Nika Dmitrieva doch' Zvezdina

Masteritsa Nika Dmitrieva doch' Zvezdina is a 13th-century (or the early 16th century, depending on how she is dressed) Rus woman who lives in Novgorod.

Alternate Persona

Nicolaa de Bracton of Leicester is a 13th-century Anglo-Norman woman, born in Leicester and currently living in London in the year 1250. Her family holds two manors from the Earl of Leicester, Simon de Montfort. She is a patroness of the Dominican Order and has given alms to fund the copying of manuscripts. Her uncle Henry is a famous compiler of English common law. She also occasionally may be seen in the clothing of her great-grandmother, a 12th century Anglo-Norman woman of the same name.

Whereabouts

Nika currently lives in Stoney Creek, ON. She plays with three Baronies (Septentria, Ben Dunfirth, Rising Waters) and regularly attend meetings in Eoforwic, where she works.

Heraldry

• Device: Per pale gules and Or, five mullets two, two, and one counterchanged within a bordure sable, for augmentation on an inescutcheon overall sable, a pen bendwise sinister argent enfiling a coronet bendwise sinister Or.
• Personal Badge: (Fieldless) A comet fesswise gules bearded Or.
• Personal Badge: Counter-ermine, on a pall Or three crescents gules (former device)
• Household Badge: Per pale Or and gules, a domestic cat herissony counterchanged and a bordure sable.
• Laurel Badge: (Fieldless) A mullet of eight points per fess argent and gules distilling a goutte de sang.
• Badge of the Ealdormere Scholar's Guild: Argent, a pale azure, overall a dog salient sable maintaining in its mouth a torch gules.

Offices and Appointments

Current Offices

• Lawspeaker - Kingdom of Ealdormere (July 2015 - Present)
• Rouge Estoile Herald Extraordinary - Ealdormere College of Heralds
• Archery Marshal - Barony of Rising Waters

Past Offices

• Trillium Herald Emerita - Ealdormere College of Heralds
• Kingdom Chronicler - Kingdom of Ealdormere
• Principality Chronicler - Principality of Ealdormere
• Society Chronicler - Society for Creative Anachronism
• Editor of Tournaments Illuminated
• Chronicler - Barony of Septentria
• Green Mantle Herald - Ealdormere College of Heralds

She has also worked as Editor of the Pennsic Independent since 2000.

SCA History

Nika joined the Canton of Eoforwic in 1990. She spent four years in the Shire of Tirnewydd in the Middle Kingdom (1999-2003) before returning to the North.

Interests

• Archery
• Calligraphy
• Costuming
• Event Management
• Illumination
• Needlework
• Research
• Silk Banner Painting
• Voice/Court Heraldry
• Writing (ceremonies and articles)
• Miscellaneous Shenanigans (TM)

Awards

• Order of the Laurel - April 20th, 1996 (Middle Kingdom)
• Order of the Pelican - September 27th, 2003
• Court Baroness - July 4th, 2009
• Order of Thorbjorn's Hammer - September 24th, 2011
• Order of the Dragon's Heart - September 13th, 1997 (Foreign Grants of Rank: Middle Kingdom)
• Award of the Scarlet Banner - October 31st, 2009
• Award of the Purple Fret - April 24th, 1993 (Foreign Awards of Rank: Middle Kingdom)
• Order of the Willow - September 30th, 1995-09-30 (Foreign Awards of Rank: Middle Kingdom)
• Award of the Purple Fret - October 14th, 2000 (Foreign Awards of Rank: Middle Kingdom)
• Order of the Dragon's Barb - August 15th, 2002 (Foreign Awards of Rank: Middle Kingdom)
• Award of Arms - April 4th, 1992 (Middle Kingdom; reaffirmed May 30th, 1992)
• Scroll of Honour - July 1st, 1996
• Scroll of Honour - July 1st, 2007 (Scribe and illuminator responsible for the Scroll of Honour)
• Scroll of Honour - September 16th, 2009 (Scribal contributions throughout the Reign of Roak IV and Jocea II)
• Scroll of Honour - August 1st, 2013 (Contributions to awards during the reign)
• Scroll of Honour - May 22nd, 2021 - FOOL (Rattanicus & Isabel, for service in the Bardic Army of Ealdormere)
• Order of the Bear's Heart - January 15th, 1994
• Order of the Golden Otter - September 19th, 1992 (Closed Principality Honours, reaffirmed March 25th, 1995)
• Order of the Peregrine - April 15th, 1995 (Closed Principality Honours)
• Order of the Bee - June 20th, 1995 (Closed Principality Honours
• Silver Chalice - May 13, 2017
• Warriors of the Chalice - May 12, 2018

Dependents

Nika's husband, Master Gunther Wahlstedt von Bremen, OP, shares an informal household with her. This household is known colloquially as House Herissony.

Her current dependents are:

• Lady Caitlin inghean Tomais ui Duibhir (combined protégé/apprentice)
• Maestra Jocelyn Roget de Cranewell (combined protégé/apprentice)
• Lady Katerucia Mountague/Helena Katerina de Roero (apprentice)
• THL Orlaith inghen Cinada meic Briain (apprentice)

Foster apprentice: Lady Fursto de Robyne

Out of Kingdom dependents:

• Lady Gwerydd verch Llewellyn (combined protégé/apprentice)
• Lord Michael the Longsuffering (apprentice)

Inactive dependents:

• THL Geoffrey Guiscard (apprentice)
• Lord Eoin O'Beirne (apprentice, shared with Countess Genevieve)
• Lady Sigridr Rognvaldsdottir (apprentice)
• Lady Naja Kesali Orekh (protégé)
• Lady Ailis de la Marche (apprentice)
• THL Elanna of Marchmount (protégé)
• THL Hans Thorvaldsson (protégé)

Former dependents, now Laurels:

• Mistress Marian of Heatherdale
• Master Alan Fairfax
• Maistres Medb ingen Dungaile
• Meister Albrecht Stampfer
• Magistra Sciath ingen Chaennaig /protégé, shared with Master Gunther)

Contact Information

Nika can be contacted by email.