Ottoman Empire

NEWSLETTER OF THE BARONY OF SHATTERED CRYSTAL

Volume 29, Issue 11 March 2018/ AS LII P a g e 1 T h e S h a r d s C u r i a C a l l I N S I D E Their Crystalline Excellencies Archery Marshal T H I S Daimyō Kurro Ookami Master Bubba Godgodson [email protected] [email protected] ISSUE:

Baronessa Petrona De Manciano Equestrian Marshal Missives 2 [email protected] Mistress Alphia Biras-Parz [email protected] Haematite Seneschal 3 Lady Ástríðr Árnarðóttír Rapier Marshal Hospice [email protected] Lord Bartelmeu le Wis (618)-910-7130 [email protected] Onyx 4 Pursuivant (a.k.a. Herald) Thrown Weapons Marshal Oven Master Avery Austringer Vacant [email protected] Persona 7 Exchequer Youth Marshal Portraits Cellah niTighearnaigh Lady Brigid MacCauley [email protected] [email protected] The Folly 9 Chatelain Minister of Arts & Sciences Marshal Master Avery Austringer Muirgheal O’Seannaig [email protected] [email protected] Persona 11 Deputy Chatelain and Gold Key Chronicler Portraits 2 Vacant Tiarna Cináed Ulric, Amhranai tan Briongloid [email protected] (618)-722-1339 Agate Demo Coordinator 12 Mistress Alphia Biraz-Pars Web Minister Atlas “Dafydd ap Llewellyn” [email protected] Knight’s Marshal Baron Gavin MacFergus Minister of Youth Acknowl- [email protected] Baroness Caroline de Mercier 15 [email protected] edgements Deputy Knight Marshal Vacant Calendar 16 Verba Legis This is the March 2018 issue of The Shards, a publication of the Barony of Shattered Crystal of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. (SCA, Inc.). The Shards is edited by and available from Jonathan Thorn, 6120 Leo Dr. Belleville, Il. 62223. It is not a corporate publication of SCA, Inc., and does not delineate SCA, Inc. policies. Copyright © 2018 Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. For information on reprinting photographs, articles, or artwork from this publication, please contact the Chronicler, who will assist you in contacting the original creator of the piece. Please respect the legal rights of our contributors. Volume 29, Issue 11 P a g e 2

M i s s i v e s and at our local events brighter Thus let it be known that at our and better through the creation upcoming event in May, Crystal of refreshed or new Baronial re- Chamfron, We will hold the tour- galia. A Baronial Beautification naments and contests to decide project if one will. We would like upon the Champions not only for Baron & to hear ideas from the populace Equestrian, but also for Archery on what kind of items we should and Thrown Weapons. More de- Baroness have, like to work on, and work tails will be made when avail- with our Minister of Arts & Sci- able. Greetings unto the fair ences to set up a series of nights Yours In Service, members of the Barony. to work on these projects on We have a couple of Tuesday A&S nights throughout - Kurro Ookami & the coming year. items we wish to be known at Petrona de Manciano this time. First is a request for Second We wish to an- all those who wish to help make nounce that we desire to find the our Baronial presence abroad next set of Baronial Champions.

dated. To ensure the accuracy of [email protected] the database (and my reports to Your information will the Kingdom Earl Marshal), I ONLY be used to ensure the da- need every currently authorized tabase is correct AND for my heavy fighter to send me the fol- quarterly reports. Thank you for lowing information: your assistance. SCA Name Knight’s Mundane Name In Service, Marshal What weapons forms are you authorized in? Are you a Heavy Marshal? Baron Gavin MacFergus Are you a heavy fighter? Are you a Heavy MiT? Then I need your help! DO NOT REPLY via the FB As you all know, the king- page, please email your informa- dom database has been tion to me at: changed and needs to be up- shatteredcrys- P a g e 3 T h e S h a r d s Asia. A second reason is be- Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, cause, I, as chronicler, wanted to Greece, over Turkey, and into take the Barony on a round the Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan,

world tour via some of the mem- and parts of Persia (Iran), Iraq, bers personas this A.S. year to and Syria. It really is a section show how diverse we are in our that could be labeled as Euraisa. studying of Medieval life. So Unlike the regions that created Chronicler with Mircea & Alphia’s personas the areas we now know as we’re actually kind of covering France, Germany, or Italy, these The Ottoman Empire. that beautiful in–between area regions really were quite more We’re kind of covering a very of where the edge of Eastern diverse culturally and still kept large swath this issue and we Europe meets Western Asia. In their independence, whether ac- have a couple of Baronial mem- fact much of the area today is tually or mentally, from Medieval bers to blame: Lord Mircea & Her still greatly debated as to to modern times. Each I’m cer- Excellency, Alphia. As to why we whether it is European or Asian, tain would deserve an issue on have them to blame, well one and some just decided to give up their own, but alas, time is short. part is his persona is from East- and call it parts of it the Middle Hope you enjoy and that it in- ern Europe, and her loose East, which scholars would balk spires out of the usual box re- grouping of a persona, which is at in a heart beat and quite a search. explained in the Persona Portrait few gasps of breath. It’s that article later on in this issue, goes wonderful “swoosh” of a strip of - Tiarna Cináed Ulric from Eastern Europe to Western the world that goes from

Haematite Hospice

Mistress Caroline de Mercier had shoulder replacement surgery this past St. Valentine’s Day. She is recuperating not at home but in Belleville at Memorial Care Center. She would gladly accept company or phone calls. Also Muirgheal O’Seannaig’s spouse, Lady Shannon, re- cently returned from a surgery scheduled on February 26th. She is home now and resting. Please keep these Baronial members in your heart and mind, and politely ask if they need any support or assistance. Volume 29, Issue 11 P a g e 4 The Onyx Oven Cináed Ulric

Turn Your Head.... and Kofta!

There are quite a few dishes we could discuss coming from the Ottoman Empire region, but this one is probably the most interesting because when finished it resembles what many of us may know as "Scotch Eggs", a dish we believe originated in Scotland. But there are some doubts about that origin because Scotch Eggs are introduced after the United Kingdom's interaction with India in the late 17th to early 18th centuries, and India probably got the dish from Persia once it was taken over as part of the Ot- toman Empire and their cuisine started to influence much of Arabian and Indian cooking. Modernly, very similar to slightly similar dishes to the noted original recipe descriptions below, can be seen in various forms in the cuisine of approximately twenty-six different countries/regions in the world. In a number of the regions, kofta is what the dish is referred as. It comes from Classical Persian kōfta, meaning "rissole", from the verb kōftan meaning "to pound" or "to grind", reflecting the ground meat used for the meatballs. But why do we start it in Persia? Well, SCA cook, Urtatim Al-Qurtubiyya shared with me two translations from two period cookbooks in which the earliest recipes of this kind were found; the first of which is listed as from the Ottoman Empire, while the second is listed strictly as Persian.

"Here's one of the recipes I translated from among those added by Shirvani to his translation of al- Baghdadi's cookbook in the mid-15th century.

[131r] Meatballs

Grind some meat as for meatballs, continue to beat in a mortar. Put in plenty of pepper, onions and a little sifted starch and knead. Insert some cooked egg peeled of their shells, into the center of the meat patties, then form all into meatballs. The meatballs are released into a large pot [131v] of thor- oughly boiling water, turning occasionally to cook. [my (Urtatim's) translation]

Similar meatballs were made in late 16th c. Persia. There isn't a detailed recipe for them, but they are mentioned in a recipe for the very complex dish called qobuli-ye murassa' (jeweled qobuli) in "Maddat al- hayat, resala dar 'elm-e tabbaki" (The Substance of Life, a treatise on the art of cooking) by Master Nurol- lah, chef to Shah 'Abbas I, written in 1594/95:

'...Fill large meat balls each with an egg cooked in meat stock and cook them separately. Then cut in half and arrange on the dish in such a way that they show the inside of the eggs.' [excerpted from the long recipe - my (Uratim's) translation]'"

- Urtatim.

Other than those translations, not a lot to redact the recipe on, but the good news is there are doz- ens, if not hundreds, of various modern kofta recipes to look at and so I decided to go hunting, research- ing and cooking, and piece together a recipe that I thought fit closest to the minimal descriptions above. Here's what I came up with.

[Cont’d pg 5] P a g e 5 T h e S h a r d s [Kofta from pg 4] INGREDIENTS: 1 ½ pounds Ground Sirloin Beef or Ground Lamb 1 medium Onion, chopped 1 ½ teaspoons Black Pepper 2 1/2 teaspoons of Barley flour 5 Hard Boiled Eggs 8 Cups of lamb/beef broth Sheeptail fat or if unavailable 3 Tbsp. Sesame Oil or 1 Tbsp. Sesame Oil + 2 Tbsp. Canola or Grape seed Oil

DIRECTIONS: Step 1c. One can use beef for this recipe but the more common meat used in Medieval Persia is going to be lamb. Whichever one decides upon, originally one would pound and grind the meat into a paste. Ground meat is a step away from that consistency and if one doesn't have the time to pound, then use a food processor to "blend" until a paste like consistency. Step 2. Take the onion and grate it, then put into the meat, along with the Black Pepper, and Barley flour. Note: This is all the "recipe" states, but if you want to have a bit more of Persian flavor to it, one may add spices and herbs such as: 1 1/4 tsp ground turmeric, 1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 1/2 TBSP dried marzeh (summer savory), 1/4 tsp saffron powder, and 2 tsp sea salt. (and remember once one has tried this recipe, go back and adjust spices to taste.) Also note one could use regular flour here, but the cost and use of wheat flour during Medieval Persia was a bit expen- sive and so much of the population switched to using other grains, in particular, barley. Step 3. Take the meat mixture and divide into five portions. Take one portion and divide and make it into two equal sized patties. Place one hard boiled egg in between the patties and then mold them around the egg, encasing it and creating a ball. Note: the "recipe" doesn't state what kind of egg to use, and although there were types of quail and similar sized fowl in Persia, I'm thinking one should use chicken eggs. The reasons for this is 1. Urtatim's comments to me was that this dish was served as part of a main meal, unlike the Scotch Egg which is a snack food, and 2. most of the recipes I have come across have described forming a meatball that is somewhere between the size of a baseball to a goodly sized orange. Chicken egg seems more logical to me. Extra note, although the Medieval "recipe" calls for the meatballs to be stuffed with eggs, there are modern variations stuffed with things like walnuts, and dried apricots, figs, plumbs, or prunes. Step 4. If one noticed that step one was listed as "1c." - good eye! The reason for that is technically one does need to make their lamb stock, 1a., first, so that one can then boil the eggs in it, 1b., as possibly suggested by the second "recipe", "'...Fill large meat balls each with an egg cooked in meat stock and cook them separately." Do whatever one finds easiest on one's time. As for me, if I'm making the stock to cook the meatballs in, might as well boil the eggs while I'm allowing the stock to be created while boiling and then simmering. Step 5. Many of the modern recipes have an extra step I'm going to include as without the addition of a beaten egg, or some other good binder, to the meat mixture, the meatballs could fall apart in the water/broth. Also, to help impart more flavor I'm suggesting one cooks them in meat broth, or in this case lamb stock. Put that extra step in here, which is in the pot one will cook the meatballs, add either the sheep's tail fat or oil mixture. Remember, much of Persia was Muslim at that time so lard cannot be used as it comes from pork. Thus the taste would be much different and probably not true to the medieval flavor. Lightly brown the meatballs. Step 6. Pour in the lamb broth, filling the pot high enough that it comes about half way up the meat balls. Place it on a medium-low heat and allow to simmer until the broth has evaporated, leaving the meatballs to cook/brown again in any left over oil/fat for a brief period of time. Remove from [Cont’d pg 6] Volume 29, Issue 11 P a g e 6 [Kofta from pg. 5] the pot and put into a separate dish either whole of cut in half. Step 7. Modernly the broth is served as is, or with various added ingredients, as a dish before the Kofta are. If one wants something other than the lamb broth, that is for one to have fun doing one's own research on. I will present a simple lamb broth recipe:

LAMB BROTH

INGREDIENTS: 1/2 lb Lamb Bones or Cutups with Bones 1 Medium Onion, chopped 4-5 Cloves Garlic 1/2 inch Thumb Ginger 1 Medium Carrot, Peeled & Chunk Chopped 3 Tablespoons of Dill 7-8 Black Peppercorn 1 Stick Cinnamon 2 Black Cardamoms 4 Green Cardamoms 1/2 tspn Ground Turmeric Salt & Pepper to taste 2 tablespoons sheep tail fat or Oil. 8 Cups of Water

DIRECTIONS: Place the two tablespoons of sheep tail fat or oil into the pot and heat. Put in the chopped onion and the bones, if they are in meat cuts. Cook until the meat is lightly browned and the onions are wilted. Place rest of ingredients to the pot, just slightly cooking them in the fat/oil, then add 8 cups of water. Let the water come to a boil once, reduce heat to lowest setting, cover the pan and let it simmer for at least 1 hour. Check and add more water if required.

 Balston, Catherine. "Scotch eggs around the world – it has never been just a British thing". The Guard- ian, Website July 28, 2015. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2015/jul/28/ scotch-eggs-world-british-india-belgium-brazil-poland-gastropub Accessed Feb 19, 2018.

 bint 'abd al-Karim al-hakim al-Fassi, Urtatim (SCA Name) "Relax In Al-Iwan the Dining Niche". Dar Anahita the domicile of Urtatim bint 'abd al-Karim al-hakim al-Fassi. Website Sept. 5, 2011. http:// home.earthlink.net/~al-tabbakhah/#recipes Accessed Feb. 21, 2014

 Davidson, Alan. The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. © 3rd edition 2014 [Cont’d pg 14] P a g e 7 T h e S h a r d s Persona Portraits Alphia Biraz - p a r s

SCA Name: Alphia Biraz-pars (nee Bonadea) Title: Mistress SCA Honors & Awards: Award of Arms, Award of the Pur- ple Fret, Order of the Willow, Order of the Dragon’s Heart, Order of the Laurel, Order of the White Chamfron, Order of the Dragon’s Barb, Augmentation of Arms (gold pheon (arrow head)), Baroness of Shattered Crystal, Court Baroness, Time Frame: 1500—1550 CE Geographic Location Historically: [Editor’s guess— Western Armenia (6 Armenian provinces) of the Otto- man Empire. Later various parts of Europe. Geographic Location Modernly: South-Eastern Turkey. Coat of Arms: Sable, a natural leopard's head couped Or, marked sable, in canton a pheon Or. (On a black field, a gold a leopard’s head facing to the viewer’s left, cleaning cut at the neck, and in the upper left hand cor- ner (viewer’s upper left) a golden medieval arrow. Brief History: Alphia Bonadea was the name given to the young girl that was traveling in a caravan with her family as they headed into the Middle East. The caravan was attacked and all adults were killed. As the only child and too young to bother with, Alphia was left behind

unharmed. She was found by a tribe of Kurdish Chris- tians who adopted and raised her. She could tell them the name Alphia but they never got the Bonadea part down pat. Thus the leader of the tribe, who was essen- tially her stepfather, gave her the nickname of Biraz-pars which means “little leopard.” because she kept wanting to fight. Being Kurdish they allowed their women to fight – in fact they had a similar reputation to the Apache women – “the clean-up squad”. You did not want to face the women – better to die fighting the men. Alphia kept wanting to fight, and thus the leader’s nicknaming her “little leopard.” As the tribe also were Christian it was a good match for her as her parents had been already teaching her the basics of their faith. Alphia also learned to dance from the women of the [Cont’d pg 8] Volume 29, Issue 11 P a g e 8

[Alphia from page 7] tribe. It was something all could do and in this tribe was not something that had to be completely private – everyone danced. As she grew older, Alphia decided she wanted to travel and find the lands of her birth. With some misgivings, her new family supplied her needs and let her travel with a caravan heading to European lands. She discovered different styles of clothes, new dances, new ways to fight, and different foods. Sometimes she found it safer to dress as a man in her travels, in which case she adopted the name of Alphonso (never bothered with a last name for the alias). She has met many people, seen many lands, and had a lot of fun. Alphia eventually married a man who also had to change names due to miscommu- nication. All in all, it has been a good life.

Alphia Explains Her Persona Development: OK, in the early days of the SCA (early 1970) we almost always killed off the family. They weren’t around so you had to do something. I had originally chosen the name of Bonadea because my friend, Beryl, & I decided we were sisters so we were going to use the same name. (College of Heralds nixed that idea.) I chose a Kurdish persona because it was a real Middle Eastern tribe that allowed the women to fight and some members were Christian. At the time I had just joined the Dark Horde so I was switching over to Middle Eastern. I was the 5th women authorized in heavy fighting in the Midrealm so I wanted my persona to be correct to be fighting. I wanted to be Middle Eastern but still be Christian. Kurdish worked for both concerns. I picked the name Biraz-pars out of a Turkish dictionary (biraz = little / pars = leopard). At that time you did not have to document the name, just not conflict with anyone else so it passed. I did a little Middle Eastern Dance in Wurm Wald but did not get into it seriously till I was down at Three Rivers (after Simone danced at the first Feast of Changelings). I learned my first European dances in Wurm Wald and became a dance teacher in Three Rivers. Since I wore both European and Middle Eastern Clothes and did both styles of dancing I figured at some time I left the Middle East and traveled back to Europe. Rick and I never did do a “how did we get together” story on personas. Both of us are fairly casual about persona. I generally figured I was in the early years of Suleiman which would be mid 1500’s. Rick’s persona would probably be earlier a few centuries earlier. P a g e 9 T h e S h a r d s The Folly Marshal Avery Austringer

If one has been in the SCA for a considerable time, or has attended one of the various Renais- sance fairs throughout the United States, one has probably been introduced to the game usually known as Mancala. It is no wonder that we come across it. Although the history of the game is unclear, some of the first evidence of the game is a mancala board from the 4th century CE found in Abu Sha'ar, a late Ro- man legionary fortress on the Red Sea coast, Egypt. There has also been a fragment of a pottery board in Aksumite Ethiopia in what is now Eritrea, dated by archaeologists between the 6th and 7th century CE. Some speculate that the game could go back to the dawn of civilization, but as the game has some similar aspects to agricultural activity, which means there is no need for specialized equipment, the game frequently being played with just seeds and holes in the ground, it lends to little archaelogical evidence that the game is older than about 1700 years. What we do know is that what we call mancala is a family of board games played around the world, under the category of "sowing" or "count-and-capture" games, which describes the game play. Man- cala comes from the Arabic word, naqala, meaning literally "moved". The game spread throughout much of the world with many variations from North Africa to the Middle East, to the Baltic areas of Western Europe such as the Island of Hydra, Greece, Bosnia, and Serbia (with even mancala boards discovered in the remote Schloss Weikersheim, Weikersheim, Germany), and to the East through India and China. We can look upon it in this issue because one of the earliest references to mancala, via description, is in The Arabian Nights, a collection of folk tales collected during the Islamic golden age and eventually translated into English starting around 1706, and because the first reference to it by its Turkish name, mangala, is in Thomas Hyde's De Ludis Orientalibus (Oxford, 1694), volume II, in which he gives a list of approximately thirty Turkish games including Mangala. It is a well established game throughout the Ottoman Em- pire during the SCA's period time frame. Nobody knows the exact number of mancala variants. In 99 countries, more than 800 names of traditional mancala games are known, some names denote the same game, while some names are used for more than one game. There are many versions played by tribes and peoples throughout Africa and the world, with different names, such as Wari, Warri, Awari, Oware, and Wouri, or Bao la Kiswahili - wide- spread along the east coast of Africa, and an integral part of Swahili culture, being difficult to learn and known for its rather complex rules. At least two versions in Asia: Congkak - close variants in South Asia from the Maldives to the Philippines, known by many different names (e.g. Dakon, Ohvalhu, Sungka) and Toguz Kumalak - extremely important in Central Asia, where it is considered a sport superior to Chess. And then Kalah - the only modern game, popular pastime, played in the USA, and Europe). Mancala games vary considerably in size. The largest are Tchouba from Mozambique and En Gehé from Tanzania. Tchouba employs a board of 160 (4x40) holes and needs 320 seeds. En Gehé (Tanzania) is played on longer rows with up to 50 pits (a total of 2x50=100) and uses 400 seeds. The most minimal- istic variants are Nano-Wari and Micro-Wari, created by the Bulgarian ethnologue Assia Popova. The Nano -Wari board has eight seeds in just two pits; Micro-Wari has a total of four seeds in four pits. We will be playing the Kalah version and the lesser amount of pits, although more than two and four. The object of mancala games is usually to capture more seeds than the opponent; sometimes, one seeks to leave the opponent with no legal move in order to win. This is how one does it.

 1. First one needs a game board. In this case our set up is going to be two rows of six holes, pits, or depressions, with a slightly larger pit on each end of the two rows. (See Figure 1.) One can actually [Cont’d pg 10] Volume 29, Issue 11 P a g e 1 0 [Marshal from pg 9] just dig holes in the ground, make an easy child's version using cardboard egg cartons, or by making or buying a wooden board.  2. Second one is going to need "seeds" with which to move and play. These can be actual seeds, peb- bles, wooden tokens, marbles...anything that is relatively small and easy to pick up. One will need 48 pieces to play the game. One can make them color coded for the two sides, but that's not necessary as players can take/capture any seeds. Theirs and their opponent's.  3. Four pieces are placed in each of the 12 holes.  4. Each player has a store to the right side of the Mancala board. The game begins with one player picking up all of the pieces in any one of the holes on their side.  5. Moving counter-clockwise, the player deposits one of the stones in each hole until the stones run out. If one runs into one's own store, deposit one piece in it. If one runs into his/her opponent's store, s/he skips it. If the last piece one drops is in one's own store, one gets a free turn. If the last piece one drops is in an empty hole on one's side, one captures that piece and any pieces in the hole di- rectly opposite - Always place all captured pieces in one's store (larger side hole).  6. The game ends when all six spaces on one side of the Mancala board are empty.  7. The player who still has pieces on his/her side of the board when the game ends, captures all of those pieces and places them into his/her store.  8. Count all the pieces in each store. The winner is the player with the most pieces. So there is a little bit about the medieval (or older) board game of mancala. May one have an en- joyable game.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:  Culin, Stewart. "Mancala, The National Game of Africa." (transcript of paper published in the Report of the National Museum, 1894, Pages 597-611.) Elliott Avedon Virtual Museum of Games. Website Uni- versity of Waterloo: © January 10, 2010 http://healthy.uwaterloo.ca/museum/Archives/Culin/ Mancla1894/index.html Accessed Feb 23, 2018  Hanson, Sue & Jon. All About Mancala: Its History and How to Play. Happy Viking Crafts © 2001  Masters, James. "Mancala, Oware and Bao." The Online Guide to Traditional Games. Website © 1997 http://www.tradgames.org.uk/games/Mancala.htm Accessed Feb. 25, 2018  Mulvin, L. & Sidebotham, S. E. "Roman Game Boards from Abu Sha'ar (Red Sea Coast, Egypt)." In: An- tiquity 2004; 78 (301): 602–6.  Murray, H.J.R. A History of Board-Games other than Chess. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. © 1952  Russ, Larry. The Complete Mancala Games Book: How To Play the World's Oldest Board Games. New York, NY: Marlowe & Company © 1995  Unknown. "Mancala." Mancala World. Website Fandom © 2008 http://mancala.wikia.com/wiki/ Mancala Accessed Feb 22, 2018  Voogt, A.J. de. Mancala Board Games. London, UK: British Museum Press © 1997 Figure 1 P a g e 1 1 T h e S h a r d s Persona Portraits part Dou ă Mircea din Iasi

SCA Name: Mircea din Iasi Title: Lord SCA Honors & Awards: Award of Arms, Order of the Cavendish Knot, Order of the Silver Oak, Award of the Purple Fret. Time Frame: 1500—1600 CE Geographic Location Historically: Iasi, Principality of Moldavia, Ottoman Empire. Geographic Location Modernly: Iasi, Romania Brief History: Mircea was born in the city of Iasi, Romania. His father was a traveling merchant who allowed Mircea to travel with him as a child into Turkey and possibly as far as India. He briefly went to the university in Iasi, but left to join the Hungarians fighting the Turks. After the defeat of Hungary and it’s division into three parts, two of which became part of the Ottoman Empire, Mircea eventually drifted west to Shattered Crystal and the court of Baron Collin Campbell & Baroness Alphia Biraz-Pars, where he became a courtier with a gentleman named Philippe de Lyon. He eventually inherited a ship from his older brother, Janos Rakoczy—the Surly, and became an explorer-merchant & pirate or privateer. Volume 29, Issue 11 P a g e 1 2

Agate Atlas

Hail and well travelled. Here is a listing of some places the globe trotting SCAdian could visit if planning a trip through Eastern Europe and down through the Ottoman Empire.

BRAN CASTLE: King Andrew II of Hungary gave the Teutonic Knights, Țara Bârsei (“Terra Borza” or “Burzenland” – a country named after the Cuman tribe of Burci. The purpose of this gift was to establish the Teutons in the area and to defend the Southeastern border of Transylvania from the Cumans and the Pechenegs. Thus the Teutons erected a fortress in Bran (a Turkish name meaning “gate”), before they were driven away from the area in 1226. This marks the beginning of the history of this gate-fortress-castle which goes on to include: the Hungarian King Louis the Great (Louis I of Anjou) issuing a document granting to the people of Brasov (“Kronstadt” – The Crown’s City) the privilege of building a castle in 1377; the castle's completion in 1388 where it served the role of a customs house and a fortress containing 3% of goods travelling in and out of Transylvania and professional soldiers, mercenaries, the storyteller Ioan de Târnava, and Lord of the Castle who was elected by the King and by the end of the fifteenth century, the castle’s commander also held the title of Vice-Voivode of Transylvania; the presentation of it as a fief in 1407 by Sigismund of Luxembourg to his ally, Prince Mircea, the Elder of Wallachia, where he could es- cape to in case of an attack by the Turks; the protection from and defeat of the Turks who raided in 1441 by Iancu de Hunedoara (John Hunyadi); 1448 - 1460 when Vlad Tepes, Vlad the Third (the Impaler), was allied with Bran during his first and second reigns, until his conflict with the Saxons and he passed through Bran to attack his former ally Brasov; the purchasing of rights to use the castle of ten years in 1498 by the Saxons of Brasov from King Vladislav II Jagello, which was accepted as the king's treasury was empty due to previous war expenses. If all that history of Bran castle isn't enough to make one go visit it, perhaps a little more modern twist will pique one's interest. Bran Castle is Dracula's castle. Seriously. Bram Stoker never visited Ro- mania, but the imagery he used to describe the Count's castle is widely purported to have been inspired by the illustration of Bran Castle in Charles Boner’s book, "Transylvania: Its Product and Its People", (London: Longmans, 1865) Indeed, the imaginary depiction of Dracula’s Castle from the etching in the first edition of “Dracula” is exceedingly similar to Bran Castle and no other castle in all of Romania. If, however, one would like to move more towards a place connected to the inspiration for Dracula himself, then one should visit the ruins of Poenari Castle in Argeș. It once was an impressive castle built on the top of a mountain in the early 13th century. Around the 14th century, Poenari was the main citadel of the Basarab rulers and over the next few decades, the name and the residents of the castle changed a few times until it was abandoned and left in ruins. Then Vlad III in the 15th century, realizing the potential for a castle perched high on a steep precipice of rock, repaired and consolidated the structure, making it one of his main fortresses. Be forewarned, however, in order to visit the ruins there are just over 1,000 steep steps to climb to reach the top.

HAGIA SOPHIA: Constructed by Roman Emperor Justinian in 537 AD The Basilica of Hagia Sophia became what would be known as the largest church in the Christian world for a thousand years. Its immense dome rises nearly 200 feet above the ground with a diameter spanning more than 100 feet. Large round buildings had been successfully covered by domes before, but Hagia Sophia had a rectangular floor plan, but this was the first time in history it was tried covering a large rectangular structure with a huge central dome. It took a while to get it right as the dome collapsed and repaired many times. The Ottomans [Cont’d pg 13] P a g e 1 3 T h e S h a r d s [Atlas from pg 12] converted the basilica to a mosque in the 15th century after the conquest of Istanbul. Recognizing its his- toric and universal importance, the Turkish Government turned it into a museum in 1935, and the mosa- ics covering the walls are among the most important works of art that have survived of the Byzantine era.

TOPKAPI PALACE: Topkapi Palace is the most important historical site to be visited in Istanbul. It is one of the most frequently visited museums of Europe and is the most visited one in Turkey. The Palace served as the ad- ministrative center of the Ottoman Empire for nearly 400 years between the 15th and 19th centuries. Its principal parts were finished in 1478, then altered and enlarged during the reign of each succeeding sultan. The Palace was abandoned in 1855 when Sultan Abdulmecit I, 31st Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, moved to the new Palace of Dolmabahce. It was turned into a museum in 1924 and contains a complex of buildings spread out over one of the seven hills of Istanbul, consisting of courtyards serving different purposes which are separated from each other by monumental gates, as well as Pavilions, each used for different purpose, surrounding those courtyards. The total area of the Palace is twice the area of Vatican and half of the size of the Principality of Monaco.

ST. NICHOLAS CHURCH: Built in AD 520, St. Nicholas Church is built on the foundations of an older Christian church where Saint Nicholas served as a bishop. It is an ancient Byzantine Church located in modern-day town of Demre, Antalya Province, Turkey. Its usage is dated between 5th-12th centuries and is noted not only for having been where Nicholas of Myra - the man who inspired St. Nicolas the gift giver and eventually Santa Claus - served as a bishop but also for having the only example of St Nicholas' life cycle in Turkey and being his burial place until his remains were removed and taken to Bari, Italy. It's also known for its re- markable wall frescos, and its architectural and religious significance, and is regarded as the 3rd most important Byzantine structure in Anatolia. Over time the church was flooded, filled with silt, and buried. Some restoration was begun in 1862 by Russian Tzar Nicholas I, but he added a tower and made other changes to its Byzantine architecture. Currently more proper restoration is taking place and the Turkish government has allowed Orthodox Priests to hold mass in the church on December 6th, St. Nicholas' Day. There are also a few statues of the saint within the Church and old monastery complex: one looking more like the British version of Father Christmas and one presented to Turkey and the Church by Russia which looks more like a bishop. The Church is on UNESCO's tentative list to become a World Heritage Site.

ISFAHAN, IRAN (PERSIA): The town that became a capital thrice. Once when the Arabs captured Isfahan in 642, making it the capital of al-Jibal ("the Mountains") province, and the third time when the Safavid ruler Shah Abbas I made it his capital and rebuilt it into one of the largest and most beautiful cities of the 17th century. In between it grew prosperous under the Persian Buyid (Buwayhid) dynasty, when the temporal authority of the Abbasid caliphs waned in the 10th century, and then under the Turkish conqueror and founder of the Seljuq dynasty, Toghril Beg, who made Isfahan a capital, for the second time, of his domains in the mid- 11th century; although his grandson Malik-Shah I (r. 1073–92) is who helped the city grow in size and splendour. After the fall of the Seljuqs, Isfahan temporarily declined and was eclipsed by other Iranian cities, but it regained its important position during the Safavid period (1501–1736). The city's golden age began in 1598 when Shah Abbas the Great moved his capital from Qazvin to the more central and Per- sian Isfahan, so named so it wouldn't be threatened by Abbas' archrival, the Ottomans. This new importance ushered in a golden age for the city, with architecture, prestige, and Persian culture flourishing. And it flourishes all the way to present day with tourists being able to see such things as: Agha Nour mosque – 16th century; Al-Rashid Mausoleum – 12th century; Ali minaret – 11th century; Baba [Cont’d pg 15] Volume 29, Issue 11 P a g e 1 4 [Kofta from pg. 6]  Ghanoonparvar, M. R. (trans.). Dining at the Safavid Court: 16th Century Royal Persian Recipes. (a translation of "Madatolhayat" or "The Substance of Life by Master Nurollah a treatise given to his to his patron, Shah Abbas I, of Persia.) Santa Anna, CA: Mazda Publishers, Inc. © March 27. 2017

 Muusers, Christianne. "Arabian Meatballs in Eggplant Sauce." Coquinaria. Webpage © January 5, 2003. Updated October 29, 2017. http://coquinaria.nl/english/recipes/03.3histrecept.htm Accessed February 21, 2018

 Various. "Kofta." Wikipedia. Website Last Revision Feb 12, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kofta Accessed February 19, 2018. Corrections (Oopseths from last month)

Figures/diagrams 2 & 3 from last month’s article on Bocce Ball, used the slightly incorrect altered diagram which showed too many balls in play. The basic idea of location and scoring is still the same, just not with so many balls on the field of play at once. The author apologizes for any confusion this may have created.

LoveJoy Rummage Sale The Rummage Sale for LoveJoy United Presbyterian Church will be at the beginning of March this year. There will be a pre-sale on Thursday from 5pm to 7pm ($5 for pre-sale). Regu- lar rummage sale will be Friday & Saturday from 7am to noon. They are asking for furniture, appliances, tools, shoes, luggage, handbags, jewelry, kitchen items, children's clothing up to size 12, blue jeans of all sizes, books and anything else in good condition for us to sell. We will accept coats, jackets, & sweaters (cardigan & pull- over). All unsold items will be donated to the Marines Toys for Tots campaign. Items can be dropped off starting Monday, March 5th (which just happens to be a dance practice). The church would appreciate both donations and buyers. Please, let us assist this church and con- gregation that allows us to use their kitchen for event cooking, and has stored some of our items for us in the past. Thank you,

Alphia Biraz-Pars P a g e 1 5 T h e S h a r d s [Atlas from pg 13] Ghassem Mausoleum – 14th century; Bagh-e-Ghoushkhane minaret – 14th century; Chehel Dokhtaran minaret – 12 century; Dardasht minarets – 14th century; Darozziafe minarets – 14th century; Emamzadeh Haroun-e-Velayat (church) – 16th century; Mausoleum of Safavid Princes; Nizam al-Mulk Tomb – 11th century; Shahshahan mausoleum – 15th century; Qeysarie Bazaar – 17th century; Shahi Bazaar – 17th century; Shahrestan bridge, whose foundations was built by the Sasanian Empire (3rd-7th century Sassanid era); Si-o-Seh Pol or bridge of 33 arches which was built during the rule of Shah Abbas the Great, it linked Isfahan with the Armenian suburb of New Julfa; Soltan Bakht Agha Mausoleum – 14th century; as well as other pre and post medieval sites and museums including: Contemporary Arts Mu- seum Isfahan, Isfahan City Center Museum, Museum of Decorative Arts, and the Natural History Museum of Isfahan.

Acknowledgements Cover art background is from The Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd (1871-1934), © 1911, and is now in the public domain., while the “wood print” of Bran Castle, “Turkish Man”, and “Persian Woman” are by Cináed Ulric. Coronet Logo for Their Excellencies’ missive, Persian style boarder pgs. 2, 3, & 8; Haematite Hos- pice Logo; “wood print” of Turkish Cook based upon the drawings of David Nicolai on pg. 6; Persona Por- traits Photo reworks of Alphia Biraz-pars and Mircea din Iasi—originals by Lord Samson Muskovich & Phil- ippe de Lyon respectfully; Belly Dance Line pg 8, and Folly Marshal diagram are from Cináed Ulric. Officer badge art is provided by the Middle Kingdom’s Midrealm Image Library, who’s statement is: “Feel free to download any of these images for use in your own pages. ...” Horizontal and Vertical dividers are from the web page Goode Cookery, and their page on Medieval Woodcuts Clip Art collection from the 15-16th centuries. Their permission-use statement is: “Those who wish to reduce or alter these images for their own use are welcome to do so.” Coat of Arms of Alphia Biraz-pars is designed by Alphia Biraz-pars. Wood Print of Constantinople page 13 is from Hartmann Schedel’s Nuremberg Chroniclers of 1493 and is in the public domain. All articles are written by the folks underneath the article’s title or end All Creative Work, Photog- raphy, and Model release forms for every article, photo, or artistic graphic are on file with the Chronicler. Volume 29, Issue 11 P a g e 1 6

Guild Halls

Business Meetings Held on the 4th Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. at the Schnucks in Collinsville, IL at 501 Beltline Rd, Collinsville, IL 62234

Arts & Sciences (classes, free nights, & projects) Held on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Tuesdays of the month starting around 6-6:30 as folks arrive. At the Marine UCC Church 111 N. Center Street, Marine, IL. 62061

Argent Scriptorium (scribal & Illumination) TBA

ARMORER’S GUILD/FIGHTER PRACTICE & CRYSTAL ACADEMY—FENCING/RAPIER Held on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Tuesdays of the month starting around 6-6:30 as folks arrive. At the Marine UCC Church 111 N. Center Street, Marine, IL. 62061

CRYSTAL COOKS TBA

CRYSTAL DANCE TROUPE Dance practices are sometimes held during the A&S Tuesday times or on their own on the 1st & 3rd Mondays of the month around 7:00 p.m. at the LoveJoy United Presbyterian Church, 2550 Rock Hill Rd, Wood River, IL 62095

SEWING CIRCLE Sewing/Costuming Circle is held at the home of Orianna Usually on the 2nd or 3rd Sunday of the month between Noon and 4 p.m. Please contact her regarding directions and schedule changes.

SHATTERED SOUNDS Bardic/Music Study on the First A&S Tuesdays of the month alternating between Story Telling, Songs, and Instrumental.

THREAD THURSDAYS Held most Thursdays at the home of Carrys of Caer Rhudd 6 - 9 p.m. Any textile interest is welcome. Please contact her regarding directions. (314) 651-3459

Always check Baronial email, website, or Facebook page for additions and changes to the schedules. March Lovejoy United Presbyterian Church Rummage Sale 1 Thread Thurs- 2 3 Winter War Week of 5th through 10th days 6:00 p.m. Ctn Pferdestadt Marion, OH. 4 5 Dance Practice 6 A&S, Ar- 7 8 Thread Thurs- 9 Rumage Sale 10 S. Oaken 7:00 p.m. mored & Rapier days 6:00 p.m. today & tomor- A&S, Winged H R.Sale Dona- Practice 6 p.m. R. Pre-Sale row 7 a.m. to Fairborn, OH. tions Drop Off 5 –7 p.m. $5 Noon. 11 12 13 A&S, Ar- 14 15 Thread 16 17 Scribin- mored & Rapier Thursdays 6:00 Imbibin, Ayre- Practice 6 p.m. p.m. ton, Mudelein, IL. 18 19 Dance Prac- 20 A&S, Ar- 21 22 Thread 23 24 Rites /Spring tice 7:00 p.m. mored & Rapier Thursdays 6:00 Bny Illiton Practice 6 p.m. p.m. Peoria, IL.

25 May Shard 26 27 Business Mtg 28 29 30 31Glden article deadline Collinsville, IL Remember March 10 -18th Seamsts. Roar- 7:00 p.m. GULF WARS in Lumberton, Mississippi. ing Wastes. MI. April 1 2Dance Practice 3 A&S, Ar- 4 5 Thread Thurs- 6 Grigsby 7 Stone Dog Inn 7:00 p.m. mored & Rapier days 6:00 p.m. School Demo Ctn Grey Garg Practice 6 p.m. 7 am—3 pm Midlothian, IL 8 9 10 A&S, Ar- 11 12 Thread 13 14 Pent. Re- mored & Rapier Thursdays 6:00 gional A&S Practice 6 p.m. p.m. Ctn Nordheim Wyomin, MI 15 16 Dance Prac- 17 A&S, Ar- 18 19 Thread 20 21 Midlands tice 7:00 p.m. mored & Rapier Thursdays 6:00 A&S Shire of Practice 6 p.m. p.m. Ravenslake Lake Villa, IL 22 23 24 Business Mtg 25 26 Thread 27 28 Awakening Collinsville, IL Thursdays 6:00 Baile na Scolari 7:00 p.m. p.m. McLean, IL

29 June Shard 30 31 article deadline

Baronial and Kingdom events are listed before others, followed by the closest to our Barony. For events outside of this scope, please see the Midrealm Kingdom Calendar at http:// www.midrealm.org/calendar/ or check the advertisements in your latest kingdom newsletter, The Pale. For all side “guild” meetings: dance, weaving, etc. Please be sure to check email & facebook notices for changes in usual schedule on a daily basis.