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Panther
Vale is a branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism located in
the Northeast quadrant of Vermont. We are devoted to bringing the
Middle Ages to life, both for the enjoyment of those of us who enjoy
historical re-creation and role-play, and for the children in the many
elementary schools where we do demonstrations of the skills practiced
throughout the medieval period. We invite any and all with an interest
in medieval history to join us in our play and in our dream.
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Learn more
about the Society for Creative Anachronism and the Shire
of Panther Vale.
The
Shire of Panther Vale will be holding a number of demonstrations and
displays of the activities of the Society for Creative Anachronism
through out the Shire during the summer months.
Youth Combat, Heavy List Fighting, Arts and Sciences, Bardic Arts,
Thrown Weapons, and Archery will all be included among the activities
that will be on display. Usually there
will be an opportunity for children in attendance to try on
some chain mail, to play medieval games, and to make a small
blunt arrow. Adults will be able to enjoy talking with knowledgeable
artisans about such medieval crafts as cloisonné,
naalbinding, illumination, brewing, cooking, silk painting, embroidery
and other needle arts, as well as about the mission and purposes of the
Society. No demonstrations
are presently scheduled. However,
demonstrations are expected to be scheduled
in the near future. Please come and join us!
You can
learn more about the SCA by reviewing some of the links on the Links page of this web site.
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A Series
About the Members of Panther Vale
Lord
Dafydd o Cwellyn (mka David O'Vitt), is a long-time member of the
Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) and is the present Exchequer of
Panther Vale.
Click
on Picture to Enlarge
Lord
Dafydd first became aware of the SCA from an article in either
Time or Life magazine in 1975. He says his first thought was
“What a cool group!” He attended his
first SCA event while visiting a friend in Austin, Texas during the
summer of 1978. The next year, as a freshman at the
University of Vermont (UVM), he learned that a SCA group was being
formed at UVM and immediately became a member. And has been
very active ever since.
Initially he was a heavy list fighter and was a founding member of
Mountain Freehold. In 1981, the UVM Medieval Club was part of
the UVM
Living Learning Center and Dafyyd participated for 3 years.
During that time he dabbled in everything, and in fact, became known as
the great dabbler. His approach was to try to do everything
that a person in the Middle Ages would have to do, whether it was
cooking, fighting, singing or a host of other everyday tasks.
In 1981, Dafyyd attended his first of many Pennsic Wars. He
attended with a group of his fellow Freehold members and they travel in
a red $50.00 van dubbed Eric the Red. Upon returning to
Burlington it was called Eric the Dead, for obvious reasons.
He claims his first memory of Pennsic was seeing a large woman in a
leopard skin leotard on top of a knoll with a skull in one hand and a
whip in the other and she appeared to be railing to the Gods.
After his ultra-authentic introduction to the SCA at UVM, this was an
eye-opener.
Serving in the Royal Household of Randal and Marieke in the late
1980’s introduced Dafyyd to the hierarchy of the SCA in
general and the East Kingdom, in particular. During this time
and for several years afterward, he continued his involvement with
Mountain Freehold, often as an officer, but Nursing School and other
mundane activities occupied most of his time.
In 1997 Owen, his son arrived on the scene, and he was all of a month
old when he attended a Shire demonstration at Oak Ledge Park.
In 1999 Dafyyd and Owen were members of the Royal Household of Lucan I
and Marieke. Owen was just old enough to serve as
cupbearer. 2006 saw a move to Panther Vale where he became
Exchequer and still is. Just before moving to Panther Vale,
Dafyyd received his Silver Crescent and became a
Protégé of Duchess Marieke.
Dafyyd’s persona is a 10th century Welshman with a strong
connection to the last of the Saxons. He saw the Battle of
Hastings, which he reconnoitered for the Welsh. It is know he
was there because the Bayeau Tapestry shows a Jervold the
Welshman. Obviously the wrong name, but at least we now know
the truth of the matter. Dafyyd’s stated aim in the
SCA is to experience what he would have experienced in 10th century
Wales. He indicates that when this truly happens, it is a
magical moment.
One
interesting side light is that Lady Siubhan and Lord Dafyyd were both
squired to Sir Randal d'Artneual in the 1980’s, but they
never really knew each other until they met here in Panther Vale three
years ago.
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Panther
Vale Fighters!
Standing,
left to right: Gavin, Cainneach, Marcellus and Bartolomieu
Kneeling: Sigtyr and Bertrand
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Meetings
Next Business Meeting:
Saturday, August 22th. It will be held either at the Worcester Town
Hall, Worcester, VT
or at Camp Farnsworth in Thetford, VT starting at 12:00 noon.
Local Events
Northern
Region War Camp
July 2-5, Warrensburg, NY
Great
Northeastern War
July 10-12, Hebron, ME
Pennsic
XXXVIII
July 24-August 9, Slippery Rock, PA
Harper's
Retreat
September 4-7, Allenstown, NH
Lost Tip Archers'
Gathering
Saturday, September 19 in Randolph, VT
Co-Autocrats - Robert Toxophilius
rwgoodrich @comcast.net
and
Lisette la Vinhala
anita@innevi.com
The schedule of regular Panther Vale practices may be found
at Meetings and Practices
Information about other SCA events in New England and adjacent areas my
be found at
East Kingdom Events
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