Baronial Moot
Wednesday, August 19, 2026, 7-9pm
Brackett Park, 2728 39th Ave. S. Minneapolis, MN, 55406
Join us for an end-of-summer celebration. Bring a summery treat!
Baronial Moot
Wednesday, August 19, 2026, 7-9pm
Brackett Park, 2728 39th Ave. S. Minneapolis, MN, 55406
Join us for an end-of-summer celebration. Bring a summery treat!
CANCELLED DUE TO CONFLICT WITH ST. RADEGUND’S.
The fourth Nordskogen Equestrian Practice is Saturday, August 22, 2026, 3-6pm (end time is flexible) at MidSummer Farms, located at 8229 190th St. W., Lakeville, MN 55044. As always, those who wish to learn about ground crew are eagerly invited! We hope to see familiar and new faces! We want you not only to come and participate, but learn about what the equestrians do in the SCA!
If you have any questions about equestrian activities in Nordskogen, please contact Lady Tamura the Scythian at: equestriancaptain@nordskogen.org
There will be Thrown Weapons practice in Maple Grove, MN, this Sunday, August 16, from 10:00 to Noon, weather permitting. It looks like the weather will be good, so bring your chairs and join us!
If you have any questions about the location of practice or other questions about thrown weapons activities in Nordskogen, please contact our Thrown Weapons Captain, THL Lachlann del Glen, at: throwncaptain@nordskogen.org or at Lloyd Hudson on Facebook.
Greetings Nordskogen Archers!
I will be hosting practice this Sunday (August 9), 10am to noon, at the Bloomington Archery Range, weather permitting.
Loaner gear will be available. Bring your own hydration, sunscreen, and portable seating (to be in the shade on breaks). I am keeping my eye on the weather, and will update the practice plan if needed.
–Meistari Sefa Farmansdóttir
Directions to the Bloomington Archery Range, 9401 France Ave., Bloomington, MN, 55431:
* Take your best route to 494 and France in Bloomington.
* Head south on France Ave for about 1.25 miles.
* The range will be on your left at about 94th Street.
* Link to a map.
If you have any questions about archery in Nordskogen, email our Interim Archery Captain, Master Crispin, at: archerycaptain@nordskogen.org
Armored combat practice is held outdoors on Tuesdays, weather permitting, from 6-9pm at Brackett Park, 2728 39th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN, 55406.
If you have any questions about armored combat in Nordskogen, you can contact the Nordskogen Knight’s Marshal, Sir Fergus O’Dae at: armoredcaptain@nordskogen.org.
Youth boffer practices are held outdoors, weather permitting, twice a month generally on Tuesdays from 6:30-7:30pm alongside rattan practice at Brackett Park, 2728 39th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN, 55406. The next practice will be this Tuesday, August 18, 6:30-7:30pm, alongside rapier practice at Brackett Park.
If you have any questions about youth boffer in Nordskogen, please contact our Youth Boffer Captain, Lord Gospatric de Reynes, at: youthboffercaptain@nordskogen.org.
Rapier practice will be held outdoors, weather permitting, on Wednesdays from 7-9 pm at Brackett Park, 2728 39th Ave. S, Minneapolis, MN, 55406.
If you have any questions about rapier in Nordskogen, you can contact the Nordskogen Rapier Marshal, Master Yagüe Antolínez, at: rapiercaptain@nordskogen.org.
Our in-person social practices will be outdoors at Brackett Park, (the armored and rapier combat site), 2728 39th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN, 55406, throughout the summer, as weather permits. Masks and distancing are not required but are welcome and recommended.
August 2026 Dates
08/19: Baronial Moot
08/26: In-person social practice.
Join us for an online gathering via Zoom for socializing and our monthly business meeting.
We gather at 7pm to socialize and the business meeting starts at 7:30pm.
Here is the permanent link for the meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89130052473?pwd=frYob3C4Scz1dCGpnCVaCWef30USJa.1
Password is 225870 if prompted.
Through the month of July, we are experimenting with holding our online gathering on Thursdays to make attendance at business meetings easier for everyone.
*–Facebook Group All times are Central Time unless otherwise noted.
Nordskogen
Nordskogen Social Practice Online via Zoom, 7-8:30pm (may run longer)
Next online social practice: Thurs., August 20, 2026
(business meeting at 7:30pm).
Join us for an online gathering via Zoom. Please remember that you are muted when you join in. Video is encouraged but not required. Drop in and out as you wish.
Here is the permanent link for the meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89130052473?pwd=frYob3C4Scz1dCGpnCVaCWef30USJa.1
Password is 225870 if prompted.
Online Baronial Arts & Sciences Exhibition—On Facebook, Feb. 2-28, 2025
Nordskogen on Discord
After that, you can follow this link and see messages on the Nordskogen Channel.
Nordskogen Special Interest Facebook Groups
Barony of Nordskogen Discussion Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Nordskogen
Canton of Nordleigh
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Nordleigh
Nordskogen Archery
https://www.facebook.com/groups/304828682244883
Nordskogen Armoured Combat
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Nordskogen.armored
Nordskogen Dancers
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1587325938146072
Nordskogen Group Camping
https://www.facebook.com/groups/7456272577774535
Nordskogen Rapier Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/nordskogen.fencing
Nordskogen Thrown Weapons
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1697917837116667
Northshield Activities, Classes, and Events
Northshield on Discord
After that, you can follow this link and see messages on the Northshield Unofficial Discord Server.
Virtual A&S Displays
Virtual A&S Display—Entries from the April 23, 2023, Northshield Arts and Sciences Competition
Virtual A&S Display—Entries from the June 1, 2024, Northshield Arts and Sciences Competition
Virtual A&S Display—Entries from the June 7, 2025, Northshield Arts and Sciences Competition
Northshield Special Interest Facebook Groups
Anglo-Saxons of Northshield and Friends
https://www.facebook.com/groups/279315155938918
The Army of Northshield
https://www.facebook.com/groups/656097414404272/
Artillery Arts Martial in Northshield
https://www.facebook.com/groups/144334776010909
Clan Blue Feather
https://www.facebook.com/groups/683301623830034
Companions of the Stellar Hart (Northshield Courtesans)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/NorthshieldCourtesans
Kingdom of Northshield Glass Workers
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1529244790687790
Northshield Arts and Sciences
https://www.facebook.com/groups/532690726749947
Northshield Bards
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1552940374967878
Northshield Barter and Trade
https://www.facebook.com/groups/469057956444539
NorthShield Black Griffin
https://www.facebook.com/groups/733902189960294
Northshield Brewer’s Guild
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1702958423277864/
Northshield Brigits Flame
https://www.facebook.com/groups/NSBrigitsFlame
Northshield College of Heralds
https://www.facebook.com/groups/308940499761457
Northshield College of Scribes
https://www.facebook.com/groups/107714786015764
Northshield Combat Archery/Siege
https://www.facebook.com/groups/569152006574803
Northshield Cooks
https://www.facebook.com/groups/706755262740309
Northshield Early Music
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1219008355459586
Northshield Equestrians
https://www.facebook.com/groups/111719882243075
Northshield Farming Guild
https://www.facebook.com/groups/855993841238202/
Northshield Hand of Tyr
https://www.facebook.com/groups/NShandoftyr
Northshield History
https://www.facebook.com/NorthshieldHistory
Northshield “I Am No Bro” Interdisciplinary Fighter Squadron
https://www.facebook.com/groups/iamnobro/
The Northshield Inn
https://www.facebook.com/groups/462797700463779/
Northshield Moneyer’s Guild
https://www.facebook.com/groups/477072765762866/
Northshield Rebated Steel Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/220595020772855
Northshield Youth Boffer Combat
https://www.facebook.com/groups/479972685536766
Unofficial Northshield Forester’s Guild
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1247898808582127/
Unofficial Northshield Rapier Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/GriffinRapierArmy
Unofficial Northshield Seneschal Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2339525366083880
Northshield Royal Activities, Courts, and Events
Send in award recommendations!
Their Royal Majesties’ Website
Past Ethereal and Live Northshield Courts Available Online
(Live courts are double starred.)
Schützenfest and Mermaids Retreat, May 29, 2020
Border Skirmish, Castle Fever, Castel Rouge 50th, June 13, 2020
Warriors and Warlords, July 11, 2020
All Garbed Up and Nowhere To Go, Aug. 22, 2020
Venturing Forth, September 26, 2020
It’s the GREAT Nordfest, Charlie Brúnn, Oct. 24, 2020
SUN Court, Saturday, November 14, 2020
Boar’s Head Court–This Little Piggie Stayed Home, Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020
The Elevation of Eyja Bassadóttir to the Order of the Laurel, Sunday, December 20, 2020
Queen’s Prize, Saturday, February 13, 2021
Royal Birthday Court, Saturday, April 10, 2021
Feast of the Venerable Bede, May 22, 2021
**Elevation of Dane of Needham to the Order of Chivalry, June 12, 2021
**Courts at Northshield Crown Tournament and Crown Tourney Itself, June 19, 2021
Royal Court at Wishes and Waiting, Sunday, July 11, 2021
**Fall Crown Tournament: Morning Court and Tournament, Saturday, October 9, 2021
**Fall Crown Tournament: Evening Court, Saturday, October 9, 2021
Royal Court at the Feast of Isabelle, Saturday, February 26, 2022
**Spring Crown Tournament, Saturday, May 14, 2022
**Spring Crown Tournament: Afternoon Court, Saturday, May 14, 2022
**Crown Tournament: Saturday, September 10, 2022
**Fall Coronation: Saturday, September 10, 2022
**Fall Crown: Saturday, October 8, 2022
Greater SCA
Lists of Events and Classes–General
SCA Classes On YouTube
(List maintained by Countess Jehanette)
SCA Recorded Classes
(List of virtual classes maintained by Lord Thomas Grocere [David Tallan])
Events and Classes–Ongoing
ARTemisia Virtual University
Dahrien’s List of Online Bardic Circles
Barony of Castel Rouge Virtual A&S Gatherings Via Zoom:
Wednesdays, 7-10pm Central.
Please contact seneschal@castelrouge.ca Or baroness@castelrouge.ca for the Zoom link.
Barony of Lyondemere Monthly Virtual Arts & Sciences Nights, 9-11pm
Registration at this link is required in order to get all class updates and Zoom links. Zoom links will be posted close to the actual meeting.
Welcome to the Barony of Lyondemere’s Arts and Sciences monthly Virtual A&S Nights. We are excited to be able to host historical pre-17th century online classes, covering many subjects that are relevant to any history or SCA enthusiast. Meetings are usually the third Friday of the month, starting at 9-11PM (or ending earlier) Central time. All are welcome to these online classes. You do not need to be a paying member of the SCA or part of the Barony of Lyondemere to enjoy these classes. If you’d like to teach a class, have feedback or have any questions, please feel free to Private Message Mercy Neumark through Facebook or you can email direct at artsandsciences@lyondemere.sca-caid.org The schedule of classes and class descriptions is currently hosted on the Baronial website at: https://lyondemere.sca-caid.org/meetings/ Further details on individual sessions will be posted under Events and Classes–One Time below.
East Kingdom/Midrealm Bardic Showcase, a [post] Pennsic tradition,
2020 Ed. On YouTube
Heraldry Afterhours–Weekly on Tuesdays from 8-9pm Central Via Zoom
A one stop shop for heraldry questions and consultation. Open to all kingdoms. Newcomers welcome. For the class link, please pm Ellen DeLacey. Hosted by the Royal University of Scir Hafoc (RUSH), the Kingdom of Calontir’s university.
Huapahua Period America Lecture Series–Monthly (more details below under Events and Classes—One Time)
Join us for the Huapahua Period America Lecture Series, a monthly invitation to explore the indigenous history of North, South and Central America within SCA period! YouTube Channel for previous lectures: https://www.youtube.com/@Huapahua
Known World Chatelaine Symposium 2023—YouTube Playlist of 27 videos
Known World Heraldic and Scribal Symposium
Meridies Open Social Zoom, Tuesdays, 5pm-Midnight, Central Time—Link to Schedule
Pennsic 50 House Sans Nomen Concert
Royal University of the Midrealm (RUM) On YouTube
SCA Board of Directors Quarterly Meetings on YouTube
SCA Iberia Webpage and YouTube Channel
*SCA Online Virtual Bardic Night
*SCA Virtual Classroom and Artisan Display
Silent Herald / ASL Practice 8pm (Central) Every Thurs. via Zoom.
Send a Facebook message to Suzanne Booth for link.
Sunday Night With The Scribes (SNWTS)
(more details below under Events and Classes–One Time)
Sunday Night with the Scribes is an evening spent in the company of other Scribal Arts folks from around the Known World. Whether you’re here to learn a skill, share your success or simply hang out with your Art friends, there is room at the table for you. Come for the Community, Stay for the Art! Extended calendar, class times for multiple time zones, event descriptions, & zoom links are at the link above. Zoom opens at 6p Central & classes start at 7p Central.
SNWTS also maintains a YouTube channel at this link where recordings of some of the classes are preserved.
Tabletweavers Tea—Bi-Weekly
To facilitate meet-ups for Tablet Weaving and other narrow-wares. There is a Facebook Group where they post the dates and times of the gatherings. Watch for events created there.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100067329277494
Trimaris A&S I Did A Thing (more details below under Events and Classes—One Time)
The “I Did a Thing” (IDAT) Monthly Challenge is a based out of Trimaris just-for-fun challenge where we all work in the same medium for the month. Everyone is welcome: complete beginner to seasoned artisan. Jump in whenever you like, do just one month, or try to complete all twelve in a year. Totally up to you. The whole point of IDAT is pretty simple: share something you love to make, celebrate creativity, and maybe give yourself an excuse to try something new. Join our FB group and join in the fun!
Tuesdays–SCA Classes on Meridies Open Social Zoom
For more information, see listings for individual classes under Events and Classes—One Time below. Many of the past classes can be found on the SCA Classes Tuesday Night Zoom playlist on YouTube.
*Viking Klan Zebitz’s Facebook Page
They do Viking era recreations. Of particular interest are their Winter Viking Experiments which they have been carrying out for several years. Search “Winter Viking Experiments” on their Facebook page for photos, videos, and comments.
Virtual Known World Arts and Sciences Display from 2021—A Pennsic Activity
Virtual Pennsic University courses are available on their YouTube channel.
Weekly Fiber Room in Meridies Open Social Zoom on Tuesdays—8pm to ?
Watch the Facebook Group “Artisans of Meridies” for the weekly codes to this Zoom. The password is the name of Meridies’ current Queen: arianne
Every First Tuesday: Lace Enthusiasts: Geek about all forms of lace.
Every Second Tuesday: Warped Weavers: For enthusiasts of all forms of weaving.
Every Third Tuesday: Fiber Arts Enthusiasts
Every Fourth Tuesday: Spinning and Dyeing Enthusiasts Hangout
They cover even vaguely related fiber subjects, so go on by and talk about your favorite fiber art! It doesn’t matter what night you come they’ll talk about it.
West Kingdom’s Past and Future Newcomer 101 Classes
Go to westkingdom.org Click on Calendars. Then click on Activities. Scroll through for the various Newcomer 101 classes. Click on them to get information and meeting links and the programs web link. You can even add to your own electronic calendar. Visit/Subscribe to the West Kingdom YouTube Channel to see the taped versions when they are posted after the fact. The Newcomer 101 Classes have been gathered together in their own YouTube playlist.
WordPress Help Desk—Iain MacArthur, former SCA Webminister—By Appointment Only On Tuesdays
The Help Desk is now available by appointment only, as a part of the Kingdom of Meridies’ weekly Tuesday open social Zooms. All kingdoms welcome. The Zoom links are usually posted on the Artisans of Meridies Facebook page around 3pm Central on Tuesdays. The password is the current Queen of Meridies’ name: arianne. To make an appointment, pm Ellen DeLacey before Tuesday.
Events and Classes—One Time
Tuesdays–SCA Classes on Meridies Open Social Zoom
The Zoom links for these classes are usually posted on the Artisans of Meridies Facebook page around 3pm Central the evening of the class. The password is the current Queen of Meridies’ name: arianne
Aug. 18, 2026–6pm Central–Inclusive Culture in the SCA
An open discussion of ways that DEIB can inform SCA culture, and ways that we can be active participants in building and maintaining a community built on diversity, equity, inclusion, & belonging. Every 1st & 3rd Tues. until further notice.
Aug. 18, 2026–6pm Central–Curious about Modern-Day Valkyries in the SCA? With the Valkyrie Sisterhood of Meridies How did you first learn of Valkyries? I bet we know! We will cover some of history’s most interesting examples of Valkyries of old, and will enlighten you about how we are embodying Valkyries in a much kinder and fun way! Facebook post for the link.
Aug. 18, 2026–6pm Central–Event Accessibility for SCA with Kehinde Opo
Accessibility is not a fixed end goal – it is an ongoing, intentional practice. This class is for practical strategies for identifying and addressing barriers at every stage of event planning, and will be especially helpful for event stewards (old and new) and group seneschals. Facebook link for Zoom codes.
Aug. 25, 2026–7pm Central–The First Pancake: Preparing Your First A&S Entry with Derbail inghean Conchobar, Meridies New to Kingdom of Meridies A&S competitions? A practical readiness checklist for picking a manageable first project, writing clear documentation (what you made, when/how it was used in period, and how you made it), setting up a strong display, and knowing what to expect from judges. Facebook link for Zoom codes,
Aug. 25, 2026–7pm Central–Finger and Handloop Braiding with Nakos Theodorosides, Calontir
How to put down your loops, make longer loops, building a foot beater. Facebook link for Zoom codes.
Sept. 1, 2026–6pm Central–Inclusive Culture in the SCA
An open discussion of ways that DEIB can inform SCA culture, and ways that we can be active participants in building and maintaining a community built on diversity, equity, inclusion, & belonging. Every 1st & 3rd Tues. until further notice.
Sept. 1, 2026–7:30pm Central–How Do We Know About pre-1600 Artifacts with Ellen DeLacey
Image laden presentation of how different artifacts and aspects of medieval life are discovered and identified. A wide range of objects / topics will be covered.
Sept. 8, 2026–7:00pmCentral–Picking your Persona with Thorfinn Langskeggr (rescheduled FROM 8/4/26)
Sept. 15, 2026–6pm Central–Inclusive Culture in the SCA
An open discussion of ways that DEIB can inform SCA culture, and ways that we can be active participants in building and maintaining a community built on diversity, equity, inclusion, & belonging. Every 1st & 3rd Tues. until further notice.
Other One Time Events and Classes
On Saturday, Aug. 22 and Sunday, Aug. 23, the Barony of Shattered Crystal invites you to the Known World Heraldic and Scribal Symposium
The best and brightest heralds and scribes of the society will be teaching classes all day. Classes will be livecast and there will be additional slots for online classes.
Event Registration Link: https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSfDKKD8Ulcr0M…/viewform
Want to teach? Sign up at https://forms.gle/VBs43cPQsTDc7i2x8
Sat. Aug. 29, 2026—6pm Central–What is a SCA Herald? A Zoom Event Presented By Guillermo De Cervantes and The Shire of Southkeep Populace Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84496767028…
Sunday Night with the Scribes
– Zoom opens at 6pm Central; Meet & Greet: 6-7pm; Classes run from 7-9pm Central; Zoom Closes at 10pm Central.
– The Zoom address for the sessions is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89540958886 Please note: a Hastings Lock is used for the password for the Zoom Room. Message them at the Facebook link below if you need the Lock.
– FB Page (Zoom links can be found here): https://www.facebook.com/ScribalSunday
– Webpage: https://scribal.art/ Google Calendars for many time zones. Zoom links are in each calendar entry.
August 16, 2026–Why Your Greens Turn Muddy (and How to Fix It)—Color Theory with Peter Donahue
If you’ve ever mixed a blue and yellow gouache and ended up with something closer to swamp water than heraldic vert, this talk is for you. Color theory educator Peter Donahue will explain why certain mixed-greens go muddy, and others go wild, and will give illuminators a simple framework for choosing pigments.
August 23, 2026–What did you learn at Known World Herald and Scribal Symposium?
KWHSS is going to be hybrid so we can attend the online classes and report back on this Sunday evening. Let’s learn about what you learned!
August 30, 2026–Back to Basics: Pens and paints with Hellen of Haldane
We will review some common tools, needed tools and tools not to bother with – pens and paints are our most crucial scribal tools. We will talk about how they are made, what is good and what is not. Join us!
September 6, 2026–No Meet and Greet or Class
September 13, 2026–Analyzing a script: How to understand & recreate calligraphy hands with Alician Langland
If you have ever wanted to copy a script or break one down to better use it and understand it, this is the class for you. The ability to analyze a hand allows us to use it with better understanding, better usage and more precision. This class forms one of the essential skills for all scribes.
September 20, 2026–Hands On Class: Uncial Calligraphy with Hellen of Haldane
Bring your pens and paper and learn how to do Uncial calligraphy with Hellen of Haldane. We will be following the calligraphy in the Cuthbert Gospel. This is a great hand to learn and is the stepping stone to the other round hands, a core skill in the calligrapher’s toolkit. This is the link to lines and the exemplar. Please print out the size of lines that you need ahead of time. See you in class!
September 27, 2026–Hands on Class: Kells Calligraphy with Hellen of Haldane
Last week we learned how to do Uncial from the Gospel of Cuthbert. This week we are building on that essential uncial hand with the variation found in the Kells period manuscripts.
SCA Individuals
(The Wrong) and Honorable Master Dahrien Cordell’s Online Bardic Circle via Zoom
*Meeting ID: * 850-6206-6750 Passcode: 1 (yes, just that single digit)
Join in browser or installed Zoom app/program: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85062066750
The next bardic circle will be on Friday, August 21, 2026.
Official Start: Noon, Central Time
[Sometimes he opens things early, though.]
End: When his last bardic playmates leave him.
Website of Dúgū Jìnán (Kasia Gromek)
HRM Tom’s Fighting Videos Including fighting in the snow in January 2023.
Magistrissa Anna Dokeianina Syrakousina/Angela Costello-Perrone Moves Into The Digital World
Free Online & Hybrid Classes Of Interest from the Center for Premodern Studies at the U of MN—Twin Cities New fall classes are now listed!
Wed., Sept. 16, 2026, 3:30-5pm–Silence, Violence, and Power: Women in Medieval-Inspired Media Exploring Assumptions Series: Lecture: Dr. Sarah Ifft Decker (History, Rhodes College)
Event Location: Liberal Arts Engagement Hub, Room 120 Pillsbury Hall. 315 Pillsbury Drive SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455
Registration Link
About the Talk:
Scholarship on medieval women has increasingly emphasized agency, within the context of complex gendered power dynamics. Yet on-screen representations of women in medieval-inspired media continue to reproduce a series of tropes and patterns that together work to silence and victimize female characters, drawing their narrative authority and presumed historicity from equating gender-based oppression with the medieval past. Meanwhile, women who challenge this dynamic are nearly always relegated to the realm of fantasy or deliberate anachronism. This talk will analyze how a variety of films and television shows, set in the Middle Ages or in medieval-inspired fantasy worlds, silence women characters, rewrite historical narratives to enhance women’s victimhood, and visually and narratively emphasize physical and sexual violence against women.
About the Speaker:
Sarah Ifft Decker is Associate Professor of History at Rhodes College. Her research employs the lens of intersectionality to reconstruct how the intertwined dynamics of gender, religious identity, and socioeconomic status shaped people’s lives in the medieval Western Mediterranean. She is the author of two books, both published in 2022: Jewish Women in the Medieval World, 500-1500 and The Fruit of Her Hands: Jewish and Christian Women’s Work in Medieval Catalan Cities. From 2018 to 2025, she hosted the podcast Media-eval: A Medieval Pop Culture Podcast. While at Minnesota, she will be developing a new project that interrogates how medieval-inspired films and television shows exclude, silence, and stereotype marginalized populations.
Cosponsors:
Department of Classical and Near Eastern Religions and Cultures
Thurs., Sept. 24, 2026—4-6pm–From Homer to the Highlands: A Global History of the Idea of Ethiopia CPS Lecture: Dr. Felege-Selam Yirga (History, University of Tennessee-Knoxville)
Event Location: 1210 Heller Hall, 271 19th Ave S. Minneapolis, MN 55455
Registration Link
About the Talk:
The talk begins from the premise that the idea of “Ethiopia” is not indigenous to the Horn of Africa, and any claim of continuity between the late ancient Aksumite state and the Ethiopian medieval state (or any state preceding it) cannot be accepted a priori. This premise raises a vital, and unanswered question: When was this idea imported into the highlands, how was it subsequently shaped, and by whom? My work argues that “Ethiopia,” was a term imported into the highlands of the Horn of Africa from the Mediterranean world through Greco-Roman texts imported into the region via Arabic intermediaries. Once in the highlands, the process of reception continued as various indigenous groups, as well as European interlocutors, shaped the ideology and self-perception of the medieval Ethiopian state. It is an intellectual history of the importation and reshaping of a Greco-Roman cultural and intellectual product by an African polity through a multi-century dialectic involving African kings, aristocrats, intellectuals, clergymen, monks, and, ultimately, even in dialogue with later international figures and polities. Focusing on Ethiopian monasticism and kingship, this talk will track the evolution of the idea of Ethiopia as a Christian kingdom from the Mediterranean in antiquity to the highlands of the Horn of Africa in the Late Medieval/Early Modern period. While this story alone can never fully reveal the sum of any given society’s perception of itself (and raises the important question of whether such a notion ever existed), several such stories strung together can give us a window into the development of an idea over a vast expanse of time and space.
About the Speaker:
Felege-Selam Solomon Yirga is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He broadly works on the political and cultural history of the premodern Mediterranean and Red Sea Regions. His first book, The Chronicle of John of Nikiu: Coping with Crisis in Post-Roman Egypt came out this year with UC Press. His second monograph is a Global History of the Idea of Ethiopia and its importation from the Mediterranean world to the Horn of Africa.
Cosponsors:
Department of History, Department of Classical and Near Eastern Religions and Cultures, and the First Millennium Religion in Late Antiquity Workshop
Thurs., Dec. 10, 2026—4-5:30pm–Women in Oral Tradition: From a Murderous Warrior Maiden to Cinderella. CPS Lecture: Anatoly Liberman (German, Nordic, Slavic, and Dutch, University of Minnesota)
Event Location: 1210 Heller Hall, 271 19th Ave S,. Minneapolis, MN 55455
Registration Link
About the Talk:
How did it happen that our favorite characters are now Cinderella and a nincompoop? The evolution began with the woman: from a murderous bride to a docile wife. Males followed suit and evolved from invincible heroes into feckless third sons.
About the Speaker:
Anatoly Liberman is a professor in the Department of German, Nordic, Slavic and Dutch at this university. His main areas of specialization are historical linguistics and oral tradition. In language history, most of his works are devoted to phonetics and etymology. His 2023 book, Take My Word for It (University of Minnesota Press), deals with the origin of English idioms. This summer, Cambridge Scholars Publishing released his book Inroads into Germanic Historical Phonology: Prosody and Phonematics, 546 pp. It draws the line under more than sixty years of his work on this subject. In medieval literature and folklore, Anatoly’s contributions deal with Germanic myths and fairy tales. For many years, he has been investigating the most prominent features of the medieval mentality as it differs from the post-Renaissance way of looking at the world.