Talanque
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Baron Talanque was the founding baron of Calafia and sat the throne for 22 years, the longest reign in Caid.
Talanque is one of only a few SCA individuals with a registered name consisting solely of a single name, without byname. "Prince Talanque" was a fictitious knight in The Adventures of Esplandian. In the Novel, Talanque eventually marries Calafia, the Amazonian Queen of California. [1]
Offices & Positions
- Founding Baron of Calafia with Rowen Lynn of Woodvine, 05/01/1971-04/30/1986
- Continued as Baron of Calafia with Elinore Windemere of the Moors, 04/30/1986-05/27/1989
- Continued as Baron of Calafia, 05/27/1989-05/29/1993
Death
Talanque passed away on January 17, 2003 of complications from pneumonia.
Memories
- Leave your memories here.
From Padraig o Connell
Serpent's Father
Rest well and easy oh Serpent's Father,
For you shall be remembered always.
With words and songs your life shall be honoured,
With poem and music, we mourn your passing.
You were a guide to honour and courtesy,
And led by example we your children.
You taught us to respect and chivalry,
And in each of us, you kindled that spark.
You founded a legacy, one that has grown,
And that we the serpent's children has kept.
And the teaching light that shone in your eyes,
Shines now in our hearts and souls.
So rest well and easy, oh Serpent's Father,
Though our hearts ache with your loss.
Greet your friends that have went before,
And be remembered in our words and songs.
For Baron Talanque. For whom, there shall be remembrance. 1/17/03, (Jan. 17th, AS 36)
- - Lord Padraig o Connell
From Talanque
Reflections from Baron Talanque
Calafia’s beginnings were a direct result of a young gentleman’s quest for the Truth of the Universe as embodied in the pursuit of physics at San Diego State University. A certain young would-be physicist named Jeff Rogers had come to SDSU to study physics. Before he came to San Diego, he was involved with the seminal events of the formation of the Society for Creative Anachronism in the San Francisco Bay area. Almost immediately upon his arrival in San Diego, Rogers began to seek out fellow medievalists. In the first few weeks he ran into David Samson, a fellow student, and they immediately realized a common interest in medieval recreations and studies.
A fast friendship formed between them and they had a strong desire to share their new-found mutual interest, medievalism. Rogers, also known as “Geoffrey of the Broken Blade,” and Samson, who first took the name “David Farwanderer” and later came to be known as “David du Lac,” began constructing costumes and making armor. Then, wearing them about campus they began encouraging interest in their new, unusual pursuit, the SCA. Many asked questions and a few went further. Little did they know that for most of them it would end up to be a life-long pursuit that would monopolize no small part of their non-professional lives and (in some cases) their professional lives as well.
During this initial campaign to enlist new recruits, Rogers attended a class being taught by myself in fast neutron activation analysis. During the lecture I repeatedly noticed a student working with a set of pliers and some odd-looking rings. As the lecture went on I saw that he was literally knitting a fabric of rings in a pattern that I immediately recognized as mail. As I tried to keep to my lecture I kept noticing his progressing work. I was in part irritated with the lack of attention he was giving my well-prepared presentation. After all, it was a work of love and consummate skill that I had prepared and he couldn’t even do me the courtesy of taking notes. I later found that Rogers did this a lot because he had a near-photographic memory and rarely took notes!
At the end of the class, while I was packing away my notes and slides I looked up to see Rogers packing up his mail-knitting gear and again was fascinated with his patch of mail he had managed to make during my lecture. I finally was overcome with a mixture of curiosity and pique and was damned well going to have my say on both subjects.
I leaned over and asked him what he was doing. He looked up in his usual laconic manner and said, “I’m making mail.”
As I packed away the rest of my notes and his words slowly soaked into my conscious awareness, I blurted out, “Making mail for what?” He quickly answered, “To fight in.” He immediately saw the glint of impending mutual madness in my eye and whipped out some copies of Tournaments Illuminated (now ancient relics) printed on low-grade by mimeograph. I thumbed through them, all the while firing a series of questions and being rewarded, sometimes I now think damned, by answers that delighted and tickled the less-sane part of my personality. I realized at once that all of the Errol Flynn movies had had their subliminal effect. I was hooked!
In the next few weeks I was introduced to Samson and spent many delightful hours with the two sharing mutual madness and delightful fantasies about a world we would never really know, but could surely rebuild in all of its splendor, honor and gusto for a life of nobility and grace that seemed so distant from that of today. Rogers informed us, as well as a few others, that the incipient Barony of Angels was holding its first tournament in the Los Angeles area and we all should go. Besides, Lady Diana Listmaker would be there and she could tell us all about what was needed for forming a group in San Diego.
On a bright and sunny Southern California day a few hardy and brave souls, including Rogers, Samson, a friend named Bonnie and I, attended the Barony of Angels’ inaugural tourney. It was truly delightful. There were pavilions, costumed ladies and gentlemen of all types, combat and a great feast after the day’s activities. Furthermore, I was introduced to Diana Listmaker, and she was most gracious and helpful. As serendipity would have it, she had brought a package of material for another group that wished to get started in the SCA. They had failed to show. Lady Diana handed me the packet at the end of the day and said, “Here, this is what you need to get started.” Little did I suspect that this would be the beginning of the finest Barony in the Known World: Calafia. Little did I suspect that this Barony and its people would become a large part of my life for many years to come — a large and good part that has been rewarding and enjoyable in more ways that I can possibly ever express.
Gallery
Baron Talanque, first baron of Calafia is in the sedan chair which we and other early members of the barony built for him.
