GulfWars: A History in the Making

The beginning of the Story

In June of 1991, a small War between the Kingdoms of Trimaris and Ansteorra took place in the boarder lands of Meridies, hosted by the Shire of Dragoun’s Weal at the King’s Arrow Ranch in Lumberton, MS.

And now 30 years later, we are still here celebrating.  Join us as we bring together the stories of the past, so that we may pass them onto our children.  

Bring out the photos, flyers, anything and everything that you can think of.  Have some of the old site tokens, let’s see them.

Submissions can be sent to History@gulfwars.org.  Please include the follow so that credit can be issued properly:

  • SCA Name and Title
  • GulfWars Year
  • Contact information (email, facebook account, phone number(if you wish), Mundane name)

If you wish to submit photos (jpeg, png), flyers (doc, txt, pdf), please use the type indicated.  

It is my wish to catalog it by year and then go from there.  I may even set up a Wiki to make it easier.  So, bring it on.

 

Original flyer for GulfWars I, 1991.

The Long and Doleful History of How Gulf Wars Came To Be-


During the Reign of Michael II and Rebekka II on the throne of Ansteorra, is was desirous that there be a treaty formed between the Kingdom of Ansteorra and the Kingdom of Meridies, then ruled by Stephen I and Jacqueline I. In a true period fashion, the Crowns of those kingdoms chose to seal the treaty with the marriage of a prominent peer from each realm.

At the Know world heraldic Symposium, held in the Barony of Elfsea in June of AS 25, the Crown of Meridies presented Mistress Siobhan ni Bhreoghain to be given in marriage to Master Edwin FitzLloyd to seal the treaty. As her Dowry, the Crown of Meridies offered up the lands of Trimaris. In return, Ansteorra presented its interests in the Barony of Three Rivers as the bride price. (see* and ** below)

The wedding was held at the Know n World heraldic Symposium, with its contract listing the terms, Dowry, and Bride Price signed by the crowns of the two kingdoms involved, and witnessed by the then Laurel King of Arms. (see *** and **** below)

Following the event, a letter was sent by Mistress Siobhan to secure her dower lands, and clarify that she and her husband, Master Edwin, would agree to allow the local rulers to represent themselves as the ersatz “Crown of Trimaris” in public, so long as in private they recognized that that the newlyweds were in fact their overlords, to whom they owed annual taxes in the form to be defined, primarily to consist of fine textiles suitable for fashionable court clothing.

The “ersatz” King of Trimaris replied to the the polite letter with a brief missive that read, “Siobhan, Bite Me, Han Rex” (meant in a good natured way, as he and Mistress Siobhan were acquaintances of long standing).

Sometime following that exchange of correspondence, a squire from Trimaris traveling in Ansteorra threw down a gauntlet from the Crown of Trimaris in the Ansteorran Court of Inman V and Athena I, being held in the Barony of Stargate.

His Majesty, Inman of Ansteorra then worked valiantly with His Majesty Ryan of Meridies (rumored to have previously been a paramour of Siobhan ni Bhreoghain), and His Majesty Han of Trimaris (who had sent the “most polite” letter of response to Mistress Siobhan’s request to secure her Dower Rights).

When the First Gulf War was held, Mistress Siobhan ni Bhreoghain Fitzlloyd was its autocrat (to make sure that everyone played safely and well, and to assure that she got her fabric allowance…).

For more than a quarter of a century now, Gulf Wars, the outcome of a simple treaty-based marriage ceremony, has provided an honorable venue for participants form across the know World to display their valor and honor both on the field and in other competitions.

* This occurred in an age prior to the existence of the Kingdom of Gleann Abhann, when Ansteorra and Meridies shared a common border.

** At the same time, the Ansteorran Lord Athelstan of Staffordshire was married to Mistress Rosamunde of Mercia, another Meridien Laurel, as a secondary security on the treaty. The terms of their marriage contract have been lost to time. Lord Athelstan died young.

*** The wedding contract of Mistress Siobhan ni Bhreoghain and Master Edwin FitzLloyd still exists, safely secured within the FitzLloyd archives, assuring proof of the couple’s rights for future generations.

**** It should be pointed out, for purposes of historical documentation, that one of the primary clauses in the wedding contract, insisted upon by Master Edwin, stated in very concise terms “no Italian retainers or associates will be allowed fraternization with the bride”. Mistress Siobhan later broke that clause by absconding from Ansteorra in the company of an Italian knight, Sir Galen Niccoli, whom she subsequently married, after attempting to gain an annulment of her marriage to Master Edwin, on the grounds of certain incompatibilities.

– Master Edwin FitzLloyd

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