THE CONCEPT BEHIND THE HOUSEHOLD WAS FORMULATED DURING the time I spent in the Kingdom of the Outlands in the Barony of the Citadel of the Southern Pass (El Paso & Ft. Bliss, TX). I envisioned a household of primarily people with Crusader-era personas. This, as I saw things, was the first flowering of the concept of chivalry and the age of the "parfait, gentil knight".

Our household officially began the summer of A. S. XXVII (1991 C. E.) and grew dramatically in subsequent years. Our formation came out of the need to get newer people who come to SCA demos while their imaginations are still fired with the ideas of the Middle Ages as it should have been. One of the problems most of those people encountered was the feeling that they had to "earn their dues" in the local group, before they were accepted. While this was not the local SCA group’s intent, I perceived that we were losing a great many people who felt isolated, when in actuality, the case was the group’s officers and contact people were overworked and overwhelmed by the response of so many new people.

Our focus was to get the new people started on the road to being able to enjoy the Society without making too many commitments too quickly. We helped fighters with armor and weapons. We helped people develop personae, personal heraldry, clothing and equipment. When we didn’t have answers for them, we took them to knowledgeable people who could help them. It normally took between six months to a year to get them confident enough to strike out on their own, to pursue their own interests, to have fun. And, after all, that’s what we’re really in the Society for, isn’t it?

Today, we’re a household with almost fifty members, with a core of twenty-five to forty members. At Pennsic War, we have fielded nearly twenty troops, and we put on a "little cookout" we call House De Tyre RibNite. We serve in various groups and pursue diverse interests, but we hold our little family in common, and we take care of our own. We serve the Midrealm and try to have a good time doing it.

 I hope it goes on...

  Robert’ de Tyre