Konstantia Kaloethina

Baroness (Nobilissima) Konstantia Kaloethina

Call me Konstantia. (pronounced Kon-stan-tee-ah) formerly known as Constantia Kaloethes

Persona:

• 6th century Byzantine minor noblewoman
• Born in 526, Daughter of ennobled silk merchants who died in the plague of Justinian (c. 541-542), Konstantia serves as a lady-in-waiting to Aelia Sophia, the wife of Justin, the nephew to the Emperor Justinian. Educated under the reforms of Empress Theodora, Konstantia speaks Greek and Latin. She is a patroness of the arts and a patroness of a small home for orphans and widows. Konstantia was 6 for the Nika Riots (and that's why she's still a Blue to this day), 16 during Justinian's Plague (where she lost both parents to bubonic plague), 25 when the Beirut Earthquake caused a tsunami for the Mediterranean.  Theodora died when Konstantia was 22. Of course, when Justinian keels over in five years, she'll be inconsolable.
• Interests lie in Byzantine life, jewellery, and culture; glass and metalwork; illumination; music; heraldry (vocal and devices, in addition to administrative), paternosters; religious life; iconography.
• [Armorial]

History in the SCA:

Timeline:

• Started in the SCA in 2007-2008
• AoA from Martino III and Ariel III (William the Marshal)
• Torse from Ostwald I and Kaye I (Valor)
• Swan from Ashir and Maerwynn II (Queen's Prize)
• Cross from Donngal III and Catalina (Crown Tournament)
• Herald Extraordinary given under the auspices of Takauji Gold Falcon in the court of Matsu and Elena (Crown Tournament) (Title registered as Greek Fire Herald Extraordinary)
• Order of the Pilgrim's Badge from Baron Soren Atte Raven and Baroness Ruadhan de Wich (Unslung Heroes)
• Mark of Merit from Baron Soren Atte Raven and Baroness Ruadhan de Wich (Tournament of Horse & Falcons)
• Court Barony from Damien II and Issabell II (Crown Tournament)

[Order of Precedence Link]

Groups and Affiliations:

Current Group: Barony of Forgotten Sea, green cord from Vatavia (2011)

Past Groups: Crown Lands (modernly Maryville, MO)

Other Affiliations: Proteged to [Master Gabriel Kjotvason, OP].

Offices

Regional Offices:

• Harrier Herald (Central Reporting Deputy for the kingdom of Calontir) - 2008 - 2010

Kingdom Offices:

• Kestrel Herald (Publications) - 2010 - 2011
• Purple Falcon/Purple Quill Herald (Emergency Deputy to Gold Falcon/Assistant to Gold Falcon) - March 2012 - March 2014
• Gold Falcon Principal Herald - March 2014 - March 2016
• Lanner Herald - September 2018 - current

Items completed under Principal Herald tenure:

• Online reporting form, along with the Lord Giovanni Loredan, and the Calontir Webministry Team
• Revised Heralds' Handbook, along with Mistress Sofya la Rus
• Heraldic Retreat, along with Mistress Dorcas Whitecap
• Submissions Tracking Software, along with Lady Alexandra Vasquez de Granada and The Honourable Lady Brigida von München

Other service: Administrator for the unofficial Calontir Facebook group (since 2007), Nobelese Largesse (founder, organizer, facilitator from 2010 to 2014); facebook group [[1]], 2016 Calontir Heralds' Retreat Organizer, A&S Champion for Barony of Forgotten Sea (2017 - 2018), Barony of Forgotten Sea Roll of Arms Project (2015 - 2019)

Classes Taught

• Easy-Peasy English Country Dance
• Making Byzantine Wire-work Jewellery (blog entries for supplies here and instructions here)
• Prayer beads, paternosters, and Islamic prayer beads
• Budgeting Time and Avoiding Burnout, taught with Mistress Kayleigh Mac Whyte at KWHSS 2013
• Client Care at the Consult Table, KWHSS 2014
• Volunteer Management in the SCA, KWHSS 2014
• Making Weather-Resistant Heraldic Banners, Calontir Heralds' Retreat 2015
• Court Heraldry Masterclass, Calontir Heralds' Retreat 2015
• Dressing the Vestal Virgin, Clothier's Seminar 2016, Calontir
• Teaching Classes in the SCA, taught with The Honourable Lord Cathus the Curious, Bellewode Symposium 2016
• I've Submitted, Now What?: SCA Heraldic Submissions 101, Calontir Heralds' Retreat 2016
• Court Heraldry Roundtable, taught with Mistress Dorcas Whitecap, Lord Saito Takauji, and Tiarna Diarmaid O Briain, Calontir Heralds' Retreat 2016
• Behind the Curtain: What Does Gold Falcon Actually Do?, taught with Mistress Dorcas Whitecap and Lord Saito Takauji, Calontir Heralds' Retreat 2016
• What the Bling?: an overview of awards and regalia, Chieftains 2017, Calontir
• Juzu, or Japanese Prayer Beads, Clothier’s Seminar 2017, Calontir
• So You Want to Be a Principal Herald, taught with Master Ryan Mac Whyte, Master Cormac Mor, and Master Kameshima Zentarou *Umakai, KWHSS 2017, Meridies
• What The Bling?!: regalia, court comportment, and award recommendations, Valor 2018
• A Quick Trip Through Byzantium: a survey of Byzantine Clothing, Clothier's Seminar 2019, Calontir

Other Information

• In case of court, please do not surprise me: social anxieties with court cause panic attacks aftewards.
• My SCA blog is located here: [[2]]
• My scribal scribbles can be found here: [[3]]
• My etsy shop is here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/belletoile
• Documentation for past projects:
  • 6th c Byzantine Bone Box
  • Intaglio
  • Dressing the Vestal Virgin
  • Painting Heraldic Banners
  • Romano-British Glass Headed-Pins
  • Calontir Rabbulas: Illumination
  • A Monk's Life: Paternosters and Appendix
  • Gallo-Roman Necklace and Appendix
  • Byzantine Court Clothing Appendix

Rat out a Friend

12 July 2014 - "TRM Ariel and Martino called me into court. And then proceeded to talk about Nobelese Largesse and the impact it made on the Society. And in thanks, I received largesse of new garb. And it's so very, very, very spiff." https://www.facebook.com/constantiak/posts/10152274209067569