House Galbraith

House Galbraith is a fraternal household based on an Irish merchanting family.

History

Intent on joining the SCA as a group (after some individual members had found it difficult to enter into the society on their own), House Galbraith formed over the winter of AS 26 (with the help of a 1976 copy of the Known World Handbook) under the original name of Harpwood Hall. They attended their first event ‘en masse’ (as a group of 13) on June 13, AS 27 (Lord Mayor’s Market Day in Eoforwic) and barely looked back.

Their personas tend to be Irish, Scottish, Anglo-Saxon and Viking within the time period 1050 to 1150. ‘Galbraith’ is translatable as “strange Briton”.

In persona, the Galbraith are a familial merchant household from the Isle of Gigha, a tiny island in the south western Scottish Hebredies, known for its purple dyes, warm waters from the gulf stream, and tactical interest to those wishing to invade Scotland or Ireland. Gigha translates as ‘gods island’.

Legend has it that after the great flood, Odin did send a raven out to search for land, and it was the Chreag Bhan (the tallest hill on Gigha—meaning ‘White Rock’) that it found. There is a similar myth about Noah sending out a raven and a dove. The dove came back; the raven stayed in Gigha. It was also been recorded that the ruling household of Gigha in the 12th century vanished suddenly. Their name was Galbraith…

Although formed after a tremendous amount of careful research, the household mostly abandoned this and was originally best known for interests that included drinking, cooking, drinking, camping and the fine art of ‘drinking’. It was once noted that the fiercest creatures and most stalwart drinkers in Ealdormere were ‘Galbraith Women’.

The House is associated through long friendship (and marriage) with House Hrogn.

Many of the current members are known artisans, fighters, cooks and peers (of various forms) within the SCA.

The main contact and figurehead of the Household is Olagh Garraed Galbraith.

Members

Awards

The Badge of House Galbraith: Argent, a raven contourny sable and a chevron vert.