Greetings, good gentles!

Welcome to the abode of Kseniia, called Smol'nianina (of Smolensk), who in April of 1998 found herself in the Shire of Mountain Freehold, in the East Kingdom of the Knowne World. My arrival there was accidental. Early one morning I woke, and perceiving the weather to be fine, I greeted my mother and left to gather mushrooms in the green birch forest on the banks of the Dneipr River. Though I had many times been to that very spot, I somehow got turned about, and soon I found myself in an unknown part of the forest.

How long I wandered, I know not, but eventually I stumbled upon the good Shire and the good folk therein welcomed me with bread and salt into their Society. Though I miss my mother and girlfriends, I find that I have no true desire to return home. In any case, I soon would have been sent away from my mother to marry. I would be made to live with strangers, in a strange village, where the folk might not have been so kind.

Eventually, in spite of the entreaties of my new friends in Mountain Freehold, I was inspired to explore a new kingdom, the dread Midrealm, both the annual enemy and eternal friend of the East. I made my abode in the Canton of Vonspring, where kind folks immediately welcomed me with open arms.

After a time, wanderlust again rose up in my heart, and I made my way west. I now reside in the Kingdom of An Tir in the fair Barony of Three Mountains. I spend a good amount of my time with an "anachro-syndalistic autonomous collective", known hereabouts as Ulfredsheim.

In the midst of my travels I spent some time with a kind-hearted Russian boyar, his valiant soldiers and the gentle womenfolk of Nasledie Predkov. Be forewarned, this site is in the language of that strange place, that is to say, Russian. However a picture, they say, is worth a thousand words, and the photogallery is worth that many times over. The links are arranged by year; I myself was there from 2000-2001.

The Society for Creative Anachronism is a group dedicated to the re-creation of the Middle Ages, as they should have been.  Members attend tournaments and feasts, where they adopt medieval personas, dress in medieval garb, and bash each other with medieval weapons.  They also spend a great deal of time researching any and all aspects of medieval life, from armor to embroidery. The Society is dedicated to chivalry and honor in all things.

My interests in the SCA are diverse and many. Most of my time has been taken up with researching and making authentic Russian garb. My book-of-books is from the series "Arkheologia," and is titled Drevniaia Rus'. Byt i kultura. (Ancient Rus. Everyday Life and Culture.) About half the book consists of line drawings of artifacts taken from grave sites dated back to pre-Mongol times, i.e. pre-1450 or so. The other half is text, in Russian, describing the artifacts, their manufacture, their use, and methods of reconstruction. For anyone looking to create a relatively early-period Russian persona, this book is a must-have. It is available at the Victor Kamkin bookstore (a fantastic research for books in Russian, and they are very helpful).

I am also interested in archery and combat archery - I have the materials to begin fletching my own arrows, but I haven't yet had time to learn how. Some of the fighters in our group have been talking about organizing a group of scouts for wars, and that sounds like fun too. Right now, though, I'm just waiting for the warm weather to return so that I can go out and shoot.

My other interests include music - especially Russian folk songs - spinning, dying, embroidery, etc., etc., etc.... My latest passion is tablet weaving, and I've just found a wonderful merchant who sells wooden cards: White Wolf and the Phoenix

   An Anachronist's Encyclopedia  -  A huge list of SCA-related links, by subject

  ArtCut  -  Russian folk art and costume

  Slavic Interest Group  -  Includes instructions on subscribing to an email discussion list

  Russian History  -  Articles on various aspects of Russian history 

  Clan Blue Feather  -  The SCA's gay/lesbian group, which encourages and facilitates research on homosexuality in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

  The Dialogue of Chivalry  -  A "must-read" for the chivalrous

  Russian Personal Names  -  A list of thousands of Russian names with dates, references, and a section on the grammar of Russian names

Example: My name

Kseniia (f) -- "hospitable."
Kseniia, wife of Prince Vsevolodovich. 1279. [Ste 307]
Vars: Aksiniia. 1356. [Lev 25]
Ks'n'ia. 13th-14th Century. [Art VII 16; #411]
Okseniia. 1356. [Lev 25]
Oksen'ia (Oksen'ia Grishina doch'). 15th Century. [Gra 260]
Oksin'ia (daughter of Prince Georgii). 1285. [Lav 483]
Met Vars: Oksin'in [from Oksin'ia] (Oksin'in Rodivon Oksin'in, peasant). 1495. [Tup 24]

Smol'nianin (byn) -- "inhabitant of Smolensk."
Ivan Smol'nianin. 1266-91. [Gra 317]
Vars: Somolianin (Petr Somolianin Prokosha). 14th Century. [Art VI 30; #343]

  The Victor Kamkin Bookstore - Kamkin claims to have over 40,000 titles in Russian in stock, plus a large collection of Russian videos. Their prices are reasonable, and delivery charges minimal.

If you know of any good SCA links to add, let me know.

This page Copyright © 1997 by Christine