Rich Symbolism

[I attempted to post this from my phone on Thursday night. That original attempt was apparently eaten, so I'm reconstructing it from memory. Pretend that it's last Thursday. Warning: this wasn't easy at the time, and it's not easy to write. Some moments at Pennsic follow the logic of dream and story, not that of ordinary reality; this was one.]

I just came from the Viking Ship Memorial, and her shield would not burn.

It was placed in the prow of the ship, laid on the deck, which was painted black to contrast the white bordures and frets. There were two, the one I had painted for her and one that someone else had donated (I still do not know who). Mine was at the very front of the ship and the other right behind, with dozens of other memorials flanking the ship behind.

We lit the wicks, a dozen or so of us bereaved, and the carefully-constructed ship was placed in the water, quickly blazing as the ship itself and the shields on the side all caught. Yet hers did not burn.

Gutted from the center, the ship listed and fell onto its side, the fire continuing for ten more minutes. Yet that fire came nowhere near her.

The fires doused by the lake, the remaining ship was lifted out and brought to La Familia, to place in its great bonfire. The deck was almost entirely gone, and yet her shield still gleamed, its rich red, white and gold as yet untouched on a tiny spur of remaining wood up top.

The remainder of the ship went up in flames, rising ever higher -- and yet, the fire seemed to avoid her, working its way around that shield, still not even looking singed as the rest blackened.

And finally, only when all else had gone up, and flames were rising feet into the air, did I finally lose sight of that bright heraldry, surrendering only when the rest of the job was properly complete, and well overseen -- a more singularly appropriate memorial than any would have expected...

Rich Symbolism

[I attempted to post this from my phone on Thursday night. That original attempt was apparently eaten, so I'm reconstructing it from memory. Pretend that it's last Thursday. Warning: this wasn't easy at the time, and it's not easy to write. Some moments at Pennsic follow the logic of dream and story, not that of ordinary reality; this was one.]

I just came from the Viking Ship Memorial, and her shield would not burn.

It was placed in the prow of the ship, laid on the deck, which was painted black to contrast the white bordures and frets. There were two, the one I had painted for her and one that someone else had donated (I still do not know who). Mine was at the very front of the ship and the other right behind, with dozens of other memorials flanking the ship behind.

We lit the wicks, a dozen or so of us bereaved, and the carefully-constructed ship was placed in the water, quickly blazing as the ship itself and the shields on the side all caught. Yet hers did not burn.

Gutted from the center, the ship listed and fell onto its side, the fire continuing for ten more minutes. Yet that fire came nowhere near her.

The fires doused by the lake, the remaining ship was lifted out and brought to La Familia, to place in its great bonfire. The deck was almost entirely gone, and yet her shield still gleamed, its rich red, white and gold as yet untouched on a tiny spur of remaining wood up top.

The remainder of the ship went up in flames, rising ever higher -- and yet, the fire seemed to avoid her, working its way around that shield, still not even looking singed as the rest blackened.

And finally, only when all else had gone up, and flames were rising feet into the air, did I finally lose sight of that bright heraldry, surrendering only when the rest of the job was properly complete, and well overseen -- a more singularly appropriate memorial than any would have expected...

Period health practices, updated

So this Pennsic was unusually dominated by All Things Medical -- not for any bad reason, simply because it's unicornpearlz' specialty, and we spent a bunch of time talking about it. And so, after dropping her off for the second run of her Overview of 16th Century Medicine class, I found myself thinking about the humors.

You know about the humors -- the period notion that all things are some combination of hot and cold, wet and dry, and that balancing the humors is crucial to proper health. In period, many of the cookbooks talk about these characteristics of the dishes therein, and how they may thereby be used for medicinal purposes. Unfortunately, there isn't much period cooking at Pennsic. So I ruminated on what foods I should be eating at Pennsic in order to properly balance my humors. After a few minutes' thought, I came up with what I believe is a reasonably canonical list of the four purest options:

Gatorade: which is cold and wet.
Whiskey: which is, of course, hot and wet.
Chocolate: which is cold and dry. (Unless it is melted, in which case it is hot and wet, but whiskey still wins there.)
And finally, Bacon: the most perfect food that is hot and dry. (When correctly made.)

So it is that, by the proper application of these foods, we may keep ourselves healthy at Pennsic. For instance, when a fighter walks off the field, overheated and parched, we feed them Gatorade. Or when we wake up, cold and clammy from the night's dew, a suitable amount of Bacon (say, six slices) will balance our humors nicely. I leave it as an exercise for the reader to fill in the best uses of the other foods.

And so, good gentles, remember to stock properly when preparing for the War. Other foods are optional, but these four should be part of any careful plan...

Period health practices, updated

So this Pennsic was unusually dominated by All Things Medical -- not for any bad reason, simply because it's unicornpearlz' specialty, and we spent a bunch of time talking about it. And so, after dropping her off for the second run of her Overview of 16th Century Medicine class, I found myself thinking about the humors.

You know about the humors -- the period notion that all things are some combination of hot and cold, wet and dry, and that balancing the humors is crucial to proper health. In period, many of the cookbooks talk about these characteristics of the dishes therein, and how they may thereby be used for medicinal purposes. Unfortunately, there isn't much period cooking at Pennsic. So I ruminated on what foods I should be eating at Pennsic in order to properly balance my humors. After a few minutes' thought, I came up with what I believe is a reasonably canonical list of the four purest options:

Gatorade: which is cold and wet.
Whiskey: which is, of course, hot and wet.
Chocolate: which is cold and dry. (Unless it is melted, in which case it is hot and wet, but whiskey still wins there.)
And finally, Bacon: the most perfect food that is hot and dry. (When correctly made.)

So it is that, by the proper application of these foods, we may keep ourselves healthy at Pennsic. For instance, when a fighter walks off the field, overheated and parched, we feed them Gatorade. Or when we wake up, cold and clammy from the night's dew, a suitable amount of Bacon (say, six slices) will balance our humors nicely. I leave it as an exercise for the reader to fill in the best uses of the other foods.

And so, good gentles, remember to stock properly when preparing for the War. Other foods are optional, but these four should be part of any careful plan...