College of St Christina the Astonishing
The College of St Christina the Astonishing
The College of St Christina the Astonishing is an SCA College in the Barony of Innilgard in the Kingdom of Lochac. It is based at Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia. It was first established in 1990, but after a few years, fell into a long period of dormancy. It was revived in 2021, and has been active ever since. You can find their website here.
St Christina’s motto is ex cinera volumus - “from ashes we fly”, likening the miraculous revival to a phoenix’s flight. This was chosen by popular vote in 2022, and replaced the original motto duo capita plura sunt quam unum – “two heads are better than one”.
The college device has a depiction of Flessie (Flinders Nessie), the sea serpent that lives in the lake on campus. St Christina is also commonly associated with ducks - in the full coat of arms, the device is supported by two pacific black ducks, known as “Cheese” and “Quackers.” The association is also perpetuated by the legend of The Great Duck - a giant duck that is said will come to the College in its hour of need. Members have been known to try and summon it using the game of “duck duck goat”, and to make quacking noises when appropriate (such as after court, or whenever they feel like it). They have also claimed the dance known as petit vriens due to its colloquial name of the "duck dance", named for it's close resemblance to a line of ducks.
The college is closely allied with College of Blessed Herman the Cripple. After a brief period of war in A.S.56 (see: Inter-College War XXV), the two colleges signed a peace treaty, and have been friends ever since. In acknowledgement of Blessed Herman proving the superior force in battle, the clause was added that the banners of St Christina cannot be larger than the average size of Blessed Herman banners. The treaty also protects summoners of The Great Duck from any Hermanites harbouring anti-duck sentiments. (Which doesn't make sense anyway, I mean, have you seen how cute ducks are?)
Hagiography
Saint Christina is the patron saint of millers, bakers, mental health workers, and people with mental disorders. The college founders chose her because “she sounded kinda crazy, and that appealed to us at the time”. Her feast day is the 24th of July.
Past Seneschals
(as of the 3rd April 2024)
- René du Bon Bois [Later Uberto Renaldi] (Jan 1989 - July 1990)
- Gerhardt der Jäger (Aug 1990 - Nov 1991)
- Emryn ap Llewellyn (Dec 1991 - July 1994)
- Breannach nic Thiergnen (Aug 1994 - Oct 1996)
- Bianca Weir (Nov 1996 - Apr 1997)
- Dormant from 1997-2021
- Falki the Unwashed [Later Fálki óþveginn] (Apr 2021 - Jun 2022)
- Mariota Blackwood (Jul 2022 - March 2024)
- Aífe ingen Cathail (March 2024 - Present)
