St. EggBerts Feast & GateKeeper Tournament

Hosted by

The Shire of Myrtle Holt (Josephine County, OR )

Event Summary

Event Main Contact (Event Steward): Jennet MacLachlan of Loch Fyne
Date: October 9 , 2010
Site opens at: 12:00 AM on October 9th 2010
Site closes at: 12:00 AM

Event site:
Rogue River Community Center
132 Broadway Rogue River, OR 97537

Come help us to honor Myrtleholt’s patron saint, St. Eggbert.

The Story of St. Eggbert of the
chickens:
Eggbert was born, the third son of a
fowler at Hennford, England in the year 402 AD.  The
local priest taught him letters when he was seven. He bacame
a wandering monk preaching to any listener.  He used a
hens egg to explain the Trinity and while happily dining on
roasted fowl said:  “if thy right wing offend thee then
then pluck it off.”  Eggburt was a pious but odd man
often sleeping in hen houses.  One night, fierce vikings
raided the small hold.  Eggbert, half asleep in the coop
was beaten to death by a huge Dane wielding a pair of
pilfered cocks. 

The Shire of Myrtleholt celebrates St. Eggbert’s Feast is
because many years ago the Shire was given a mystical
sign.  There had been a feast wherein all meats were
poultry.  After this feast shire members exhibited red
itchy rashes, fevers and swelling of the bodies – all
indicative of the Pox of Henne.  Superstitious
mutterings causes one Lady to even change her name from “de
Poullet” to “de Faucon”.  The plague caused people to
look to heaven for help.  A story was circulated about
the man called Eggbert who seemed a Saint.  A large
statue of a rooster was located in a nearby village. 
Plague victims and survivors made pilgrimage there to beseech
Eggbert to end the plague.  They honored him with a
feast in the Fall.  The Plague of Henne was gone.

SAINT EGGBERT’S FEAST:
On this day we will celebrate not only with a feast but also
with classes, competitions, games, and of course our
“Gatekeeper Tourney” (see below).  Our classes will
include period leather shoe making, drop spindle spinning,
while our competition will include codpiece decorating and
the “Game of Goose.”.  We will have games for small and
“big” kids and anyone with a serious desire to have
fun.  The feast will of course honor poultry with
“Chicken on a bed of figs” and the ever popular “Chicken
pies”.  We will have freshly baked breads, salads,
fruits and cheeses, and finally deserts for every
palate.  There will be dishes for vegetarians, vegans,
and of course meat lovers.  So come join those of us
from Myrtleholt and celebrate the beauty of Autumn.

GATEKEEPER TOURNAMENT:
We will be seeking
a champion in the Gatekeeper Tournament.  The Gatekeeper
has been and always will be the Defender of Cavern’s Gate’s
Ruby-eyed Albino Aligator.  For years, many have sought
to slay this rather innocent beast for it’s treasured eyes
and highly prized hide.  In order to ensure that the
champion of this tournament is fully capable of handling the
responsibility he/she will be entrusted with, this year’s
tournament will involve a thorough lifelike test of
skill.  This tournament will be in 2 parts:

Part A:  A traditional tourney of fighting that will
select the top combattants for entry into Part B.  The
details of weapons and style of combat will be revealed on
the day.  Bring all your arms and defenses as any might
be called into action.

Part B:  Protector/Attacker:  The top fighters
from Part A will be paired off.  In each bout one
fighter will serve as protector, the other attacker. 
The protector will be charged with the task of
protecting the Ruby-eyed Albino alligator as it attempts
to capture the towns people’s chickens.  The towns
people will of course be charged with trying to keep their
chickens away from the albino aligator.  The albino
aligator will be allowed to move only around a perimeter
pathway just outside the lists attempting to capture a
chicken from the wiley towns people.  The towns people
will only be allowed to stand outside the aligator
path.   The  protector must protect not only
himself, but also keep the attacker from managing to get
close, and thus capture the aligator.  The attacker may
win by either capturing the aligator or by defeating the
protector.  The protector may win by either defeating
the attacker or by guarding the chicken-bearing aligator
safely back to it’s lair, the cavern.  Each of the six
will be given a chance to be protector and attacker. 
Additional rounds will be fought until a champion, and thus a
new Defender is found.

FEES:
Adult Members 18 and over:
$12.00; 
Children 7-17: $8.00; under 7 free. Family Cap: $25.00;
Day fee with no feast: $5.00;
There will be a $5.00 non-member surcharge for adults.
Make checks payable to SCA, Inc. Shire of Myrtleholt.
Send reservation requests/payments to:  PO Box 580,
Selma, OR 97538