Your full name
Mistress Ingrid Audardotter from Holmrike/Nordmark/Drachenwald
About
One summer evening in 2008 I was invited home to some friends of mine for dinner. I was tired and my friends first comment when I was arriving was: “We have a small kid so this can not be a late dinner. We have to go to bed at the latest 21:30.” So we all agreed on it being nice to meet, but we should not make it late.
On the walls, there was framed scrolls and their apartment was filled with other signs of medieval times. Since I am curious I asked and got a lot of information av stories about SCA.
And at 01:30 in the night we all realised that time had flown away too quickly. We who had agreed that we shouldn´t be late.
This however was the start of me joining Gilliam and Jodis to an event in Juneborg (Jönköping, Sweden) in October. Gilliam took med to Holmrike´s cabin in one of Stockholm’s parks where they had (and have) some loner clothes. Since I am a big girl I thought they would not have anything that would fit me, but that was not a problem. I got a dress and was looking forward to this adventure a lot.
The day we left for the event I was very stressed since many teachers were ill and I needed to fix temps for a lot of the weekend classes at the Theatre School I worked. So I ended up driving my own car behind them so that I was able to go through my list of possible temps. And so it happened to be that I was phoning all the plus 4 hours it took to drive there. But when we arrived I needed to put away the mobile phone and my watch and I had no computer access during the weekend. It was lovely and the minute I stepped through the door in “Sägnernas hus” (the name translates to The house of legends), I was hooked.
It felt like I was stepping into another realm. I heard musicians playing some kind of medieval music. I could see people greeting each other with warmth. People sitting beside the open fire laughing. And the surroundings… A great big barn with big beams in the ceiling, high up. And the halls for sleeping. On the floor but how cosy it looked.
And the people!
People were greeting me and saying I was welcome! And to breakfast the day after some of these new people had saved me a seat at their breakfast table! And at court, I got to approach the Queen and got a little token of her. I still cherish that gift.
During that weekend I decided that I wanted to do more! But the next time I wanted to have my own clothes. So thanks to my friend Jodis who helped me a lot I was in May 2009 able to attend some days at Double Wars and in my own clothes!
And in this Society, I have met so many wonderful people and I do not regret for a second that I joined… And even though the magic perhaps not always is as bright as that first time, it shines for me every time I get to live the dream.
Service you have done
I love helping out and feeling needed as I think many people do. But in the beginning, it wasn’t more than helping out cleaning when it was needed and small personal tasks to friends.
At the event “St Cecilia” 2009 I really started my path of helping out at an event. I volunteered to help drive all the stuff that was needed for the event. So I got to know Nattfari doing that. And he is great at introducing you to new (to me) people.
At Winter games 2010 he introduced me to Wilhelmina who was running the Breakfast kitchen at Double War. And from Double Wars 2010 I was a team member in the breakfast kitchen up until I had such trouble walking (have an injured foot) I had to change what I was doing at events.
So I volunteered for tasks like “Troll”, “Registration” or “Web team” and found new things to do.
But besides being an autocrat for lots of events, I also have been the Chatelaine and Deputy Webmaster for my local shire Holmrike. And also Chronicler for the Principality’s newspaper and I have been on the Principality´s Board for some years.
Started in the SCA
I consider Friday 3 October 2008 as my starting date. But the 19th of May 2009 was the first event day when I had my own medieval clothes and on my second event and my first Double Wars. So both days have significance for me.
Interested in
Organize, storytelling, information, theatre, travel (meeting people in their own environment), inclusiveness, board games, making things together with kids, board meetings, singing, getting to know new people.
Likes
Hugs and smiles
Dosen´t like
People who are not being nice to other people. And if you take me for granted.
Stuff she wants to see at events
People that I know and people that I soon will know. And people enjoying themselves.
Was elevated
I was elevated at Kingdom Crown Tournament AS LIV (29-31 March 2019) at Rockelstad Castel. It was an event I actually was head autocrat on. Fortunately, I had great team members that also had a heads up about this from their Majesty´s. And they took control of everything and let me just enjoy my vigil on Friday evening. And my elevation was on the Saturday court.
I had some lovely people that means a lot to me that spoke at my elevation and I would love to take the chance to thank them extra here. Their exact words may perhaps have gotten lost in time. But the feeling they conveyed will always stay with me.
- Kids – Elisabet Gunnar
- Populace – AstridH Thorkilsdotter
- Knight – Gilliam Blackhorn
- M.O.D – Æiríkr inn Hárfagri
- Laurel – Anna Laresdotter
- Pelican – Jovi Torstensdottir
- Royal peer – Vanna Edwinsdochter Dawburn
And the King and Queen that elevated me made it all so moving: William of Richwood and Isabetta del Verde.
I must confess it was a hard decision to chose the ones I wanted to speak for me. There are so many wonderful people that have had an impact on me and my SCA journey! But if I would have chosen everyone that I like… Then we would still be in court. And no one likes too long courts. 😉
Proteges
We met the first time when Menja needed a ride with someone from Stockholms airport Arlanda to southern parts of Sweden to attend the Nordmark Principality Tournament (2018).
A mutual friend of ours asked me if I could give her a ride. And those hours in the car was the start of a beautiful friendship.
Menja is like me, interested in doing stuff in and for the SCA. So it felt natural to continue the friendship in an SCA context also when I had been elevated.
Anything else you want to say
If you happen to see me at an event I would love it if you talked to me. Hope to meet you soon!
