Calontir Legends 8 - His Grace William of Vatavia
In AS XII, Humpk d'Bohan, later called William of Vatavia joined the SCA in the Barony of the Sun, Atenveldt. It would not be long before he would be called to move eastward into the Great Western Steppes of the Middle. There, he would start the Shire of Vatavia. Humpk brought the influence of Western Atenveldt with him to lands that would one day become Calontir. Humpk quickly began to earn to renown as a heavy weapons fighter. He was among the first members of the Order-Fyrd, recognized on July 29 AS XIII at the only Calontir Court held by the Witan. In those days, Calontir awards carried no rank in the SCA, so although Humpk was now a Fyrdman of Calontir, he held no formal rank in the Society. This would change a few months later. For his service to the Region of Calontir and to the Shire of Vatavia, Humpk d'Bohan was awarded arms by King Nathan and Kristen of the Middle Kingdom on April 7 AS XIV.
Of Calontir's earliest fighters, Humpk's prowess was well-known. None were surprised when Warlord Brummbar made him the fourth Huscarl or the Iren-Hirth on July 12, AS XV. In additional to his skill on the battlefield, Humpk was also renowned for his leatherwork. In recognition of this skill, Warlord Chepe granted Humpk the Order of the Silver Hammer on September 27, AX SVI. On that same day, Humpk won the CalonTourney and was invested as Champion of Calontir, heir to the Warlord.
When Brummbar's term as Warlord ended on April 25, AS XV, Humpk took up the Warlord's circlet. During his time as Warlord, he worked diligently on preparing Calontir to become a Principality. Also, Humpk was committed to growing the Shire of Vatavia. On June 13 AS XVI, his efforts were rewarded. Vatavia was promoted to Barony status, and Humpk would be invested as the Founding Baron of Vatavia. As Baron and Warlord, Humpk led Calontir through the transition from Region to Principality. On September XXVI, AS XVI, Warlord Humpk hosted the first Coronet Tourney in the Barony of Forgotten Sea. On that day, he held is his final Court as Warlord, the last Court of the Region of Calontir. When Humpk removed the Warlord's circlet from his brow, Sir Ternon de Caer Liant was invested as the first Prince of Calontir.
It would not be long before Humpk would sit the Falcon Throne again. On November 14, AS XVI, Humpk won Calontir's second Coronet Tournament carrying the favor of Mammara Leona of Egypt. The Shire of Standing Stones hosted Humpk and Mammara's investiture as Prince and Princess of Calontir on March 27 AS XVI.
It was no secret that Prince Humpk yearned for the day that Calontir would be a Kingdom, independent of the Midrealm. To that end, Prince Humpk and Princess Mammara worked tirelessly with the Witan and Principality Seneschal, Lady Alarba, to create a set of Principality Laws that would be acceptable to Crown and Curia Regis of the Middle Kingdom. The idea was to create set of Principality Law that reflected the ideals and goals of Calontir and could be easily transitioned into Kingdom Law against the day the Calontir would be a Kingdom. The process was fraught with frustration. The Middle Kingdom authorities wanted the Principality Law to reflect the laws of the Middle Kingdom. The process would not be complete when Humpk and Mammara's reign ended on October 12, XVII. On that day, Humpk and Mammara turned the reigns of the Principality over to Brummbar and Valmai and received the coronets of a Viscount and Viscountess.
Humpk and Mammara returned to their Barony of Vatavia and resumed their duties as the Coronet there. However, barely a month had passed before Humpk won the fourth Calontir Coronet Tourney and was again the Tanist of Calontir. He and Mammara were invested with the circlets of the Tanists on November 13, AS XVII. Humpk and Mammara's second investiture as Prince and Princess was a moment that both began a Calontir tradition and furthered the divide between Calontir and its parent Kingdom. Humpk had begun his journey in the SCA in the Kingdom of Atenveldt. There, it was the custom that a new Crown would place the Crown on their own brow at Coronation. Humpk received a special dispensation from the King Corin and Queen Myfanwy to conduct his investiture in manner of an Atenveldt coronation. So, when Prince Brummbar and Princess Valmai concluded their last Court, they removed their coronets and placed them on the thrones, awaiting the heirs. Humpk approached the thrones and crowned himself Prince of Calontir, then brought forth Mammara and placed the Coronet on her brow. Midrealm tradition held that there should be an unbroken line of sovereignty shown when each King and Queen would crown their heirs. Humpk felt that the custom was not period, because a medieval king's reign ended with his death, and therefore, he could not crown his successor. Many in the Middle Kingdom were offended that Humpk and Mammara had broken with custom and crowned themselves. The custom of Middle Kings crowning their heirs stretched back to King Cariadoc of the Bow, the first Middle King. Humpk, and by extension, Calontir, wanted to form their own customs. Calontir was pushing to become a Kingdom in its own right at this time. Many people in the Middle Kingdom couldn't understand why Calontir wanted to split away. In their eyes, the Middle Kingdom was a great and wonderful place, with a rich and vibrant culture. Calontir, on the other hand, felt that they rarely got support from their parent Kingdom and few from the Midrealm at large attended events in Calontir. The folk of Calontir felt that they were already isolated and that becoming a Kingdom would let them develop their own rich culture.
It was during the reign of Prince Humpk and Princess Mammara that word came down that Calontir would soon become a Kingdom. When Humpk and Mammara stepped down November 5, AS SVII, plans were underway for Calontir's pending change of status. Prince Humpk and Princess Mammara turned the planning for the first Crown Tournament over to their heirs, Prince Cire and Princess Elisabeth, and once again returned to their Baronial lands in Vatavia. For his work as Baron of Vatavia and for his service to Principality, one of the first acts of Prince Cire and Princess Elisabeth was to grant Humpk Companionship within the Order of the Cross of Calontir, the thirteenth person so honored.
For many years, Humpk had been struggling with the Society College of Heralds to register his name and device. This led Humpk D’Bohan to officially change his name to William of Vatavia. As Baron of Vatavia, William hosted Calontir's third Crown Tournament on October 27, AS XIX. This would turn out to be a great day. King Shadan and Queen Erzebet bestowed the accolade of Knighthood on Viscount William. Not only was he now Sir William, he won the tournament and became Prince of Calontir, heir to the Calontir throne. On March 30 AS XIX, the Shire of Bois D'Arc hosted the Coronation of King William and Queen Mammara.
Although this was their fourth time on the Falcon Throne (once as Warlord and Consort and twice as Prince and Princess before now), this time they ruled a Kingdom. As King and Queen, they could grant all levels of awards, and the former Region and Principality awards now carried rank in the SCA. As Crown, William and Mammara could elevate members of Their populace to Peerage Orders. Among those so recognized were Andrew Lion of Wolvenwood (who wrote Hotspur and several other songs), Aesgirr Gunarsson (future Calontir King), and Thomas du Chateau Noir (founding Baron of Lonely Tower) as Knights. Stephen Ironhand (founding Baron of Three Rivers) and Alarba Bronwen Caradoc (Principality Seneschal) were elevated to the Order of Pelican by King William and Queen Mammara. And Trevarr of Steelholm and Matilda of Tay became Laurels during this reign. Also of note, Jenna of Southwind Hall (future co-founder of the Calontir Soup Kitchen and Colonel of the Fourth Company of the Calontir Army) received her award of arms from King William and Queen Mammara during this reign. When King William stepped down and became Count William on August 31, AS XX, he returned to his duties as Baron of Vatavia once again.
By now, William was a Territorial Baron, Count, Viscount, and Knight. His leatherwork was already well known, and the Order of the Laurel recommended to King Aesgirr and Queen Miriam bestowed upon William the Order of the Laurel on July 5, AS XXI. On November 8, AS XXI, Count William would again carry Mammara's favor onto the Crown Tournament field and emerge victorious. William’s second reign as King began on March 14 AS XXI. In May of AS XXII, Calontir held the first Lilies War. This began one of Calontir's proudest traditions and Liles War would grow from a weekend event to weeklong war offering fighting scenarios, diverse arts and sciences classes, archery shoots, and light weapons. When Williams reign ended on September 19, AS XXII, King Valens created him Duke, the first ever in Calontir. In Calontir's current culture, where at least one duke or duchess can be found at any given event, it may be hard to understand how important it was to the populace of Calontir to see our first native duke and duchess. For two years, William and Mammara were the only people of duchy rank in Calontir.
In the time since his second reign, Duke William has periods of lesser activity and periods when he was more active. Many elements of Calontir culture come directly from Duke William. The custom of Calontir Royalty crowning themselves is one example of how Duke William influenced Calontir during its formative years. On September 9, AS XLIV, King Martino III and Queen Ariel III recognized Duke William's accomplishments and impact on the Kingdom of Calontir and augmented his arms. For his early leadership and influence on Calontir customs and traditions, Duke William is a legend of Calontir!
Addendum by Brocke Hanke:
"Duke William's name thing was a bit more complicated, and frustrating for William, than you have here. For a while, he tried to register the name "Humpk de Bohunk." Possibly some other connector than "de." The College of Heralds, at the time, was VERY stuffy, led by a man who - I am serious - thought that, if SCA heraldry was as sententious as possible, the British College of Heralds would recognize SCA arms and agree to not conflict with them. Really. He thought this. The British heralds, of course, just sort of stared at him. Well, it turns out that "bohunk" is a slang term for Czech, and not one with the best connotations. The College objected to this. They said it was insulting to Czechs. William replied that he WAS of Czech descent, and ought to be allowed to insult himself if he wanted to. I contributed my bit to this; I have a plate with a rendering of "Humphrey du Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex." Humphrey died in 1322, so he's certainly Period. "William of Vatavia" is what the College of Heralds calls someone if they haven't gotten a name registered yet. It's your mundane first name, followed by "of", followed by the name of the group you reside in. William took that name when he decided that fighting the College wasn't fun any more.
The fight over his arms was eerily similar. His first device had some combination of a rose, a sword, and a skull. They rejected that for conflict with an unspecified Grateful Dead album cover. (They almost certainly meant the cover of "American Beauty.") William replied that he was a Deadhead, and he had a complete collection of Grateful Dead albums, and he wanted to know which one they objected to, since he didn't see any that would conflict. He was right about that, of course (when Duke William wants to conduct research, the subject is aware that it has been researched). So they tried to tell him the it conflicted with the ATTRIBUTED arms of the Virgin Mary! (Which it did not.) I don't know how it all came out, but William was always in the right on these disputes.
And yes, the Sententious dominance of the SCA College eventually went away, although it took a very serious revolt by a large number of heralds before the Sententious Gang finally gave it up. One of Calontir's own - Master Martin Broeker - was one of the heavy hitters for the revolution there."
Notes by Mike Jackson:
Count William also stretched the acceptable envelope when he entered crown in his bid to be the first "duke" of Calontir. There was a informal agreement passed around at various post revels that Calontir did not want to recreate the issues we had had with a powerful clic of dukes that influenced kingdom politics, as had been the case with the Middle Kingdom. It was assumed you would win crown, get your county, and go stand in the corner to give others a chance at the throne. In surrounding kingdoms "dukes" had certain formal or informal powers and no one knew what their role would be in a future Calontir. To a lesser extent I ran into some of this when I fought to be king for the third time. The finals of that crown tournament came down to me and Shadan, who was also already a duke, so the Kingdom couldn't avoid a three time winner or as some of my friends like to phrase it, "once a count, twice a duke, third time a a&$473."
Further information from Sir Lars:
There is a further Calontir custom we owe to Duke William. In the early days of the Midrealm, A.S. VIII or so, there was a lot of foolishness by various man/children about sharp steel weapons. This lead to two rules. First, whenever you took a blade from its scabbard you had to shout, "CLEAR," so that everyone in a twenty foot radius was aware of the danger. Second, only the Knights were permitted to wear steel in the presence of Their Majesties. This often lead to long disarming schticks when overly-armed man/children were called into Court. In Calontir, this second rule was continued, and then discontinued, at the whim of each Monarch in turn. William ended all of that with the simple statement, "I have no reason to fear my populace." No Calontir Monarch since has felt inclined to assert the opposite and thus our Courts go by much more quickly because the weaponry doesn't matter. -- Sir Lars, who was there. 🙂
p.s. A third rule in the Midrealm put an end to the practice of "blood brother" ceremonies which had sent far too many over-eager bleeders to the Emergency Rooms of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan.