Chivalrous Acts and Unwise Challenges: The Story of the Legendary Monster of Cudgel War Lake - Herr Egil Drakhufvud, Squire to Sir Brendan

The truth of this story was witnessed by many including the Queen of Drachenwald and the Princess of Nordmark, so it must be true. Once upon a time, there was a monster in the lake. It had eaten children for several years, but when it bit a child in the foot this year, a mighty warrior stepped up and proclaimed that he would slay the monster.

First he dived down into the lake, and started to dig the monster out of its lair with his bare hands, but the monster did not yield, and neither did our warrior.

He brought rope and many mighty lords and ladies down for a second attempt. This warrior was from Frostheim, and they are not the kind of people to ever give up! He dived down into the muddy water and found the monster again. He put several loops of rope around its neck and the whole crowd tried to strangle the monster. But the monster did not yield, and being from Frostheim, neither did our fierce warrior.

At this point, people told him to give up, but he did not! A old and rusty saw was brought to him and he swam down once more and this time, he stayed under the water for a long, long time. But then he broke the surface with the monster's head in his fist, and he yelled:

“Behold the monster's head! The lake is safe for us again!"

Even though the monster was dead, its eyes were terrible to behold, so our warrior picked them out with his blade and replaced them with two fine carnelian gems from Nordmark. The monster's head was later presented to the Baron and Baroness of Aarnimetsä as a gift.
And the moral of this story is that sometimes you just have to keep trying, and you will find a way to achieve your goal. And if you need to retell this story for someone outside the SCA, you could say: there was a sharp pole in the water under the bridge where children got hurt all the time. A stubborn guy dug a half meter down in the mud and sawed it off. But that does not sound as fun, does it?

This story took place at Cudgel War XVII in the Barony of Aarnimetsä, in A.S. LIII/53. The written version is by and the hero in the story is Herr Egil Drakhufvud, squire to Sir Brendan the Tired. The magical version where the story is told and shown to you through the ether with wonderful pictures (video) is narrated by Jarl Peregrine MacKay and the illustration, illumination and calligraphy for the book it features were by Aislinn O'Faelan.

Chivalrous Acts and Unwise Challenges: ‘Remember to Specify' by Lady Alessandra di Riario

In a small town in the north of the Principality lived a bravado who took great joy in battle but lacked humility and was given to crowing which wars had they been in, which tournaments, which great lords they challenged and what a beating had been given. Being proud and quick to wrath, though of great courage, and sometimes esteeming fighting over learning, this bravado did not always remember to tell that it had been given to them. All day this bravado was out talking and swinging swords, prattling of which great list they might enter this week, next week or the next month and whom they would defeat, forgetting to do what they had been told to practice, and bemoaning not having the finest clothes to fight in and to sit drinking at feast after. 

Now it happened that in the next town lived a seamstress who passed the bravado when she came to market or went to see tournaments or attended great feasts, for her work was fine and she had sewn even for the Queen herself. This seamstress heard the great boasting and occasional pellwork and thought, “Truly this must be a noble of high rank and great skill if they can afford to talk more and practice less. I can make fine clothes of brocade and silk wool from Flanders. I can sew finest linen for shirts to dress them for battle.” And so the seamstress asked the bravado what clothes were wanted and the bravado replied saying “all of them.” And the seamstress, being of wit as well as beauty, replied saying “that is as well, but they must be paid for”. “Of course” replied the bravado and brought out a great purse and said “there will be more once I have finished the next tournament”  And the seamstress took the purse and began sewing and soon the fine clothes were brought and were received with great joy.