Midwinter Crown Tournament and Coronation AS49

On Saturday 5^th and Sunday 6^th July 2014, the Crown Tournament and Coronation was held in the Barony of Politarchopolis. The event was held at St John’s Church Hall in Reid, ACT on Saturday and the Ainslie Scout Hall on the corner of Hassall and Ebden streets in Ainslie, ACT on Sunday. The event steward was Baron Crispin Sexi and the Politarchopolin Assault Catering Corp (lead by Mistress Kiriel du Pappillon) ran the feast. Over 240 people attended the event – one of the larger coronation turnouts in Lochac’s history.

The event began with the biannual Provost of Lochac rapier tournament, run by Don Owain Cantor ap Hughe and Lord Lorccan Ruadh. The tournament was held as a round robin, silver circle format (which meant that combatants who stepped out of the circle marked on the middle of the list field were instantly disqualified). Ten contested the tournament, and Provost Julianna de Northwood was victorious (not dropping any of her nine bouts).

Markets were set up for the day with various garb, trim, pottery and accessories available for sale.

The victors of May Crown AS49 were unable to take on the duties of the Crown of Lochac and, as such, the Crown Tournament had to be refought. In accordance with the laws of the Kingdom, the tournament had to be fought on the day of Coronation and was open only to those who had been eligible to enter the original May Crown tournament. Six of the nine original entrants and their consorts were able to attend the event and recontest:

• Count Sir Niáll inn Orkneyski fighting for Countess Liadan ingen Fheradaig
• Countess Liadan ingen Fheradaig fighting for Count Sir Niáll inn Orkneyski
• Sir Steffan Glaube fighting for Lady Branwen verch Lewis ap Thomas
• Sir Nathan Blacktower fighting for Mistress Catherine de Arc
• Lord Galen Wulfric fighting for Lady Sláine inghean Uí Ruadháin
• Lord Lokki Rekkr fighting for TH Lady Katherne Rischer

Crown Tournament was fought as a round robin. Count Sir Niáll inn Orkneyski won enough points to go straight through into the final, with Sir Steffan Glaube and Lord Lokki Rekkr tying for second place. A tie-breaking single kill, single elimination bout was fought to determine the second entrant to the finals.

Count Sir Niall and Sir Steffan Glaube fought a best of three finals with Count Sir Niall victorious, fighting for his consort Countess Liadan ingen Fheradaig.

Another first for Lochac was the live streaming of the Crown Tournament, as organised by the College of St Andronicus. It was streamed by over a hundred people, including some international viewers. The video footage is available online.

Following Crown Tournament, Lord Nicodemus and Mistress Rowan Perigrynne performed a puppet show for the delight and entertainment of the populace.

Before coronation, Princess Liadan was presented with a Golden Sword and Their Majesties Alfar III and Angharat I thanked Their Royal Household with ciphers. The Brewers Guild were presented with a Charter.

After a mere couple of hours as Crown Prince and Princess, Niall II and Liadan II were crowned as the 25^th King and Queen of Lochac. At first, they were given a stunt Royal household (generously organised by the attending Barons and Baronesses). Later in the evening, Their Majesties appointed some of Their Royal household and used sashes made by Lady Ragnhildr Freysteinndottir and pouches made by Baroness Eva von Danzig as gifts to adorn Their household with at short notice.

Sir Steffan Glaube, runner up in the tournament, was named as Champion of Lochac for the reign. He was also given the title of Court Baron by Their Majesties Niall II and Liadan II.

During the evenings activities there was much intrigue, starting with the disappearance of Duke Sir Alfar of Attica and Countess Angharat Benbras. They reappeared looking oddly pale, adorned in white cloth and chains. This led to the Barons and Baronesses sending off multiple investigators, which turned up more than what they bargained for. The tensions that had begun building at the Stormhold Baronial Investiture AS49 continued as Baron Stormhold had a messenger bring back a pair of gloves from a gold mine in his lands, which oddly fit the Baroness of Innilgard. Talk of hops and barley, and then of war, were also brought up.

During one of the courts, the Worshipful Company of Broiderers presented their newest project to Their Majesties – a silk brocade cloak adorned with goldwork that had been made by the Guild for the Order of the Laurel.

Behind court there hung a three panel fresco (in the style of 15th century Italian wall hangings), painted by members of Politarchopolis specifically for the Midwinter event.

The feast comprised of two main courses and one dessert course. The food was plentiful and enjoyed well. One of the many sweets were the ‘dessert dishes’ made by Mistress Monique de la Maison Rouge – sugar plate that had been moulded and painted to look like period Italian dishes.

Three Kingdom Arts and Sciences competitions were held at the event. There were ten entries all together, and the victors were TH Lady Antionette Travaillie (for table settings), Lady Catherine of Shirwode (for court garb) and Lady Letsolina O dinas Bran (for painted furniture).

The following day saw a Royal Round held at the archery grounds in Tuggeranong. Fourteen competitors entered, with Wintherus Alban winning the period division and Lord Ulric of Ambeldune winning the open divison.

Two concurrent tournaments were also held in Ainslie – a rose tourney for both rapier and heavy fighters. Daffodils were the tokens of the day, and they were distributed widely throughout the onlookers. After the tournaments, Queen Liadan II appointed Sir Blethyn ap Gryffyd as her Queens Heavy Champion and Lord Lorccan Ruadh as the Queens Rapier Champion.

In the hall, some attendees participated in a ball.

During closing court, Baron Sorle Maknicoll passed on the message that Queen Liadan II had demonstrated excellent skills in court and was henceforth elevated to a macer in Lochac’s College of Heralds. Furthermore, the brewing Laurels gave out the inaugural award for an annual brewing challenge that they set to Lochac.