Imagine if Monty Python's French castle were actually Japanese... Amusing mash-up of Kurosawa's Throne of Blood and Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Former Anglican Bishop of Leicester Monsignor Cecil Richard Rutt, known to knitters worldwide as Richard Rutt, author of A History of Hand Knitting, died July 27, 2011 in Falmouth, England. Rutt was 86 years old.

You've read about it. You've seen the photos. Now you have the chance to see the wonders in person when one hundred artifacts from the Staffordshire Hoard go on display at National Geographic Museum in Washington D.C.

"We love the show of it," said Lady Thamira haSopheret (Tammy Barr Silverman), about the appeal of the SCA. "We love the feeling of being lords and ladies and wearing fancy clothes." Bernie Petit of the Gaston Gazzette spoke with her and others from the Canton of Aire Faucon in Atlantia.

A lack of "great heaps of dead rats in all the waterfront sites" has led The Black Death in London author Barney Sloane to conclude that the rodents were not the cause of plague in 14th century England. "The evidence just isn't there to support it," he said.

A popular entertainment at Malbork Castle in Poland is medieval armored combat. BBC Warsaw correspondent Adam Easton attends an event and talks to spectators. Malbork is Europe's largest medieval castle. (video)

Esmeralda of the Lakes, Principessa of Cynagua in the Kingdom of the West, shares photos taken at the recent Mists/Cynagua War. The photos are available on Her Highness' website.

The website Irish Central has posted a list of the 10 most popular Irish last names, including meaning of the name, variations, and the area where the name is most prominent.

Society Rapier Marshal Baroness Eyrny reports that she has created an SCA rapier blog "to improve communications to the rapier community."

Re-enacting can be a lot of fun, but it can also be lucrative if you happen to live near the Colosseum or other prominent Roman tourist attractions. Unfortunately, not all of the costumed characters are upstanding in their dealings.

Aten Signet Dame Jennifer Trethewy reports that she has posted a collection of photos of hand-illumniated scrolls awarded recently in the Kingdom of Atenveldt. The photos are available on PhotoBucket.

The new Pilgrim's Way walking path in Wales was christened recently when 80 walkers began the 127-mile (204km), 12-day trek from Basingwerk Abbey in Holywell, Flintshire to Bardsey Island in Gwynedd. (slideshow)

A collaborative project by Queen's University Belfast, King’s College London, and the Bodleian Libraries offers an innovative approach that explores the ‘linguistic geographies’ of the Gough Map, the earliest surviving geographically recognizable map of Great Britain.

Christopher MacConing of the Kingdom of Atlantia suggests collecting and recycling pewter site tokens.

His Royal Highness Rurik Varyag Velmudov of the Principality of Oertha reports that he has uploaded video from the Bear Pit Tournament of the Selviergard Baroness' Champion event. The video is available on YouTube.

Beginning on April 23, 2012, a multilingual Shakespeare festival will celebrate culture in parallel with the London Summer Olympics. Professional and amateur companies will present the Bard's plays in dozens of languages and hundreds of productions.

A white spot on an aerial photograph has led researchers to a well preserved Roman gladiator school in Austria. The site has been mapped out in detail using ground penetrating radar.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers free online courses under its MITOpenCourseWare program. Among the many subjects offered is history.

Dr. Will Bowden, associate professor of Roman archaeology at the University of Nottingham, has begun a new dig at he site of Venta Icenorum at Caistor St Edmund, this time in search of a Roman forum and an Anglo-Saxon town.

Canadian experts are stumped after reconstructing a 3rd century Roman jar "riddled with tiny holes." The jar is part of the collection of the Museum of Ontario Archaeology. (photo)

Various photographers and videographers have shared their visions of Pennsic XL by posting their photos online. Included are albums by Dragos Pelikanos, Alda, Barbara, Baroness Bridget, Liam St Liam, Ursus of Anglesey, and Rebecca of Three Rivers. Video by Leohtulf.  

Novices, Neophytes & Knaves – 10*

(*The Binary Edition)

A collegium for those new to an area of study, or for those new to the SCA

 10-01-11 from 9am to 7pm-ish

A team of archaeologists from Coquetdale Community Archaeology has discovered the remains of a 13th century cloth mill on the River Coquet near Barrowburn, England. Experts believe that the mill was built by monks from the Newminster Abbey in Morpeth.

A new exhibit at the Louvre in Paris explores "a largely ignored aspect of painting in the Middle Ages: the fun in medieval manuscripts." The exhibition, Enluminures: Moyen Âge et Renaissance, will be on view until October 10, 2011.

Kay Marszalek has served the Anoka County (Minnesota) Library System for 42 years, beginning in 1969. She recently ended her career of public service with a final "story hour" for the kids -- wearing her SCA garb to tell them about princes and princesses!

Sports enthusiasts flocked to London to cheer for the latest specticle of athletic prowess recently when the Museum of London hosted a face off between Londinium and Camulodunum - their gladiators, that is. The competition took place at the city's Guildhall, site of the Roman amphitheatre. (photo)

Celebrate the last harvest of the season and the coming of the dark times! The hobgoblins will be about making merry with the traditions of the season.

Word has been carried in the wind. Atlantia will once again lay siege to the Shire of Sylvan Glen on September 23th – 25th, 2011 for the Silver Apple.

Come in and celebrate a day of archery, thrown weapons, spear fights, A&S, and feast!

On Saturday October 15, 2011 the Shire of Aarquelle will be hosting its annual Defender Tournament to determine who will hold the honor and responsibility of the Aarquelle Defender titles for the coming year.