DragonBear's Pennsic Links

We're always looking for good links: if you have favourites that aren't here, please let us know at chanson@dragonbear.com

Link Categories:

Official Pennsic Links
Generally Useful
Particularly Pennsic
Construction
Making Armor

Just Packing Lists
Just Recipes
Appropriate Garb
Mundane Travel Information

Official Pennsic Links (top)

Pennsic War The official Pennsic War site for whichever is the current Pennsic War. Preregistration for Pennsic 38 (2009) starts January 1, 2009.

Generally Useful (top)

SCA The official site for the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.

Stefan's Florilegium An impressive site maintained by Stefan li Rous, consisting of compilations by topic (and sub-topic) of e-mail and newsgroup posts and articles submitted directly. Especially useful topics are "camping" and "Pennsic" (of course!).

Cariadoc's Miscellany A wonderful site by Cariadoc and Elizabeth. Many recipes, great stories, a period pavilion, and other articles on maintaining a period style. The link to the left is to the older HTML edition; if you have Adobe Reader you can see the current edition.

Medieval Pavilion Resources Excellent and enormous site with many articles and links for tents, furniture, camp cooking, and general costuming. Includes camping packing list. Highly recommended.

Ravensgard SCA Homepage A fantastic collection of links with a new look and URL.

Particularly Pennsic (top)

Pennsic War Information Alexander the Lost's Pennsic page. Many topics, photos, stories, FAQ, and message board. Includes a packing list.

Pennsic War Guide and Checklist By Bart the Bewildered. An often-recommended camping guide (with packing list) that's clear and concise. Last updated: 1997.

Camping in the SCA By Rose Otter. Many useful planning and camping tips, plus two good recipes for beef jerky.

The Pennsic War Stories and info about the Pennsic War, with a sundial and a section on non-cooler food planning. Last updated: 2001.

Construction (top)

Furniture / Camping Accessories Links to sites for beds (rope, rope/canvas, and slat), chairs, tables, chests, lighting, etc., from the Medieval Pavilion Resources site.

Water Filter "How to Make Pennsic Taste Sweeter" by Tibor of Rock Valley. A simple and fairly inexpensive filter that attaches to a garden hose. Highly recommended for people who don't like the Cooper's Lake version of mineral water. (Please note that most standard house filters do NOT remove biological contamination, just minerals and metals.)

Charles Oakley Several articles on construction of period campsite furnishings, including a platform bed. Also an article on making a 12th century pouch.

Plausibly Medieval Pavilions Very nice site with pictures of modern versions, pictures from manuscripts, a list and discussion of designs, a custom measurement calculator, some info on the Enchanted Ground, and great links. The authors have taught classes at Pennsic for the last four years.

Make Your Own Drinking Horn By Vladimir of Esztergom. Simple and comprehensive directions for preparing a raw horn and etching designs on it.

Making Armor (top)

The Perfect Armor From Cariadoc's Miscellany. Also see The Perfect Armor Improved: Water Hardened Leather.

The Armour Archive General armor information. Especially check out the "Armouring Essays" such as Simple Gambeson Construction by Nagy Peter.

The Making of Wisby Plate By Corwyn Sinister, using plastic plates and upholstery fabric; includes the making of plastic leg armor.

A Guide to Making Bartholomew's SCA Armor By Bartholomew Hightower of Canterbury. An extremely comprehensive site covering every part of interest.

Just Packing Lists (top)

Medieval Pavilion: Packing List List with links to more lists (all are included below).

Pennsic War Checklist By Bart the Bewildered.

Ravensgard Packing List From the site "Camping Basics for the SCA" by Chimene des Cinq Tours.

Pennsic War Pack List From Alexander the Lost's Pennsic site.

Pennsic Packing List DragonBear's own version of the complete Pennsic packing list.

Just Recipes (top)

A Boke of Gode Cookery Huen's site of a multitude of medieval recipes. There are shortbreads, oatcakes, and seedcakes for making ahead of time; also many recipes that could be made at a campsite.

Cooking in Ostgardr Several useful articles: "Camp Cooking Without a Cooler", "More Cooler-Free Camp Cooking", "The Pilgrim's Picnic Basket".

Eating Well at Pennsic -- Without a Cooler A different article and methods for non-cooler camp cooking.

Medieval Pavilion: Period and Camping Cooking Includes link to Medieval Pavilion's master index of period recipes online.

Preserving of Foods through the Middle Ages Jules Hojnowski's article on various methods and recipes used through the period for preserving foods.

Comparative Jerky 101 Three jerky recipes that were tested using various methods of preparation and a discussion of the results.

Jerky The Google web directory listing of jerky recipe sites. Many, many recipes.

RecipeSource The new site based on "SOAR", the University of Berkeley's "Searchable Online Archive of Recipes". Enormous, with every category you can think of, including "medieval" and "camping". Heavy traffic used to mean that it was sometimes difficult to connect, but the new site is much faster.

Appropriate Garb (top)

Period T-Tunic Originally published in Tournaments Illuminated, this is one of the simplest explanations of how to make a "t-tunic" using period construction, by Muireann ingen Eoghain ua Maoil Mheaghna. If you can make the "SCA-beginner" version, you can make this, and you'll look a lot better!

Medieval Clothing Page Articles by Cynthia du Pre Argent, excellently written and researched and easy to follow. See especially: "How to be a Hoodlum", "Coifs", "Wire circlet", "Basic Garb (1000-1300)", and the "Tunic Worksheet (1000-1300)" which is similar in design to the previous "T-tunic" article.

Some Clothing of the Middle Ages Historic clothing patterns from archeological finds in England and Scandinavia. Very, very useful!

Angelcynn: Clothing Anglelcynn was the site for Anglo-Saxon Living History, 400-900 CE. Warning: the supposedly updated site (http://www.angelcynn.org.uk) has been taken over by something commercial with lots of bad pop-ups. I've changed the link to one of the original pages.

Reconstructing History Has wonderfully easy-to-follow articles on period garb (including "Your First Set of Clothes"). Also articles on Celtic garb (Irish & Scottish), from the 5th century all the way to 1800, and garb of other lands.

Thora Sharptooth's Viking Resources Several useful articles, especially "A Quick & Dirty Look at Viking Women's Garb..." and "Viking Tunic Construction." Wonderful research and details!

The Viking Apron-Dress Ellisif Flakkari's interpretation, which is similar but not identical to that of Thora Sharptooth.

Basics of Byzantine Dress Excellent source of pattern and background information on the various pieces of Byzantine costume of about 1000 CE, including fabrics and accessories.

Oriental Costumes Another misleading title: this is an on-line copy of a 1922 book on ethnic and historic clothing of the Near, Middle, and Far East. Wonderful pictures with accurate depictions of seam lines.

Italian Ren. Gown Construction From the period c. 1470 - 1540, by Leona Khadine d'Este and Enid d'Auliere. Extremely detailed patterns and instructions for gowns with many variations, and the appropriate chemises. Also includes pictures of gowns made from these patterns, and a gallery of Italian paintings for inspiration.

Poulet-Gauche Poster Girl Diagrams and tips for making a lower-class woman's working costume, c. 1604.

We All Need Linen Excellent discussion and simple diagrams for making shirts/smocks/chemises for many periods, including seam finishing techniques. [A nice person gave me the links to find the archived files for this article.]

Recreating 14th C. Braies An article with pictures and cutting diagrams of two versions of the men's undergarment of the 14th and early 15th century.

Mundane Travel Information (top)

Google Street View of Pennsic What does Pennsic look like from I-79? Click "Street View" to get the blue lines. Put the little guy on I-79 past the end of Lake Lane. Use the swivel arrows to look west (to the left on the map).

WeatherUnderground: Slippery Rock The current weather conditions and advance forecast for Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.

Climate Prediction Center An extended range weather outlook for the next 6-10 and 8-14 days.

PA: Traveler Information The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's traveler information site on traffic, bridge & road conditions, and welcome centers.

NY: Road Work The New York State Department of Transportation's information site on road construction NOT including the Thruway (I-90).

NY Thruway: Travelers The New York State Thruway's site on plaza services and construction for I-90. For current road conditions, call 1-800-THRUWAY (1-800-847-8929).

Rand McNally Road Construction Rand McNally (the map company) collects road construction information for the U.S. and Canada. You can even specify start and end dates.

Motels in Pennsylvania The Internet Lodging Directory's list of motels by city; just names, addresses and phone numbers, but very complete. Closest cities to Pennsic are Slippery Rock, New Castle, and Butler.

Roomsaver.com They create the "Traveler Discount" coupon/guide books available free at most interstate rest areas. You can also print out the coupons on-line, or order the guides directly for a small shipping fee.

Gas Price Watch The gas stations with the lowest prices by zip/postal code and mileage/kilometer radius for the US and Canada.

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created and maintained by Carol Hanson
last modified on Sept. 5, 2008

We're always looking for good links: if you have favourites that aren't here, please let us know at chanson@dragonbear.com
Link Categories: Official Pennsic Links Generally Useful Particularly Pennsic Construction Making Armor	Just Packing Lists Just Recipes Appropriate Garb Mundane Travel Information

Official Pennsic Links (top)
Pennsic War	The official Pennsic War site for whichever is the current Pennsic War. Preregistration for Pennsic 38 (2009) starts January 1, 2009.
Generally Useful (top)
SCA	The official site for the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.
Stefan's Florilegium	An impressive site maintained by Stefan li Rous, consisting of compilations by topic (and sub-topic) of e-mail and newsgroup posts and articles submitted directly. Especially useful topics are "camping" and "Pennsic" (of course!).
Cariadoc's Miscellany	A wonderful site by Cariadoc and Elizabeth. Many recipes, great stories, a period pavilion, and other articles on maintaining a period style. The link to the left is to the older HTML edition; if you have Adobe Reader you can see the current edition.
Medieval Pavilion Resources	Excellent and enormous site with many articles and links for tents, furniture, camp cooking, and general costuming. Includes camping packing list. Highly recommended.
Ravensgard SCA Homepage	A fantastic collection of links with a new look and URL.
Particularly Pennsic (top)
Pennsic War Information	Alexander the Lost's Pennsic page. Many topics, photos, stories, FAQ, and message board. Includes a packing list.
Pennsic War Guide and Checklist	By Bart the Bewildered. An often-recommended camping guide (with packing list) that's clear and concise. Last updated: 1997.
Camping in the SCA	By Rose Otter. Many useful planning and camping tips, plus two good recipes for beef jerky.
The Pennsic War	Stories and info about the Pennsic War, with a sundial and a section on non-cooler food planning. Last updated: 2001.
Construction (top)
Furniture / Camping Accessories	Links to sites for beds (rope, rope/canvas, and slat), chairs, tables, chests, lighting, etc., from the Medieval Pavilion Resources site.
Water Filter	"How to Make Pennsic Taste Sweeter" by Tibor of Rock Valley. A simple and fairly inexpensive filter that attaches to a garden hose. Highly recommended for people who don't like the Cooper's Lake version of mineral water. (Please note that most standard house filters do NOT remove biological contamination, just minerals and metals.)
Charles Oakley	Several articles on construction of period campsite furnishings, including a platform bed. Also an article on making a 12th century pouch.
Plausibly Medieval Pavilions	Very nice site with pictures of modern versions, pictures from manuscripts, a list and discussion of designs, a custom measurement calculator, some info on the Enchanted Ground, and great links. The authors have taught classes at Pennsic for the last four years.
Make Your Own Drinking Horn	By Vladimir of Esztergom. Simple and comprehensive directions for preparing a raw horn and etching designs on it.
Making Armor (top)
The Perfect Armor	From Cariadoc's Miscellany. Also see The Perfect Armor Improved: Water Hardened Leather.
The Armour Archive	General armor information. Especially check out the "Armouring Essays" such as Simple Gambeson Construction by Nagy Peter.
The Making of Wisby Plate	By Corwyn Sinister, using plastic plates and upholstery fabric; includes the making of plastic leg armor.
A Guide to Making Bartholomew's SCA Armor	By Bartholomew Hightower of Canterbury. An extremely comprehensive site covering every part of interest.
Just Packing Lists (top)
Medieval Pavilion: Packing List	List with links to more lists (all are included below).
Pennsic War Checklist	By Bart the Bewildered.
Ravensgard Packing List	From the site "Camping Basics for the SCA" by Chimene des Cinq Tours.
Pennsic War Pack List	From Alexander the Lost's Pennsic site.
Pennsic Packing List	DragonBear's own version of the complete Pennsic packing list.
Just Recipes (top)
A Boke of Gode Cookery	Huen's site of a multitude of medieval recipes. There are shortbreads, oatcakes, and seedcakes for making ahead of time; also many recipes that could be made at a campsite.
Cooking in Ostgardr	Several useful articles: "Camp Cooking Without a Cooler", "More Cooler-Free Camp Cooking", "The Pilgrim's Picnic Basket".
Eating Well at Pennsic -- Without a Cooler	A different article and methods for non-cooler camp cooking.
Medieval Pavilion: Period and Camping Cooking	Includes link to Medieval Pavilion's master index of period recipes online.
Preserving of Foods through the Middle Ages	Jules Hojnowski's article on various methods and recipes used through the period for preserving foods.
Comparative Jerky 101	Three jerky recipes that were tested using various methods of preparation and a discussion of the results.
Jerky	The Google web directory listing of jerky recipe sites. Many, many recipes.
RecipeSource	The new site based on "SOAR", the University of Berkeley's "Searchable Online Archive of Recipes". Enormous, with every category you can think of, including "medieval" and "camping". Heavy traffic used to mean that it was sometimes difficult to connect, but the new site is much faster.
Appropriate Garb (top)
Period T-Tunic	Originally published in Tournaments Illuminated, this is one of the simplest explanations of how to make a "t-tunic" using period construction, by Muireann ingen Eoghain ua Maoil Mheaghna. If you can make the "SCA-beginner" version, you can make this, and you'll look a lot better!
Medieval Clothing Page	Articles by Cynthia du Pre Argent, excellently written and researched and easy to follow. See especially: "How to be a Hoodlum", "Coifs", "Wire circlet", "Basic Garb (1000-1300)", and the "Tunic Worksheet (1000-1300)" which is similar in design to the previous "T-tunic" article.
Some Clothing of the Middle Ages	Historic clothing patterns from archeological finds in England and Scandinavia. Very, very useful!
Angelcynn: Clothing	Anglelcynn was the site for Anglo-Saxon Living History, 400-900 CE. Warning: the supposedly updated site (http://www.angelcynn.org.uk) has been taken over by something commercial with lots of bad pop-ups. I've changed the link to one of the original pages.
Reconstructing History	Has wonderfully easy-to-follow articles on period garb (including "Your First Set of Clothes"). Also articles on Celtic garb (Irish & Scottish), from the 5th century all the way to 1800, and garb of other lands.
Thora Sharptooth's Viking Resources	Several useful articles, especially "A Quick & Dirty Look at Viking Women's Garb..." and "Viking Tunic Construction." Wonderful research and details!
The Viking Apron-Dress	Ellisif Flakkari's interpretation, which is similar but not identical to that of Thora Sharptooth.
Basics of Byzantine Dress	Excellent source of pattern and background information on the various pieces of Byzantine costume of about 1000 CE, including fabrics and accessories.
Oriental Costumes	Another misleading title: this is an on-line copy of a 1922 book on ethnic and historic clothing of the Near, Middle, and Far East. Wonderful pictures with accurate depictions of seam lines.
Italian Ren. Gown Construction	From the period c. 1470 - 1540, by Leona Khadine d'Este and Enid d'Auliere. Extremely detailed patterns and instructions for gowns with many variations, and the appropriate chemises. Also includes pictures of gowns made from these patterns, and a gallery of Italian paintings for inspiration.
Poulet-Gauche Poster Girl	Diagrams and tips for making a lower-class woman's working costume, c. 1604.
We All Need Linen	Excellent discussion and simple diagrams for making shirts/smocks/chemises for many periods, including seam finishing techniques. [A nice person gave me the links to find the archived files for this article.]
Recreating 14th C. Braies	An article with pictures and cutting diagrams of two versions of the men's undergarment of the 14th and early 15th century.
Mundane Travel Information (top)
Google Street View of Pennsic	What does Pennsic look like from I-79? Click "Street View" to get the blue lines. Put the little guy on I-79 past the end of Lake Lane. Use the swivel arrows to look west (to the left on the map).
WeatherUnderground: Slippery Rock	The current weather conditions and advance forecast for Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.
Climate Prediction Center	An extended range weather outlook for the next 6-10 and 8-14 days.
PA: Traveler Information	The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's traveler information site on traffic, bridge & road conditions, and welcome centers.
NY: Road Work	The New York State Department of Transportation's information site on road construction NOT including the Thruway (I-90).
NY Thruway: Travelers	The New York State Thruway's site on plaza services and construction for I-90. For current road conditions, call 1-800-THRUWAY (1-800-847-8929).
Rand McNally Road Construction	Rand McNally (the map company) collects road construction information for the U.S. and Canada. You can even specify start and end dates.
Motels in Pennsylvania	The Internet Lodging Directory's list of motels by city; just names, addresses and phone numbers, but very complete. Closest cities to Pennsic are Slippery Rock, New Castle, and Butler.
Roomsaver.com	They create the "Traveler Discount" coupon/guide books available free at most interstate rest areas. You can also print out the coupons on-line, or order the guides directly for a small shipping fee.
Gas Price Watch	The gas stations with the lowest prices by zip/postal code and mileage/kilometer radius for the US and Canada.
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