Twelfth Night is always a fun time in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism). It’s a non-fighting event, where eating, socializing, and the arts and sciences come to the fore.

Yesterday we celebrated not only Twelfth Night, but also the 40th Anniversary of the Barony of Flaming Gryphon. Two other Baronies took part in the celebrations as well: my own Barony of Middle Marches and the Barony of Fenix. These Baronies are all located in the state of Ohio, USA.

Even though I’m not officially a member of the Barony of Flaming Gryphon, I’ve attended several of their events, including other 12th Nights they’ve held in the past. (See Flaming Gryphon 12th Night 2017  and Post-event reviews are in! FG 12th Night 2018)

I dare to consider myself an honorary Gryphon. 😉

Especially since Baron Edward and Baroness Allegra of Flaming Gryphon have always been so warm and welcoming towards me, even though I often use the wrong term of address, calling Edward ‘His Highness’ instead of ‘His Excellency.’ At this event I was proud to use the right term, for once!

Of course my first loyalty is always to my own Barony of Middle Marches. Baron Talymar and Baroness Melisande have welcomed me into their home and even taken me out to a great Mexican restaurant in their hometown of Logan, Ohio.

Baron Talymar and I have worked together on bardic things, like a reading he did from his book The White Hart: Destined Paths, while I played my Celtic harp. See Bardic Outside The Box.

But let’s get back to yesterday’s Twelfth Night and 40th Anniversary celebration and look at some photos I took at this glorious event!

(Please forgive any errors in names or titles and my underwhelming photography!)

First, a photo of Flaming Gryphon Baroness Allegra and Baron Edward at Court:

12th Night FG Baron Edward and Baroness Allegra

Let’s do some other Court pictures too.

12th Night Rose Marian and Slany at Court
Middle Marchers Mistress Rose Marian and Baroness Slany bean Uillic before Court begins.
12th Night Lady Babette being honored by MM Baron Talymar
Middle Marches Baron Talymar honors my friend Lady Babette Vitre de Dinan. She is in blue and white, with her back to the camera. The scroll of the award was done by Lord Steve of Tirnewydd, to her left, in his Middle Marches Herald tunic, since he was heralding at Court.
12th-night-fenix-honoring-a-family.jpg
Baron Angus and Baroness Melisande of Fenix honor an entire family.
12th Night, me Rose Marian, and Slany after Court
Myself, Mistress Rose Marian, and Baroness Slany bean Uillic, right after Court ended.

Some pictures of friends taken before Court:

12th Night Duchess Vukasin
Duchess Vukasin of Middle Marches.
12th Night Halle
Mistress Halla of Mugmort, Middle Marches
12th Night Deborah Hooper, check name
Áine Ruadh of Middle Marches
12th Night Salny and Uilleag
Baroness Slany bean Uillic and Baron Uilleag Balbhan, Middle Marches.

Before we take a look at Feast, I want to show you the Site token, below on the left, and the Feast token, on the right.

The Feast token was quite ingenious: a little stoppered bottle containing real salt that you could use with your meal. Whoever did this Feast token deserves high praise!

12th-night-site-and-feast-tokens.jpg
The Site token on the left, and the Feast token on the right.

Now to Feast! Flaming Gryphon has a tradition of having a King and Queen of the Bean. They are chosen by the passing of tiny cakes, one tray for gentlemen, and another tray for ladies. Inside one of the cakes, one for the men and one for the women, is a bean.

At the start of Feast, everyone eats their cakes. The gentleman and lady who get the beans become the King and Queen of the Bean. They are crowned and get to sit at the high table, and can call members of the populace up to the high table to perform various bardic or hilarious feats.

This year’s Queen of the Bean was Baroness Chandara Gamal of Middle Marches.

12th Night Chandara Gamal as Queen of the Bean
Baroness Chandara Gamal was Queen of the Bean.

The King of the Bean was Erol O’Hara from Flaming Gryphon.

12th Night King of the Bean
The King of the Bean hailed from Flaming Gryphon.

Some pictures of the high table:

12th Night High table, Fenix Baron and Baroness
R to L: Fenix Baron Angus and Baroness Melisande; Middle Marches Baroness Melisande de Marmande; King and Queen of the Bean.
12th Night High table, FG Baron Edward, King and Queen of the Bean and MM Baroness Melisande
L to R: Flaming Gryphon Baron Edward, standing, and Baroness Allegra, seated; Queen of the Bean Chandara Gamal of Middle Marches; King of the Bean Erol O’Hara of Flaming Gryphon; Middle Marches Baroness Melisande de Marmande.
12th Night my Feast tablemates Alexander and Gabrielle
My tablemates at Feast, Alexander and Gabrielle of the Barony of Fenix.
12th Night, Feast crowd scene
Some of the populace enjoying Feast.

The Feast menu was fabulous! On the table as we were seated was a charcuterie tray of cured meats, cheeses, crackers (and a fabulous cheese dip), along with oranges, grapes, and figs. Soon a dish of Malachai’s olive/hazelnut medley appeared, too.

The first course included a cold hen salad, Moroccan chickpea stew, and loaves of Amari’s bread.

The second course was a five spice roast of pork, sauteed mushrooms, Beef Fairhaven, and roasted root vegetables.

After all this, if you were still able to eat, the dessert sideboard offerings included apple galette, custard tarts, ricotta pie, and much more, along with a hot, spiced beverage.

Many thanks to Lady Gwyneth Banfhidleir, Master of the Kitchen, for planning and preparing this Feast. She was ably assisted by Lady Babette Vitre de Dinan and Lady Takeda Aya, among others. Hoo bah!

I cannot do real justice to the event in this post. But I do want to recognize the Event Steward, Lady Anna Rosina Kromphardt of Flaming Gryphon, for the excellent job she and her Deputy, Christopher of St. Joan, did in putting this amazing celebration together! ❤

Besides the happenings I have mentioned here, there were also thirty classes offered throughout the day on topics ranging far and wide, as well as Arts and Sciences displays and Championships for both the Barony of  Flaming Gryphon and the Barony of Fenix.

A new Gaming Champion for Flaming Gryphon was also named. There was lots of gaming going on throughout the day, both for the competition, and also just for fun. A friend confided in me that he had ‘lost all his marbles’ at the card games, which he said were all based on sheer luck, not skill. Luckily real money wasn’t being wagered!

Lunch was offered for sale by Middle Marches, and there was a yummy bake sale put on by Flaming Gryphon.  Youth activities were also offered throughout the day.  A Baronial Garage Sale took place, and a kid’s garb swap. There were a number of merchants offering their enticing wares, too.

It was quite an eventful event!