A Brief History of Ansteorra
25 Years of Glory and Honor
HL Annes Clotilde Von Bamburg
Before There Was Dirt In order to understand the roots of the Kingdom, it is necessary to start with our original kingdom, Mother Atenveldt. In the early 70's, there were only 4 kingdoms, East, West, Atenveldt and Mid-Realm. The Society itself was less than a decade old. At the time, there was quite a push from all levels to increase membership and make more peers, baronies, principalities and yes, kingdoms.In the mid-70's, the Texas area began to grow. Atenveldt was concentrated mainly in the Phoenix, Arizona area. It was a "fur piece" to drive there for events and so people in Texas became very interested in getting events closer to home. During this time, Stargate and Steppes had organized into baronies, "The Wastes" gave birth to "Bears Fort" now Bjornsborg and to "Pais Cumbrai" now Bryn Gwlad. There was a seminal meeting in the spring of 1976 in Bjornsborg to form a "region". Now events began to move swiftly. Thanksgiving of 1976-TRM Deaton Claymore & Care-Cheri of the Fallen Stars, King & Queen of Atenveldt attended Queen's Grace Tourney to elevate Bjornsborg to baronial status. At this same event, TRM declared the formation of the region of Ansteorra. In the spring of 1977, a petition for principality status was signed at a Steppes event. In November 1977, the first principality list was won by Sean McFlamm of Ravenswaard, his Princess being Katarina. The second principality list was in the spring of 1978 and was won by Randal von Nordlichwald known as "Hightower" with Constance von Nordlichwald as his Princess. The third and last principality list was held in December, 1978 and was won by Simonn of Amber Isle with his Princess, Tessa of the Gardens. There was only time for three princes in Ansteorra, for at the end of that year and a half, Ansteorra was elevated to Kingdom status. In order to be a Kingdom, however, peers are needed. Came March 1979 and event was held called "The Tournament of Chivalry" but has since become known as "The Day of the Laurel". History was made that day as 8 Laurels and 1 Pelican were elevated to peerage-a record still held by Ansteorra in the Knowne World. That May 1979, Ansteorra held its first Crown List in Bryn Gwlad. Jonathan DeLaufyson Macebearer who had already held the Atenveldt crown twice won this list. Indeed, Jonathan was only 6 weeks from having stepped down as Atenveldt's crown when he won the first Crown List of Ansteorra. Reigning with him as Ansteorra's first queen came Willow de Wisp, who had also reigned with him as Atenveldt's queen.
