The Shire of Narrental was first "concieved" at Twelfth Night, January 1992.  The founding members were Katarina Helene von Schönborn, Caen MacAddis, Erik Drumhammer, and Catherine Elizabeth von Regensburg.  They were originally from the Shire of Steren Codha (Kokomo/Howard County), which was then called Shooting Star.  Narrental loosely translates from German to "Valley of Fools," in English, as Peru, Indiana, is well known for its amateur circus and a history of having been the winter quarters for original owners of the now Barnum and Bailey Circus.  Peru is also home to the International Circus Hall of Fame.

After the first meeting, these founding members were joined by Duncan MacLeod of Duirinish, Adelicia Katherine MacLeod, John James MacCrimmin, Brianna MacCrimmin, Mordred Blackstone of Norwich, Abu Da'ud al Rashid al Bodrum, and Elayne Gwenlhian de Belleme.  We asked the Barony of Rivenstar to sponsor us, and they did (thank goodness).
 

The newly Incipient Shire of Narrental just before the Circus Festival Parade, July 1992... Back Row - L to R:  Mordred (totally in the shade), Pieter van Doorne (of the Barony of Rivenstar), Duke Master Baron Moonwulf (of the Barony of Rivenstar), Duncan MacLeod, Catherine von Regensburg, mystery man, John James McCrimmin. Next Row - L to R:  Caen MacAddis, Matilda von Regensburg, Robert MacLeod, Adelicia MacLeod (deceased), Brianna McCrimmin, Katarina Helene von Schönborn.

     Narrental's first "real" event was called "The Fool's School" and was held at the Miami County 4-H Fair Grounds in October of 1992.  Surprisingly, it turned out quite well for such a fledgling shire.  Mordred was the Autocrat (the event overseer), and Katarina Helene was the Chief Cook.  Classes were held, as well as a small tournament.  The main hit of the feast for 50 people was a dish called "Chickens as Lizards."

     The second event was called "A Foolish Tourney" and was held at the local Jellystone Campgrounds (note Yogi Bear in a Narrental tabbard) in September of 1993, just two weeks after our first Miami County Heritage Days demo.  This event turned out to be the incentive for our future Clown Tourney.  Mordred and Duncan were co-Autocrats for this event, and Abu Da'ud arranged for a catered feast that included roasted chickens and pork loin... although Abu did provide a wonderful stew for lunch.  Abu Da'ud and Elayne even made the VERY large tabard for the 20-foot statue of Yogi Bear at the campground entrance!

     We participated in the Miami County Heritage Days activities with fighting demos and an encampment for several years, but decided in 2000 that we were not really fitting in with the theme... we are just a bit too early a time period for most of the activities.

     The Shire's first Clown Tourney was held in May 1994, just after Kingdom Coronation and a week before Kingdom Crown Tournament.  It was again held at the Miami County 4-H Fair Grounds.  Duncan came up with some really insane "pun" type activities... which included some rather ingenious scoring methods to select the "Clown Prince & Princess."  The High Table was really that...came to their chins when sitting, the Thrones were mundane bathroom equipment, the "pike" for the Prince's man-at-arms was a stuffed fabric fish, etc.  Everyone had so much fun that we decided to do this event annually.  The fifth Clown Tourney was held in 1998, we did not plan for a sixth one because we (and Steren Codha) were selected to host the Middle Kingdom's 30-Year Celebration instead, which was a successful event held May 1, 1999 (A.S. XXXIII) in Peru.  Clown Tourney VI (Sir Amra was Event Steward and Lady Elayne wass Head Cook) was held in Rochester, IN, and was a real learning experience for us.  We had to cut over 2 acres of weeds out of the wooded area, some children found poison ivy, we found that 8 people cannot do the work of 15, and we learned how to pack things up in a BIG hurry as a rain storm approached.  Clown Tourney VII was again held at the Miami County 4-H Fair Grounds, with Lady Elayne as Event Steward and Meisterin Katarina Helene as Head Cook.  The event was quite small this time around (barely 80 in attendance), but a good time was had by all.

     While we were still an Incipient Shire, Narrental hosted a Kingdom Rapier Championship in 1993.  We were given a very strong hint at Pennsic that year that the Kingdom was looking for someone to host it.  We jumped right in and rented the Peru National Guard Armory for the event.  Lady Katarina Helene was the Event Steward and Lord Abu & Lady Elayne the Cooks.  The feast was something to behold!!  And, Abu made an absolutely fantastic castle cake for Their Majesties, Brannos & Rebekka.

     The Shire hosted the first Constellation A&S Faire.  Previously to this event, it had been a joint Faire with the Midlands Region (state of Illinois).  We had a surprisingly good turn out, and even made a very small profit.

     Narrental residents are dedicated to promoting historical education in the local schools surrounding Peru, Logansport, Wabash, and Rochester, Indiana.  The Shire's members are persistent, and insistent on making the most fun of learning about the Middle Ages in the present time as much as possible.  We have worked extensively with Blair Pointe Elementary School in our 8+ years, going into Ms. Kreutzer's classroom to talk about many aspects of the Middle Ages to augment the children's studies.  We have assisted them with three all-day Medieval Faires, and you can see most of the photos of the 1999 Faire by clicking here...   (This page might take a little while for the pages to load, so be patient, please... it has several photos)