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Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin: Difference between revisions

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(→‎Tyddyn Ystradfflyr: Land ownership notes)
(→‎Projects & Publications: Added household blog)
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* [http://heraldicart.org/ Book of Traceable Heraldic Art]
* [http://heraldicart.org/ Book of Traceable Heraldic Art]
* [http://blog.heraldicart.org/ Heraldic Musings Blog]
* [http://blog.heraldicart.org/ Heraldic Musings Blog]
* [http://youthcombat.org Youth Combat Blog]
* [http://youthcombat.org/ Youth Combat Blog]
* [http://ystradfflyr.org/ Household Blog]


== In Case of Court ==
== In Case of Court ==

Revision as of 15:32, 12 September 2021

Photo
Mathghamhain-Ua-Ruadhain.jpg
Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin at the Picnic In The Ruins, April 2017
Information
Resides: Ostgardr
Status: Active
Awards: Order of Precedence
Heraldry
Per-Pale-Argent-Vert-Bear-Passant-Gules.png
Per pale argent and vert, a bear passant gules.
Award & Office Badges
Award of Arms Order of the Sea Dog Companion of the Order of the Burdened Tyger Companion of the Order of the Silver Crescent
Herald Youth Combat Marshal Webminister

Introduction

I'm Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin (Mah-huwen Ooah Ru-ahn), a Scadian by marriage (to Alienor Salton) and parent to a teen (Alaxandair Mórda mac Matha).

Interests

I am active in the Crown Province of Østgarðr, where I hold local officer positions and assist with events.

I am a herald specializing in armory, and maintain the Book of Traceable Heraldic Art, a collection of thousands of images for use in armorial design and scribal art. I serve as the Elmet Herald (the East Kingdom's heraldic education deputy), and am studying to assist the Society's Morsulus Herald in maintaining the SCA's Ordinary and Armorial database.

I am a youth marshal, and serve as the East Kingdom Marshal of Youth Combat.

Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin

I live in northern Wales one thousand years ago, near the town of Llanrwst. I am an independent smallholder, running a fmaily farm with the assistance of my wife and son.

My mother was an Irish woman from Connacht who went to sea, trading (and, some would say, raiding) across the Irish Sea before settling down on the Welsh coast. My father and grandfather before him were farmers in the Conwy valley; the family claims to be descended from men who came to this land from Rome long ago, although it's hard to know how much faith to put in such stories.

I am the oldest of five children, since scattered to the winds — one brother moved north and raises sheep, one traveled east and trains hounds for Saxon marcher lords, and another serves as a lay preacher in a nearby village on the other side of the river, while my sister followed my mother's example and went to sea, traveling south and settling down in far-off Iberia. [Update, autumn of 1019 CE: My sister has returned from her voyage with a new husband and twin babies, and now keeps house for my aging father on the adjacent homestead.]

Tyddyn Ystradfflyr

Our family lives on a small farmstead named Tyddyn Ystradfflyr (Welsh for "Bloomingdale Farm" or "Flowering-valley Homestead"), just across the Conwy river from the town of Llanrwst.

Here's a view taken from Google Maps:

Location of Tyddyn Ystradfflyr.jpg

The site enjoys fertile river-valley farmland, and easy access to the Gwydir Forest, which covers the foothills of the Snowdonia mountains. A small stream, the Nant Gwydir, flows down from the mountains, through the forest, and down to the Conwy; we maintain simple irrigation channels to divert some of its flow to support our crops.

In 1021, the Conwy river is navigable up to the point of Llanrwst, where a small set of rapids obstructs further passage, making this an important market town where wool and other products from the region are sold and loaded on to ships for export. (By 1521 the Conwy has silted up and ocean-going ships can no longer reach Llandrwst, stopping instead at Trefriw a mile downriver.)

The Conwy river does flood seasonally, but at other times it is low enough that people can wade across it, and livestock can be herded across without ferrying them back and forth in our little rowboat.

It's a ten or fifteen minute walk from our house down to the ford where you can cross the river to the bustling town of Llanrwst, named after its founder, Saint Grwst. We sell some of our farm's crops at the market, as well as the handcrafts that Alienor makes during the long winter evenings.

We raise goats and pigs, and have one ox which we use to plow our fields for oats and barley. The vegetable patch close to our farmhouse provides peas, leeks, and other greens to round out our meals.

Given the traditional land-ownership practices of this region, much of the earth I farm does not belong to me directly, but is held in common by the community or rented from a wealthy absentee landlord. This social compact allows me to till some patches of nearby land, graze my livestock along the hillside, and harvest lumber from the forest despite not having independent title to those lands -- or at least it does as long as I avoid conflict with my neighbors and am not overly late in fulfillment of my rents.

Awards

  • Award of Arms, Balfar's Challenge, April 2017
  • Order of the Sea Dog, Goat's Tavern, October 2017
  • King’s Award of Esteem, Last Court of Ivan and Matilde, April 2018 (for work in the Kingdom Webministry)
  • Order of the Silver Crescent, Pennsic, August 2018
  • Award of the Burdened Tyger, St. Andrews, September 2019 (for the Coronation of Ǫzurr and Fortune)
  • Order of the Seahorse, Provincial Court, December 2020

Offices & Positions

  • Herald, Whyt Whey, August 2016–December 2017
  • Youth Combat Marshal, Whyt Whey, August 2016–
  • Youth Combat Marshal, Ostgardr, February 2017–
  • Webminister, Youth Fighter Program, East Kingdom, October 2017–November 2019
  • Southern Region Deputy, Youth Fighter Program, East Kingdom, December 2017–October 2019
  • Herald, Ostgardr, December 2017–December 2019
  • Deputy Webminister, Ostgardr, December 2017–May 2021
  • Elmet Herald, East Kingdom, August 2018–
  • Bylaws Committee, Ostgardr, August 2018–June 2019
  • First Deputy, Youth Fighter Program, East Kingdom, October 2019–August 2020
  • Kingdom Marshal of Youth Combat, East Kingdom, August 2020–
  • Deputy Chronicler, Ostgardr, September 2020—
  • Webminister, Ostgardr, May–Aug 2021
  • Seneschal, Whyt Whey, July 2021–

Classes Taught

  • Heraldic Registration Basics & Heraldic Display Choices, Whyt Whey Schola In The Solar, October 2017
  • Heraldic Registration Basics, Deck The Halls of Valhalla, January 2018
  • Symposium on the Basics of Book Heraldry, Whyt Whey, March 2018
  • Heraldic Registration Basics & Becoming an SCA Herald, East Kingdom Novice Day, July 2018
  • Symposium on the Basics of Book Heraldry, Lions End, December 2018
  • Heraldic Registration Basics, Deck The Halls of Valhalla, January 2020

Event Staff

  • Youth Combat Marshal, Pennsic, August 2016
  • Consulting Herald, Pennsic, August 2016
  • Youth Combat Marshal, Barleycorn, September 2016
  • Youth Combat Marshal in Charge, Cloisters Demo, September 2016
  • Youth Combat Marshal in Charge, Queens Farm Demo, September 2016
  • Youth Combat Marshal in Charge, Goat's Tavern, October 2016
  • Youth Combat Marshal in Charge, 100 Minutes War, November 2016
  • Youth Combat Marshal in Charge, Mudthaw, March 2017
  • Youth Combat Marshal, Balfar's Challenge, April 2017
  • Youth Combat Marshal in Charge, Blood & Axes, June 2017
  • Youth Combat Marshal, Pennsic, August 2017
  • Consulting Herald, Pennsic, August 2017
  • Youth Combat Marshal in Charge, River War, September 2017
  • Youth Combat Marshal in Charge, Barleycorn, September 2017
  • Youth Combat Marshal in Charge, Queens Farm Demo, September 2017
  • Youth Combat Marshal in Charge, Cloisters Demo, October 2017
  • Youth Combat Marshal in Charge, Goat's Tavern, October 2017
  • Youth Combat Marshal, Mudthaw, March 2018
  • Youth Combat Marshal in Charge, Balfar's Challenge, April 2018
  • Youth Combat Marshal, Tournament of Daffodils, April 2018
  • Youth Combat Marshal in Charge, Blood & Axes, July 2018
  • Youth Combat Marshal, Pennsic, August 2018
  • Consulting Herald, Pennsic, August 2018
  • Youth Combat Marshal, Barleycorn, September 2018
  • Event Steward, Cloisters Demo, September 2018
  • Kitchen Assistant, Ffesty Pen, November 2018
  • Youth Combat Marshal in Charge, 100 Minutes War, November 2018
  • Youth Combat Marshal, Mudthaw, March 2019
  • Event Steward, Coronation of Ǫzurr and Fortune, April 2019
  • Youth Combat Marshal in Charge, Blood & Axes, June 2019
  • Youth Combat Marshal, Pennsic, August 2019
  • Consulting Herald, Pennsic, August 2019
  • Youth Combat Marshal in Charge, Ducal Challenge, September 2019
  • Event Co-Steward, Cloisters Demo, September 2019
  • Youth Combat Marshal, Coronation, October 2019
  • Youth Combat Marshal in Charge, Hundred Minutes War, November 2019
  • Event Co-Steward, East Kingdom Twelfth Night, January 2020
  • Youth Combat Marshal, Birka, January 2020
  • Consulting Herald, Virtual Heralds Point, February 2021

Projects & Publications

In Case of Court

Please contact my spouse, Alienor Salton, to make arrangements.

More Information

You may contact me via email.