Hands-on seminars on embroidery and needlework featuring traditional Scandinavian designs. Presented by the Royal School of Needlework (England) at the Hotel Pattee in Perry Iowa. For more information, please go to www.hotel Pattee.com (information is sparse right now, but more information will be available closer to the lecture date). The hotel can also be contacted directly at 888-424-4268

The Shire of Dark River has a Yahoo Groups list on the Internet at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shireofdarkriver. Anyone interested can sign up and get announcements and reminders. You will be in charge of keeping your own account information correct so you will always be assured of receiving any important shire related information.
If anyone has anything they would like included or corrected in the future copies of this newsletter please let me know. Any suggestions are welcome. If any officers would like a "standing" message (such as this one) to run please send it to me via email and I will include it in future copies. Please note if I deem that a standing message is not valid anymore, for example dates that have past, I will remove them. Please take the time to keep your messages current. As I have said in the past if you have any articles columns or anything else that might be of interest I will put it in the Runes, I am not a picky editor.
Yours in service,
Gunther Todmacher

Those in need of Names or Devices please see me. Get the forms and instruction sheets before working on your Name or Device, then follow the forms and instructions in drafting something. Get this draft to me for a two or three-week review and I'll get back to you with suggestions for a final submission to me, which I will complete and copy for sending up the line. Stay somewhat flexible on your Name and Device until you finalize it for submission. This will give you the best chance for approval on the first try.
Also, please drop me a note regarding the particulars whenever you receive an Award. I need to maintain records on all awards. Information should include the following: Type of Award, Recipients Name (as listed on scroll), Reason for Award (as listed on scroll) and Date of Presentation (as listed on scroll).
Lord Edar

By Mellilah al-Zarqa (aka Lady Melisande D'Eyncourt)
Below are some new books at the Davenport Public Library, that may interest the good members of this Shire. This article is not meant to be reviews of these books (I have not read them) but merely an attempt to draw attention to resources that some may not have known were out there. You can find these books at the downtown branch of the Davenport Public Library, or you can call your home library and ask to have these books interlibrary loaned to your own hometown branch for easy pickup!

Tapestry in the Renaissance - Art & Magnificence by Thomas P. Campbell Published by Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY and Yale Univ. Press, New Haven & London ISBN 1-58839-021-7 (hardback) or 1-58839-022-5 (paperback)
Published in conjunction with the exhibition of the same title at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from March 12-June 19, 2002, the 594 pages are full of history and research of Renaissance tapestries, including numerous photos and illustrations. What fascinated me most were the endpapers… the front endpapers show the front of a tapestry, while the back endpapers show the back of a tapestry with all the messy threads. The book appears to cover the period of late 14th Century through 16th Century. Currently this book is shelved on the new shelf, Dewey label 746.39 Cam

Monsters & Grotesques in Medieval Manuscripts by Alixe Bovey Published by University of Toronto Press ISBN 0-8020-8512-1 (paperback) 64 pgs
Discusses the origins of grotesques in medieval illumination and describes the rich symbolism of monsters such as griffins, satyrs, dragons, demons, unicorns, serpents and more. Explores their expression in medieval thought, religion, morality and humor. On the new shelf at the Davenport Library, 704.947 Bov

By the Sword - A History of Gladiators, Musketeers, Samurai, Swashbucklers and Olympic Champions by Richard Cohen Published by Random House, NY ISBN 0-375-50417-6 (hardback) 519 pgs
A history of swordfighting with such topics as: How it began, the Sword Master, The Great Sword Makers, Honor, Swashbuckling, and more. 796.8609 Coh at the Davenport Library, new book browsing area

Gutenberg - How One Man Remade the World with Words by John Man Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc ISBN 0-471-21823-5 (hardback) 312 pgs
Explores the history of Johann Gutenberg and his movable type and printing press, and how it changed the nature of information dissemination. Find it on the new shelf at the Davenport Library, 686.2 Man

The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek by Barry Cunliffe Published by Walker and Company, NY ISBN 0-8027-1393-9 (hardback?) 195 pgs
Around 330 BC, Pytheas left the greek colony of Massalia (now Marseille) to explore the fabled lands of Northern Europe. Considered the first literate man to visit the British Isles & the coasts of France and Denmark, and evidence that he traveled on to Iceland or farther. This may be pre-SCA period, but may be of interest to those studying very early period and the influences of the early cultures on each other. This book can be found in the new browsing area at DPL, 910.45 Cun