WindmastersHill

This page hosts information for public viewing about Baron Manus MacDhai and Baroness Sophia the Orange in their candidacy for the positions of Baron and Baroness of Windmasters’ Hill.

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Letter of Intent – October 29, 2019

Unto Their Royal Majesties, Cuan and Signy, King and Queen of Atlantia do Baron Manus MacDhai and Baroness Sophia the Orange send warm and joyous greetings!

We hereby express our desire to volunteer as the next Baron and Baroness of Windmasters’ Hill.

We are a married couple having been married since 2011. We both have stable, full-time, professional, modern-day jobs, so our ability to financially support our SCA positions is reliable. Manus works as a Senior Systems Specialist at North Carolina State University. Sophia works as a military contractor in the Unclassified Information Sharing program of the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

We have both been active in the SCA for over 27 years, and we have each held significant leadership positions throughout our SCA careers. We are both Apprentices to Mistress Branwen Wallis, and Sophia is also a Protégé and Apprentice to Mistress Ceridwen ferch Owain (herself a former Baroness of Windmasters’ Hill).

We have each served the Barony of Windmasters’ Hill consistently for many years. Manus has served the community of Windmasters’ Hill as Chronicler, Archery Marshall, Archery Champion, Performing Arts Champion, and as Seneschal and Exchequer of this Barony’s Canton of Elvegast. Sophia has served Windmasters’ Hill as Minister of Arts and Sciences, Performing Arts Champion, and Autocrat. Both Manus and Sophia regularly attend Baronial and Canton business meetings. All formal SCA service to Barony, Kingdom, and Society is listed below:

Manus MacDhai’s Service and Awards

  • Officer Positions Held
    • Canton of Kappellenburg Herald 1994 – 1997
    • Barony of Windmasters’ Hill Chronicler – 1998 – 2005
    • Baronial Archery Champion – 2001
    • Barony of Windmasters’ Hill Archery Marshall – 2005 – 2016
    • Canton of Elvegast Seneschal – 2008 to 2011
    • Baronial Performing Arts Champion – 2012
    • Canton of Elvegast Exchequer – December 2013 to present
    • Barony of Windmasters Hill Pennsic Camp Co-Steward – 2019
  • Awards
    • Award of Arms – 1994
    • Companion of the Boreas (unknown date)
    • Companion of the Kitty Hawk – 1998
    • Companion of the Pearl – 2000
    • Companion of the Golden Dolphin – 2003
    • Atlantia University Masters Degree – 2004
    • Baronial Award of Excellence – 2003
    • Companion of the Don Quixote – 2005
    • Companion of the Tempest – 2010
    • Augmentation of Arms – 2016
    • Award of the Notus – 2016
    • Baron of the Court – 2017

Sophia the Orange’s Service and Awards

  • Officer Positions Held
    • Autocrat, Cloved Orange Ball (Barony of Sternfeld, Midrealm) 1998 – 2000
    • Deputy Seneschal (Barony of Sternfeld, Midrealm) 2001
    • Barony of Windmasters’ Hill Baronial Performing Arts Champion – 2012
    • Pennsic Performing Arts Track Co-Lead for Commedia, Foolery, and Physical Theater – 2012 to 2018
    • Atlantia Kingdom MOAS Deputy for Performing Arts 2013 – 2016
    • Barony of Windmasters’ Hill Minister Of Art and Sciences – 2013 – 2015
    • Autocrat, Windmasters’ Hill Cooks and Performers Symposium – 2015
    • Guildmistress of the Atlantia Performing Arts Guild 2015 – 2019
    • SCA 50 Year Celebration Event, Performing Arts Department Lead – 2016
    • Autocrat, Canton of Elvegast’s Performers’ Revel South – 2017 & 2018
    • Deputy Autocrat of Canton of Elvegast’s Festival of Elvegast – 2019
    • Barony of Windmasters Hill Pennsic Camp Co-Steward – 2019
  • Awards
    • Award of Arms (Midrealm) – 1997
    • Award of the Purple Fret (Midrealm) 1999
    • Order of the Grove for Musica Subterranea (Midrealm) 2000
    • Order of the Willow (Midrealm) 2001
    • Order of the Dragon’s Heart (Midrealm) 2004
    • Order of the Evergreen (Midrealm) 2004
    • Order of the Grove for i Scandali (Midrealm) 2005
    • Companion of the Boreas – 2013
    • Award of the Undine – 2013
    • King’s Award of Excellence – 2014
    • Companion of the Kitty Hawk – 2014
    • Companion of the Pearl – 2015
    • Augmentation of Arms – 2016
    • Award of the Notus – 2016
    • Atlantia University Masters Degree – 2017
    • Companion of the Golden Dolphin – 2017
    • Baroness of the Court – 2017
    • Award of the Fountain – 2017
    • Award of the Silver Nautilus – 2019

Service in the form of serving as event staff, teaching classes, or general service for Baronial events and Canton events is such a regular part of Manus’s and Sophia’s lives in Windmasters’ Hill that it is impossible to quantify in a list.

Sophia has experience in volunteer group leadership having founded and managed performing arts groups since 1997. In 1997, Sophia founded the music ensemble, Musica Subterranea, for playing live SCA dance music and recording that music on CD. The ensemble is still working together today to play live for SCA dancing and has produced five dance music CDs. In 2002, Sophia founded the commedia dell’ arte troupe, i Scandali.  In 2014, Sophia founded the commedia dell’ arte troupe, The Pennsic Commedia All Stars. All these groups continue to function today and members continue to enjoy positive friendships after many years of working together. Sophia created and ran the Performing Arts Department for the SCA-wide 50 Year Anniversary event with great success in June 2016.

In 2012, Manus and Sophia together founded the commedia dell’ arte troupe, i Firenzi, which continues to perform throughout Atlantia. Manus and Sophia also work in volunteer leadership positions for other non-profit organizations including ManKind Project and Woman Within International.

Our leadership skills, both individually and as a pair, have been proven over time. We are dedicated to helping the people in our SCA community achieve their goals. We enjoy giving back to the community that has given us the venue and support to pursue our own dreams for so many years.

Both of us, modernly known as Philip Scott Dean and Lara Coutinho-Dean, hereby give permission to the SCA organization branches of the Barony of Windmasters’ Hill and the Kingdom of Atlantia to publish our contact information as follows:

Email (preferred):

  • Manus:   manus.macdhai AT gmail DOT com  
  • Sophia: orangesophie AT gmail DOT com

US Mail Address: 1315 Castalia Dr. Cary, NC 27513

In Service to Crown, Kingdom, and Barony,

Baron Manus MacDhai and Baroness Sophia the Orange


Baronage Questions Answered

Our answers to the questions posed by Master Geoffery, Master Gaston, and Mistress Michel during the last Baronial Polling in 2016. We updated these answers with perspective gained after the past three years. Additions to these answers are designated with “ANSWERS 2019” in red italic font.


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One Reply to “WindmastersHill”

  1. Both Baron Manus and Baroness Sophia have worked to benefit their barony and kingdom, and it can definitely be seen here. This page contains a wealth of information that is super useful! They have a great deal of experience and knowledge that they could bring to the role of baronage.
    In Service, Ceridwen, Baroness Dun Carraig
    (and Baroness Windmasters’ Hill, retired)

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