Schutzenfest

From MiddleWiki

Popinjay hand bow prize. Wood and bronze Popinjay by Colette Zilka, bronze chain by Zenith Quinn Drake, photo courtesy JamesSKoch

Bronze Schutzenkonig Pin Backed Badge, photo courtesy JamesSKoch

The Schutzenfest was begun in response to a perceived need for a master level competition to challenge the members of the Order Of The Greenwood Company and provide a venue for recognizing the skills of up and coming archers. This is currently an annual archery competition. The shoot is open to any and all archers and was originally broken into two divisions, hand bow and crossbow. A third division was added beginning at BWTA in late Winter 2019. This is a SCA period hand bow division for archers shooting equipment legal for use in the Pennsic Period equipment competition, no cut out arrow shelves and any arrow nocks must be of materials used during the SCA period. Matching costumes are encouraged. There are no set targets or shoots. It is up to the marshals of the sponsoring group to provide a challenging competition.

Schutzenkonig

The highest scorer in each division is declared the winner of the contest and becomes the Schutzenkonig of that division. There are three prizes consisting of wood and bronze popinjays suspended from bronze chains, two holding hand bows and the other holding a crossbow. The winners are accorded the right of retaining and wearing the prizes until the next Schutzenfest. At that time they must either appear at the competition to defend their prize, or surrender it to the next winner. Former holders of the prizes are awarded popinjay badges. Bronze badges go to first time winners, silver to individuals who have won twice, and gold to those who have won three or more times.

The Current Schutzenkonigs

2024
		The Annual Hunt For The White Stag event on October 5th occurred on a beautiful early Autumn day, sunny, warm, with only the slightest breeze, and not at all humid. The perfect day for a Schutzenfest. Ivar Gregorson was unable to attend to defend his prize. Foresters Robert Thorne and Reimar Erikson were available to defend the Crossbow and SCA period hand bow prizes. The competition was an eleven station woods walk with life size 3D animal targets. When the final scores were tallied we had a surprise. We had never previously had a tie in any of the three divisions. This time we had ties in all three divisions and settled the matter with three shoot offs. In the end the crossbow division was won by Crispin Fletcher of the Kingdom of Northshield. This is only the second time an out of kingdom competitor has taken the prize. The open handbow division was won by Forester Aethelwulf Of Dover of the Barony of Ayrenton.
		In the SCA period archery equipment division the two remaining tied competitors Vidi Hovdestad (The Society Archery Marshal) also of Nordskogen in the Kingdom of Northshield and Aelfric the Kestral both decided to share the prize. For Aelfric who previously shot in the open division this win was quite a feat. He chose to compete with a new ash longbow he received earlier that same morning with little time to practice. Photos courtesy of Gladius The Alchemist.

Schutzenkonigs Of Yore

2023
			The weather at Midland's Michaelmas and Schutzenfest on September 30th was sunny though unseasonably hot and somewhat breezy. Foresters Edward and Woody were unable to attend to defend their division prizes. Forester Gladius the Alchemist was available to defend the SCA period hand bow prize, but was outshot by Forester Reimar Erikson. The winner of the crossbow division is the Baron of Illiton, Forester Robert Thorne. This is no surprise since Robert is tied for first place as one of the two highest scoring crossbowmen in the Middle Kingdom with an impossible sounding Royal Round score of 126.3 points! There was a surprise though. The winner of the open handbow division was Ivar Gregorson. This was Ivar's first archery tournament and his first event! The last time this happened was nine years ago when Renzo Kuken won the open handbow division of the Schutzenfest in the Winter of 2014. Photo courtesy of Gladius The Alchemist.

2021
			The weather at Fletchings V on September 11th was beautiful though windy. Unfortunately Forester Cirion who held the open hand bow division prize died suddenly and unexpectedly a few months earlier. He will be sorely missed. Forester Eamon was unable to attend to defend the crossbow division prize. Only Forester Gladius the Alchemist was available to defend the SCA period hand bow prize. The overall high scoring contestant for the day was Forester Edward Brackenburye winning in the open hand bow division. Edward's score was considerably higher than that of any of the other participants. Forester Woody took the prize in the crossbow division. He outshot both Tarmach and Forester Garvin The Slow using a crossbow made by Garvin. Gladius the Alchemist successfully defended the SCA period equipment hand bow prize. Photo courtesy of Tarmach.

2020
No Schutzenfests were held during 2020 due to the global pandemic
Summer 2019
			Cirion was able to attend Reign of Arrows, but Gwyneth and William were not able to do so. Rather than defend his prize, Cirion chose to compete in the open hand bow division. It was a beautiful though breezy day for an archery competition. In the end the winners were Forester Cirion with hand bow, Forester Eamon with crossbow, and Forester Gladius with SCA period hand bow. Photos courtesy JamesSKoch
Winter 2019
			Both Cirion and Muldonny were able to attend the Better War Through Archery Schutzenfest. Rather than defend their prizes, both switched back to their earlier weapon types. Cirion shot a crossbow and Muldonny shot a hand bow. In the end the two winners were Forester Cirion with crossbow and Forester Gwyneth Cole with hand bow. This was the first Schutzenfest including the new SCA period equipment division. The new prize was won by William McFayden, the only winner who is not a member of the Greenwood Company. William had a good day. Not only did he win his division, he also had the highest overall hand bow score. Photos courtesy JamesSKoch
Summer 2018
			Both Cirion and Muldonny were able to attend the Reign of Arrows Schutzenfest. Rather than defend their prizes, both agreed to switch weapon types. Cirion shot a hand bow and Muldonny shot a crossbow. In the end the two winners were Forester Cirion with hand bow and Forester Muldonny with crossbow. This is the first time someone other than Cirion has won the crossbow prize. This is also the first time Muldonny has ever competed with a crossbow. Photo courtesy Gwyneth Cole
Winter 2018
			Forester Cirion again successfully defended the crossbow prize at Better War through Archery March 31st, 2018. Gunnarr Bogsveigir attended to defend the hand bow prize. As is typical of this event, a large number of people entered the competition. In the end the two winners were Forester Cirion and Forester Muldonny. This is the second time Muldonny has won the hand bow competition, making him the third person to have won twice. Cirion also won the Cedar Ring and Muldonny the Ash Ring, making them both double winners for the day. Photo courtesy JamesSKoch
Summer 2017
			Forester Cirion again successfully defended the crossbow prize at Reign of Arrows September, 2017. Gunnarr Bogsveigir drove up from Rivenstar to defend the hand bow prize. It was a beautiful day and perfect weather for shooting. A large number of people entered and competed this year including a number of members of the Greenwood Company. In the end the two winners were Forester Cirion and Gunnarr, with Gunnarr outshooting Forester Tarquin by one point. This is the first time the hand bow prize was successfully defended. It also proves Gunnarr's earlier win at Better War was due more to skill than simple beginner's luck. Photo courtesy JamesSKoch	notes
Winter 2017
			Forester Cirion again successfully defended the crossbow prize at Better War through Archery 2017. Forester Tarquin was unable to attend to defend the hand bow prize. This was a very well attended event with plenty of competition in both divisions. Cirion again successfully defended the crossbow prize, but according to him it was close. The handbow winner is Gunnarr Bogsveigir of Rivenstar. She is one of the few non Foresters to win at BWTA, and the first female winner since Forester Zuriel won the original Schutzenfest. This is an impressive achievement since Gunnarr is new to archery and has attended only a few prior events. Photo courtesy JamesSKoch
Summer 2016
			Forester Cirion the Lefthanded again successfully defended the crossbow prize at Reign of Arrows 2016. Forester Muldonny was unable to attend to defend the hand bow prize. The hand bow prize was won by Forester Tarquin the Red. This was one of the larger Reign of Arrows with approximately 40 competitors providing some serious competition. It was also the first time at this event that the hand bow prize was not taken out of kingdom by Raithe of Ealdormere. We had a large number of people competing with crossbow including Robert Thorne who is returning after an absense of many years. Robert came in second place. Photo courtesy JamesSKoch
Winter 2016
			Forester Cirion again successfully defended the crossbow prize in the Winter of 2016 at Better War through Archery. Raithe was unable to attend to defend the hand bow prize. The hand bow prize was won by Muldonny of the Cleftlands. The competition consisted of shooting an actual apple off of a target head. Participants started at close range, shot up to 6 arrows until they struck the apple or the head, or missed with all 6. Competitors who hit the apple went on to the next round, shot at a longer range. This went on until only one shooter remained, who was the ultimate winner of the competition. Pretty much everyone assumed, since this was a William Tell shoot and untimed, the final winner would be someone shooting a crossbow. The field was reduced to Muldonny, Forseter Lucas, both shooting hand bows, and Cirion shooting a crossbow. Lucas was eliminated and the line could be moved no farther back. It came down to a sudden death shoot off between Muldonny and Cirion. Muldonny placed an arrow solidly in the middle if his target apple. To the shock and surprise of many, Cirion shot and missed. This makes the second time in the Schutzenfest that a hand bow archer outshot Forester Cirion and his crossbow. The previous occurrence was at BWTA in 2014 when Renzo Kuchen managed to outscore Forester Cirion. Photo courtesy JamesSKoch
Summer 2015
			Forester Cirion "The Yet Undefeatable" again successfully defended the crossbow prize in the Summer of 2015 at Reign of Arrows 4. Forester Dearg of Oakenshield was unable to attend to defend the hand bow prize. The hand bow prize was won for the second time by Raithe of Ealdormere. He won it at the previous Reign of Arrows. This makes Raithe the first hand bow shooter to win the Schutzenfest more than once. Photo courtesy JamesSKoch
Winter 2015
			Forester Cirion "The Undefeatable" again successfully defended the crossbow prize in the Winter of 2015 at Better War through Archery. Raithe of Ealdormere was unable to attend to defend the hand bow prize. The hand bow prize was won by Forester Dearg of Oakenshield shooting against a field of eighty opponents using a new bow he had never shot previously. Dearg had the second highest score for the day beating all of the other hand bow shooters and all of the crossbow shooters with the exception if Cirion. Photo courtesy JamesSKoch
Summer 2014
		Forester Cirion, crossbow	Forester Cirion again successfully defended the crossbow prize in the Summer of 2014 at Reign of Arrows III. He remains undefeated and apparently invincible. Renzo was unable to defend the hand bow prize in the Summer of 2014. It was won by Raithe of Ealdormere, who is the first non Middle Kingdom archer to win the prize. Raithe shot well against a large field of opponents on a very challenging course, including a 100 yard clout. Photo courtesy JamesSKoch
Winter 2014
			Forester Cirion successfully defended the crossbow prize in the Winter of 2014. Forester Kenshin was unable to defend the hand bow prize in the Winter of 2014 due to a broken wrist. It was won by Renzo Kuken. Renzo was the first archer who was not a Forester of the Greenwood Company to win either prize. This was also Renzos first archery tournament and his first SCA event. This was an impressive showing. Better War through Archery is a well attended archery event and Renzo was shooting against nearly a dozen Foresters of the Greenwood Company. Not only did he beat all of the other hand bow shooters, he beat the top crossbow score by three points. Photo courtesy JamesSKoch
Fall 2013
		Forester Cirion, crossbow	Forester Kenshin won the hand bow prize at Melee In Roswell in the Fall of 2013. There were no crossbow challengers and Forester Cirion retained the prize for crossbow. Photo courtesy JamesSKoch
Winter 2013
			Forester Zuriel was unable to defend the prize the following Winter. It was won by Forester Neko Me in the Winter of 2013. Forester Cirion the Lefthanded was the first to win the prize with a crossbow in the Winter of 2013. Photo courtesy of JamesSKoch
Fall 2012
			Forester Zuriel Nightshade was the first archer to win the hand bow prize at the Eastwatch Grand Archery Tournament in the Fall of 2012. There were no crossbow entrants at that first event. Photo courtesy of Zuriel
	Donations
The Greenwood Company wishes to thank members who generously donated to the fund to purchase two new prize chains and popinjay pendants. The first was needed for the new SCA period equipment division and the second was to replace the one lost due to Forester Cirion's passing. Our thanks go out to Woody Adamson, Justin Brew and Lisa Heller, and Barb and Dan Hernandez.