The Barony of Three Rivers Presents
Gryphon’s Fest 2024
The 1381 Chronicles
October 18-20
Site opens at 6pm Friday – Site closes 12pm on Sunday
Registration
Adult – $35
Adult, Member Discount – $25
Youth 6-17 – $10
Children under 6 – free
Make checks payable to:
SCA, Inc: Barony of Three Rivers
Event Stewards
Rivka bat Zakarriyyā & Jon Chesey
Contact
Rivka bat Zakarriyyā
Rachaelp1003 @ gmail.com
Jon Chesey
VoijaRisa @ gmail.com
Please put “1381 Chronicles” in the subject line.
History
In 1328, the French King Charles IV died without any male heirs. The nearest male relative happened to be Edward III – the King of England. However, the French were uninterested in being ruled by a foreign King. Because Edward III laid claim to the throne through his mother, Isabella, the French ruled that he was ineligible to inherit the throne as the royal line needed to pass through only male heirs. Edward III rejected this starting the Hundred Years war.
During Edward’s life, he was largely successful, capturing large swaths of land in Aquitaine and establishing a temporary peace treaty. But years later, when Edward suffered a series of strokes and the end of the treaty was drawing nigh, the French saw this as an opportunity to retake their lands.
Edward III’s oldest son, Edward “the Black Prince,” died before him, leaving the nine year old Richard II to take the throne in 1377. This left the country unprepared for the French retaliation and the war quickly turned towards France’s favor as the French had entered a military allegiance with Castile and the combined fleets raided English coasts.
In an attempt to raise a defense and return to the offensive, the English parliament repeatedly taxed the struggling nation. This came to a head in 1381 when the struggling peasantry became outraged that the previous rounds of taxation had apparently vanished without any military victories, leading them to suspect that the wealthy nobles had instead been pocketing the taxes.
Furthermore, plagues in 1346 and 1353 had wiped out around half of England’s population taking a massive toll on the labor pool. Yet, for those that remained, skilled labor was suddenly in high demand and conditions for peasants improved markedly. But the nobles opposed these rising wages and passed laws forcing wages back to the pre-plague levels.
Peasants had also enjoyed additional freedoms in purchasing land and breaking free from the system of serfdom which kept many bonded to the land they worked. But greedy landlords (churches and abbeys not excluded) began seizing the lands they deemed “illegally” purchased.
On May 30, 1381, when the King’s tax enforcers came to Brentwood, in the county of Essex, to attempt to collect on taxes that many refused to pay, tensions came to a head and the peasants revolted…
Site
Peace Tree Farms
100 PeaceTree Lane,
Eolia, MO 63344
Site Rules
- The lake is stocked with fish and we are permitted to fish there on the condition that any fish caught are paid for (to the site owner) for a price per pound.
- Swimming is permitted in the lake.
Parking
- Temporary parking is permitted in all areas of the site.
- Overnight parking is in the northwest corner of the site (see map).
- During peak times (i.e., Friday night and Sunday mornings), the site owners will be providing a tractor shuttle between the overnight lot and the camping area.
Food
The site owners will be vending food from the barn near the entrance of site (moderate walk from the area we will be using) at certain times on Saturday. A menu and price list will be posted here when available.
Nearby restaurants can be found in:
- Eolia (~7 miles – 10 minutes South on HWY 61)
- Bowling Green (~11 miles – 15 minutes North on HWY 61)
- Troy (~27 miles – 30 minutes South on HWY 61)
Lodgings
Nearby hotels are limited:
- Super 8 (15 min – East of site)
1216 E Champ Clark Dr, Bowling Green, MO 63334 - River Edge (25 min – North of site)
201 Mansion St, Louisiana, MO 63353 - The Eagles Nest Inn (30 minutes – North of site)
217 Georgia St, Louisiana, MO 63353 - Luxury Inn and Suites (30 minutes – South of site)
107 King Dr, Troy, MO, 63379 - Troy Inn and Suites (30 minutes – South of site)
14 Frenchman Bluff Rd, Troy, MO, 63379 - The Knights Inn (1 hour – NW of site)
Booneslick Road, 403, 403, New Florence, MO, 63363 - Comfort Inn (50 minutes – just north of St. Louis)
100 Comfort Inn Ct, O’Fallon, MO 63366 - Baymont by Wyndham Warrenton (1 hour – South of site)
425 E Veterans Memorial Pkwy, Warrenton, MO 63383 - Holiday Inn Express in Warrenton (1 hour – South of site)
1008 N Hwy 47 And Interstate 7, Warrenton, MO, 63383
Miscellaneous
- Cell signal is moderate-to-weak for most carriers.
(Site Map coming soon)
General Activities
This year, we’ll be focusing on activities that anyone can participate in!
Upon going through Gate this year, you will be given a card with the identify of an individual involved with the historic 1381 Peasant Revolt. This card will tell you if they were a noble or a rebel as well as what county they were in.
This information will determine what team you’re on for the event, so make sure to pay attention to it!
Raiding the Nobles
Organized by: Alys Knighton
In order to get back at the nobles that the rebels accused of siphoning their taxes, rebels ransacked the homes of the gentry, destroying lease agreements and stealing money and property.
In this activity, rebels will be allowed to enter an encampment of a noble and given one minute to steal a number of items. Their goal will be to walk out with as much value as possible. The value of the items will be determined by the court records that were a result of the revolt and other sources.
(This activity will only be available to attendees on the rebel team.)
Securing the Leases
Organized by: Jamette de la Roche & Caspar Von Gorlitz
One of the main goals of the rebels was to end serfdom, in which people were bonded to the land with unfavorable terms, and could not leave or develop new skills without the permission of the landowner. Thus, rebels burnt the documents outlining the terms of this servitude.
However, copies were regularly kept at the county seat or in other institutions.
In this activity, nobles will be given scraps of their burnt agreements and have to match them to these copies to the back-up ones. But the rebels are coming for those two, so they only have a limited amount of time.
(This activity will only be available to attendees on the nobles team.)
Pseudonyms
Organized by: Daniel of Arden
The rebels often communicated by letters which they knew could be intercepted. Thus, to disguise themselves and the intended recipients, they used pseudonyms which would be evident to the intended audience, but not necessarily to those that might intercept the letters.
In this activity, the two teams will face off with a host who will give each a list of pseudonyms of well-known Calontiri. Each team will attempt to determine who as many as possible are within the time limit.
Poetry Battle
Organized by: Zilia Silvani & Shoshanah bas Nachmann
The 1381 revolt saw a rise in “a small but remarkable cycle of political verses written in rhyming couplets”. These were essentially pithy “letter to the editor” type poems written by the rebels to encourage support for their cause.
However, we will be giving the nobility a chance to respond this time around, and explain their side of things!
John the Miller hath ground small, small, small
The King’s son of heaven shall pay for all,
Beware or be ye woe,
Have enough and say ‘Ho!’
And do well and better, and flee sin,
And seek peace and hold you therein.
Rattan Combat
Martial in Charge: Franco Suarez
Destroying the Records
One way the tax enforcers would know who has paid their taxes, and who hasn’t, is through financial records. So it sure would be a shame if something happened to those records…
In this scenario, the rebels goal will be to destroy the records by placing a “torch” into the building where the records are stored. Once the torch enters the building, a countdown will start. The defenders will then be able to retrieve buckets of water from a nearby well in an effort to put out the fire before it gets out of control. If they can, it results in a victory for the defenders. If the countdown ends and the records are destroyed, it is a victory for the rebels.
Grand Melee
The rebellion eventually squared off, with the rebels vs the King’s forces outside London. The rebellion’s leader, Wat Tyler went to negotiate with the King, but was stabbed by the mayor of London. The rebels were furious, but the 14 year old king rode towards the rebel army and declared he would be their leader, signaling that he would champion their cause. With this royal assurance, the rebels army disbanded…
But that’s no fun. So we’ll all fight to the last man!
Wacky Weapon Tournament
Organized by: Da’ud ibn Ibrahim al-Sisari
Rebels can’t be choosers. Bring your weirdest weapon systems and fight in this tournament where the rule is that you can’t use the same weapon system as your opponent.
Steel Combat
(Information coming soon)
Archery
The archery range will be open from 11:30am to 3:30pm.
There will be 4 shoots from a common line which can be shot in any order at any time the range is open. Each shoot is 2 ends of 6 arrows.
There will be a prize for the highest score.
After you have completed the competition, you may continue to shoot at any target for additional scores.
There will be a second prize for the highest total score over the course of the day.
The shoots:
- Feed the rabble: 20ish yards
- Repel the King: 30ish yards
- Storm the Castle: 40ish
- Stop the Knights: 50ish yards
Welsh archers training (1325, Luttrell Psalter)
Equestrian
9:00 am
Equestrian General riding and game Authorizations
Please have read the Calontir equestrian handbook before your authorization
10:00am
Games Course
Expect some Saito wild and crazy course of equestrian games!
Equestrian games authorization required.
12:00pm
Lunch
Come hang out with equestrian and equines and eat. Likely everyone with throw together for lunch what we all have to share.
1:00pm
Mounted Archery Woods & Field Course
Ride though woods course followed by a long field archery course you can trot or canter your horses in and still have time to shoot. Mounted Archery Authorization required. Will be doing archery authorizations if time allows before. Contact Saito if you need an archery authorization for archery so he can plan.
3:00pm
Jareeds & Wack Bonk Combined Class
Combining thrown padded nerf spears and padded swords! This will be a fun equine desensitization class in prep for mounted combat and jareeds combined. No armor for people required. Eye protection for riders suggested. Eye protection for horses required. Some loaner eye protection, jareeds, and boffers will be available for horses and riders but please bring your own if you have them.
7:00pm (or after Court)
Night Time Dayku
Japanese cross between polo and Jai Alai. This will be played in the dark with light up balls. Bring your light up, or EL wire barding or glowsticks for yourself, your equine and to attach to loaner rackets. Equestrian games authorization required.
Merchants
If you would like to be a merchant at this event, please contact the event stewards.
Elevations
Ayisha Bint Asad – Order of Defense
Put on vigil: 10:00am Saturday
Elevation: Evening Court
Grete Leysen – Laurel
Put on vigil: 9:30am Saturday
Elevation: Evening Court
Melchor Eichmann – Chivalry
Put on vigil: 9:00am Saturday
Elevation: Evening Court
Visvamitra Vimala Yavana
Elevation: Evening Court
Put on vigil: Immediately following Evening Court
FAQ
May I camp in a Caravan/Vardo/Camper in the camping area?
Yes.
May we dig an in ground fire pit?
The site owners have asked that we limit the number of in ground fire pits. Thus, we request that, if you are wanting to dig one, you reach out to the event stewards to coordinate. Additionally, the site has a few above-ground fire pits we are welcome to use.