VPC2017: Baroness Agnes' Medical Chest Contents & Simple Dress

More entries from Baroness Agnes - the herbal contents of a medieval medical chest for the category For Science! and a simple Renaissance style dress made as a gift for a relative newcomer for Give What You Get.

About the herbs, she says:

The beginnings of the contents of Agnes's medical chest. Pictured are mint, lemon balm, sage, plantain, rosemary, catmint and cleavers. These were located, identity confirmed, harvested, dried and stored. Eventually they'll get nicer jars and a chest to live in, but the herbs are the central aspect.

About the dress she says:

A simple renaissance style dress for [a friend] who wanted to come to Faire. Unfortunately she never made it, so there's no photo of the relative newcomer in the dress, but I still made the dress, and she'll still wear it one day.

VPC2017: Mistress katherine k's Ka-Mal - a latitude stick

Another entry of a nautical nature by Mistress katherine k - a latitude stick. This entry is for the categories Oh Say Can You Sea?, String Theory and For Science!

She says:

Arabs and the sea-farers of India use these sticks to determine their latitude while upon the waves. da Gama and the Portugeuse have recently brought this knowledge to our seas. The ka-mal is held out at arm's length matching the horizon at one end and the celestial centre of the sky at the other. Knots in the string are set for the latitudes of desired ports. Hold the port knot in your teeth and the ka-mal will tell you your required course north or south.

In this case, the knots have been set for the latittudes of the important settlements in the Crescent Isles, and will be tested against the sky during my travels.

VPC 2017: Lady Melissa and Lord Nathanael's Horary Quadrant

Lady Melissa and Lord Nathanael are doing a combined challenge: 10 items total, but they are working together on some. This entry is one of the combined projects, and is entered into the categories Show Us Your Arms, One Metre Material Project and For Science!

They will receive the spot prize for hitting the For Science! category first - some replica medieval glassware. 

Lady Melissa writes:

This pentathlon entry is an horary quadrant--a device used to tell time (in equal hours!) It is used to measure the height of the sun, and has a table (raven side) to determine the sun's maximum height throughout the year. The quadrant is designed after one owned by King George II, made in 1396, which is pictured alongside the one we made. A historical aside: King George owned four brass quadrants, but we chose to replicate this one as it was mysteriously discovered in an old barn in Queensland, Astralia in the 1970's.

The original was made of brass, but we made ours out of marine plywood and linen, with a plumb made from kowhai. It is constructed for 45 degrees from the equator rather than 51 degrees (the original was made for London, England). Nathanael did the wood work and derived and constructed the arcs and adjusted the table. Melissa designed the decorative deer and raven images, did the pyrography, braided the plumb line, and added the linen border.