The Golden Knife of Ansteorra

History

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A.S. LVII (57) The idea for the Golden Knife of Ansteorra was shamelessly stolen from the Kingdom of the East at Pennsic 49 after the at the time Ansteorra Kingdom Thrown Weapons Marshal Lord Aki Seulf met with THL Matteo Genovese of the East Kingdom.

In November of 2022, the first Tourney of the Golden Knife of Ansteorra was to be held at War of the Rams IX in Colmesneil, TX in the Barony of Bordermarch but was canceled due to weather.

On January 14, 2023, the Tournament of the Golden Knife was held at Coronation and Jonathan of York won making him the Premier Holder of the Knife of Ansteorra

Golden Knife of Ansteorra Rules

-The only way to acquire the Golden Knife of Ansteorra is to challenge the current holder.

-The format of the challenge is fixed and shall be strictly followed to insure this does not alter from its original intent:

-To declare the challenge the challenger declares 'I request the Challenge of the Golden Knife'.

-The proper responses are 'I accept your challenge' or 'I am forbidden from accepting your challenge'.

-The Golden Knife may only be exchanged once in any given day; if another challenger requests a Challenge to the new holder on the day they have won the knife from another, the holder is required to decline the Challenge. Otherwise, the holder may accept up to three Challenges in a given day, assuming the holder is the victor of each preceding Challenge that day.

-The holder of the Golden Knife is required to accept the first Challenge in a day. The second and third Challenges are optional, and the holder should only accept those if they feel that they can show sufficient prowess and stamina after the exertions of the first Challenge.

-Once the Challenge is issued, it should be taken up as soon as is reasonable. (And really be reasonable here - if the challenged holder would like time to warm up, that's acceptable. If they are called away suddenly by an important commitment or royal command, that is also acceptable. "Calling dibs" on a challenge immediately after the current one may be acceptable, but calling dibs for tomorrow and expecting that challenges be refused until then is not.) A challenger for the Golden Knife may only issue a single challenge per day.

-Terms for what the contest will be determined by the participants. The challenger, as part of the challenge, will name the terms of the contest at the time of the challenge. The holder of the knife can change ONE of the terms (distance, number of throws, method of throw, etc.).

-Throwers must comply to the safety standards of the Marshal in Charge of the range, the Kingdom of Ansteorra, and SCA rules.

-Weapons must be SCA and Ansteorra Kingdom legal. If it looks like an knife and throws like a knife, it's a knife. Only the competitors can determine if something is fair or not.

-The Golden Knife may not reside outside of it's Kingdom's borders. As such, it will revert to the previous holder or Kingdom Thrown Weapons Marshal if the current holder moves from Ansteorra or stops playing.

-The Golden Knife shall be displayed prominently while at events and practices so potential challengers may know who is the current holder.

-It is the duty of the outgoing holder of the Golden Knife to make sure the incoming holder is fully aware of these rules.

-In the event that holder of the knife has not accepted a challenge in 3 months then the knife will be given to the Kingdom Thrown Weapons Marshal or previous holder who will hold a new tournament at the next practical official SCA event that has a thrown weapons range.

-Holders of the knife may modify the knife as long as it is done in good faith and in the spirit of advancing the prestige of the knife.

Photos

• The Golden Knife of Ansteorra
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  Queen Toryn Sevenstitches II blessing the Golden Knife of Ansteorra

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  Jonathan of York - Premier Holder of the Golden Knife of Ansteorra

Trivia

-This item is similar to The Golden Axe of Ansteorra, The Golden Spear of Ansteorra, The Golden Plumbata of Ansteorra, and Thrown Weapons Royal Rounds

Caption text

Holder #	Date	Winner	Location	Challenge
1st	Jan 14, 2023	Jonathan of York	Coronation	Top Score Tournament- Left, Right, both hands
2nd	Mar 14, 2023	Captain Savage	Gulf Wars	Tick Tack Toe at 10ft
3rd	Apr 30, 2023	Saevarr Mani	Beltane
4th	May 20, 2023	Romanius Vesperianus	Castellan
5th	Jul 22, 2023	Jonathan of York	Kingdom Marshal Practice - Elfsea	Tick Tack Toe at 15 ft
6th	Sep 02, 2023	Úlfeiðr á Þróndheimi	War of Legends	Tick Tack Toe at 10 ft
7th	Sep 30, 2023	Marco Runki Rudolfson	Local Practice
8th	Feb 24, 2024	Jonathan of York	Battle of the Pines	tightest grouping of 3- left/right/center
9th	March 13, 2024	Romanius Vesperianus	Gulf Wars	tightest grouping of 3 knives at 10ft
10th	March 14, 2024	Sean Tabor	Gulf Wars	Walking throw @ 20ft, 15ft, hop throw at 10ft --- WON Hat Trick and Trifecta
11th	March 15, 2024	Jonathan of York	Gulf Wars	closest grouping of 3 at 15 ft
12th	April 20, 2024	Brian Davis	Weisenfeir Baronial	highest score with 1/2 spin at 10ft
13th	July 14, 2024	Isaac Bane	Local Practice	Tick Tack Toe @ 10 ft
14th	Sept 7, 2024	Romanius Vesperianus	Elfsea Baronial College	first to hit all 6 vertical targets right to left
15th	Oct 4th, 2024	Jonathan of York	Protectorate and Coranation	using each others knives, best card hand without seeing the cards before throwing
16th	Oct 13th, 2024	Karl Bogsveigir Thorgeirsson	Baronial Practise	most sticks out of 13 throws...tie breaker: closest to bullseye