Greetings Medieval Readers,

The first weekend of April was a beautiful weekend made even more memorable by the most recent Defending the Gate. The Canton of Sudentorre hosts this event each year. This year, especially, was a year to remember! Your own Chronicler thankfully passes the pen this week to Her Excellency, the Baroness of Stierbach.

“This past weekend, His Excellency Dunstan was first-time Event Steward, and we are both so grateful to everyone who made Defending the Gate happen! Whether you were there as staff, as an on-the-spot volunteer, as someone who came to participate in martial or arts activities, as someone who came to spend the day enjoying time with fellow SCAdians – or some combination of these, we were so please and proud to have you all at our Canton’s event!

Dunstan and I are reminded, each time we go to an event, of what an amazing group of people SCAdians are: when there is a gathering, each of us brings a piece of The Dream with us and creates a new version of it to enjoy for a time.

We would especially like to acknowledge our incredible Staff, which included many Sudentorreans, Stierbachians, and Atlantians from outside of Our Barony. His Excellency and I are so very blessed to have worked with amazing and dedicated gentles who were willing to do the hours and hours of organization and creativity that make an event happen, and also to gently guide and teach inexperienced Event Stewards!

– Many, many, MANY thanks to Jasper and Helena who created the incredible feast and oversaw the hard-working kitchen staff – what a culinary delight! And, of course, Helena also ran our A & S tables, and with Jasper, worked tirelessly on planning, organizing, and setting up and tearing down.

– Thank you to Their Excellencies Wulff and Genefe, who, between the two of them, organized parking, site tokens, and hall decoration, among countless other tasks. And thank you to the co-Hall Steward, Runa, for (among so many other things!) creating the coolest feast table sign-up ever!

– So many thanks to Valla-Ragna, our reservationist, and Head of Gate, for running those things so competently and flawlessly, and for being an ever-stalwart pillar of this Barony.

– Thank you, thank you, to our MICs: Thorgrimr for running the Heavy Fighting activities, Aylisia for Rapier, Dealla for the incredibly creative and thematic Thrown Weapons range, and Fiore for the Archery range. Thank you also, Johann and Annalena, for assisting Fiore as needed with the Archery range.

– Thanks are also due to our MOLs, Ceridwen and Maddalena, who made the tournaments possible, and did their MOLing with such grace.

– Thank you to Rignach and Charlie for making sure that our Royalty and our Populace had sustenance, and for making sure that the Baronage was appropriately fed and watered! – and also, Charlie, for making the cords for site tokens, and, along with Merlin and Josh, for helping in the kitchen, and wherever needed! …and Rignach, our Head Shenanigator – I mean, Head Retainer, always bring humor and grace wherever she is!

– Thank you, Celestria for taking on Gold Key and running with it, and setting it up so beautifully! It was wonderful to know that Newcomers had a place to fix themselves up to enjoy the day.

– Many thanks also to Allen and to Unn for helping to make the feast Tip Wars so successful (and entertaining!) for the Mary Washington Ren Club – and thank you, Unn, for doing Bardic activities (especially the St. Crispin’s Day Speech! 💖) with both Ercole and Anubh! (…and thank you, Anubh, for also helping with Archery!)

– Thanks so, so much, to James and the other intrepid members of the Mary Washington Ren Club for providing delightful and efficient table service for Feast!

– And thanks to our Court Secretary and Herald for keeping us on track for Court – Sara van Eerde and Katharine, you are both jewels of humans, and we are so lucky to have you in the Barony! Thank you, also, of course, to Iacobo for keeping Royal Court moving, and for going along with the Box o’ Dirt shenanigans with such good humor.

– A special personal thanks to Signy, Rignach, Arianna, and Yrsa, for making sure that the Baroness was attended – and watered and fed – and so graciously! all day.

– And a delighted thanks to Their Excellencies Ponte Alto, Hakon and Hrefna for always being willing to participate in silliness, of the Rubber Chicken variety, no less!

– And finally, thank you to His Majesty Randall and His Highness Abran for coming to Our Canton’s event, and lending both dignity and humor to the occasion. It was an honor hosting you both!!

Vivat Sudentorre, Vivat Stierbach, Vivat Atlantia!”

And THANK YOU to BOTH of Your Excellencies for continuing to inspire us to be the BEST Barony!

Photos from Defending the Gate can be found here. Thank you Lord Thomas for continuing to share your time and your talents!