ON THE COVER: In celebration of Halloween, a group of ogres stalk an unhappy gentleman. By Arden (Paul Butler).

THE FINE PRINT! This is the Ironmonger, a publication of the Shire of Iron Bog of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. It is not a corporate publication of the SCA and does not delineate SCA policies. All articles are printed in good faith. The Ironmonger is available as a download from the Iron Bog web site [http://www.IronBog.EastKingdom.org] or from the Chronicler, Arden of Icomb (mundanely known as Paul Butler), 681 Haddon Ave., Collingswood, NJ 08108. Questions can be directed by mail, e-mailed to Chronicler@IronBog.EastKingdom.org, or phoned to (856) 869-2890. Submissions may be sent to either the above postal or e-mail address. The current subscription rate is $6.00 for 12 monthly issues; the subscription year runs pro-rated from January to December. Make check or money order payable to "SCA, Inc. - Shire of Iron Bog". Except where otherwise stated, all articles in this publication may be reprinted without special permission in newsletters and other publications of branches of the SCA, Inc., subject to the following conditions: The text must be printed in its entirety without additions, deletions, or changes. The author's name and an original publication credit must be printed with the text. You must send a letter to the editor of this newsletter, stating which articles you have used and in which publication the material was reprinted. Anyone interested in finding out more about Shire of Iron Bog should visit our web site [http://www.ironbog.eastkingdom.org], in addition to the web sites of the Society as a whole [http://www.sca.org] and the East Kingdom [http://www.eastkingdom.org]. Unless otherwise stated, all graphics were generated by the Chronicler. Copyright 2004.

IN THIS ISSUE Editor's Greeting by Arden of Icombe Book Reviews by Lady Prudence Ottoman Empire Timeline by Lady Prudence Maze Game by Lord Eldrich Archery Salute by Prudence and Arden Moments of Iron Bog by Lady Siobhan Music- Harper's Air by Arden of Icombe

Editor's Greeting Greetings and Salutations from the Editor! Welcome to the really late edition of the Fall Ironmonger. This was supposed to go out in early November, but life really got in the way, and I apologize to all two fans out there that were disturbed by this. But seriously, the Fall edition is late so a few of the notions (like the Halloween Themed Cover) are a little out of place. But I’ll strive to get the Winter Edition, scheduled for February, out at the start of February. Otherwise, enjoy this pleasent set of entries from our regular submitters, and remember fondly the reddening leaves and 60 degree temperatures (well, the reddening leaves part at least, the 60 degree temperatures are still around it seems). But there will be nothing to publish unless we get submissions! While I can fill this publication with my own ramblings and odd research, I’d prefer that it be more than just the Arden newsletter! So with this in mind, submit for the next issue! Research articles about what you are doing, crafting articles about what you are making, poetry, stories, artwork, songs, whatever strikes your fancy. Stuff should reach me by around October 15th or so for the Fall Issue. I can take any form of electronic or hardcopy submissions. Electronic stuff should be sent to my email address at pbutler@crab.rutgers.edu while hardcopy may be sent to my office at Paul Butler, Rutgers Summer Session, 321 Cooper St., Camden, NJ 08102 (since that’s where my publication stuff is). So far I’ve gotten some pretty nice stuff, but more is welcome and needed! In service, Arden of Icombe Back to Top

BOOK REVIEWS Ottoman Embroidery and Friends - Four Books By Lady Prudence the Curious At the moment there are three Ottoman Embroidery books available In-Print; a wonderful boom to Middle Eastern embroideriers, or so you would think. While the Ottoman empire started in the fourteen century, with its roots in the eleventh century, all of the books start covering the embroidery in the very late sixteenth century. Out of the over four hundred illustrations, there is only thirteen photos between all three books from SCA period. Each book has its own strengths. Ottoman Embroidery by Marianne Ellis has the most SCA era pictures. Flowers of Silk and Gold is the only book with pictures of people wearing clothes and has the best close-ups. Ottoman Embroidery by Roderick Taylor gives the most historical detail, including descriptions on how the embroidery was actually used in day-to-day life. But if you want a book on how to do period Middle Eastern embroidery, Embroideries and Samplers from Islamic Egypt is your best bet. It covers Egyptian needlework until it is conquered by the Ottoman Empire. Of the four books reviewed, this is the only one worth adding to your embroidery book collection. I should note that at Pennsic, I attended a class on Ottoman Garments under false pretenses (not caring at all about the clothing). Joy of joys, the teacher dumped his collection of books before us and I missed most of the lecture pawing through them hoping against hope to find something, anything about the embroidery. Among his hoard was Ipek: The Crescent & The Rose. I have ordered the book and am awaiting its arrival. Once it is read, I will let you know if it fills the void these books left gaping. Ottoman Embroidery. Marianne Ellis and Jennifer Wearden. V&A Publications: London. 2001. Far from the definitive book on Ottoman embroidery, this book is strangely disappointing despite beautiful full color photographs of uncommon embroidery pieces. Drawing exclusively from the Victoria and Albert Museum's collection on this mid-eastern embroidery style, it is limited to showing pieces that have migrated to England. While the Ottoman Empire started in the fourteenth century, the earliest piece shown in the book is from the sixteenth century, the start of the (friendly) English interest in the Turkish domain. The Empire ruled until the twentieth century. Two hundred years of primary interest for a SCAdian, when the style of embroidery was developing, is missing. In addition, the one century from SCA period only has a meager nine illustrations of the 155 vibrant color plates. The photo section takes up a vast majority of the content of the book, devoting a full nine-by-twelve page to nearly every picture. The book opens with a nine-page overview of the history of the Ottoman Empire and the place of embroidery within its borders; a pleasing quick, informative read. It closes with an eight-page chapter on the techniques they used to create the embroidery. Using this chapter and the excellent photographic representations from the previous section, an embroider may be able to recreate a sixteenth century embroidery using pattern darning, THE embroidery form of the Ottoman Empire, if s/he have some experience in the technique to aid in figuring out the fairly confusing how-to diagrams. Applications: Ottoman History. Embroidery technique of pattern darning. Costs: List Price $45.00. Ottoman Embroidery. Roderick Taylor. Interlink Books: New York. 1993. This well-structured book has excellent chapter breakdown: History of the Ottoman Empire, Design & Patterns, Materials (describing ground fabrics and embroidery materials that were used), Techniques (description of stitches, but no instructions on how to do them), Collections (giving a long list of museums which have Ottoman embroidery), and the Embroideries themselves. Anything they embroidered is covered: clothing items (described down to size and construction), home objects (including bedding) and larger embroideries (such as tents). I loved the two pages regarding dyes and the section on prayer rugs, plus an interesting bit of about a page on the textile guilds found within the Empire (weavers, dyers, embroiders, etc.). I found the section on ceremonial textiles, and the ceremonies they were made for, abruptly brief. The major lack of the book is hard dates. At one point early on, the author mentions that there wasn't much change in the embroidery in six hundred years, and then throughout the book, mentions minor changes happening. I ended up having to create a timeline of the Ottoman Empire in order to figure out what happened within SCA period. There are 140 color photographs, not displayed in date order, with each embroidery shown given size, materials, stitch and an approximate date (usually something along the lines of "before 1700"). Only four pictures are close-up enough to see the stitches in the fabric and only two of the pictures definitely come from SCA period. There is a quilt-facing opposite the title page with the description under the copyright information on the back of the title page, very easy to miss. The best picture, for which I would recommend checking out this book thru interlibrary loan to view if you are interested, is of a tent from 1525; this richly decorated tent is a jewel. Applications: Ottoman History. Maybe dyes, Ottoman clothing, guilds. Costs: Checked out thru interlibrary loan. A number of libraries in NJ have the book. Available through Barnes and Nobel for $30 (a sales price). Flowers of Silk and Gold: Four Centuries of Ottoman Embroideries. Sumru Belger Krody. Merrell Publications in association with The Textile Museum: Washington, DC. 2000. This book is a hollow joy for an SCA embroiderer. Lavishly illustrated with over 100 crisp color photographs, it has only two illustrations from SCA period; neither of which is of exceptional note. One is of an embroidery, the other is from the Codex Vindobonensis (dated 1590) showing a miniature of ladies sitting in the Harem. The book was specifically written to chronicle urban Ottoman embroidery from the 17th century to the 20th. Focusing on the Textile Museum Collection in Washington DC, half the book forms a catalogue with fifty-seven extent pieces, each item having a beautiful picture and description including thread count, dimensions, embroidery style and materials involved. The balance of the book is broken into three sections: a brief history of the Ottoman Empire, methods of embroidery production, and designs found in the embroidery. The best parts of the book, from an embroidery standpoint, is the glossary with several illustrations on how to do some of the more obscure stitches, and the chapter on Makers and Methods which has a number of close-ups of embroideries, allowing a viewer to see the individual stitches. The map showing the borders of the Ottoman Empire in the 17th century is worthy of note. Unless you actually need to see how the stitches are formed, this book useless to a SCAdian. If you must view it, check it out through interlibrary loan. Applications: Ottoman History. Embroidery stitches. Costs: Borrowed from Lady Cellach. List Price $45.00. Embroiders and samplers from Islamic Egypt. Marianne Ellis. Ashmolean Museum: Oxford, England. 2001. The collection covered in this book was donated by Percy Newberry to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and contains over 1,000 fragments. Sixty-six full color pictures were taken of the best of the surviving pieces covering the Tulunid (868-905 AD), the Fatamid (969-1171 AD), the Ayyubid (1172-1249 AD)and the Mamluk periods (1250-1517 AD). With each picture comes a description giving the thread count of the fabric for both weft and warp, the material of the fabric and thread, the color and twist of the thread, what the original purpose of the embroidery is suspected to be, the size of the surviving piece, and the date of the item. Most of the dates are guessed based on the design and materials of the embroidery, but some of the pieces have been radiocarbon dated. This book will spoil you on all further extent embroidery books. The only thing missing is the diagram of the stitches, but there are plenty of "how-to" books on the market to cover this lack. The four-page introduction covers how the collection was gathered and a very, very brief historical discussion. The "must-have" aspect of this book is related to the details shared on each extent piece it covers. If you are an embroider, and have the basics for your collection, this book is an excellent next-step for specializations. Most of the embroideries of this book are pattern darning, but there are other counted forms, a few free pieces, some couched items, open work, appliqué and one padded work piece. Applications: Egyptian personas (868 to 1517). Embroidery. Costs: Available on-line new in hardback and softback, be careful to purchase in the format you want. Back to Top

Ottoman Empire Timeline By Lady Prudence the Curious At its height, the Ottoman Empire governed 250,000 square miles and eight million people. It started forming in the thirteenth century, underwent huge expansion in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries reaching the limits of its power and strength, and ended in the twentieth century after three hundred years of slow deconstruction. For six hundred years, it was between Europe and Asia and any trade between these two areas first had to go through the Empire, including much of the Silk Route. Below is a timeline of its expansion and decline. Reign dates of each sultan are bolded. Extremely important events are underlined. When there is more than one spelling of the rulers name, both spellings are provided. 9th and 10th Centuries. Turks are converted to Islam. 1055 The first of the Turkish groups, the Seljuk Turks, take control of Baghdad and create their own kingdom, the Kingdom of Rum. They create principalities within this empire-kingdom as other Turkish groups follow. 1071 Seljuk Turks attack the Byzantine Empire, and defeat them at Manzikert, capturing the Emperor Romanus Digenes. In addition, they capture Jerusalem, upsetting long established trade and pilgrimage routes. 1099 The first Crusade. Jerusalem is recaptured by Godfrey de Bouillion. 1204 The fourth Crusade goes a bad and stops before reaching the holy lands. Instead, they sack Constantinople. The Franks involved in the Crusades then establish themselves in Greece, Aegean, Cyprus and Syria, weakening these lands. 1240 Oghuz Turks are given a principality by the Seljuk Turks in Anatolia. Tulips grow wild in this area, hence the long interest by the Ottomans in Tulips. Togrull was one of the rulers. 1250 Mamluk Turks begin their rule of Egypt 1290-1326 Osman I - the 1st sultan (first independent ruler of his line, the Ottoman Empire is named after him); son of Togrull who ruled under the Seljuk Turks. Born in 1259; died in 1326. 1299 According to Tradition - The Oghuz Turks, under the rule of Osman I, end tributary payments to the Seljuk empire, becoming independent. (This is not actually true; they continued to make payments of some sort until 1335.) 1307 Death of Ala-ud-din Kaikobad, ruler of the Seljuk Turks. The Seljuk Turk empire starts dissolving. 1326 Sultan Osman I and Orhan, his son, capture Bursa from the Seljuk Turks, establishing the first capital. 1326-1359 Orkhan I/Orhan I - the 2nd sultan; son of Osman I. Organizer and administrator of the Empire. By his death, the Empire was a mature govern ment, having its own coinage and could dictate some policy to the Byzantine emperors. 1352 Suleiman (son of Orkhan, the 2nd sultan though he never became sultan in his own right (there is a later Sultan named Suleiman)) captures Çimpse in Gallipoli. This is the first Ottoman conquest in Europe. 1359-1389 Murad I - the 3rd sultan; son of Orkhan I 1361 Sultan Murad I captures Edirne, continuing the surrounding of Constantinople. 1388 Venetians sign treaty for trade privileges. 1389 Battle of Kossovo - Sultan Murad I defeats a coalition of Serbs, Bulgars, Bosnians, Wallachians and Albanians, but is assassinated after the battle. 1389-1402 Bayazid I - the 4th sultan; son of Murad I 1402-1413 Split of Empire between Bayazid's sons in particular, Mohammed who came to rule the Asiatic possessions after defeating Musa, and Suleiman who rule the European territories. 1413-1421 Mohammed I (the Restorer) - the 5th sultan; son of Bayazid. 1413 After Suleiman is defeated and killed, Mohammed I rules with complete sovereignty. Spends most of his reign consolidating power. 1421-1451 Murad II - the 6th sultan 1451-1481 Mohammed II (the Conqueror) - the 7th sultan; son of Murad. Was twenty-one when he became Sultan. 1453 May 29, 1453 - The Fall of Constantinople - The Ottomans capture Constantinople. Because the city had been the center of everything for so long, most people of the area referred to it simply as "the City", or in the Greek of the area "stin Poli". The City was renamed Istanbul and becomes the capital for the growing empire. 1461 Greece is conquered, taken from the Franks of the long-ago crusade. 1479 Treaty of Constantinople. Venetians admit defeat after several wars over a period of fifty years with the Ottomans. They give up several cities and thereafter had to pay an annual tribute to trade in the Black Sea. They continued to fight the Ottomans every chance they got. 1481-1512 Bayazid II - the 8th sultan; son of Mohammed II 1505 Palace Registry of 1505 - The first of three known registries, including textiles, of the Topkapi Palace 1512-1520 Selim I (the Grim) - the 9th sultan; son of Bayazid II; Became Sultan after a civil war with his brothers and forcing his father to abdicate. 1517 Mamluk Empire, which had been ruled by the Mamluk Turks since 1250, is conquered. The captured lands include Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and most of Arabia including the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina. The Ottoman Empire now rule most of the Islamic world. 1520-1566 Suleiman I (the Magnificent, also called the Great) - the 10th sultan; son of Selim I. The Empire is believed to reached its height. 1526 Hungry is conquered. 1529 First attempt to take Vienna. Failed because of bad weather. 1560 Dutch start to cultivate Tulips. 1566 Conquest of Chios, Italy by Sultan Suleiman I. 1566-1574 Selim II (the Sot) - the 11th sultan; son of Suleiman I 1566 Failed to capture Malta. 1570 Palace Registry of 1570 - The second of three known registries, including textiles, of the Topkapi Palace 1571 Battle of Lepanto. Ottoman fleet defeated by combined fleets of Spain, Genoa and Venice. The allied fleets had 208 galleys and the Turks 230 galleys. The Empire had 80 sunk, 110 captured and 40 saved, but they had enough rebuilt within a year that countries were hesitant to fight them again. 1574-1595 Murad III - the 12th sultan; son of Selim II 1578 England sends its first trade mission to Turkey. 1581 The Levant Company is formed in England. Similar in nature to the East India company, only focused on Turkey and the Ottoman Empire. Lasts until 1807. 1585 Expelled from Persia by the Safarid Shahs. 1593 Sultan Murad III sends presents to Queen Elizabeth 1595-1603 Mohamed III - the 13th sultan; son of Murad III End of 16th Century - Estimated 20 to 30 million people within the Ottoman Empire. In comparison, France had 16 million and Spain had 8 million. 1683 Siege of Vienna. Final attempt to take Vienna. Marks end of expansion in Europe. 1697 Ottoman army defeated near Belgrade by Austria. For first time, the Empire must admit defeat and negotiate for peace. (see 1699) 1699 January 26, 1699 - the Treaty of Kalowitz. Croatia, Slovenia, Transylvania and much of Hungry is transferred from the Ottoman Empire to the Holy League (Austria, Poland, Venice and Russia). 1703-1730 Ahmed III - the 23rd sultan - Obsessed with Tulips. His reign became known as Lele Devri ("the tulip era"). 1719-1722 Dwindling power forces the Ottoman Empire to start treating the European powers as equals. Ambassadors are sent to major cities: Vienna in 1719, Paris in 1720 and Moscow in 1722. Bibliography Colier's Encyclopedia. "Osman I (Othman I)", "Osman II", & "Ottoman Empire". Crowell-Collier Publishing Company: Great Britian. 1965. Ellis, Marianne & Jennifer Wearden. Ottoman Embroidery. V&A Publications: London. 2001. Langer, William L. (editor). An Encyclopedia of World History: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern, Chronolgically Arranged. Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston. 1952 copyright. 1960 printing. Taylor, Roderick. Ottoman Embroidery. Interlink Publishing Group: New York. 1993. Back to Top

Tyger Maze by Lord Eldritch Gaiman I wrote a program that generates random mazes, so this could be a regular thing if there is a good response to it. All I have to do is formulate the template file that defines the outside walls, and the program grows the internal maze structure on its own. For this one, the idea was to enter the mouth and exit from the tail (it's a tyger, in case you can't tell). Back to Top

In Honor to the New Iron Bog Archery Champion, Rob Simon! Archer by Lady Prudence The Iron Bog Archery Badge (of ebony and ivory) by Arden of Icombe Back to Top

HISTORIAN'S DIG by lady Siobhan inghean ui Dhonnabhain To the good populace of Iron Bog: We have come a very long way from our beginnings more than twenty years ago. Here are a few anecdotes from way back when. Recognize any names? Lady Siobhan, Iron Bog Historian In October AS XXI (1986): The Wetland Alliance, which Iron Bog was part of, fought well at Pennsic XIV. Jan Janowicz Bogdanski was welcomed to the Shire from NY. Lord Richard of Grimwald planned an EK Musical Presentation for 12th Night. East Kingdom Universities were "newly created" according to Julleran. In March AS XXI (1987): Czar's Birthday was autocratted by Larry and was fought in the mud. We got ten inches of snow. Raskeen got his AoA here and was henceforth known as Lord K-Mart the Discount Barbarian (kidding). Their Majesties Sebastian and Sirillian led everyone in dancing the Troika to "Sebastian's Troika" written especially for him, and they also went into the kitchen to help clean up!!!!!!! Sebastian fixed the dishwasher and Her Majesty cleaned. "You can't expect people to follow you unless you are willing to lead them." The Not Ready for Bardic Circle Singers performed. New members Joyce and Bill Stephenson. Esterhazy, the then chronicler, writes that he typesets the Ironmonger and spends $25-$30 to copy it EACH MONTH. Larry is listed in the officers' list for the first time as BARON Lawrence Thornguard. The proclamation for the Artisan Colony of Revelwood is printed in this month's Ironmonger. In October AS XXII (1987): Jan Bogdanski (now Sir Jan, popularly known as Sir Dude) became Castellan of the Shire. Lady Dorren was MoAS after Julleran. Gail Kreyns (later Isobel Reid of Sterling) became Exchequer (must be really new, she's listed only under mundane name). Baroness Merlynia of Settmour Swamp was EK Chatelaine and began compiling a Domesday Boke, as did Jan (on the computer!) She wanted persona info, heraldry, A&S, fighting, and other interests. At that time Jan led the Cooks' Guild. Jan had recently married, as shown by his mention of making general phone lists after his honeymoon. Gavin and Sedalia were the new prince and princess and Baron Larry was Gavin's squire. Revelwood counted their numbers at thirty. In January AS XXII (1988): In Brigantia's Dec 1987 LoI (Arval Benicoeur) the following were listed: Argento di Rocco, Kiera Lann Haden Names Passed, devices returned. Darcy Wilric, name and device passed. Darius of Hidden River, name passed, device returned. Iron Bog's Herald was created Cattail Pursuivant. Julleran de Mestre's name passed, device returned. Phillip of the Golden Stag's name passed, device returned. Rosamund von Schwys, name and device passed. Torin Ertheshert, name, arms, badge, and household name passed. Passed refers to Brigantia level ONLY. Those boinged got to resubmit for free. In February XXII (1988): We were in the Central Region at this time, since Aethelmearc didn't go kingdom until 1997. Lady Dorren of Ashwell and Lord Morghun Fitzgerald received their Maunches, Phillip of the Golden Stag, Jan Janowicz Bogdanski, and Rosamund von Schwyz received their Awards of Arms. In March XXII (1988): Sir Alanric will be providing a weapon making demonstration at the March A&S meeting. Anyone who has ever been hit by a sword he has made will want to be there to see where he puts the explosives. In May XXV (1990): Event Report Coronation: Horic and Lea were in makeup as old people and talked about the "trials and tribulations" of being an old and tired royal couple. King Horic made a speech reminding everyone why they were there; for fun, education, and recreation, NOT for playing dirty politics and backstabbing. At the end of Their Court, Horic and Lea abdicated in favor of Ronald and Bronwyn. (P.S. from the editor: if you have any memories of Iron Bog you’d like to share, please submit to the Ironmonger! I’m sure people would love to hear them all. Enjoying the past is, after all, what we’re all about!) Back to Top

Harper's Air by Arden of Icombe Originally written for Gaston D’Amberville, aka Don Snow, who was the original founder of the Branslers (for a 12th Night event in Bhakail back in January of 1991). He had just acquired a harp and was learning to play when he passed in 1996 due to complications of multiple diseases, including pneumonia and Hepititis C. He had a natural immune deficient system, and originally wasn’t expected to live past ten. He was 26 when he died, still too young but much farther along than either he or his doctors thought he’d make it. This has been played since in his honor, and in my performance I usually end it adding the 4th into the last chord to give it a slight dissonance, as though it was somehow cut short. Usually done as a harp solo, it can be played with recorders or other winds, and we’ve had fiddles and mandolins do it as well successfully. The simple descending chord progression is fairly easy to play on harp, and thus makes this a pretty good early learning piece, especially for hand motion. Free use granted within the SCA.. To hear a midi of the music, click here. Back to Top