Henry MacQueen Challenge
The "Trail Blazer" challenge, 2007 & 2008
What is the "Trail Blazer" challenge?
To further push back the veils of ignorance that have swept across the pathways
of history during the passage of centuries, I challenge the artisans of the
East to look closely at what arts have not been attempted in our Kingdom
during these Current Middle Ages, research how to introduce them to our hobby
and actually do something that nobody has done in hundreds of years.
Part 1 will be done at Northern Lights. Hopefully, we'll be able to do part 2 at Northern Lights in 2008.
How is it structured?
The "Trail Blazer" challenge is a two part challenge, one for 2007 and one for
2008.
- Part 1 (2007)
- The research needed to isolate a "forgotten" or ignored art form or
engineering discipline. The "deliverable" for this portion of the challenge
will be a short (1 page or so) description of what you plan to do for 2008.
These descriptions will be collected and put on the web to stir up interest and,
hopefully, help shake out information from folks who know something and are willing
to share their knowledge with you.
- Part 2 (2008)
- Actually practicing the art or engineering discipline that you researched
for part 1 and exhibiting your results.
How hard is it to find something new?
That's a very open ended question. Over the last year, I've come up with at
least three things that would interest me and haven't yet been seen in the
Eastern A&S community. If I can come up with three, I'm sure that there must be
many, many more... and finding them is part of the challenge!
Who is it open to?
Everyone!
The only requirement is that everyone who participates does both parts
of the challenge. I must have the project proposals by the end of Feb, 2007.
For the exhibit, all the items must be physically present, and I strongly urge
the artisans to be present, also.
How about group entries?
Group entries are permitted. There are no restrictions nor suggestions on how
to apportion the effort within the group.
How about documentation?
This is a challenge, not a competition. There will be no judge telling you,
"You didn't provide proper documentation!"
I suspect that one of the reasons that some particular art of engineering
discipline has not been re-created will turn out to be lack of good, solid documentation
from history. In this case, educated speculation and the trial and error of
re-creational archeology is welcomed!
That said, if you have done your homework on your items, the documentation
should be easy. We should all try to rise to the same documentation level as
A&S events so that our entries can serve as a vehicle of learning for everyone.
If you need some guidance on what I consider to be adequate documentation, please read my article at
http://thescholarsgarret.com/opusculi/A_and_S_Docs/
What about duplication?
I fully expect some duplication. This is not a bad thing. Multiple thrusts of
investigation into similar fields has the potential to produce a beneficial synergy and, hopefully,
bring new insight into our understanding of history.
That said, I also fully understand how being the first person to break new
ground will make for better bragging rights :-)
Why do this?
If you need to ask, then you need to know that Vikings truly
believe that to get people to talk about your deeds is one way to achieve a sort of immortality. As it says in the Havamal:
Cattle die, Kinsmen die,
You, yourself, shall likewise die,
But word fame never dies
For he who achieves it well.
Cattle die, Kinsmen die,
You, yourself, shall likewise die,
But one thing that shall never die
Are the stories of deeds well done.
How do I win?
You win by trying new art and having fun. Meeting the "Trail Blazer" also gives
you some pretty heavy "bragging rights". Not many people will be able to say
that they've done what you've done!
Current Trail Blazers
Current trail blazers and their projects can be found at
http://www.thescholarsgarret.com/henry_macqueen_challenge/trail_blazers.html
Contact me at henry_mac
thescholarsgarret.com
My SCA name is Henry MacQueen, not Henry McQueen, but I've put this line here to help search engines find me even with the name spelled McQueen.