- Goutte de Sang June 21 AS 38 / 2003
- Evergreen (Summits) June 21 AS 38 / 2003
- Grail of the Summits - Service (Summits) Oct 7 AS 37 / 2002
- Evergreen (Summits) Dec 8 AS 36 / 2001
- Award of Arms Mar 17 AS 35 / 2001
- An Tir OP Rank 1465
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My name is Mauera Cethin, Maura actually, but the Spanish monk who was my tutor had difficulty with the spelling, pronunciation and nature of my name.
I was born in 1533 on the summer solstice, the same years as England 's Queen Elizabeth. I lived the in the hills west of Brecon in Cymru (You may call it Wales ) until my 15 th year. My father's people have lived there since the time of our Lord Jesus Christ, being descendants of the Galatians of whom Paul the apostle wrote. My mother's people had fled the Black Death Norway in 1349 and settled in Brecon where she met my father. In a world where arranged marriages were expected, theirs was a love match.
My fifteenth year, my parents arranged for me to marry the oldest son of an Englishman who had large landholdings in the valley were there is good land and pasture. Since the last rebellion had ended in 1409, our people had few rights given by the Britons.
My father sought to provide for me and better our family position by attaching me to a wealthy English family. I kept my father's surname- really a description of him- Cethin meaning dark and swarthy in Cymru- since he had no sons, in hopes of raising up sons in my father's name. Of course, my oldest son would have taken his father's surname, as the heir.
Alas, by sixteen years of age, I was a widow, my husband killed in an accident at the woolen mill. England 's laws do not allow women to inherit, so all my husband's lands and income fell to his younger brother.
I was welcome, by tradition to stay and remain the Lady of the keep until my brother-in-law married but I had too much pride to stay as a poor relation. Instead, I went home to my family for a while. But there I was also a burden.
In 1560 I was sent to Elizabeth 's court, having spent the years since my husband's death bouncing between my two family homes. As a Protestant, I avoided Mary's court and Edward was too ill to need extra female entourage. But now, Elizabeth sits the throne, a true Cymry and a Protestant.
Sometimes I yearn for the freedom of my mountain home. There our little Moorish maid would sew me loose fitting breaches to wear under my skirts and I had more freedom of movement. The fashion in the mountains lags almost 100 years behind the fashion in Elizabeth 's court, but it is much more unfettered. My brother's (In-law) house is slightly behind the court's fashion as well but not nearly so much as the mountains. This difference allows me to wear many different styles, depending upon where I am calling home.
The unity of 1536 sits heavy in the hearts of the Cymry, even with a sister on the throne. We do not wish for more strife, but, oh, how we wish to be free. The English give few rights to their women, but the Cymry have always granted women more worth. They are allowed to inherit and own property by our own laws but we cannot be governed by our laws since the unity. How strange it is to believe one thing and be governed by another principle.
As my people struggle with these ideas, I must find who I am- a woman of two nations united, perilously, by one queen; a widow before I was really a wife; and a sister with no home of my own. My brother (in-law) gives me an allowance to keep me properly in court, since my husband did not provide for me in case of his untimely death. Until I remarry, I shall always be a burden to him. I must seek a husband from Elizabeth 's court so I do not exhaust his generosity.
Elizabeth has sent me to Naples! Perhaps, Robert’s attention to me was too much. But she has sent me with a task to do. I am to be her eyes and ears in this foreign court. I have quietly begun to study the Italian arte of defense. It is not proper for a woman to do so but I must be able to defend myself should my true occupation be uncovered. There appears to be much unrest here amongst the lower class. |
Kristin works at the College of Education at Oregon State University where she is also a student working on her Masters Degree in Education. When her degree is complete she will be looking for university or college teaching positions which will allow her to teach web-based courses in education or technology.
She enjoys her position as the Baronial Rapier Marshal and the company of her SCA friends but she is equally comfortable at home, in Junction City, with her four cats and a good book or an interesting project. School is not currently leaving her much time to indulge either her love of the SCA or her personal interests but she is looking forward to expanding her horizons in both ways when she completes her degree in 2007. |
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