VOLUME VI, ISSUE XvI asliI OctoBER 5th, 2017 GREYWINDS Autumn is here This is the greywinds newsletter, a publication of the incipient shire of Graywood of the society for creative anachronism, inc. the greywinds newsletter is available from iona nic oitir (heather Miller) at 1414 sue drive, Lufkin, tx 75901. it is not a corporate publication of the society for creative anachronism, inc, and does not delineate sca policies. Copyright 2017 society for creative anachronism, inc. for information on reprinting articles and artwork from this publication, please con- tact the editor iona nic oitir, who will assist you in contacting the origi- nal creator of the piece. Please respect the legal rights of our con- tributors. A) the text must be printed in its entirety, without additions or changes. B) The auThor’s name and an original puBlicaTion crediT musT Be printed with the text. C) You must send a letter to the editor of this newsletter, stating which articles you have used and in which publication the materials have been reprinted. Credits: cover art by IONA Nic Oitir Fritatta recipe belongs to Daniel myers of medievalcookery.com Norse Mythology by iona nic oitir WE WISH A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THESE PEOPLE: October 12th—Lady Melia OCTOBER 16TH—ADAM BURKETT MEDIEVAL RECIPES CORNER sure that the eggs are Method : cooked enough if you choose FRITATTA (Egg Omelet) not to flip it). Sprinkle moz- Ingredients : Mix the eggs, milk, basil and zarella over the top. When 3 large eggs, beaten pepper together. Heat grill the cheese begins to melt, or pan and grease with but- fold the omelet over and re- 1 oz shredded mozzarella ter over low heat. Pour egg move from heat to serve. 1 oz milk mixture onto hot surface. Chopped basil 15th Century Italian Recipe Pepper You may choose to flip your medievalcookery.com Butter omelet over or not (just be OFFICERS OF THE INCIPIENT SHIRE OF GRAYWOOD SENESCHAL CRY HERALD RAPIER MARSHALL LORD WALTER THOMAS LONGSTRIDE AUBREY ERICSDATTER TAKING APPLICATIONS /THOM BELMONT (KINGDOM@CHRONICLER. MINISTER OF ARTS & SCIENCE (LONGSTRIDEOFGRAYWOOD ANSTEORRA.ORG) ROSE HAWTHORNE/AMANDA HERON @GMAIL.COM) RESEARCH HERALD ([email protected]) DEPUTY SENESCHALS ELIZABETHE CADWYN/MARIAH LAMBARGE PERFORMANCE DIRECTOR and RONJA MACRAITH / MELANIE SCOTT ([email protected]) DEPUTY ARTS AND SCIENCE MINISTER ([email protected]) SCRIBE CHERISE/SHELBY WRIGHT LADY EMMA WIGHT / JANET BELMONT ELIZABETHE CADWYN/MARIAH LAMBARGE ([email protected]) ([email protected]) ([email protected]) RAPIER MARSHALL KNIGHT MARSHALL DEPUTY SCRIBE TAKING APPLICATIONS GORICK MACRAITH/MIKE MCNELLIS TBD (TBD) ([email protected]) HOSPITALER WEBMINISTER DEPUTY KNIGHT MARSHALL MILES GREGORY CADWYN/ADAM BURKETT WIWAZ/CHARLES MILLER KILIAN MACRAITH/J.D. SCOTT ([email protected]) ([email protected]) ([email protected]) AMARIS MARINARO/RUTH CANTU DEPUTY HOSPITALER DEPUTY WEBMINISTER ([email protected]) LISETTE D’AMOUR/ALYSSA MINSHEW FEARGHUS HAWTHORNE/JIM HERON ([email protected]) ([email protected]) EXCHEQUER FEARGHUS HAWTHORNE/JIM HERON YOUTH MINISTER CHRONICLER OF GRAYWOOD ([email protected]) GEMMA LONGSTRIDE CADWYN/ IONA NIC OITIR/HEATHER MILLER JORDAN BRUNNER ([email protected]) DEPUTY EXCHEQUER ([email protected]) LISETTE D’AMOUR/ALYSSA MINSHEW DEPUTY CHRONICLER ([email protected] DEPUTY YOUTH MINISTER KILIAN MACRAITH/J.D. SCOTT LYNN PARISH ([email protected]) ([email protected]) NORSE MYTHOLOGY—Tales of the Norse The Norse were deep story-tellers, ones ons while the Vanir used subtle means of mag- who reveled in sharing a night around the fire, ic. telling of their daring escapades and of the bat- In time, weary of fighting, the two sides tles they’d entered. Skalds were a constant called a truce. As was customary in the time, welcome into any village, at the chance they hostages were traded. Freya was sent along might have another intriguing story to share. Of with two others to the Aesir, and the Aesir gave course, the Norse would also accept the tales of two of their kind to the Vanir in return - Mimir the gods, as the stories were full of chaos, one and Hoenir. Hoenir at first had a somewhat of the greater elements that often showed in comfortable life among the Vair, able to give the day-to-day of the Viking life. The supernat- incomparably wise advice on any problem. ural qualities of the Aesir and Vanir, along with However, they failed to realize he was only their ongoing battles and strife, painted such in able to do so when Mimir was near. Otherwise, -depth stories that were enhanced with every he was a slow-witted simpleton who was at a retelling that the skalds were known to add loss for words without Mimir’s council. His their own twist to the tales. As long as the main tendency to say, “Let others decide” concluded element remained - chaos - then the storyteller in the Vanir thinking they had been cheated in had a crowd welcoming him or her to their the hostage exchange and ended with their fires. sending Mimir’s severed head to Odin. Dis- traught, Odin chanted magic poems and em- The Tale of Kvasir the Wise balmed the head in herbs. In its preserved One of the favorite centers for stories is state, Mimir’s head was able to give Odin indis- the constant struggle between the Aesir and the pensable advice in times of need. With Mimir’s Vanir. Through most of the Norse tales, the two advice in his heart, Odin went to the Aesir and tribes got along well enough. In fact, there’s Vanir and they agreed that renewed hostilities great difficulty in finding distinction between was something that neither side wanted. In- the two, due to the intermarriage between stead, both sides came together to spit into a them. At one time, however, this wasn’t so. The cauldron to create Kvasir, the wisest of all be- goddess Freya, a Vanir who practiced the art of ings, as a way to pledge their sustained har- seidr (known for discerning or altering the mony. course of destiny), would move from town to Kvasir became famous and traveled town to sell her magic skills. She used the throughout Midgard to dispense his counsel. He name Heior, which means Bright, and eventu- was invited into the home of two dwarves, ally came to the home of the Aesir, Asgard. The Fjalar the Deceiver and Galar the Screamer. Aesir were taken with her. They began to seek Upon his arrival, the two dwarves slaughtered her out zealously until they began to recognize him and brewed mead with his blood. This that their values of honor, loyalty to kin, and mead contained Kvasir’s ability to dispense obedience, was being marred by their own wisdom, and was named Stirrer of Inspiration. greedy desires. They blamed Freya for their Any who drank of it would become a poet or own shortcomings and titled her Gullveig, or scholar. In time, the gods questioned the two Gold-greed, and attempted to murder her. They dwarves about Ksavir’s disappearance, and the did this three times, because each time she was dwarves answered that Ksavir had choked on reborn from the ashes. This frightened the Ae- his own wisdom. Their celebration with lying to sir and they began to distrust the Vanir, who in the gods was next to take the giant Gilling out to turn began to distrust the Aesir for their reac- sea to drown him, then to kill Gilling’s wife tion to Freya. Hostilities erupted into war, and when her wailing irritated them. They dropped there more differences made the two hate each a millstone on top of her head when she passed other due to their differences in combat tech- under the doorway of their house. Gilling’s son niques: the Aeisir used brute force and weap- Suttung, however, learned of what happened and took the two dwarves out in low tide, tied into a young man to charm Gunnlod. He se- them to a reef, so they’d be covered by the cured a promise from her allowing him three waves. The dwarves screamed for mercy, sips of mead if he laid with her for three which Suttung granted only when they agreed nights. After the third night, he consumed the to give him the mead they’d brewed with contents of each vat in a single gulp and flew Ksavir’s blood. He hid the mead in a chamber off to Asgard in the shape of an eagle, his prize beneath the mountains and had his daughter in his throat. Suttung soon learned of the trick- Gunnlod watch over them. ery and chased after Odin, also in the shape of This displeased Odin. He bent his will to an eagle. acquire the mead for himself and those he When the other gods spied their leader deemed worthy of its power. Odin disguised approaching with Suttung on his tail, they set himself as a wandering farmhand and visited several vessels at the rim of their fortress. Suttung’s brother Baugi. There, he offered to Odin reached protection before Suttung could sharpen the scythes of the nine servants he capture him, forcing the giant to retreat. The found mowing hay. They marveled at how well mead was regurgitated into the containers, the scythes cut the hay and asked to buy the save for a few drops that fell down to Midgard. whetstone Odin used. He warned them, “You Those drops are thought to be the source of the must pay a high price to buy it.” They agreed to abilities of all bad to mediocre poets and schol- whatever his price was. In answer, he threw ars. The true poets and scholars, however, are the whetstone into the air and the nine scram- those whom Odin personally dispensed his bled for it, killing each other with their scythes mead to with great care.