The Golden Quill was first presented as a prize for the Lochac’s Most Improved Website Competition, at Rowany Festival in the year AS XL, by Bartholomew Baskin and katherine kerr, the then-Baron and Baroness of Southron Gaard.
This is a transferable prize, awarded by one Webwright to another. That is, the holder of the prize is tasked with the duty, within six months (ideally), of seeking out another group or guild website in the Kingdom of Lochac which has impressed them by virtue of its design, structure and/or content, and arranging for the prize to be passed on to that group’s Webwright at a Royal or Baronial Court.
The transferable prize consists of a small box burnt with the Golden Quill graphic by Lord Ronan mac Brian. In the box is some information regarding the prize and a number of small tokens, one of which should be permanently kept by each holder.
Prize Holders
This is the (probably incomplete) list of prize winners. If you can fill in any gaps, please contact the Lochac Webwright.| Group | Webwright | Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Kingdom of Lochac | Baron Sorle Maknicoll | SCA New Year, AS LV (55) |
| Canton of Lightwood | Baron Karl Faustus von Aachen | Midwinter Coronation, AS XLIX (49) |
| Canton of Abertridwr | Lady Rosamond De Montfort | Great Northern War, AS XLVIII (48) |
| Shire of Darton | Sir Asbjorn Pedersen Marsvin and others | Canterbury Faire, AS XLIII (43) |
| Canton of Stowe on the Wowld | Viscount Styvyn Longshanks | Midwinter Coronation, AS XLII (42) |
| Proto-College of St Kessog | Yad of St Kessog | Canterbury Faire, AS XLI (41) |
| Barony of Aneala | Baron Nathan Blacktower | Festival AS XL (40) |
Notes for Holders
- When you pass on the prize, please email the Lochac Webwright so that this page can be updated.
- Please contact Master Bartholomew Baskin when the token supplies run out (you will need to de-obfuscate the email address).
- Have you joined the Lochac Webministers List yet? It’s open to all Webwrights in Lochac, and you may find it a helpful resource.
- Judging criteria used for the Most Improved Website Competition are below, just in case you find them useful in choosing the next holder. Of course, not all of them bear equal weight, nor are all applicable for different types of site. Nor are you restricted to looking only at improvements over time.
Possible Judging Criteria
- Regularly updated and accurate (especially the Calendar and Officer pages);
- Easy to navigate and find important things;
- Good, easily located, Newcomer/introduction information;
- Accurate and useful links, especially internal ones;
- Strong pointers to communication (e.g. relevant email lists);
- Browser independence (works the same on more than one browser) and valid HTML and/or Javascript;
- Content aimed at community-building, e.g. local identity;
- Well-written, interesting, content;
- Appealing design;
- Efficient/quick page loading;
- Special or very informative things that add appeal or uniqueness;
- Absence of pointless promises like “under construction”;
- Public site policies (on privacy, links etc);
- Correct references/credits for photos, and other copyright issues.
Displaying the Prize Graphic
Use this HTML, or similar, to show the graphic in a suitable place on your web page:
<A HREF="https://webwright.lochac.sca.org/the-golden-quill/"><IMG SRC="https://webwright.lochac.sca.org/files/2019/05/GoldenQuill.gif" width="100" height="107" alt="Winner of the Golden Quill Web Prize" border=0></A>
Thanks to …
This prize was created largely through the efforts of Lord Ronan mac Brian, who was responsible for the graphic design and the painstaking pyrography on the prize box. Sincere thanks are also due to Master Bartholomew Baskin and Mistress katherine kerr of the Hermitage, who created the award, and the then-Kingdom Webwright, Baroness Fineamhain an Einigh inghean Ui Chonchobhair, who made great efforts to assist the original competition.
The Kingdom Webwright for Lochac requested in May AS LIV (2019) to host this page, and encourage the prize to resume circulation. The Office of the Webwright is grateful to Master Bartholomew Baskin for his assistance in this.