Eseld An Goarnic

Photo
Eseld an Goarnic walking in the 2025 Birka Fashion Show dressed as a 1550s English midwife and carrying her birth girdle (photo by Arnóra Éldadóttir)
Information
Resides: Shire of Mountain Freehold
Status: Active
Awards: Order of Precedence
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Persona

Eseld's ruling passion is making meaning from minutiae. She believes that to everything there is a season, and has made marking these seasons with rhythm and ritual the project of her life. From mumming to midwifery to hauling in the harvest, Eseld celebrates the turning of time.

Brittany-born, Eseld finds herself most often in 16th-century England, toiling in service of Gloriana. Her knack for homemaking and her Breton roots are affectionately noted in her byname, "an Goarnic": "the little housekeeper".

Eseld is also a keen carouser, ever prepared to sing a jaunty tune or sweep a round of Gluckhaus. Her fondness for pretty things is her foremost vice, and soldiers carry ever so many! When the day's labors are done, find her playing just as hard at the Inn of Bards Rest.

Projects

Eseld is a skilled seamstress and pattern maker who prides herself on attention to detail. She hand-sews all her own clothing as well as that of her two favorite soldiers, Nikolai Tsepelin and Sylvain du Soleil. Of particular interest to her is women’s supportive undergarments and their evolution from the 14th century and beyond. A selection of her work is as follows:

Graeco-Roman gown in observance of Floralia, July 2022
Graeco-Roman gown with head covering, July 2022
Early 15th-century kirtle with pinned sleeves, October 2022
Late-16th-/early-17th-century bodied petticoat with red skirt, February 2023
Closer view, bodied petticoat, February 2023
Flat lay, bodied petticoat, February 2023
Pad stitching inside bodied petticoat, February 2023
Waisted kirtle worn in 16th-century style with pinned sleeves, partlet, and "dog-eared" apron, May 2023
1627 Plimoth Plantation kit: collared shift, bodied petticoat, outer petticoat, doublet, partlet, caul, and apron, May 2023
Side view, 1627 Plimoth Plantation kit
Late-13th-/early-14th-century blue gown, worn with a smocked apron, pinned veil, and straw hat, June 2023
1550s red front-laced kirtle worn with tied sleeves, parlet, "dog-eared" apron, and black hat, December 2023
Sleeveless landsknecht doublet worn with slashed sleeves, slashed hosen, and pleated blackwork shirt, all made by Eseld and worn by Nikolai Tsepelin, December 2023
Eseld an Goarnic in a red Tudor kirtle, displaying her work at the East Kingdom Arts & Sciences Championship, March 2024
15th-century dagged men's gown, worn by Sylvain du Soleil, April 2024 (photo by Sage Élan de Janvier)
1550s yellow front-laced Flemish-style kirtle worn with tied sleeves, smocked apron, and straw hat, June 2024
1550s yellow front-laced Flemish-style kirtle, closer view, June 2024
15th-century dagged men's gown, worn by Sylvain du Soleil, June 2024
1550s front-laced kirtle worn with tied sleeves, partlet, "dog-eared" apron, and brown hat, September 2024
1550s front-laced kirtle, side view
1550s brown wool working woman's gown, worn with black worsted hat, partlet, and apron, October 2024
Historically accurate "witch" costume based on illustrations of accused women c. 1550-1630, October 2024
Eseld displays her winning A&S entry, a replica 16th-century "birth girdle", at Stonemarche's Hrim Schola, November 2024
Eseld reads from her birth girdle
1550s red wool working woman's gown with rushwork mummer's mask, January 2025
Eseld walks in the 2025 Birka Fashion Show dressed as a 1550s English midwife and carrying her birth girdle (photo by Arnóra Éldadóttir)
1627 Plimoth Plantation sleeved waistcoat and matching petticoat, May 2025
1540s Cranach-style wool and silk gown with false front and tied sleeves, May 2025
1540s Cranach-style gown, back view
1540s Cranach-style gown, close-up view
15th-century embroidered wool and silk houppelande, worn by Sylvain du Soleil, May 2025

Research & Documentation

Awards

Shire of Mountain Freehold Arts & Sciences Champion, September 2023
Late Period Champion, Birka Fashion Show, January 2024
Order of the Silver Brooch, March 2024
Barony of Stonemarche Arts & Sciences Champion, November 2024
Queen's Challenge Champion, Birka Fashion Show, January 2025
Order of the Maunche, May 2025
Baron's Pearl (Stonemarche), October 2025

Classes Taught

Draping 14th-Century Fitted Gowns, October 2019
Women’s Supportive Undergarments through the Ages, July 2022
English Given Names Before, During, and After the Protestant Reformation, March 2023
Pad-Stitching for Fitted Supportive Undergarments, February 2024
Keeping Clean the Medieval Way, March 2025
Learn a Wool Waulking Song, October 2025

In Case of Court

Eseld loves surprises, but, regrettably, does not attend court frequently enough to allow them. Please summon her either by writ or by contacting Nikolai Tsepelin and Sylvain du Soleil.

Her name is pronounced ee-SELD an GWAR-nig.