Belâ Kara

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Baroness Mistress Belâ Kara, O.P. (FKA: Bella Caterina Malatesta) started in the S.C.A. in 1990, has gone through several name changes over the years, and is a lifelong resident of the Kingdom of the West. She is currently serving as the Bard of the West through June 2012, as well as the deputy seneschal of the newly reformed Shire of Mont d'Or.

IRL: Cat is a singer who can occasionally be seen at Celtic music gigs in the Sacramento area and beyond, a writer of songs, poetry and fiction, a crafter of herbal concoctions and accessories, and an all-around fanatic Anglophile who watches entirely too much British television. She moved to the beautiful town of Grass Valley in Spring 2012 and is looking forward to new adventures.

About

Belâ Kara (NOT a proper name! it is a pseudonym, of course) is a noble lady and poet residing in Istanbul during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. She is a writer, singer and composer, and enjoys cooking, smoking the nargileh and serving refreshments to her guests.

Other pursuits include: 12th and 13th century troubadour/ trouvere music and poetry, researching 16th century Persian, Florentine and English costuming, women's studies throughout the times and cultures of the SCA period, embroidery, sewing, cooking, herbalism, and more.

She is the 13th Bard of the West (having served previously as the 6th Bard of the West and as a Bard of Cynagua, among other bardic offices), spends inordinate amounts of time contemplating new songs/ poetry and researching new ideas. She is also a student of historical women's studies, having taught classes on "Women In The Middle Ages," "The Women Troubadours," "Women Writers of Renaissance Italy," and "The Education of Women in Period" with Maestro Antonio Giordano da Sicilia. She is also working on a class entitled, "Women of the Near and Middle East."

She is a proud member of Haus Schwetzingen.

Bardic works on the West Kingdom History page (under Bella Caterina Malatesta)
Listing on West Kingdom History (under Bella Caterina Malatesta)