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Ever see a bunch of people all dressed up in clothes that look right out of the Middle Ages? Maybe that's because they were. The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) presents "the Middle Ages as they should have been." There are any pestilences or problems of that nature. There are still wars, but those are only for fun (and no one really gets killed). Basically, anything anyone did in the Middle Ages, you can probably find someone who does it now. |
The SCA started a long, long time ago (May 1, 1966) in a galaxy...oops, sorry, wrong script...in Berkeley, California. A group of people decided that a costume party would be really cool. They set it in the Middle Ages, and everyone had to be in costume. They had fencing and dancing, and when it was all done, they thought it was great fun. So they decided to do it again....and again...and again....
Eventually the idea spread to a reasonably large area, and so they decided to create a Kingdom. Well, a kingdom needs a king, and since kings many times had been chosen by right of arms, they decided to do that, too. "Right of arms" was usually a tournament, where everyone who wanted to be king fights for the honor, with the kingdom going to the winner. This didn't mean that you got good kings, but you did get strong ones...
The SCA now has 15 kingdoms, mostly centered in the United States, though Drachenwald is the whole of Europe. There are over 26,000 members, and the numbers keep on growing. The period of time the SCA covers is from approximately 600-1600 AD, with Shakespeare thrown in for good measure.
Of course, there's more to it, than just getting all dressed up in garb. First you have to make the garb. This is not as easy as it seems, especially since lots of people have never touched a sewing machine...
In addition to that, everyone needs a persona. A persona is who you are in the Middle Ages. Some people have much more detail than others. Some have a generic idea of time periods and location. Others have their whole backgrounds laid out and only wear clothing to match. Personally, I have two different ones: Kiriena Annin doch' Pruskurniana and Catherine (pronounced Ka-TREEN). Neither of them are particularly developed, other than a name.
For anyone reading this who knows me, yes, Kiriena is new, though the story is about the same. Kiriena is actually documentable and Katriana is not. I'm not surprised, since I made that name up off the top of my head...*sigh*
For those of you who don't know what kind of names are period, either pick something like Anne or Joseph, which are very common and old, or you can go to the SCA Heraldry Page. This is a wonderful resource for both names from almost anywhere in Europe, and an introduction to heraldic devices.
The other major thing about the SCA is that everything has a period name. Even if the one they have is period, a new one is chosen anyway. I live in Boston, and I used to go to Wellesley College. That means I was a member of the Borough of Felding (Wellesley) in the Barony of Carolingia (Greater Boston, MA) in the East Kingdom (Northern PA, New England, and Quebec). Currently, I live in Somerville, MA, which means I'm no longer a member of Felding, but I am a Felding Auntie. I used to live in Estes Park, CO, which means that I was part of the Barony of Unser Hafen in the Kingdom of the Outlands. Estes Park has enough people to form a group, but no one wants to run it...and I don't blame them...*sigh* You didn't know you lived in so many places, did you?
It's not as confusing as it seems. Basically, every place and person has a different name in the SCA.
This page last updated 02/16/2000. If you have any questions/problems, please write me.