshall of Fence Sunday, January 6, 20, 27, February 3, 6-9:00pm, W20-491 and W20-407 No limit but advance notice recommended (see contact below) Participants welcome at individual sessions (series) Anyone is welcome, whether or not you know how to fence and whether or not you are a member of the SCA. You should wear comfortable pants and shoes with good traction. Men need to supply their own cup. We can provide you everything else from our loaner gear. Since we can't carry it all to practices, we need to know in advance what you need. Contact Fred Kutz with your needs. Web: Carolingia Fencing Home Page Contact: Brokk Jarlson (Fred Kutz), (781) 893-8712, brokk@carolingia.org Renaissance Fencing Demo Xandra Rozina Xiberras Galea - Boston-area SCA Mistress of Lists for Fence Sunday, January 13, 1-5:00pm, Walker Memorial No enrollment limit, no advance sign up Single session event This is the Central Regional Fencing Practice of the East Kingdom of the SCA. If you've been curious about fencing, have questions, want to try your hand at holding a sword, or just want to watch some dedicated fencers go at each other, this is your chance! Contact: Xandra Rosina (Anna Galea), (781) 893-8712, xandra_rozina@hotmail.com Garb Workshops: Elizabethan Era Men's Garb Seigneur Jehan du Lac and Master Luke Knowlton Sunday, January 13, 2:00am - 6:00pm, Twenty Chimnies, Student Center 4th floor No limit but advance sign-up required (see contact below) Make men's medieval clothing from the Elizabethan area. Handouts are provided. If you want to make your own clothing, bring cloth (and email for cloth specifications). Web: http://www.geocities.com/lady_liadan/garb_workshops.html Contact: Lady Liadan (Jennifer Davis), 978 741-2645, lady_liadan@yahoo.com Commedia del Arte: Improvisational Comedy Aleksandr Ruslanovich - Head of the Boston-area SCA Storytellers' Guild Tuesday, January 29, 7:30-9:30, 36-155 No enrollment limit, no advance sign up Single session event Learn improvisational comedy through exercises and practice skits in the medieval Italian tradition of Commedia del Arte. Contact: Aleksandr Ruslanovich (Alex Newman), (617) 288-9762, yevsha@earthlink.net Creating Characters from Stereotypes William the Alchymist - Chancellor of the SCA East Kingdom University Thursday, January 17, 7:30-9:30, 36-155 No enrollment limit, no advance sign up Single session event This activity is in conjunction with the regular i Sebastiani practice. Many comedic characters have their origin in stereotypes, and many stock situations arise naturally from the stereotype (think Pointy Haired Boss). We'll begin with some basic stereotypes, and build them up into full characters with their own idiosyncracies. If time permits, we'll put together short scenes and allow people "stage time" to further develop their characters. Contact: William the Alchymist (Jeff Suzuki), (617) 822-9347, jeffs@bu.edu Painting the MITGaard Office Myndroh Time: TBD Help decorate the walls of the MITGaard office with a fine new mural. Contact: Myndroh (Jimmy Rising), jrising@mit.edu Individual Garb Reconstruction Myndroh Time: TBD Research and reconstruction of garb from primary sources and pictures. Likely to extend into the semester. Contact: Myndroh (Jimmy Rising), jrising@mit.edu Higgins Armory Museum Trip Myndroh Time: TBD "The only museum in the Western Hemisphere solely dedicated to arms and armor." In Worcester, MA. Contact: Myndroh (Jimmy Rising), jrising@mit.edu