Ostgardr

The Crown Province of Østgarðr encompasses the 5 boroughs of New York City (Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island) as well as Nassau County and Westchester and Putnam counties. It is the original core of the East Kingdom, since when some SCA folks moved east about 1968 or so, they settled in New York.

The province encompasses three existing cantons and one incipient canton as of A.S. XLI. Lion's End encompasses Nassau County, Long Island; Northpass encompasses Westchester and Putnam counties north of the city limits; Whyt Whey is the County of New York (mostly the island of Manhattan); and Brooklyn holds the incipient canton of Brokenbridge.

History

Østgarðr is the only Crown Province in the SCA and it is a province rather than a barony because the early kings of the East mostly lived in or around New York City. When, one day the gentle who won crown tournament did not live in New York or its environs, it was decided that the lands the king had held for himself would be administered by a Viceroy and/or Vicereine, who would hold those lands directly at the king's behest.

It was formally decided and embedded in East Kingdom law that Østgarðr would function as a Barony, and the Viceregents would function as Barons/Baronesses. Due to the grandfather clause this state persists, although all new groups must conform to Corpora, which defines a Province "equivalent of barony without ceremonial representative."

The Province, thus, is unique in the SCA by virtue of being a 'Province' with a ceremonial representative (or two.)

Cheese Farming

In the mists of time, the "Nameless Province" needed a name. Rumours abound as to how the name originated and who came up with it, but the final results was Østgarðr, which is old Norse for "East City" or "East Castle," along the lines of "Micklegarðr" which was the name the Norse used for Constantinople.

However, the legend goes, someone discovered or decided that if you misspelled the name using the Latin alphabet, "Ostgardr," it means "Cheese Farm." Thus the tradition of the inhabitants calling themselves Cheese Farmers and a plethora of cheese related jokes and schtick.

Ruling Nobility

• Vardak Mirceavitch Basarabov of Iloi, Viceroy
• (find name of second Viceroy), Viceroy
• Ian Mitchell and Katherine Gillesfleur, VIceroy and Vicerine (January 1980 - September 2006)
• Alexandre Lerot d'Avigne and Eularia Trewe, Viceroy and Vicerine (September 2006 - )

External Links

http://www.ostgardr.org - the Crown Province's website