In Honor of Their Highnesses, please do join us for a display of your Finest Arts and Sciences!
The competitions will follow the theme of the event, which focuses the lens a bit more narrowly on 13th-century Toledo.
Documentation will be required for all of the following competitions, and for those who do not wish to compete, there will also be an open display where anyone may show their art.
There will be dancing, and a Bardic Circle hosted by our Royal Bard Anubh de Mona for our performing artists.
Schedule:
- 9 am – Displays and competitions will be open for entries
- 2 pm – Afternoon bardic
- 3 pm – Judging closes
- 3.30 pm – Entries picked up
Competitions:
Medieval Toledo
Medieval Toledo was a cosmopolitan city, with a mixture of cultural influences from the Moors, Sephardic Jews, and Christians who inhabited the city.
To celebrate this, there will be a general open competition, with a prize given for the best display of mixed cultural influences. This can be a blend of any two or more cultures that interacted in the Middle Ages; it is not limited to blended Spanish influence. Any art or science form is encouraged to enter.
Spanish Delight
Spain as a whole was known for its sweets in the Middle Ages, thanks to the proliferation of sugar cane on the lower peninsula. In particular, Toledo is famous for Marzipan. As such, we will have a medieval sweets competition, with bonus points awarded for the use of marzipan.
Spanish Steel
Spain was also renowned as a source of steel, and Spanish swords were highly sought after. To emphasize this, there will be two competitions.
The first one, as part of the general competition mentioned above, there will be a prize given for the best use of swords in your piece.
The second one, there will be a competition for our smiths – best forged blade! This can be a piece you have entered into other competitions previously.
Scribal competition
For our scribes, bring your art supplies, as there will be a battle scribal to supply our new monarch with scroll blanks.
Scribes will have 4 hours to craft a scroll blank from beginning to end. Extra points will be awarded for including the themes of cosmopolitanism, mixed cultural influence, astrology, or swords.
Spanish Poem
Lastly, as far as competitions go, there will be a poetry competition to honor Spain’s Epic Poem, “The Poem of the Cid”.
The titular character Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, known as El Cid, featured in the conquest of Toledo, and was a celebrated hero throughout Spain. Therefore, we ask you to bring us poetry of heroes – both fictional and real.
Who is your hero? Who is the ideal against which you measure yourself, as Spanish knights measured against El Cid? Any period poetry form is accepted.
Cultura Atlantia
You can also participate in Cultura Atlantia!!!
We are actively seeking judges for all of my competitions, so please contact the Arts and Science coordinator, Lady Meriorie Matheson, at Meriorie.matheson@gmail.com.
Classes
We are also seeking teachers to host classes at the event. If you’re interested, please reach out to Arts and Science coordinator, Lady Meriorie Matheson at Meriorie.matheson@gmail.com. Classes about Spanish, Christian, Moorish, and Sephardic Cultures are heartily recommended, as well as any classes featuring the themes of the event or Cultura.
Classes scheduled:
- TBA – “Crime and Punishment in 16th Century Seville” taught by Lady Elvira de Luz.
Afternoon Bardic
Please consider bringing your “Songs of Belonging” to an afternoon bardic at Coronation next weekend. Kingdom anthems are welcome, of course, but a kingdom comprises many smaller parts- geographic regions like baronies, shires, cantons, as well as households and interest groups. To celebrate the diversity of our kingdom and society, please share the performance pieces that build community within your group.
Anubh de Mona, Royal Bard