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{{Territory
|name= Stormvale
|device=[[Image:mi086.gif|300px]]
|devicecaption= Argent, two chevronels gemel, braced and fretted vert, between three quatrefoils azure, in chief a laurel wreath vert.
|founded= October 1982
Registered December 1988
|modernlocation= Genesee, Lapeer, Sanilac and Huron counties of Michigan }}

==About==
Stormvale was a [[Shire]] in the [[Pentamere]] [[Region]] of the [[Middle Kingdom]]. It consisted of Genesee, Lapeer, Sanilac and Huron counties of Michigan. Most of Stormvale's activity was centered in and around Flint, in Genesee County.

The group has disbanded, as noted in the [https://www.sca.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/January18-2020-BoardMeetingAgenda.pdf January 18, 2020 BOD Notes]

===Heraldry===
*Arms/Device - Argent, two chevronels gemel, braced and fretted vert, between three quatrefoils azure, in chief a laurel wreath vert.
*Badge - (Fieldless) A quatrefoil azure.

== History ==

The Shire of Stormvale was founded in October 1982 by students at the University of Michigan-Flint. It was originally called the Canton of the Towers of the Morning, an ironic reference to the various colleges in the area. When this was discovered to be similar to a name in fantasy literature, the members quickly renamed it the Shire of the Soaring Phoenix in December 1982. Soaring Phoenix was a reference to the notion of a branch rising from the ashes of two previous groups in the area, the Canton of [[Withermoor]] in the mid-1970s and the Shire of [[Westvale]], which had a brief and controversial life from 1981-82. The branch was renamed the Shire of Stormvale in the fall of 1983. This name was a commentary on what had been stormy weather in the area that had seemed to the members to last for an unusually long time, and perhaps a self-deprecatory reference to the interactions of boldly opinionated members. Mostly, however, it just seemed to sound good.

Stormvale was based around the University of Michigan-Flint in downtown Flint, Michigan in the early years. Other members attended high schools or Mott Community College. The original members were quite young, but by the mid 1990s, there were more college instructors in the branch than college students. While Flint and its suburbs were the center of activity for Stormvale, the branch claimed all of Genesee County from the beginning. Later, the branch claimed Lapeer County to the east. Later still, the Barony of [[Northwoods]] transferred the counties of Sanilac and Huron to Stormvale during a general clarification of borders in the area in the late 1990s.

Due to falling membership and participation, the Shire made the decision to dissolve in January 2020, and the lands have now reverted to the [[Barony of Northwoods]].

===Heraldry History===
The name Shire of Stormvale was registered with the SCA College of Heralds in December of 1988. 
The heraldic device blazoned "Argent, two chevronels gemel, braced and fretted vert, between three quatrefoils azure, in chief a laurel wreath vert." was registered in January of 1993. <br<
The badge blazoned "(Fieldless) A quatrefoil azure." was registered in February of 1996. 

==Event Highlights==

The Shire of Stormvale had been an energetic participant in event-staging. The first event was the Feast of Apples, held on December 10, 1982. The second event was the Feast of St. John the Baptist in 1986. The St. John event was held annually through 1990. In 1990, the shire added a second event in the fall. Over the years, this has been variously named and is currently Halloween-themed, the Harvest of Souls. In 1991, a spring event called Vikings Go Home! was added. This was continued through the mid-1990s. In October 1992, Stormvale hosted the Fall [[Crown Tournament]]. In 1999, five separate events were held by the branch, including two equestrian events and a Royal University session. From 1998-2001, local members humorously referred to Stormvale as the equestrian capitol of Pentamere, as over a half-dozen equestrian events were held, usually each spring and fall. The branch held a 20th Anniversary Celebration in October 2002.

Here is a list of all events held by the Shire of Stormvale as compiled by [[Gerard von Lowenstein]]: 

{|class="wikitable"
|-
| '''Event Name''' || '''Date''' || '''Autocrat''' || '''Notes''' ||
|-
| Feast of the Apples || December 10, 1982 || Garth of Boggs || ||
|-
| Feast of St. John the Baptist || June 26, 1986 || Anthea of Blue Lake || ||
|-
| Feast of St. John II || July 4, 1987 || Morgaine MacLeod || ||
|-
| Feast of St. John III || June 25, 1988 || Dougal MacLean || ||
|-
| Feast of St. John IV || June 24, 1989 || Rhiannon y Glas || ||
|-
| Feast of St. John V || June 2, 1990 || Wilhelm von Buch || ||
|-
| All Saints Day || November 10, 1990 || Balian de Brionne / Ariel the Fairhair || ||
|-
| Feast of St. John VI || June 8, 1991 || Skalla-Geirmundr Ulfsson || ||
|-
| Festival of Samhain || November 9, 1991 || Ian MacThomaidh || ||
|-
| [[Vikings Go Home!]] & Regional A&S || March 7, 1992 || Ananda the Fiery / Breac / Balian de Brionne || ||
|-
| Crown Tourney || October 17, 1992 || Anastasia Donskoi || ||
|-
| [[Vikings Go Home!]] II & Regional A&S || March 6, 1993 || Ananda the Fiery || ||
|-
| All Hallows Feast || October 30, 1993 || Melisande of Woodcrest || ||
|-
| [[Vikings Go Home!]] III || February 26, 1994 || Giovanni Fontananera / [[Gerard von Lowenstein]] || ||
|-
| Feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary || November 19, 1994 || Genevieve Okeburne de la Mere (aka Aesa) || ||
|-
| Kings Tax Day || March 18, 1995 || Ananda the Fiery || ||
|-
| Feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary || November 23, 1996 || Bronwynn Brightoaks || ||
|-
| Pentamere War Maneuvers || June 29, 1996 || Clarissa Wykeham || ||
|-
| [[Vikings Go Home!]] IV & Regional A&S || May 3, 1997 || Clarissa Wykeham || ||
|-
| Yuletide Celebration || December 6, 1997 || Clarissa Wykeham / Balian de Brionne || ||
|-
| Lillies Pity Party || June 13, 1998 || Balian de Brionne || ||
|-
| [[Harvest of Souls]] || October 31, 1998 || Gerard von Lowenstein || ||
|-
| Yuletide Celebration & Toys 4 Tots || December 12, 1998 || Clarissa Wykeham || ||
|-
| [[Vikings Go Home!]] V || May 7-9, 1999 || Rosettus Glendrake || ||
|-
| Black Dragon Rising II - Crusader's Quest || October 9, 1999 || Melisande of Woodcrest || ||
|-
| [[Harvest of Souls]] II || November 6, 1999 || Gerard von Lowenstein / Breac macFinnean || ||
|-
| Yuletide Celebration & Toys 4 Tots || December 11, 1999 || Melisande of Woodcrest || ||
|-
| Royal University of the Midrealm (RUM) || October 2, 1999 || N/A || ||
|-
| [[Vikings Go Home!]] VI - Equestrian Emprise 1 || June 16-18, 2000 || Rosettus Glendrake || ||
|-
| Black Dragon Rising III || Sept 29-Oct 1, 2000 || Rosettus Glendrake / Lucia Amberle || ||
|-
| [[Vikings Go Home!]] VIII - Equestrian Emprise 2 || June 8-10, 2001 || Lucia Amberle || ||
|-
| Black Dragon Rising IV - Dragon's Gauntlet || Oct 5-7, 2001 || Lucia Amberle || ||
|-
| Stormvale 20th Anniversary Celebration || October 26, 2002 || ? || ||
|-
| Feast of St. Joan of Arc || May 30-June 1, 2003 || Aileran o'Faelain / Tighearnan McVeigh || ||
|-
| [[Harvest of Souls]] III || November 1, 2003 || Gerard von Lowenstein || ||
|-
| [[Harvest of Souls]] IV || November 13, 2004 || Gerard von Lowenstein || ||
|-
| [[Harvest of Souls]] V || 2005 || Bronwynn Brightoaks || ||
|-
| Black Dragon Rising - Pentamere Equestrian Championship || ? || Rosettus Glendrake || ||
|-
| [[Harvest of Souls]] VI || 2006 || Desiderada del Rio || ||
|-
| [[Reign of Arrows]] || October 6, 2012 || Brianne MacAuley || ||
|-
| [[Reign of Arrows]] II || September 7,2013 || Brianne MacAuley / Ligessac d'Isigny || ||
|-
| [[Reign of Arrows]] III || September 6, 2014 || Brianne MacAuley || ||
|-
| [[Reign of Arrows]] IV || September 5, 2015 || Gerard von Lowenstein || ||
|-
| [[Reign of Arrows]] V || September 10, 2016 || Gerard von Lowenstein || ||
|-
| [[Reign of Arrows]] VI || September 30, 2017 || || ||
|-
| [[Reign of Arrows]] VII || September 15, 2018 || || ||
|-
| [[Reign of Arrows]] VIII || September 14, 2019 || Brianne MacAuley || ||
|}

[[Reign of Arrows]], an all archery event, was the host to the Middle Kingdom Summer [[Schutzenfest]] from 2014-2019 

==Other Activities==

[[Image:pennsic.jpg]]

Stormvale members at Pennsic. L to R: Balian de Brionne, Skalla Geirmundr Ulfsson, Nagatatsu Satto, Tsunamei Kenjiro Torashi.

Stormvale had a sizable camp at the [[Pennsic War]] in August of each year since 1989. The first three years, Stormvale camp was on the side of the battlefield. For two of those, an elaborate two towered gateway arch served as the entrance, and hosted the Queen to view the field battles. Since 1991, Stormvale was a fixture at the base of Runestone Hill at the point of Servants path. Many out of Shire friends were welcome to join the camp. Stormvale hosted one impromptu Known World party which was identifiable by a glowing holy grail. (What grail? I don't see a grail...)

The branch produced a number of heralds, including one [[Dragon Herald]], two [[Fenris Herald]]s, two [[Rouge Scarpe Herald]]s, an [[Escutcheon Herald]], a [[Lakes Pursuivant]] and two [[Opinicus Pursuivant]]s. Other members served as Kingdom [[Minister of Arts and Sciences]], Pentamere Regional Minister of Arts and Sciences, and Pentamere Regional Archery Marshal. The branch fielded a good-sized Stormvale Militia armored combat group in the early 1990s. The Shire of Stormvale also had a large archery group along with several [[Forester]]s.

The newsletter of the shire was called the "Storm Warning".

==Links==
*Here is an old blog which has discussed Stormvale activities: http://clarionhall.blogspot.com

[[Category:Shires]]
[[Category:Local Groups]]

{{territories}}

Stormvale - Revision history

Brackenburye: 1 revision imported

Brackenburye: 1 revision imported

mk>Gerardvl: Added a bit more about pennsic camping

mk>Gerardvl: Added a bit more about pennsic camping