Hello Known World

Yes it's a cheesy title but somehow it fits. Welcome to the verbal wanderings of a 12th century Georgian azmaur, a minor noble, as seen through the eyes and hands of a 21st century retired teacher. This blog is meant to be the ongoing record of my own mix of research, experimental archaeology, forays into different hobbies and craft skills, with perhaps a dose of random commentary.

Davit Jamburiani, my SCA persona, is a scholar working at the Gelati Monastery in the Kingdom of Georgia during the early portion of the reign of King Demetre I. A younger son in a msakhuri family in Upper Svaneti. Literally msakhuri means servent although they were the highest level of non-nobility and in the 12th century still had many rights. They were generally the administrative and military assistants to nobles with the ability to buy, sell, and own their own land, . After training as a scribe and messenger in the service of the eristavi of Svaneti Davit was picked to be sent to Constantinople as part of David IV's efforts to make the Gelati Monastery a center for learning. Returning after learning Greek, Latin, and Arabic he has served as a scholar, messenger, and diplomat to the lands around Georgia for David IV and now Demetre I. With the integration of Shirvan into the Kingdom he has recently been sent to be eyes for the king in that city and Derbent.

On the other hand the mundane I is, as mentioned, a retired teacher in the real world Philadelphia area. I've known about the SCA for 40+ years but the combat never interested me and the medieval pageantry seemed hokey unless you bought into the combat sport side of the hobby. Then of course life happened and the SCA wasn't even a thought. Now, after kids and career, it crept back into my mind as I kept exploring hobbies that overlap. 

Some of a pageantry still seems a little hokey but with an interesting mix of cosplay, living history, and experimental archaeology. The combat, with some exceptions, is still not something I want to be part of. Of course there is drama of various sorts around diversity, inclusion, and the changing view of the goals and purpose of the organization. Yet in the end it's also a nerdy tribe that I fit into. So I've started wandering.