Ansteorra History Wiki - User contributions [en]

Jan w Orzeldom

2019-09-29T01:48:33Z

Alisandre: Added Namron Protector to accomplishments

{{Populace
|photo = [[File:Jan Portrait Cropped.jpg|x400px]]
| photocaption = Photo by [[Alisandre Oliphant]]
| location = [[Bjornsborg]]
| regname= [http://oanda.sca.org//oanda_name.cgi?p=Jan%20w%20Orzeldom Jan w Orzeldom]
| status = Active
| joindate = 1975
| OP = [http://heraldry.ansteorra.org/OP/op-names.php?search=Jan%20w%20Orzeldom&id=2479 Jan w Orzeldom] [http://chivalry.ansteorra.org/new/member_profile.pl?member_id=53 Ansteorra Chivalry Page]
| device = [[File:Jan w Orzeldom with Augmentation - V2.png|x400px]]
| devicecaption = Per pale gules and argent, in pale a chevronel couped and two crosses formy counterchanged, as an augmentation on an escutcheon azure, two bears erect addorsed reguardant argent each maintaining a berdiche proper, in base an annulet Or.
}}

==Hrabia Jan w Orzeldom, KSCA, OL, OP, Lion of Ansteorra, Defender of the Dream==
 [[File:Jan Badge.jpg|100px|thumb|left|Photo by [[Alisandre Oliphant]]]]
===Additional Registered Heraldry===
Gules, in bend a jawless human skull palewise argent wearing a lobster-tailed helmet proper and a wing argent. 
 

==Offices:==
* Local Offices Held
** Prior Herald of the Shire of [[Bjornsborg]]
** Prior Baron of [[Bjornsborg]], 1979 - 1989
 
* Principality of Ansteorra Offices Held
** Briefly, served as Asterisk Pursuivant during the Principality days, largely helping to manage, review, and process a surge of submissions. We had done a huge push to get people’s names and devices registered, to try to have enough registered members to show that we had enough population to get the Board to approve us as a kingdom. Several notable heralds helped with that surge, including Baldwin of Erebor (of Baldwin’s Badge fame), as well as Aureliane Rioghail and Anebairne MacPharlaine, who were the first and second Star Principal Heralds when we became a Kingdom, and Kemreth Danil (who was later my queen). The Principality Herald’s office was already called Star, and during that intense time of processing submissions, there was discussion that we should have someone to manage submissions for the Herald’s Office. I suggested the name “Asterisk” as a deputy for this purpose, because it means “little star.” They took the suggestion, and it later gave rise to a tradition, for a time, that all deputy positions to Star end in “-isque.” [They opted not to use Odalisque. Look it up.]
 
* Kingdom Offices Held
** Kingdom Earl Marshal (May - June 1980, stepped down to be Crown of Ansteorra. Then again from March 1981 - August 1984)
** Kingdom Minister of Arts & Sciences (November 1986 - January 1989)
** [[3rd Crown]] of Ansteorra, June 1980 - January 1981
 
[[File:Jan Archery.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Photo by [[Alisandre Oliphant]]]]
== Persona History: ==
I have a “sliding scale” persona, from about 900 through late 1400s, and I come from the northeastern area of the country we now call Poland, a region called Mazovia. I would consider myself a Pole and I speak Polish, but I am a Mazovian under the prince of Mazovia. 
 
I base my persona play on elements of my mundane life. Depending on the century we’re discussing (since I have a “sliding scale”), the specifics can vary, but overall: 
My family was part of the szlachta, the nobility of Poland, but we were not wealthy. My father was a soldier who served in the east. At an early age, I showed promise with martial activities. I became a skilled horseman, and a leader of men in battle. I learned to read and write Latin. Like my father, I also served in the east, as a soldier and a diplomat, and prospered. I led diplomatic missions to the West (including Italy, where I met my squire Riccardo di Pisa). I was involved in diplomatic relations around trade with England at about the same time I was hosting a great tournament set in the land of Silesia (selected because it was the geographic center of Europe). Contacts formed at that tournament led to my marriage to a lady from a Northumbrian family. I’ve established a fairly broad network of contacts with many cultures across Europe, and those who have followed my banner are many and varied, but all honorable lords and ladies. 
 
== Interests: ==
I’ve always been good at combatives, and I like to make and decorate things. This probably led to my serving as both Earl Marshall and Minister of Arts and Sciences. 
Currently I’m very interested in learning and sharing Tartar-style archery. This has also led to my starting to learn leatherwork. 
 
===Gallery===
<gallery caption="Gallery of Work" widths="200px">
image:Jan Projects 1.jpg|Personal Gift to Champions: He made two quivers – one shorter, for bolts, and one for arrows, and awarded them to the highest scoring bow and crossbow archers, as a separate recognition from the championship itself. The belts for those had Seawinds colors, with his own colors running down the center. Belts woven by [[Alisandre Oliphant]].
image:Jan Projects 4.jpg|Carved box, made for a prize for a tourney that Jan and Alisandre sponsored at Grand Outlandish. Material was basswood, lined with velour. Design adapted from decorations along the edge of a late-period map. Won by Otto the Obscure.
image:Jan Projects 5.jpg|This is a breastplate that Jan etched using “junkyard iron,” with beeswax for the resist, and nitric acid. It was made to take to Ansteorra’s first war, the First Burro Creek War. It was part of a larger set. Elements of the badge of house Thornwell, and an eagle striking the sun in a not-so-subtle statement about making Ansteorra independent.
image:Jan Projects 6.jpg|
image:Jan Projects 7.jpg|This is a vambrace that Jan did a deep etch on, then melted a bronze brazing rod into it and ground it down. Probably circa 1979. This was his first attempt at this technique.

image:Jan Projects 9.jpg|We bought this sword (wall-hanger but cool) in Poland on our honeymoon. It’s a [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karabela Karabela] with an irregular curve of the last third or so. Jan made the scabbard for it out of walnut - it was interesting working out the draw path for that blade shape.
image:Jan And Amanda Projects 1.jpg|Crimean Tartar style quiver for Alisandre Oliphant. Matching border decor to his, but with her badge holding a bow and arrow. Leatherwork and border painting by Jan, device painting and strap weaving by Alisandre.
image:Jan And Amanda Projects 2.jpg| Full View
image:Jan Projects 2.jpg|Crimean Tartar style quiver for Jan
image:Jan Projects 3.jpg|Detail view
image:Jan Projects 10.JPG|Leatherwork – his first project. Crimean Tartar bow case, made to fit his bow. Decoration is a Tartar design, with his badge. (Badge painted by Alisandre)
image:Jan at the Range.JPG|Wearing the quivers
</gallery>
[[Category:Galleries]]

==Timeline of Activity: ==
Found the SCA and became active, 1975-ish: I first saw the SCA at a demo at a flea market. On the strength of that interest, I went to a local fighter practice, where I first met my shield-brother [[Orm Skjolbidig|Red Orm]]. There were some other local events, but my first “official” event was the third Warlord of the Steppes (1976) when Sean MacFflam won. Had a period of inactivity from about 1994 until about 2015, when we started to play more regularly again.
 
===Prior Groups===
The Incipient Shire of [[Bjornsborg]]. 
 
== Populace Provided Information: ==
 
[[File:Jan the Crownmaker.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Royal Decree from TRMs Atenveldt. Photo by [[Alisandre Oliphant]]]]
== Notable Contributions or Accomplishments: ==
* “Crownmaker to Their Royal Majesties of Atenveldt,” presented by TRM Johann and Melinda, July 8, 1978, AS XXIII. At the time, Atenveldt’s crowns had not been formally designed – they had been gifted to the kingdom by a newcomer who showed up in a crown, who gave it to the kingdom when people explained that in the SCA, the right to wear one had to be earned. They were functional but not what the kingdom wanted, so in Southwind, the newsletter, they opened up for people to submit bids for the right to make new Aten crowns. I submitted a design, as did some people in Utah. The king and queen opted to accept both and combine the efforts - the people in Utah made the crowns, and sent them to us (me, Kemreth, and Orm) to be acid-etched and decorated. Everyone involved in the effort was granted the right to be named Crownmaker of Atenveldt in their court in perpetuity. Those crowns, I believe, are now the “historic crowns” that are only brought out for special occasions, because years of cleaning have obscured some of the more delicate elements of the etched designs (which included the sun in splendor on the fronts of both, with lions for the king and roses for the queen wreathing around them).
*I was also the second, and last, Warlord of the Principality of Ansteorra. The first Principality Warlord tourney was in March 1978, under the first Prince, Sean MacFflam, and I don’t remember who won. The second Prince, Randall von Nordlichwald, stepped up in May 1978. He had wanted to have a warlord tourney, but he was running out of reign, so we didn’t have a separate event for it – it was tacked onto Barbarian (which would have been the fourth of July weekend in 1978). Simonn of Amber Isle, the last Prince, didn’t hold a warlord tournament, so I was technically the last one. Warlord tournaments were big in Ansteorra because it was one thing that Ansteorrans in Atenveldt could compete in and win without having to drive to Arizona or New Mexico.
* 4th [[Lions of Ansteorra|Lion of Ansteorra]]
* 5th Protector of Namron
* [http://heraldry.ansteorra.org/OP/op-names.php?search=Kemreth%20Danil&id= Kemreth] and I were the first people who had not already been Aten Laurels, who were created as Laurels in the new kingdom of Ansteorra.
* [http://heraldry.ansteorra.org/OP/op-names.php?search=Sigmund%20the%20Wingfooted&id=4266 Sigmund] and I were the first triple peers of Ansteorra, when we received our Pelicans. The king, Denaris the Wanderer, called us up together, read the award for us together, and announced us together, so that neither of us could claim sole honor of being the first.
* Seawinds archery champion, Oct 2017 – Oct 2018
* Eldern Hills archery champion, March 2018 – will step down October 2019
 
[[File:Jan - Augmentation.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Photo by [[Alisandre Oliphant]]]]

== Affiliations: ==
* Wed to my Lady, [[Alisandre Oliphant]]

* Squires: I couldn’t take everyone who asked to be my squire, but I trained anyone who wanted to learn, and so I’ve been close to many people with no formal bond. Same for arts and sciences – I had no formal apprentices, but worked with many people on many different arts over the years.
** [[Geoffrey of d'Ambergene]]
** [[Tales of Riccardo di Pisa|Riccardo di Pisa]]
** [[Godwin Alfricsson]]
** [[Michael of Kendall]]
** [[Alfredo Gabriel Halcon]]
** [[Just Rick]]

* It’s inactive, but technically I’m still a member of [[House Thornwell]], which was the household of Darcy and his lady Kemreth (later my queen). [[Orm Skjolbidig|Red Orm]] was also a member. I also helped form [[Caer Oncia]], which was my then-lady Sula’s and my household. We had an alliance with Thornwell, and some overlap of members. I’ve always been proud of the heraldry I designed for those households.

* I have a fondness for Ton the Traveler and his lady – they were king and queen of Atenveldt when Ansteorra became a Principality, and they briefly lived in Bjornsborg. They were hugely instrumental in building Bjornsborg in its early days.
* Also my Baroness for the first few years, [[Alexandra Tatiana Feodorovna of Novgorod]].

 
== Mundane Information: ==
 

[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Royal Family]]
[[Category:Counts and Countesses]]
[[Category:Barons and Baronesses]]
[[Category:Pelicans]]
[[Category:Laurels]]
[[Category:Peers]]
[[Category:Lions]]
[[Category:Principality of Ansteorra]]
[[Category:Triple Peers]]
[[Category:Galleries]]

The Coming of Ansteorra

2019-09-14T20:45:55Z

Alisandre:

by Hrabia [[Jan w Orzeldom]], Lion of Ansteorra, and Mistress [[Alisandre Oliphant]]. 
:Ansteorra was born, as so many things are, with excitement and hope, with pain and screaming. Each line below could be its own full story, but this is the tale swiftly told, and the years have smoothed many sharp edges. Listen, then. 
:We are born of the kingdom of Atenveldt, itself a child of the West. And the ancient traditions of Atenveldt hold that the Aten folk went armed to a coronation of the West Kingdom and demanded their independence. This was granted in 1971, but the West took a subtle revenge; Atenveldt, seeking only independence, was burdened with an unwieldy empire. The young kingdom of Atenveldt was vast, covering Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Texas, and more, for the West seized its chance to offload distant, hard-to-administer areas. 
:Like its parent, Ansteorra had a great taste for independence, even though much of our land was sparsely populated. Stargate (1972) and Steppes (1975) were the only baronies. But we wanted our own name and a crown closer than two states over. Many dedicated people laid the groundwork, most notably Sir [[Koris Natterhelm]] ([http://op.ansteorra.org/people/id/2907/ OP]). In that time before the internet, much mail was sent, many calls were made, and many long miles were traveled to set up a meeting in the shire of [[Bjornsborg]] to formally seek Principality and ultimately Kingdom status. The name “Ansteora” was born then, proposed by [[Aurelianne Rioghail]] ([http://op.ansteorra.org/people/id/599/ OP] , as the Anglo-Saxon for “peerless (lone) star.” [The spelling later evolved into Ansteorra; it looks cooler and medieval spelling was flexible.] 
:Thus in 1976, a Crown of Atenveldt ventured for the first time into our lands, and at a cold November tournament in Bjornsborg, King Deaton Claymore and Queen Care Cherie of the Falling Stars raised Bjornsborg to baronial status, giving our area three baronies, and went on to decree that “Ansteora” was a duly constituted region in the Kingdom of Atenveldt. 
:In June 1977, Ton the Traveler and Elizabeth Karien ascended the throne of Atenveldt, and Ansteorra was operating with a full slate of regional officers. Local populace meetings and events were filled with discussions of what a principality would mean and what needed to be done. Sir Koris circulated several drafts of proposed principality laws, orders, ceremonies and such like. He was often laughed at but, as a skilled politician, he got things done. By the end of Ton and Elizabeth’s reign, Ansteorra was a full-fledged Principality. 
:In November of 1977, Ansteorra held two great tournaments: we hosted the Crown Tourney of Atenveldt in [[Bordermarch]], and the first Ansteorran Coronet Tourney was in Bjornsborg. Sir Koris won the Aten crown, the first Ansteorran to sit a throne, and Sir [[Sean Mcflamm of Ravenswaard]] ([http://op.ansteorra.org/people/id/4163/ OP]), tenth Aten Warlord and Koris’ former squire, won the Coronet to become the first prince of Ansteorra. [[Katharina von Alyssin]] ([http://op.ansteorra.org/people/id/2760/ OP]) sat beside him as our princess. 
:Our first war as Ansteorrans was at Burro Creek against the West Kingdom, and Prince Sean, accompanied by Sir [[Simonn of Amber Isle]] and eight other warriors, won Ansteorra’s first renown in the Known World. King Koris reinforced the Ansteorran warriors and put us at the center of the Aten line on a slight but steep rise. The place of honor to his right was the Principality of the Sun, and to the left the outlandish warriors of al-Barran completed the Aten line. During the battle, Ansteorran fighters stood their ground as the other Aten teams fell away – the Sun and al-Barran fell beside us, then our “reinforcements” left us and were lost in a foolish attack. Alone, we held off wave after wave of attackers ere we fell, and Sir Simonn tells of the King of Caid saying, “the golden shieldwall of Ansteorra was the stuff of legends!” Young Ansteorra was recognized afar by royal decree and by fame of prowess – but still we were part of Atenveldt, and still we thirsted for independence. 
:Sir [[Randall von Nordlichwald]] and his lady Constance were our second Prince and Princess, then December 1978 saw [[Jonathan de Laufysson]] ([http://op.ansteorra.org/people/id/2629/ OP]) as the second Ansteorran king of Atenveldt, while Sir Simon of Amber won the Ansteorran Principality list. Simonn would be our last Prince, for Atenveldt was weary. They had sought their own independence being tired of being ruled from afar by the West. Now they were being ruled from afar by Ansteorrans. They began to sever the last ties. 
:At the Atenveldt crown tournament 1979 in Tir Ysgithr (Tucson), [[Jan w Orzeldom]] ([http://op.ansteorra.org/people/id/2479/ OP]), who had fought in the golden shieldwall, was knighted on the field. A month later [[Robert Helmansthal]] ([http://op.ansteorra.org/people/id/3954/ OP], also part of the golden shieldwall, was also knighted. These two were the last Ansteorrans to be knights of Atenveldt. 
:At Tir Ysgithr, Sir Koris battled Sir Theo of Mightrainwood for the Aten crown, and Koris narrowly missed being the king to grant Ansteorra the independence he had worked so long for. But it was King Theo and his Queen Selene of Mightrainwood who ordered the first crown tournament of Ansteorra, held in Bryn Gwlad (made a Barony on the same day). Count Jonathan de Laufysson became Ansteorra’s first king. So that more of Ansteorra could share in the historic events, two separate coronations were held for the new king and queen, in [[Elfsea]] and [[Stargate]] respectively. At Elfsea, the knights of Ansteorra were released from fealty to Atenveldt, King Theo personally removing their chains and bidding them farewell. Then Ansteorra’s first Crown Prince arrived on horseback and we swore fealty to the land of the peerless star for the first time. New peers of Ansteorra were created. Later, in Stargate, Jonathan crowned his queen. Ansteorra, three years after being declared a region, assumed its place among the Kingdoms of the Known World. 

[[Category:Timeline]]
[[Category:Stories]]
[[Category:Events]]