Arts & Sciences
Competitions, Open Display & Classes
Twelfth Night’s A&S program is built around the same hinge that defines the event itself: the turn from solemn Epiphany ceremony to the licensed exuberance of Fasnacht. Our two event-level competitions and our open display follow that arc. Serious documented work in the morning, playful invention in the afternoon, and a populace-wide display running throughout the day.
In addition, Twelfth Night will host two Kingdom-level competitions: Tempore Atlantia and the Kingdom A&S Champion competition selecting Their Majesties’ champion for Gulf Wars.
All A&S disciplines are welcome. Entries do not need to be tied to the Swiss or German theme, though themed entries are warmly encouraged. Whether this is your first display or your fortieth, we want you here.
Kingdom-Level Competitions
Two Kingdom-level A&S competitions will be hosted at Twelfth Night 2027:
- Tempore Atlantia
- Kingdom A&S Champion competition
Both are run under standing Kingdom rules and timing, separate from the event-level competitions described below. Full details, sign-up links, and entry requirements will be posted closer to the event. Watch this page for updates.
The Three Kings Competition
Our morning competition is the serious, documentation-forward event. Three categories, three patron kings, one populace-choice ribbon per category, and a Royalty’s Choice across all entries.
The Three Categories
Medieval tradition identified the three Magi with the three known continents of the world: Caspar with Asia, Melchior with Europe, and Balthasar with Africa. Together they represented the cosmopolitan reach of the gifts brought to the Christ child. We have used that frame to set three open categories that, between them, welcome nearly any A&S work an artisan might bring.
| Category | Patron King | What Fits |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | Caspar | Gifts of skill and craft: finished objects of any kind. Garb, jewelry, leatherwork, calligraphy and illumination, metalwork, woodwork, glass, fiber, embroidery, ceramics, painted panels, illuminated manuscripts. |
| Frankincense | Melchior | Gifts of the senses and the table: anything consumed, experienced, or performed. Food, beverage, perfumery and incense, music, dance, theatre, poetry, storytelling, scribal performance. |
| Myrrh | Balthasar | Gifts of scholarship and the world beyond: research, scientific work, and arts from cultures outside the artisan’s usual practice. Original research papers, scientific reproductions, language and translation work, cross-cultural studies, archaeology of a technique. |
If an entry could fit in more than one category, the entrant chooses. Judges will not move it.
Entry Requirements
- Pre-registration by Friday, December 18, 2026. Walk-ins accepted as space allows but cannot be guaranteed a judge slot.
- Written documentation, minimum one page, maximum five pages. PDF preferred; bring three printed copies for the judges.
- Work completed within the last three years and not previously entered at Atlantian Twelfth Night.
- Set-up by 9:30 AM Saturday. Judging runs 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM. Entries must remain on the table through 4:00 PM for populace viewing.
What Documentation Should Cover
- What it is and what it is meant to be (a fifteenth-century Burgundian houppelande, a reproduction of a Basel Fasnacht mask, etc.)
- Period and place, with at least one primary or scholarly secondary source
- Materials and techniques, with notes on where you departed from period practice and why
- What you learned, and what you would do differently next time
- Bibliography
Judging Rubric
Judges work from a published rubric so entrants know exactly what is being assessed. The rubric is weighted toward documentation and research because that is where a competition like this can most reliably help artisans grow. Execution still matters, and so does the harder-to-measure question of whether the piece teaches the viewer something.
| Criterion | Weight | What Judges Are Looking For |
|---|---|---|
| Research & Documentation | 35% | Quality of sources, depth of research, clarity of writing, honesty about choices and substitutions. |
| Execution | 30% | Skill and care in the actual making, performing, or presenting of the entry. |
| Period Authenticity | 20% | How closely the work approaches what would have been made or done in period, given the materials and time available. |
| Teaches the Viewer | 15% | Whether a thoughtful onlooker, with or without subject knowledge, leaves the table understanding something they did not before. |
Each criterion is scored 1 to 5 with written comments. Every entrant receives a copy of every judge’s scoresheet within two weeks of the event. The point of this competition is to make artisans better. We treat the feedback as the prize.
Three Kings Awards
- Gift of the Magi: one winner per category, chosen by the judges
- Populace Choice: one winner per category, chosen by attendee vote
- Royalty’s Choice: one entry overall, at the pleasure of the Crown
- First Magi: the highest-scoring entry by an artisan who has never before competed at a Kingdom-level event
The Fasnacht Challenge
Our afternoon competition is the playful counterpart to the morning’s seriousness. Fasnacht was the licensed carnival of the late-medieval Rhineland, a season when masks were permitted, hierarchies were inverted, and satire was tolerated that would have been unthinkable any other time of year. The Fasnacht Challenge brings that spirit into the A&S room.
Masks On, Lent Tomorrow
Two hours. One theme. Whatever you can make in the room.
At one o’clock the theme is announced from the stage. The clock begins. You have two hours to invent, build, write, sing, paint, brew, sculpt, stitch, or stage your answer.
Bring ideas, sketches, references, planned approaches, and prepared materials. Bring scraps, oddments, and the willingness to improvise. Do not bring a finished piece made earlier. The Challenge is about what you can make on the day, in response to the theme, in the company of your peers.
The populace decides what they love. The Lord of Misrule wears the laurel.
Hierarchies inverted. Satire permitted. Carnival rules apply.
How It Works
Entrants are given a theme at 1:00 PM on Saturday and have two hours to create and present a piece. Materials may be brought in advance or supplied at the table. The theme is announced from the stage and posted to the event app.
All entries must be created onsite during the two-hour window. Bringing ideas, sketches, references, planned approaches, or prepared materials is welcome and expected; bringing a finished piece made earlier is not. The Challenge is about what you can make in the room, on the day, in response to the theme.
Past A&S work, performances, and brand-new inventions are all welcome as inspiration. The entry itself can be a tiny piece of finished craft made on the spot, a written verse, a sung song, a tableau, a recipe demonstration, a constructed object, an act of mock-pageantry, or anything else that responds to the theme.
Documentation & Judging
No documentation required. A short verbal explanation when presenting your piece is welcome but not necessary.
Judging is by populace acclamation. After all entries are presented, the populace votes by dropping tokens (provided at the door) into a bowl in front of each entry. The three entries with the most tokens are recognized at the close of the afternoon. There is no published rubric. The populace decides what it loves.
Possible Themes
The chosen theme will not be published in advance.
Fasnacht Awards
- Lord of Misrule: the top vote-getter
- Two further recognitions for second and third place, named at the discretion of the heralds
- All participants receive a Fasnacht token to keep
The Open Display
The open display runs throughout Saturday, from 9:00 AM until the close of A&S activities at 4:00 PM. It is drop-in, non-competitive, and open to any work an artisan wants to share: finished pieces, works in progress, research notebooks, period kit, instruments, even a single page of an illuminated manuscript you are halfway through.
The display exists for one reason: to put artisans and audiences in the same room. To make that work as well as it can, we ask a small amount of structure of the people who show. None of it is required to participate. All of it makes the experience better for everyone.
The Artisan Card
Each display should be accompanied by a short artisan card. We provide blank cards at the door, or you can prepare your own using the template below. The point is to give a viewer enough context to engage with what they are seeing, especially when the artisan is away from the table.
| Artisan Name (and SCA name if different) | |
| What This Is | |
| Period & Place | |
| Materials & Technique | |
| Sources Consulted | |
| Time Invested | |
| What I Learned | |
| What’s Next (or finished as shown) | |
| Best Time to Find Me at the Table |
If your card runs longer than the space provided, lay a second sheet behind the first. Better one detailed card with real information than three vague ones.
Meet the Artisan Hours
Many artisans will be moving in and out of the A&S room during the day to attend classes, fight, dance, or feast. To make sure attendees can find you when they want to ask questions, every artisan is invited to post two thirty-minute Meet the Artisan windows on the display schedule at the door. These will also be listed in the event app once the day begins.
Suggested windows:
- 9:30 to 10:00 AM (morning opening)
- 11:00 to 11:30 AM
- 1:30 to 2:00 PM
- 3:00 to 3:30 PM (before close)
Pick any two. Artisans who cannot be present at a posted time for any reason are not penalized; the display itself stands on its own.
Tokens of Appreciation
Every attendee receives three small wooden tokens at the door. They are invited to drop a token at any display that taught them something, moved them, or made them want to take up a new craft. Tokens are not judged, ranked, or counted toward any award. They are a quiet way for the populace to say thank you, and for artisans to see which work struck a chord with which kinds of viewers.
Artisans keep their tokens after the event. Many find them a useful gauge of what to develop further.
Research in Progress
A dedicated section of the open display is reserved for unfinished work, in-progress research, and questions an artisan is actively trying to answer. If you have a problem you cannot solve, bring it. Other artisans, scholars, and curious populace will look at it. Many of the best collaborations in the Kingdom begin at someone else’s display table.
What to Bring, What Not to Worry About
Bring
- Your artisan card (or fill one out at the door)
- A small table covering if you want one (a few are available at the table)
- Whatever your piece needs to be seen well (a stand, a frame, a tasting spoon, etc.)
- A bibliography or source list if you have one. Even a partial list adds value.
Do Not Worry About
- Whether it is finished
- Whether it is good enough
- Whether anyone will care
- Whether your documentation is comprehensive
Classes
Classes will run in tracks through Saturday morning and afternoon.
Class schedule, teacher list, and sign-up details will be posted as they are coordinated by the A&S Coordinator.
Teach a Class
Teacher sign-up process to be posted as it is finalized.
A&S Schedule at a Glance
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 9:00 AM | Open Display opens. Artisan cards available at the door. |
| 9:30 AM | Three Kings Competition set-up complete. Late entries cannot be guaranteed a judging slot. |
| 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM | Three Kings judging. Public welcome to walk the tables; judges should not be interrupted while scoring. |
| Midday | Kingdom-level competitions (Tempore Atlantia, Kingdom A&S Champion) run per Kingdom timing. Details posted closer to the event. |
| 12:30 – 1:00 PM | Break. Judges confer. Three Kings entries remain on display. |
| 1:00 PM | Fasnacht Challenge theme announced. Two-hour clock begins. |
| 3:00 PM | Fasnacht Challenge presentations and populace voting. |
| 3:30 PM | All A&S awards announced together: Three Kings, Populace Choice, Royalty’s Choice, First Magi, Lord of Misrule. |
| 4:00 PM | A&S room closes. Entries must be retrieved. Display tables struck. |
Sign Up & Contact
All A&S entries (competition and open display) coordinate through the A&S Coordinator.
| Pre-registration | Sign-up form will be posted closer to the event. |
| Three Kings deadline | Friday, December 18, 2026 |
| Fasnacht Challenge | No pre-registration required. Show up at 1:00 PM Saturday. |
| Open Display | Pre-registration appreciated for table planning. Walk-ins always welcome. |
| Tempore Atlantia & Kingdom Champion | Run under Kingdom rules. Sign-up and full details TBA on this page. |
| Questions (event A&S) | Baroness Elisabeth de Spaldyng |
| Event Steward | Baroness Annabella of the Bay |