Society for Creative Anachronism

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The Society for Creative Anachronism (usually shortened to SCA) is a historical recreation and living history group approximating mainly pre-17th century Western European history and culture. It is a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational organization whose goal is described in their By-Laws and Corporate Policies as a group devoted to the study of the Middle Ages life and culture of the landed nobility in Europe before A.D. 1601. In practice, members include other time frames (Renaissance), and regions such as the Middle East and Japan. The corporate offices are in Milpitas, California.

The SCA is divided into administrative regions which it calls kingdoms (which typically cover several US states, or Canadian provinces, and can be as large as countries or collections of countries). Kingdoms are sometimes divided into subregions known as Principalities and contain chapters (typically which encompass a city or part of a city), which are called Shires, Provinces, Baronies, Cantons, Colleges and Strongholds. Kingdoms, Principalities and Baronies have ceremonial rulers who preside over activities and give out group awards (Orders).

There are active groups all over the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand, with scattered groups elsewhere. (At one time there was even a group on the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, known as the "Shire of Curragh Mor" (anglicized Irish for "Big Boat"), and the shire's arms played on the Nimitz's ship's badge.)

As of 2006 it had approximately 30,000 paid members.

Contents

[edit] History

The Society for Creative Anachronism's roots can be traced to a backyard graduation party of a medieval studies graduate, the author Diana Paxson, in Berkeley, California on May 1, 1966.

The graduation party began with a "Grand Tournament" in which the participants wore motorcycle helmets, fencing masks, and usually some semblance of a costume, and whacked away at each other with weapons including plywood swords, padded maces, and even a fencing foil. It ended with a parade down Telegraph Avenue with everyone singing "Greensleeves". It was styled as a "protest against the 20th century". The name "Society for Creative Anachronism" was coined by science fiction author Marion Zimmer Bradley, an early participant, when the nascent group needed an official name in order to reserve a park for a tournament.

The SCA still measures dates within the society from the date of that party, calling the system Anno Societatis (Latin for "Year of the Society"). For example, 1 May 2006–30 April 2007 is A.S. XLI (41). The individuals who attended that first event are collectively known as "The Dinosaurs", and those who are still active in the Society are regarded with a respect bordering on veneration.

In 1968 Marion Zimmer Bradley moved to Staten Island, New York State and founded the Kingdom of the East, holding a tournament that summer to determine the first Eastern King of the SCA. That September, a tournament was held at the World Science Fiction Convention, which was in Berkeley that year. The SCA had produced a book for the convention called A Handbook for the Current Middle Ages, which was a how-to book for people wanting to start their own SCA chapters. Convention goers purchased the book and the idea spread. Soon, other local chapters began to form. In October of 1968 the SCA was incorporated as a 501(c)3 not for profit corporation in California. By the end of 1969 the SCA's three original kingdoms had been established: West, East and Middle. All SCA kingdoms trace their roots to these original three. The number of SCA kingdoms has continued to grow by the expansion and division of existing kingdoms; for example, the Outlands, Artemisia, Ansteorra, Gleann Abhann, Meridies, and Trimaris all originally belonged to the fourth kingdom, Atenveldt, which began as a branch of the West.

[edit] Kingdoms

SCA Kingdoms are (in order of founding):

[edit] Activities

Members, dressed in clothing of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, attend events which may feature tournaments, arts exhibits, classes, workshops, dancing, feasts, and more.

Main article: Society for Creative Anachronism activities

[edit] Culture of the group

[edit] Persona

Each member in the SCA creates a fictional character known as a persona. For some, a persona is simply a costume and a name, an alter ego used for a single weekend event. Some members craft an elaborate personal history for a fictitious person who might have lived in a particular historical time and place. The SCA has onomastic students who try to assist members in creating a persona name which could have existed in a particular time and place within the SCA's period. The quality of this research can vary. However, claiming to be a real, historical person is uniformly forbidden. Likewise, one is not allowed to claim the persona of a fellow SCA member, alive or dead. Neither is one allowed to take on the persona of a character from a work of fiction, e.g., Sir Robin the Chickenhearted of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Rod Gallowglass, Lord High Warlock of Gramarye from Christopher Stasheff's Warlock novels (which themselves are an outgrowth of the Society; see Escape Velocity and The Warlock in Spite of Himself) or a character from Katherine Kurtz's Deryni novels (herself an early member of the SCA).

[edit] Royalty

The SCA has ceremonial rulers, some chosen by SCA combat (Kings/Queens, Princes/Princesses) and some by appointment (Barons/Baronesses). One of the primary powers of SCA rulers is to give awards. These awards are recognitions of advancement in various SCA pursuits: Armored combat, Fencing, Archery, Horsemanship, other Arts, Service to the SCA and its branches, Persona excellence, and SCA 'spirit'.

Thrones from which SCA royalty hold court (left, Calontir; right, Northshield).
Thrones from which SCA royalty hold court (left, Calontir; right, Northshield).

[edit] Ruler by 'right of arms' (SCA combat)

Each SCA kingdom is 'ruled' by a king and queen chosen by winning a Crown Tournament. This is typically held as a double-elimination, one-on-one, Armored SCA combat tournament; but the actual format of the tournament is largely at the whim of the reigning monarch and may even include melee (or group) combat in some places, with the candidates for the Crown raising an army from fighters not seeking the throne and contending against the armies raised by their opponents. The winner of the Crown Tournament and his/her Consort are styled "Crown Prince and Princess" and serve an advisory period under the current King and Queen prior to acceding to the throne and ruling in their turn. The advisory period can last anywhere from three to six months depending upon the scheduling of the Crown Tournament.

As of 2005, only one Queen has been made 'by her own hand' (that is, by winning a Crown Tournament), though two other Queens have served as Sovereign rather than Consort when their Prince or King died before or during their reign. There has also been one instance of a Queen serving as Queen Regent because the King, a military reservist, was summoned to active duty with the armed forces in the real world after taking the throne; and one in which the King abdicated the throne as a result of SCA politics and his own personality difficulties. There have also been at least seven instances of reigning Princesses who have won the Coronet List for their Principality. [1] In such cases, the male consort becomes Prince.

[edit] Peerage orders

The highest ranking awards within the SCA are called Peerages (although this term is mostly an SCA neologism - not in keeping with European practice).

Main article: Society for Creative Anachronism Peerages

[edit] Critiques and criticism of the SCA

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While some people[attribution needed] say the SCA is still just a big medieval costume party that has been going on since the '60s, the scholarship and historical documentation of some members is professional. Unlike stricter reenactment groups, the SCA will use modern elements when necessary (like plastic-framed eyeglasses) or to promote safety (like replacing steel swords with rattan during combat). Also, unlike other reenactment groups, SCA gatherings do not reenact a specific time nor place in history. For this reason, the SCA is more self-referential than an ideal living history group. This leads to the criticism[attribution needed] that the SCA is more of a subculture group than a reenactment.

One nettlesome argument in the SCA is the meaning of “Creative Anachronism”. An oft-quoted though unofficial SCA motto is, "The Middle Ages as they should have been"[citation needed] — that is to say, lacking such undesirable elements as religious persecution, bubonic plague, and open-pit sewers. The level of historical authenticity in the SCA varies greatly from casual participants to participants who are historically exacting and detailed. Many SCA participants[attribution needed] see these open requirements as one of the main strengths of the SCA, allowing members to choose their level of commitment and enjoy playing with others in the SCA. However, others[attribution needed] find this looseness at conflict with the SCA's governing documents and that can be a detriment to members doing serious historical study.

Some participants[attribution needed] have also described the SCA as a large group of people with interlocking skills and hobbies that are rarely used or needed in a technological society. Some have joked that after leaving Boy Scouts, where else can people still use all their merit badge skills but in the SCA? During a typical SCA event one can see such interactions. Dancers can work with the musicians in a performance. Cooks plan and prepare meals for feasts. Weavers and costumers find people to wear their creations. Leather workers and metal smiths make combat armor for fighters, and so on. Because of the diversity of SCA members, most medieval trades or hobbies are practiced and valued within the SCA.

The SCA can also be seen as a large, roving piece of performance art by committee. Participants are creating an impression of the Middle Ages made up of their personal ideas of what the Middle Ages were (or should have been) like. There are those whose SCA participation draws heavily on sources from Hollywood, notably the chivalric epics of the 1940s and 1950s; others whose interpretation stems from the Victorian idea of what the Age of Chivalry was, which is heavily influenced by the works of Sir Walter Scott and Sir Thomas Malory; fantasy elements drawn from novelists such as J.R.R. Tolkien (a heavy influence on the early SCA members), Katherine Kurtz, Marion Zimmer Bradley, T.H. White; roleplaying games; and those who draw their inspiration from primary source materials. As a result, there are often telltale signs of non-historical influences in the SCA.

[edit] Politics

As with any human organization, personalities and agendas can clash. Some people have had bad experiences with local groups or individuals, which color their impression of the organization as a whole. In addition, there are internal stresses within the Society due to inevitable conflicts between local autonomy and central organization (the Society's Board of Directors is a frequent target of controversy). Within the organization, cliques, backbiting and big-frog-in-the-small-pond machinations and behavior with regard to status persist but such group dynamics are endemic in *any* organization, be it the SCA, fandom, or the local Elks Lodge or model rocket society.

The major difference within the Society comes from the fact that many of the symbols of status within the SCA are visible and convey immediate respect to their holders; and that in general, status within the Society theoretically depends on actual accomplishment. It is uncommon but not unheard of for the Society's awards structure to be used as a personal weapon by those who sit the thrones or by members of the several peerage orders for or against individuals of whom a Crown or Order approve or disapprove. This behavior is despicable, but the SCA's bylaws provide no practical means of addressing and/or redressing the problem. Of course this is actually quite historically accurate ("Help, help, I'm being repressed!"). 'Social climbing' within the organization is not an unheard-of occurrence either, though those who choose to engage in that behavior become obvious about it over time.

[edit] Extent of royal influence

While the Kings and Queens do have a significant influence within their individual kingdoms and the larger Society during their reigns, their duties are primarily ceremonial. The day-to-day business of running the Society is performed by volunteers or appointees in kingdom-level offices, and by the Society's Board of Directors. In fact, the Board of Directors can strip any crown of its authority (retroactively to the beginning of their reign, even after it has ended) if they abuse their authority. To date this has never occurred, although the Board has on several occasions voided individual awards made by Kings and Queens (usually for raising an individual from another kingdom into the peerage without obtaining permission from their fellow sovereign before doing so), or banned individuals from competing for the Crown for a certain period.

The amount of authority a king has also varies from kingdom to kingdom. In so-called "Western Rite" kingdoms (those that split directly from the first kingdom, the Kingdom of the West), many people consider the king's word to be "law", which often runs them afoul of the SCA's official governing body, the SCA's Board of Directors. These kingdoms often have a more fantasy based version of SCA kingship, drawing heavily from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, (one of Aragorn's titles in The Lord of the Rings is "King of the West") and place the institution of SCA monarchy at the center of SCA activity. Argument over the extent of royal influence is another strong element of the SCA's internal culture.

[edit] Elevation to the peerage, peerage circles and royal rights

SCA peerages are bestowed as lifetime awards to those who receive them, though the recipient may surrender the title if he or she so wishes. It is possible, though usually difficult, to receive again a peerage so surrendered. Peerages are bestowed by the Crown (the Sovereign and Consort) of a Kingdom. In most cases (with the exception of Royal Peers - see below), this is done at the request of the members of a given peerage. There have been rare instances in which the King has bestowed the honor on one not considered by (or even against the wishes of) a given peerage. Such an action leads to vocal protest on the parts of the peerage order and others within the given kingdom. It has sometimes resulted in members of that peerage surrendering their rank in protest over the elevation of the person receiving the honour. The source of this conflict is a difference of opinion between two schools of thought.

The first school of thought on the subject, known as "Royalism" or "Absolutism," argues that the Crown's power is absolute. The Society's bylaws state quite clearly that while it is the privilege of the peers to advise the Crown concerning nominees to their order, it is the duty of the Crown to decide who will receive the accolade. Royalists understand that while the Crown considers their opinions, those who sit the Throne are not bound by them and have the obligation to their people to do what the Crown feels is right in each case.

While this is true if a literal interpretation of the bylaws is made, those who ascribe to the "Feudalist" school of thought believe as much (or more) weight should be given to the collective opinion of the peerage order to which a candidate would be admitted. Feudalists maintain that the Crown sits the throne for only a short period. The members of the peerage have to deal with the consequences of the Crown's action (i.e., a candidate they may feel unworthy of the honour) for much longer, and thus to some extent the Crown should be guided by the collective wisdom of the Order. Followers of this philosophy argue that absolute monarchy as practiced in the SCA does not come close to historical fact. Real monarchs had to maintain a certain level of contentment among their constituents to avoid open rebellion and possibly forcible removal from the throne.

Whichever philosophy one ascribes to, such rifts between the Crown and their most highly placed subjects are undoubtedly divisive, and detract from the more pleasant task of rewarding individuals who clearly stand out in their art, science or fighting discipline.

[edit] Authenticity

Some people[attribution needed] criticize the SCA because it does not require its members to adhere to as high a standard of authenticity as other living-history or re-enactment groups. Activities, such as battles or duels, are said to "re-create" history but are not faithful reproductions of actual events. Instead, SCA events tend to be unique to the SCA's culture. For instance, events can be heavily dominated by court and award granting, the bi-yearly combat for the royal seats and subsequent coronations.

Some SCA members[attribution needed] stipulate the fact that they are not 100% authentic in their re-creations and merely add that this is the reason they have the word "creative" in their name. This attitude has created the unofficial motto: "The Middle Ages not as they were, but as they should have been."

Some SCA events have been dedicated to particular historic events or have portions of their camping sectioned off for only strict reenactment, sometimes called "Enchanted Ground", in which much more strenuous attempts are made to keep anachronistic objects and actions out. However, this is not the norm.

SCA members who overreact to other members' non-historical influences or other out-of-period items and desire greater authenticity than most members expect are sometimes called "Period Police" or "Authenticity Freaks" — especially if their reaction affects the fun of the Society’s activities. This conflict between the folk there to have fun and those who are into the re-creation, research, and authenticity has been an ongoing philosophical conflict within the Society since its earliest days and shows no sign of abating any time soon.

[edit] SCA armored combat style and determining royalty by armored combat

SCA armored combat using rattan swords (also called "heavy combat") is criticized on several fronts.

[edit] Tradeoffs - safety vs authenticity

The emphasis on safety creates an inauthentic style of fighting:

  • The look and sound of SCA combat suffers from using rattan rather than steel weapons.
  • The way some weapons are used is not authentic; an SCA mace for example has much less mass than the real item.
  • The SCA armored/rattan fighting is intended to recreate the style of the Age of High Chivalry in Europe of the early to mid-13th century, but the armor of that era was chain mail over a padded gambeson, with steel plate helmets of varying pattern. However, for safety reasons the SCA armor standards are much closer to that of the tilting-armor worn by Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in the 16th century Indeed, it has been observed by detractors that in a mere 30 years the SCA recapitulated 400 years of armor development!

[edit] Self judging
  • Personal integrity and honesty play an important role in how bouts are fought, but it is possible within the SCA's rules to refuse to acknowledge a valid hit in order to win a bout. In practice however, this will likely result in the marshal removing that person from the field.

[edit] Sport vs recreation fighting
  • While SCA combat techniques are well developed, they are based on what works with SCA weapons and armor rather than those actually used historically.

[edit] Combat to determine a 'king' is inauthentic

While Tournament Combat isn't how actual medieval monarchs were chosen, there is a literary and an historical basis for the custom. The SCA's first event didn't choose a "king". Fighters vied for the right to declare their ladies (only men fought at the first event) "fairest," later called the Queen of Love and Beauty. This has a number of literary sources, most famously the tournament in Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe. In the Middle Ages, there were a number of different "mock king" games, some of which involved some form of combat, such as King of the Mountain or the King of Archers. In the 17th Century The Cotswold Games were developed, the winner of which was declared to be "king". However, as with many Society customs, the selection of a king by tournament combat "wasn't planned, it just growed." According to the Dinosaurs (see above), in the very early days of the SCA (before there were kingdoms) there was one fighter who seemed to win every tournament he entered. This was discouraging to the other fighters and their ladies. Thus, the idea of a Crown Tournament was devised, for the express purpose of this fighter's winning it, being crowned King - and as King, being unable to participate in tournaments because duty required he preside over them.

[edit] SCA treatment of rapier (fencing)

Fencing (also called rapier) with blunted metal weapons has grown in acceptance and prestige over the past three decades within the SCA. It was once unpopular and even discouraged for several reasons. One was the perception that 'swashbuckling' was a late period if not out of period activity (i.e. after 1600). Another issue was the perception that the rapier was a weapon for dueling, not of war, and therefore was not honorable combat, and so was unworthy of a Knight or perhaps any gentleman. This has deep roots in an SCA controversy regarding to what extent Renaissance (as opposed to European Medieval) activities should be included at all (although, to note, SCA bylaws formalized the end date of the SCA at 1601, well after the beginning of the Italian Renaissance). It also reflects an SCA controversy regarding SCA knighthood and to what extent SCA knights live the Chivalric ideal (or at least the modern perception of it).

There is now a consensus that pre-1601 rapier combat is a valid area of study and recreation within the SCA. In most kingdoms, rapier fighters can be granted awards in acknowledgement of skill at rapier combat. Study of (as opposed to skill at) period rapier (for instance combat manuals and techniques) is also growing in the regard of the SCA.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

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