Personal Pages

   Translations of old cookbooks:

• Le Viandier de Taillevent, my English translation of a French cookbook c. 1395

• In progress: Ouverture de Cuisine, my English translation of a Belgian French cookbook of 1604

• Cocboeck, my rough English translation of a Dutch cookbook 1593

• A CORRECTION for Scully's The Viandier of Taillevent 1988: On page 111, Scully dropped a phrase. His second VAT line should read "puis cousez la fente et mettez en rost, et bacinez a la cuillier, en tournant le rost, de vinaigre et de bon". My English translation of the recipe is here (recipe 36).

   Recipes:

• Veal Ragout, a recipe based on Le Viandier de Taillevent

• Chicken in Cold Sage Sauce, a recipe based on Le Viandier de Taillevent

• Fried Perch in Yellow Sauce, a recipe based on Le Viandier de Taillevent

• Stuffed Green Peppers with Coconut Tomato Sauce, an original recipe

   Original songs:

• Lady Hartley's Lament, words and music by James Prescott (Thorvald Grimsson) 1983

• Drinking Borealis Mead, words and music by James Prescott (Thorvald Grimsson) 1985

• Cotter's Lament, words by Nancy Niles (Reanna Wheatenfeld) 1987 and music by James Prescott (Thorvald Grimsson) 1988

• Sing An Tir the Bold, words by James Prescott (Thorvald Grimsson) and Richard Fietz (Richard de Nadan de Alaedo) 1982

• For This Be Avacal, words by Douglas Shore (Douglas Cameron of Skye) 1987 and music by James Prescott (Thorvald Grimsson) 1988

• In the Rain, words and music by James Prescott 1964

   Translations of songs:

• Le Déserteur, my English translation of a French song written by Boris Vian 1954

• On another site: Geyer, my English translation of a German folk song about the Peasant's Revolt of 1525, written by Heinrich von Reder (words) 1885 and Fritz Sotke (music) l919

   An adjusted song:

• The Lyke Wake Dirge, traditional, words and music adjusted by James Prescott 2021

   Writings about folk music:

• On another site: Music in the SCA: A Case Study of Folk Song, an article discussing the role of songs and the folk process in the Society for Creative Anachronism

• Unriddling Cam Ye o'er frae France, an article discussing the meaning of the Scottish Jacobite song

• Folk Song Index, a large index of folk songs in books and recordings

• Rasputin Music, a comment about the music for "Rasputin"

   Carolling Party Songbook:

• This is a PDF file: Carolling Party Songbook (opens new window), the songbook that we use for my annual Christmas carolling, during which we walk through the neighbourhood for a couple of hours singing carols (** this is the large-format version, rather than the smaller booklet version)

   Dance choreography:

• King Arthur's Alman, a new choreography to the music for Black Alman

• Saltarello Donostia, a new choreography to the music Saltorello II

• Nonesuch, an improved choreography for the dance Nonesuch

• Sir Roger de Coverley, a reconstructed choreography for the dance Sir Roger de Coverley

• Cloudy Cuillins, a new Contra Dance

• Curry and Rice Waltz, a modified Contra Dance

   Fragments of fiction:

• Whitey Imagines the Ghetto, an attempt by me to get inside the mind of someone living without hope in a ghetto

• Two related stories

• The Sonne in Hir Splendoure, a story about travelling from hopelessness to hope
• The Allegory of Despair, a story that led to the request to write "The Sonne in Hir Splendoure"

• The Story of Ukae, a tale set in a imaginary world

• Farewell to Byzantium, a poem in the Norse dróttkvaett style

• Home Coming, a prose poem about Thorvald returning to Iceland

• The Journeymen Speak, a prose poem for Thorwulf Bjornsson

• Passion Play, a limerick

   Other items:

• Le Dixième Sanitaire, a poem written by my great-uncle, Eric Mason, who was a medical orderly in the British Army in World War I

• Letters from the Trenches, Christmas 1914, a reading of letters from both sides about the truces that broke out on the front lines in World War I

• The Dancers of Colbek, a reading about cursed dancing based on a poem from 1303.

• Twelve Types for the Enneagram, a proposal to modify the Enneagram to have twelve personality types.

• Marriage Breakup Property Division, a method of dividing jointly owned items following a marriage breakup.

   Sewing project:

• A 1360's English particoloured outfit in wool and silk, made by me, almost all hand-sewn, with cotton hose.

   Writings about archery and the physics of archery:

I was very active in combat archery in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) for over two decades, and for some years continued to be involved in studying the safety and physics of the sport. Combat archery involves firing a blunted arrow at my friends, and being shot at by them. Making sure that this is safe (leaves only occasional bruises) is important. I have studied and written extensively about the subject. I have an external ballistics program for arrows and crossbow bolts which takes into account aerodynamic drag, including the effects of angled fletching and projectile rotation. Before I became interested in combat archery, I was interested in the external and terminal ballistics of naval guns and shells, so there's a continuity of experience. Here are some of my writings, to which I will add as time allows.

• Bruising and SCA Missile Combat, an article by James Prescott (Thorvald Grimsson) and Gary Renshaw (Garrathe Ravenswood) discussing the relationship between bruising from blunted arrows and bruising from blunted javelins

• Impact Testing using a Carbon Paper Sandwich, an article describing a simple method for measuring the impact (bruising potential) of blunted arrows (UPDATED)

• The 630 Inch-Pound Rule for Crossbows, an article discussing the safety limits for the energy available from a bow and the energy available from a crossbow

• This is a PDF file: An analysis of crossbow data (opens new window), a paper presenting an analysis of crossbow bolt impact data gathered by Eli White (Siegfried Sebastian Faust) in April 2003 using volunteer human targets (** this is a new and probably final version dated 2005-November-02)

• Historical Archery Quotations, a collection of quotations about archery during the Middle Ages, particularly from Norse (Viking) sources

• This is a PDF file: French Noble Archers (second version) (opens new window), a paper showing that from about 1450 to 1570 a significant proportion of French nobles were expected and required to serve as archers.

• External Ballistics Calculations, pseudo-code for the external ballistics program, of interest to someone wishing to create their own external ballistics program

• Planned: an article on the psychology, biomechanics, and physics of perceived missile impact
• Planned: an article on the physics of bows and arrows
• Planned: an article discussing why crossbow bolts might have a greater perceived impact than arrows
• Planned: an article on the SCA combat benefits of lighter arrows as compared to heavier arrows
• Planned: an article on slings and atlatls
• Planned: an article on measuring the relative energy of a missile using vertical flight time
• Planned: an article on using simple range and time measurements and an external ballistics program to determine coefficient of drag
• Planned: an article on the physics of siege engine missiles
• Planned: an article speculating on a possible new theoretical contribution to terminal ballistics
• Thorvald Grimsson is sometimes misspelled Thorvald Grimmson

   Society for Creative Anachronism:

• Histories of Montengarde, the SCA in Calgary

• Avacal Travel Chart

• An Tir Travel Chart

• Avacal and An Tir Travel Chart

• Champions of Avacal -- Region, Crown Principality, Principality, Kingdom

• Whimsical Order of the Ailing Wit, Avacal

• Order of the Grey Goose Shaft of Avacal
• This is a PDF file: Constitution of the Order of the Grey Goose Shaft of Avacal 2017 (opens new window), our 'bylaws' including a list of the Orders that we consider Equivalent in other Kingdoms. Signed on the 25th day of March, 2017, being A.S. 51.

• Crowns of the SCA, alphabetical by name

• Crowns of the SCA, chronological within kingdom