Fewmets of various kinds

[Journals Production Department]

**WARNING: Far Too Much Opinion Contained Herein!**

First, however, a fact or two about fewmets. They were droppings, all right,
but droppings of ALL animals, not just "dragons". They were one of the
signs hunters looked for and examined (for age and direction, primarily)
when hunting. Who can forget T. H. White's Pellinore, who carried a few
fewmets of the Questing Beast in his helmet and sighed over them
occasionally? Even _The Once and Future King_ drew on period sources now
and then....

HOW MONKS MADE MONEY: Very few of them had to sell anything. Once the
initial land was bought (by the Church) and the monastery or abbey built
(paid for by the Church; I can give you details and references if you so
desire), the monks might receive a) rents from those living on the land,
b) "donations" from those who visited the monastery/abbey church/chapel
regularly in the form of food, land, service (frequently of others -- the
nobility would send their serfs/servants to do whatever was necessary),
livestock, or money, c) a direct stipend from the Church (it is interesting
to note that the Poor Clares deliberately refused this and do to this day,
I believe), d) other income I haven't researched, but I'm sure this is a
far from complete list. Monks were, of course, frequently immersed in
trade -- whatever was grown on the monastery grounds and not put to use
in the monastery was sold, such as grain, wool, wine or spirits of wine
(Benedictine being a notable example), etc. Abbots and higher clergy had
serfs and other lay underlings who swore fealty to them, and they were
part of the monastery's/abbey's income (and sometimes outgo). This is all
changed today, of course; very little land is actually owned by the
Church, and modern monks beg in various ways like the religious of other
cultures.

MAKE-A-WISH: The opinion starts here. I know I said I wouldn't do this,
but I feel rather strongly about it. Last year's Make-a-Wish Tourney was
the first one I had participated in, so I don't know -- maybe the others
have been different. At this one, the child was treated as if he were a
prince, on his birthday, maybe: he was introduced to massive amounts of
people who made a variety of pretty speeches and gave him presents or
tried to entertain him in various ways (my shire gave him a Cathedral game
and the madrigal group I was in sang for him); there was a list and he
got to watch the fighting; he was fed lunch; he was always referred to
as a prince; he was dressed in princely garments.

I watched his reactions. The day was warm and the speeches, while short,
were numerous; he became hot, tired, and irritable. It seemed to me that
he was as ignored as he was paid attention to, and I didn't see any
children provided for him to play with. Many of the "entertainments"
provided for him might have entertained an adult, but were doubtful
entertainment for a child. He looked bored and unhappy by the end of the
day (to me), and although he was polite in his thanks, I think he was most
grateful that the long day was over.

I have asked my shire not to participate in the Make-a-Wish Tourney this
year, and told them why. We agreed not to use shire money to particpate;
those supporting the tourney will go on their own. I think there are many
other charities more worthy of our support (my very, very personal opinion)
and more able to appreciate and enjoy what we have to offer.

FOSTERAGE/KIDS: What a great idea! I hope there's a lot of exploration of
this idea, because it could really take off if properly organized. One
idea I've had for years that no one with kids seems to like (I would really
appreciate opinions as to why, as I don't understand) is for people who
bring children to events to agree to watch all the children for an hour
during the day. It works this way: The parent(s) bring the child(ren) to
the event and at the Troll Booth are asked to sign up on the Child Watch
sheet for the hour one of them would like. During the day, all children
up to a certain age are kept together in a particular pavilion or outside
area for as long as there are parents to watch them. Activities should, I
think, be planned either by the Autocrat or a specially designated Childcrat
and carried out by the watching parent; that way the parents would not be
at a loss for how to keep the children busy. It would be announced at
opening court (or by a herald) how long the Child Watch would be open, and
at the end of that time parents would call for their children. It seems to
me that this plan incorporates parents taking responsibility for their
children, parents having some time where they don't have to take
responsibility for their children, and children staying busy and amused.
This could be incorporated with the fosterage idea: Child Watch would be
for children too young to be of real use; fosterage for children old
enough to be given some responsibility.

MOVIES/TAPES: Does anyone know if _The War Lord_ with Charlton Heston is
available on videotape? Does anyone know if there's ANY way of getting
a stateside-usable tape of Blackadder I and II? Who can I send a tape to
to get footage of Pennsic?

Sister Kate
jp...@sagepub.com

--
Journals Production Department, Sage Publications, Inc.
2111 West Hillcrest Drive, Newbury Park, CA 91320
voice: (805) 499-0721 fax: (805) 499-0871
via Internet: jp...@sagepub.com