A Timeline of the Officers of Dragon's Laire: Many fine gentles have stepped up to take responsibility for various offices over the past 20-plus years.  Over time new offices have been created and others have become obsolete.  The starting point for this listing was the lists put together in 1995 for the Baronial Petition. Additional listings were added later. Titles were, to the best of our knowledge, current at the time of original listing and  but may reflect  a higher title rather than title held during time in office. We welcome corrections and additional information. Notes on the history and function of the office were taken from the Petition. Additional sources as noted.

Seneschal:   "The seneschals of Dragon's Laire have been the glue that has held the branch together. The regalia of this office include a well used oil can, spade and cloak." - petition for elevation to Baronial Status

Herald: "The Herald traditionally provides advice on designing one's device, assists in submitting the necessary paperwork and often provides voice announcements at meetings and tourneys. We usually have heraldry meetings once a month for consulting. Over the past few years there have been a number of training sessions in field heraldry.  Over the years Dragon's Laire's heralds have also been active in helping with field heraldry at Kingdom events." -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status  For more on Heraldry see our Heraldry Hall

Herald Richard at 12th Night, Photo provided by Gwen the Potter

Former Golden Dragon Pursuivant, Richard Dragun takes his turn serving at Twelfth Night Court

Personal Device of Herald Ian MacKynnes  Blazon: Per fess checky azure and argent, and azure, in chief two tridents in saltire Or, in base a dolphin naiant argent.

Book Herald: In 2001, with sufficient interest and workload the office of Herald was split into two entities Voice Heraldry, concerned mainly with court and field heraldry  and Book Heraldry, concerned mainly with device research and submission. "Either side can be 'Golden Dragon Pursuivant', but it is generally recognized that Voice is usually the Pursuivant because of their public presence." - Notes provided by H. L. Arontius of Bygelswade 3-'05 For a look at devices of local members see Device Gallery

Exchequer: "Dragons Laire's Financial needs were handled for many years through a simple savings account. Our evolving needs led to the transfer of funds into a branch checking account with Pacific First Bank (now Washington Mutual) in February 1991. A Savings account was established at Washington Mutual in February 1993 to better handle reserve and other excess funds. (Our fiscal policy has always been to maintain a reserve fund to cover anticipated expenses of all events for one year.) Her Ladyship Ellen Fraser re-established a workable and complete accounting system within the Branch in 1993. Her Ladyship Rycheza z Polska has further refined and delineated the branch financial policies in a short handbook entitled: Dear Autocrat or How to keep your exchequer happy, which is available to prospective autocrats and other people handling branch funds.
Our annual June Faire has provided a stable source of funding for the Shire for many years and we anticipate it continuing as a profitable event."  -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status     

Arts & Sciences: "Dragon's Laire has had Arts and Sciences offices since the group first began. Over the years the offices have been combined under one person or separated with a person heading each. Arts and Sciences has met regularly, usually once a month, and covered a wide variety of topics. Past topics have included a dance class given by Glanwyn ty Meillionen, armor making, work on the An Tir Domesday Book, wassail making, calligraphy, dance, pierce work, table construction, and various costume-related topics. More recent activities include feather fans, archery butts, basic leather craft and hangover cures. We also have had competitions in the arts and sciences, including Best Tourney Costume, various culinary competitions, Decorating the Hall for Yule, and cover art contests to benefit the office of the Chronicler. We are currently working on setting up our first Arts and Sciences Championship to be held at this year's Yule Feast." -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status     For more see A&S Archives

Kassandra with Baronial banner, Photo provided by Arontius

HL Kassandra, former A&S Minister poses with the Baronial Banner, 12th Night, AS XXXVI

Master/Mistress of Stables/Marshal: "Dragon's Laire has had qualified fighters since its inception. The branch has had regular fighter practice for six years. Attendance has been excellent, with as many as 20 fighters participating. We regularly draw fighters from all of the surrounding baronies. Fighters from Dragon's Laire have won many awards and honors. We have had three sergeants, a number of squires and one Duke. Dragon's Laire is fortunate to have a large number of authorized marshals, thanks in part to classes taught by a Deputy Kingdom Marshal, Master Baron Siegfried the Immane." -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status      For more see Marshalate Mews

Former Baronial Marshal THL Conchobhar MacEoin points out the reason for a hold Junefaire 2005

Master of Swords: "This officer is responsible for rapier combat in the branch. When there is no officer, the responsibilities default to the Master of Stables. Dragon's Laire has a large group of people who are authorized in rapier combat. Classes taught here by the Kingdom Provost of Rapier Combat have honed the skills of these bladesmen and bladeswomen. Currently the rapier combat practices are held at the same time and site as the heavy fighter practices." -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status     

Baroness Tsuruko demonstrates her horsemanship

Master of Horse:  " This office was created at the July, 1994 business meeting and when all of the shire present agreed that it should happen. The first meeting was an organizational meeting and also reviewed the ground rules of what could and could not be done within the boundaries of the SCA. The next meetings were  spent in getting people who aren't usually around horses used to them. At the third meeting they began learning maneuvers and some basic steps to some games done on horseback. They hope to promote more horse riding within the branches and the SCA and to attend SCA sponsored equestrian events." -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status

Chronicler: "There has basically been a chronicler ever since Dragon's Laire was established. The Flames has been published by the chronicler's office since August AS XVII (1982) with a two year intermission between 1985 and 1987 and even then the chronicler produced copy for the shire that was printed in the Madrone Leaf. Today the chronicler has progressed from a typewriter and cut, paste, & copy to a computerized system using a publishing program, a scanner, and an in house copy machine. This has enabled us to produce some of the best newsletters in the shire's history. Dragon's Laire has also been fortunate to have vast amount of talent within the shire that regularly contributes pieces to the newsletter." -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status    

Gold Key: "The members of Dragon's Laire have been exceedingly generous to the Gold Key over the years. Gold Key inventory reached a peak of over 150 items in 1993. (Since then some less presentable items have been culled.)  Items of garb and feast gear are available to newcomers and visitors in Dragon's Laire. Gold Key is a very popular service at our annual June Faire where it takes in the most cash donations during the year. The cash donations are reinvested in maintenance and acquisition of items for the Gold Key." -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status     

Constable: "The constables have always been an important part of the branch and have built up to a reputation of excellence within recent years. Lady Megaine of Curkirudbright was awarded the Kingdom Constabulary award several years ago. The constables raised their own funds and built their own pavilion. They have regular monthly meetings where topics of safety and how to be effective constables are always discussed. They have made their own uniforms.  There is an organized box of first-aid, fire extinguishers, and even stuffed animals to give to lost children.  There is a regular paperwork deputy who talks to the kingdom officer on a regular basis. Many of the members of Dragon's Laire are warranted Constables at Large. These are things that very few other branches have done and the branch has been recognized by the Kingdom Constable as having one of the most organized and professional constabulary in the kingdom." -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status     

photo provided by HL Louise
Lord Oswald,Shire Scribe, JuneFaire '93

Scribe: "Dragon's Laire's Scribe pens medieval style correspondence as needed and creates our awards scrolls. This includes thank you notes and special occasion scrolls, such as that done when the Golden Hinde visited our port in February 1987. Whether we had someone officially in the office or not, we always managed to get calligraphy work done when needed." -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status    

Chief Archer: "Dragon's Laire has historically been one of the strongest branches in An Tir when it comes to archery. There are four current master bowmen and two retired master bowmen in the shire. There are more than 30 archers in the branch. During past archery seasons the branch has held at least one and up to four archery practices a week. Last year most of the top crossbow scores were shot by Dragon's Laire archers, including the  top three An Tir IKAC scores, thus helping An Tir to finish second in the known world in overall archery. Dragon's Laire traditionally fields one of the most deadly forces of light infantry for wars in the Kingdom. Its war archers have turned a large number of battles. It is currently building several different types of war engines.  The Chief Archer is responsible for both target archery and light combat within the branch." -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status     For more on current activities see Archery Angles

"Needs Sugar" Listmistress Ellen evaluates a bribe, JuneFaire '01

Lists: "The Lists Mistress in Dragon's Laire is kept extremely busy at events. At last year's June Faire she coordinated three heavy tournaments and two rapier combat tournaments."  -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status     

Chatelaine:  " Just as the Chatelaine in the middle ages was the one who greeted the visitors to the castle and saw to their needs and comfort by arranging lodging, food, necessities, etc, in Dragon's Laire the Chatelaine is responsible for helping newcomers and guests. The Chatelaine teaches the honor and meanings of chivalry to the mundane world. We have done many demos for the modern populace, as well as many events in which we reach out to others. Among the demos that we have done in the past year are: Sedgwick Junior High, Breidalblik Elementary School, Bremerton Junior High, Boy Scout Blue and Gold dinner, Olympic High School, and Olympic College. We have also done the Farmer's Markets in Bremerton, Port Orchard, Silverdale, and Kingston. We also did the KingsTowne Faire in Kingston this September. Now that the school year has begun, the Chatelaine is getting in touch with the schools again with the aim of SCA participation in the classrooms as an integral part of the curriculum. (The Bremerton Junior High demo was such a success they asked us to BE part of the curriculum every spring to teach once a week for 6 weeks and to aid the students in doing their own feast.) The Chatelaine has also received mailings from people outside our shire that are impressed at what they hear and wish more information. The current chatelaine, Jazelle d'Avignon, has sent out a total of 96 "newcomer's information packets" since October 1993." -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status  For more information see our Newcomers Nook

Chirurgeon: "Although there is only one warranted chirurgeon in Dragon's Laire at this time, the chirurgeons of Dragon's Laire have handled many types of medical emergencies. This includes the back injury that required a medivac transport June Faire A.S. XXVIII, burns at June Faire A.S. XXIX and all the other bumps, bruises, scrapes contusions and abuses normally found at events. The Dragon's Laire chirurgeonate has developed good working relations with chirurgeons from other branches. Dragon's Laire is known as a place where injured people will receive the timely help they need."  -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status    

Photo provided by HL Louise

Bearstar takes a break as nature takes over waterbearing, JuneFaire '93

Waterbearer:  "The office of Waterbearer was created after June Faire 1993 overwhelmed the shire chirurgeon who was at the time responsible for the chirurgeonate and for coordinating waterbearers. Bearstar has taken the office and ran. It is well stocked with equipment, waterbearer tabards are available for those wishing to help and he has several deputies. Waterbearing services are now provided at all events, fighter practices, and at most fighting demos." -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status    

Pied Piper:  "While it has sometimes been difficult to find someone to fill this office, Dragon's Laire has always had someone at events who has provided activities for children." -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status

Librarian:: "The Library was officially established in November, 1990 with a donation of books by His Lordship Eric de Dragonslaire. Lord Theodoric the Scholar became our first Librarian. He retained the post until it passed to the Arts and Science Officer, Her Ladyship Maria Isabella de Cordoba. Laura MacConnach stepped in as a special deputy to Arts taking over the Library in September 1993. Over the years the inventory of the Library has grown through donations and gradual purchase of SCA Publications. Currently the library is housed at The Silver Castle, a local shop and meeting place in the branch, for maximum availability to the populace." -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status     

Dragon Pool Coordinator:  "This office acts as a car pool coordinator for people needing rides to meetings and events." -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status (inactive)

    Rachael de la Bois de Basque, Dec. '92 - Jan. '95.

Eric de Dragonslaire offers a friendly game of mancala to visitors at JuneFaire '01

Gamesmaster:  "The newest office provides instruction on period games and the chance to play them at monthly games nights. The office also makes sure that period games are available at events. Over the last few years the new Gamesmaster has provided games, taught classes and held games competitions at events. The games have included nine-men's-morris, gluckshous, fox and geese, mancala, poch, skittles, shove penny, etc." -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status

Pages: Pages was established to coordinate activities for young people in the tween ages, between adult and child.

 Steward: Well, when you have stuff, somebody needs to keep track of it. The Steward is responsible for overseeing the storage and maintenance Baronial regalia and items such as eric stakes, pavilions and other useful and needful things.

 Webminister: A web presence needs a coordinator.

 Finance Committee Coordinator (or clerk):

 Thrown Weapons: A new marshal discipline to the Kingdom of An Tir. Encompasses ax and knife throwing along with spear chucking. for more see Thrown Weapons Toss-ups

 Whalebone, Boffer and Junior Heavy or Youth Combat For more see Youth Combat

Costumer's Guild:  "Dragon's Laire's first Costumer's Guild meeting since it was reformed in August of 1987. Our Costumer's Guild holds meetings an average of once a month on a variety of costume related topics. Past meetings include various how-to instructions, talks on costume type subjects, information sharing, instructional videos, and work parties to supply the branch with regalia, pavilions, banners, war tabards, officer baldrics, etc. We usually have some sort of beginning costume instruction following our annual June Faire. The Guild often helps the office of Gold Key keep their loaner garb in good repair. Guild members help newer members with outfitting themselves, share costume related news and ideas, and lampoon inaccurately costumed movies."    -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status

Culinary Guild:  "Culinary Guild: The Dragon's Laire Culinary Guild was established in A.S. XXIII by Lord Theodorick the Scholar. The regular meeting time and day has been 7:00 P.M., the second Wednesday after the business meeting since inception. Occasionally both the time and date are changed to accommodate special plans. The guild uses their meetings for classes, research and projects. Some of the classes we have done include: cheese making, bread making, lefse, pita bread, sausage making and cordial and mead making. The guild takes trips to restaurants and local producers (for research) and holds potlucks (recipe testing).  Candlemas was started by the culinary guild. Candlemas has grown from a small informal get-together highlighting the talents of the Culinary guild to a served feast with attendant Tourney and Archery Competitions. Contests of a culinary nature are always a feature.
 The Culinary Guild has produced six cook booklets in two series: Story of the Feast (background information on the theme of the feast and selected recipes served) and Dragon's Laire Favorites (collections of recipes from Shire members). Additional booklets in these series are in the planning stages as well as a new series concentrating on more strictly period information. These booklets are sold for a nominal fee to further local culinary projects, including purchasing and maintaining equipment for feasts, prizes for contests and supplies. All that is required for inclusion in the group is a interest in good food." -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status  For more see Culinary/Spiritmaker's Guild

 Dance Guild: "Over the course of the last year Dragon's Laire has established a regular dance practice. A recent addition from Drachenwald, Lady Catarina de Obidos, is helping the process. Many of the people within the branch have also been going to the Blatha an Oir dance practice, where sometimes the people from Dragon's Laire outnumber the people from Blatha an Oir. The goals of the Dance Guild are: to teach the basics of medieval dance to all interested gentles, to prepare a group of dancers in the art of performing dance, and to have fun. The guild's aim is to not just enrich the cultural and artistic level of the branch, but also to enhance our future events with a more varied spectrum of activities. As part of the current program there are dance, danced-games and other dance related activities." -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status    

Spiritmakers Guild:  "The newest guild is already teaching adults how to make beer, ale, wine, liquors and mead.  For years His Lordship Matush z Plock, the new guildmaster, has taught classes in mead making and has held mead making nights."  For more see Culinary/Spiritmaker's Guild
    His Lordship Mateusz z Plocka, Aug. '94 - Present.

Bardic Guild:  "In July, 1994 Lady Shaughnessy, the Kingdom Deputy Guildmistress and resident of Dragon's Laire, and His Lordship Eric de Dragonslaire, taught a class on how to be a bard in the SCA. Lady Shaughnessy is hosting a monthly bardic nights where bards of all abilities may hone their skills."  -  petition for elevation to Baronial Status     For more see Bardic Guild

Jewelers Guild:

     Blade of Dragon's Laire, '81. 

Merchants Guild:

     Blade of Dragon's Laire, '82.

 Scribes Guild: Scribes were briefly organized as a guild instead of an office.

     H. L. Brian McKay, March '95 - March '96.

 Thingmakers Guild - A time and place to work on "stuff". (disbanded)

 Herbal Guild

           Lord Donnchadh Seatharbriseadh, Sept. '95 - Aug. '97.

 Combat Engineers Guild  -  

 Lady Sa'ida in performance

Middle Eastern Cultural Arts Guild:

Metalsmiths Guild -  Chartered The Guild of Metalsmiths is a group of Baronial members who share interest and willingness to learn and teach Medieval metalworking trades. For more see Metalsmiths

Missile Weapons Guild - Chartered Yule '04

        THL Thorfinn Kolsson, Chartering to present

 Arachne's Web: Her Ladyship Ellen Fraser, a journeyman in the guild, offers lace making instruction when requested.

Armor Making Night: Sargent Hrolaug Nilsen has opened his workshop one night a week (upon request) for many years.  Besides creating armor for an incredible number of fighters, the workshop has also provided people with the opportunity to use the tools for arts & sciences projects. (See his Missive on Shield Making in the Article Archives)

Service to the Western Region and An Tir: Dragons' Laire has always had a rich legacy of service to the Kingdom of An Tir. As a measure of this service, a number of our citizens have or are serving as regional, deputy kingdom and/or kingdom officers:

Personal Dvice of former Kingdom Seneschal Eric de Dragonslaire  Blazon: Or, a dragon salient contourny sable breathing flames gules, issuant from base a wall sable. 

For a listing of past champions, Coronets and other personages visit Peerless Personages Current officers are listed at Contacts or on pages highlighting their area of responsibility.

Home Page/History/Events/ Baronial Petition

Hl Nicole Monro  is invested as the new Golden Dragon Pursuivant, Junefaire 2003