About Hugo

My name is Will Phillips, but in the context of the worldwide Society for Creative Anarchonism – and other historical reenactment circles – I am better known by my living history persona, “Hugo van Harlo.”

I’m an American history enthusiast, and this site catalogs my projects, commissions, and classes as they relate to my research of the late sixteenth century Low Countries and portrayal of a c. 1580 member of the Dutch gentry.

The SCA, other living history events, and a wide-ranging online community of reenactors and history buffs create opportunities to explore these interests in history with like-minded individuals. Most of that occurs around the Midwest United States, where I live. In SCA-speak, this would be the regional Kingdom of Calontir, which comprises Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and northwest Arkansas.

My Studies in the Late Sixteenth Century

The Renaissance-era Low Countries are the central hub around which a few, distinct areas I study revolve. On the whole, much of this research is being disseminated via my Renaissance Netherlands with Will Phillips project.

  • The Dutch Revolt and Early Republic: A motley collection of provinces managed to win their independence from the world’s superpower – how? That’s a story I’m both fascinated by. I focus on the 1576 Pacification of Ghent through the 1592 death of the Prince of Parma, but have a broader interest in those revolutionary decades which birthed the Dutch Republic, c. 1559-1619.
  • Print Culture & Cartography of the Low Countries: Printed media, the maturation of cartographic art & science, and the expanding knowledge of the world had a radical, transformative impact on European society. My work includes researching various print artifacts, emulating their designs, and the recreation of the Mannerist-inspired cartographic styles of the era.
  • The Nobility of the Eastern Netherlands & Lower Rhine: In the story of the Dutch people, little attention is popularly given to the the power centers of the eastern provinces: not city merchants, but the traditional landed nobility. Who were these people, and what was their world like? This both pure research work, but it also extends to the physical goods and clothing of my living history impression.

Selected SCA Activities & Awards

I began playing with the SCA again in mid-2015 after a nearly ten-year absence, following my initial participation with the organization as a college senior of & recent graduate from Oklahoma State University.

2015

  • Heraldic Device (Later, Arms) Submitted – and Later Registered: Sable, in pale two eagle’s feet couped inverted Or
  • Heraldic Badge Submitted – and Later Registered: (Fieldless) An eagle’s leg couped sable membered Or maintaining a grenade bendwise sable enflamed Or

2016

  • Second Heraldic Badge (Used Primarily as a Crest) Submitted – and Later Registered: (Fieldless) A cockerel’s head couped sable, beaked, langued, combed, and wattled Or
  • Granted an Award of Arms by Duncan Bruce of Logan & Ylva Jonsdottir

2017

  • Awarded a Leather Mallet (Calontir’s AoA level award for the sciences) by Bataciqan-nu Ko’un Ashir & Ashland de Mumford for ” persona research, bookbinding, and cartography”
  • Awarded Judges’ Choice at Kingdom Arts & Sciences’ Tri-Levels for a map of the Barony of Forgotten Sea and Environs
  • Won the “Made On Site” A&S competition at Valor with a map of Vatavia in the style of the late sixteenth century
  • Awarded Judges’ Choice at the Queen’s Prize Tournament for a map of the northeastern Low Countries.

2018

  • Awarded a Torse (Calontir’s AoA level award for service) ny Bataciqan-nu Ko’un Ashir & Ashland de Mumford for “service to Forgotten Sea, the college of heralds, and vocal heraldry”
  • Served as arts & sciences coordinator for Lilies War
  • Launched the Renaissance Netherlands with Will Phillips Facebook page.
  • Won the Queen’s Prize for my Regnum Calontirae Descripto, a large multi-sheet wall map of the kingdom.
  • Apprenticed to Mistress Jorunn Eydisardottir as of Kris Kinder 2017
  • Served as a member of the “Gold Hawk by Committee (i.e. rotating royal court herald) for Caius Equitius Rectus Xerxis & Bele Anna de Rugé

2019

  • Inducted into the Order of the Silver Hammer (Calontir’s GoA polling order for the sciences) by Caius Equitius Rectus Xerxis & Bele Anna de Rugé for “map-making and persona research”
  • Served as Provost (deputy to the Chancellor) to RUSH – Calontir’s “royal university” for offering classes and promoting education in historic arts, crafts, sciences, and research.
  • Renaissance Netherlands with Will Phillips reaches over 1,000 Likes on Facebook.

Contact Information