by Paul Wickenden of Thanet, published in the April 2008 Skein
While no longer honored as regularly (or as fervently) as he once was, most of us have heard of Jararvellir’s favorite (if not patron) martyr, Saint Bunstable. Maybe you remember that the Barony used to hold an event every Fall called “Bunstables” or perhaps you are even aware of the miracles that Bunstable performed (and why he was honored here in Jara), but a lot gets lost to rumor and conjecture.
No history of the Barony would be complete without some mention of the Saint. So what is the legend of Bunstable and how did it come to the Barony? How was Bunstable honored? Why has the legend passed from our traditions and where else is it honored still?
Who was Bunstable?
For those not familiar with the story of Bunstable’s miracles, you can find the complete “official” text online at http://students.washington.edu/sca/ bunstable.html, but the rough Cliffs Notes version runs something like this:
An English monk “in distant Lechbury” named Bunstable was charged with the responsibility of guarding the monastery’s stocks of brandy and as a good obedient man, “he bent with humble heart unto his task.” His responsibility was dear, though, because in those days the Vikings frequently raided the lands. It was only a matter of time before the fierce Bjorn the Terrible descended and the inhabitants of Bunstable’s undefended monastery fled (all except Bunstable, who slept “in well-besotted slumber/and dreamed of casks of brandy without number,” oblivious to the raiding party).
Bjorn, who apparently delighted in burning his victims alive, was greatly distressed that everyone had left without proper combustion. In retribution, he ordered the monastery burned to the ground. But one of his men pointed out that the monastery might contain riches that were worth pillaging first [ed: remember, Vikings – pillage and then burn!]. Bjorn agreed and, grabbing a torch, he descended into the cellar where the unconscious Bunstable slumbered. However, the great quantity of brandy stored in the cellar created a unique safety hazard as the chronicle recounts:
“Bjorn brought a torch to light the darkness vast/to flames did light the brandy-fumes. A blast/much like the trump of doom on Judgment Day/did shake the Earth, and even Bjorn did pray,/ for he was covered o’er by strange blue flame./When it died down, he found out, to his shame/that he’d become completely egglike – bald./’Bjorn the Hairless,’ he was thenceforth called.”
“The casks had burst, and Bunstable, who’s tended/them faithfully, to heaven ascended./He was declared a martyr, in due time/and long did Bjorn the Hairless rue his crime.”
But all did not go well for Bunstable. In heaven, he did not fit in. The robe he wore was cold, the clouds were too soft. Harp playing did not really suit him (and all of the songs that he knew had dirty words). He was, in fact, absolutely bored. There were no parties in Heaven and Bunstable missed revelry. So the angels took pity on him and granted him leave to return to the earth. But, as he left, they warned him that many years had passed and that he might not recognize the place anymore.
Returning to earth (in the present day), he was indeed astounded by what he saw, but moreover greatly saddened by the lack of revelry he found. That is, until he traveled across the seas and found a group of good folk at an SCA event who were honoring his sacrifice with good drinking and good cheer. And he appeared before them, illuminated by a flickering blue halo.
This is only one of several versions of the story. As befits any period saint, there are many versions of the story in existence and a quick perusal of the internet will reveal variants of the story (including the idea that Bunstable got Bjorn and his men drunk instead of flambéing them). However, this is the version that we know best.
Bunstable and the SCA
The legend of Bunstable is one of those homegrown SCAisms that can be traced back to the early days of the Society and which spread like wildfire because of its amusement value. As such, it finds its way into many corners of the Known World and its origins are a matter of some dispute.
The West Kingdom’s online history provides the most reliable origin for Bunstable, attributing it to a lord by the name of Geoffrey of Speraunce, who first told the story in July AS VII (1972). Expansions and embellishments quickly followed. By the following year, the story inspired the residents of a group house called Lechbury Abbey in the Barony of Madrone (Seattle WA) to hold a party to celebrate the saint on November 17, AS VIII (1973). The Page provided a chronicle of the event/party in its January issue:
“Festivities proceeded in the tradition of St. Bunstable, with all performing their devotions in the proper spirit. The reveling, feasting, and free-form wenching … continued well into the next morning, with a hardy group on the porch singing bawdy ballads in competition with the dragons on the nearby Seattle Freeway. The dragons won.”
This first “feast of St Bunstable” was so popular that plans for future events to honor the saint were planned and Bunstable was proclaimed the patron saint of Madrone (with November 17th recorded as his official day). The story of Bunstable (as recounted above) was written down by Dierdre Muldomnhaigh, founding baroness of Madrone, in the year that followed to provide a script to support the festivities.
How did the legend come to Jara?
The connection with Jararvellir can be traced to a happy confluence of events and the efforts of Mistress Ealasaid nic Phearsoinn. She was herself introduced to the SCA by Baron Liam and Baroness Dierdre, who also convinced her to attend that infamous house party at Lechbury Abbey as her first event.
Because of (or in spite of) the Bunstable feast, she was hooked and became active in Madrone, but only for a short while before departing for the Midrealm where she had a rude shock arriving in Jararvellir: “when I left fair Madrone early in AS IX, I thought the Feast of St Bunstable was celebrated throughout the known world and when I discovered to my dismay that the Blessed Bunstable was unknown in Jararvellir, I decided to become his missionary.”
How was it celebrated in the Barony?
The first Feast of St. Bunstable in Jararvellir was held in November AS X, as a potluck feast autocrated by Ealasaid. Starting a tradition that was to be carried down through subsequent years, Ealasaid created a subtlety that was ritually flambéed. Mistress Deirdre’s version of the story of Bunstable (sent by Deirdre to Jara as a gift to our Baroness Asdis) was also read aloud to remind everyone of the reason for the revel. In addition, various activities were organized that were evocative of the Saint.
For the first five years, Ealasaid and her lord Guttorm (then known as Egil) ran the event each November until they left Jararvellir in AS XV. The traditions begun at the first feast were generally followed in subsequent years (except for one year when the site was dry and no one wanted to waste the sole alcohol in the feast by setting the subtlety – and some very well brandied oranges that were served with it – alight).
In its early days, Bunstable was more like a moot than what we would recognize today as an actual event, following the more informal qualities of that original gathering at Lechbury Abbey. At the gathering, people were encouraged to bring things that symbolized decadence (at the second Bunstable, there was chocolate fondue) and the entire event had a moderately scandalous tone. To get a flavor of that, consider the account of the third event: “Beginning with Blind Man’s Buff [sic], the games became progressively more immoderate as practically everyone joined in dancing Prinkum-Prankum, and finally in a hard fought game of clench-a-wench.” A year later, the event featured Bunstable-themed events including Vikings vs the Irish tug-of-war (won by the Vikings) and a tourney between unarmed Irish and blindfolded Vikings (with pillow swords) (won by the Irish).
As the years went by, Bunstables gradually became the premier event of the season, usually hosted right before Thanksgiving as close to November 17th as was feasible. Attendance swelled and the potluck feast was replaced by five-remove feasts. Opulence and decadence, however, continued to be the theme. Bawdiness prevailed.
By chance rather than by design, the last Feast of St Bunstable in Jararvellir was held in AS XXVIII (1994). The following year, planning for the event fell through when the site turned out to have no parking available (the parking lot had been rented out to accommodate attendees of the Badgers game which was running the same weekend). With no affordable alternative available in Madison, the event (and the tradition) came to an end. Since that time, there has been no successful attempt to resuscitate the event. But from time to time, old timers will knowingly mention the event or its patron with knowing nods and winks. The Barony still owns two banners that depict Bunstable and Bjorn that are tacked up to the wall at most events. However, the tradition is now largely defunct.
Bunstable lives on!
Ealasaid sadly notes that her attempts to continue her “missionary work” after leaving Jararvellir did not meet success. Yet, while the celebration in Jararvellir is now largely lost to the mists of history and the Bunstable tradition has largely faded in the Midrealm and Northshield, Bunstable (and an annual feast honoring him) lives on back in Madrone. Madrone’s College of St Bunstable (the other UW) name checks him. Various bards write songs about him (“Ballad of St Bunstable,” “Hymn to St. Bunstable,” etc.). Perhaps some day the honoring of Bunstable will return to Jara as well.
[Credits: In addition to the various websites I consulted, I am indebted to Mistress Josceline Levesque, Derian le Breton (Seneschal of the College of Saint Bunstable), Baroness Asdis, and Mistress Ealasaid nic Phearsoinn for their assistance in my research.]
