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Society for Creative Anachronism
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Society for Creative Anachronism (usually shortened to SCA) is a historical re-creation and living history group founded in 1966, which endeavors to promote the study and recreation of mainly pre-17th century Western European cultures and their histories. A quip oft used within the SCA, describes the SCA as a group devoted to the recreation of the Middle Ages "as they ought to have been," choosing to "selectively recreate the culture, choosing elements of the culture that interest and attract us." As of December 2007, the Society has over 30,000 paying members.
HistoryThe 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 SCA still measures dates within the society from the date of that party, calling the system Anno Societatis. For example, 1 May 2008 - 30 April 2009 is A.S. XLIII (43). 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.
In 1968, Bradley moved to Staten Island, New York 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 1968, the SCA was incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit 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.
OrganizationBranchesThe SCA is divided into administrative regions which it calls kingdoms. Smaller branches within those kingdoms include Principalities, Regions, Baronies and Provinces, and local chapters are known as Cantons, Ridings, Shires, Colleges, Strongholds and Ports. Kingdoms, Principalities, and Baronies have ceremonial rulers who preside over activities and issue group awards (Orders). Colleges, Strongholds, and Ports are local chapters (like a shire) that are associated with an institution, such as a school, military base, or even a military ship at sea.
All SCA branches are organized in descending order as follows:
- Kingdom: area ruled by a King and Queen (typically covering several U.S. states or Canadian provinces, and can be as large as countries or collections of countries)
- Principality: area within a kingdom ruled by Prince and Princess (large area sometimes comprising entire states)
- Region: equivalent of principality without ceremonial representative
- Barony: area administered by a Baron and/or Baroness, the ceremonial representative(s) of the Crown (small chapter typically occurring in an urban area)
- Canton: local branch reporting through a barony (local chapter, which may be on the way to becoming a shire)
- Province: equivalent of barony without ceremonial representative
- Riding: local branch reporting through a province
- Shire: local branch reporting directly to a kingdom or principality (local chapter typically occurring in rural areas)
- College: institutional branch based at a school, research facility, etc. (often occurring within a Barony)
- Stronghold: institutional branch based at a military installation
- Port: institutional branch based at a military installation in situations where groups of members will be detached for long periods, as with ships at sea
Groups are active all over the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand, with scattered groups elsewhere, including the Panama Canal Zone and an incipient group in Antarctica. (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.)
There are also local and regional sub-groups, usually called "households", which are not part of the Society's formal organization (e.g. Great Dark Horde).
Corporate organizationThe SCA is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation in California, with its current headquarters in the city of Milpitas, CA. It is headed by a board of directors, each of which is nominated by the membership of the SCA, selected by sitting directors, and elected to serve for 3.5 years. Each director serves as an ombudsman for various kingdoms and society officers. The BoD, as it is called, is responsible for handling the corporate affairs of the SCA and is also in charge of certain disciplinary actions, such as revoking the membership status of participants who have broken Corpora regulations or modern law while participating in SCA activities.
KingdomsSCA Kingdoms are (in order of founding):
- The is the original kingdom, created when the Society originated in 1966. It currently includes Northern California, most of Nevada, and Alaska, as well as Japan, Korea, and the Pacific Rim (excluding Australia and New Zealand).
- The is the second kingdom, created in 1968. In the United States of America it covers eastern Pennsylvania, eastern New York, Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. In Canada, it covers Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland.
- The is the third kingdom, created in 1969 from the Kingdom of the East. Its current borders are Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, as well as parts of Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan and Ontario.
- The is the fourth kingdom, created in 1971 from the Kingdom of the West. It encompasses the state of Arizona, along with small parts of Utah and California.
- The is the fifth kingdom, created in 1978 from the Kingdom of Atenveldt. Its borders currently encompass the entirety of Alabama; almost all of Georgia; all of Middle and East Tennessee, plus a substantial portion of West Tennessee; a bit of the panhandle of Florida; and small portions of both Kentucky and Virginia.
- The is the sixth kingdom, created in 1978 from the Kingdom of the West. It currently encompasses Southern California, the Greater Las Vegas Area, and Hawaii.
- The is the seventh kingdom, created in 1979 from the Kingdom of Atenveldt. Ansteorra covers Oklahoma and most of Texas.
- The is the eighth kingdom, created in 1981 from the Kingdom of the East. Its borders cover Maryland, most of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, as well as Augusta, Georgia.
- The is the ninth Kingdom, created in 1982 from the Kingdom of the West. It encompasses the US states of Oregon, Washington, and the northern tips of Idaho, and in Canada it covers British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories.
- The Kingdom of Calontir is the tenth kingdom, created in 1984 from the Kingdom of the Middle. It covers Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and the 727xx Zip Code area around Fayetteville, Arkansas.
- The is the eleventh kingdom, created in 1985. It was split from the Kingdom of Meridies and is composed of the majority of Florida, as well as Panama, and humorously, Antarctica (although see Lochac, below). Also, as a triskele (the Trimaris symbol) was sent into space on a shuttle, Trimaris claims space.
- The Kingdom of the Outlands is the twelfth kingdom, created in 1986 from the Kingdom of Atenveldt. It encompasses New Mexico, most of Colorado, parts of Wyoming, the panhandle of Nebraska, as well as El Paso County and Hudspeth County of Texas.
- The is the thirteenth kingdom, created in 1993 from the Kingdom of the East. It is by far the largest kingdom in terms of land area, but not in population. It covers all of Europe (including islands), Africa, and the Middle East. In a humorous twist, it achieved its independence on the Fourth of July.
- The is the fourteenth kingdom, created in 1997 from the Kingdom of Atenveldt. It currently covers Montana, southern Idaho, most of Utah, northwestern Colorado, and southwestern Wyoming.
- The is the fifteenth kingdom, created in 1997 from the Kingdom of the East. It covers northeastern/central/western Pennsylvania, central/western New York, and West Virginia.
- The is the sixteenth kingdom, created in 1998 from the Kingdom of the Middle. It comprises most of the Canadian province of Ontario.
- The Kingdom of Lochac is the seventeenth kingdom, created in 2002 from the Kingdom of the West (Australia) and the Kingdom of Caid (New Zealand). It encompasses the entirety of Australia and New Zealand, and has some claim to at least parts of Antarctica, in possible contradiction of the claim held by the Kingdom of Trimaris.
- The is the eighteenth kingdom, created in 2004 from the Kingdom of the Middle. It covers North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the upper peninsula of Michigan. It also extends into Canada, encompassing Manitoba and northwestern Ontario.
- The is the nineteenth kingdom, created in 2005 from the Kingdom of Meridies. It covers Mississippi, Louisiana, most of Arkansas, the western edge of Tennessee including the Memphis area, and Calloway County, Kentucky.
OfficersThe Society as a whole, each kingdom, and each local group within a kingdom, all have a standard group of officers—with titles loosely based on medieval equivalents.
- Seneschal - The seneschal acts as the administrative head of the group. Every local group is required to have a seneschal who reports to the kingdom's seneschal.
- Reeve - The treasurer, also known as the Chancellor of the Exchequer (from the British office), handles the financial matters of the group. Every local group is required to have one. The Society Chancellor of the Exchequer, who administrates the kingdom and local reeves, reports to the Society Treasurer who handles the corporate finances.
- Knight Marshal - The combat supervisor, the knight marshal administrates heavy (rattan and armor) combat activities for the group. A local group is required to have one in order to host combat activities.
- Minister of Arts and Sciences - Sometimes split into two offices, one for arts and one for sciences, this office coordinates arts and sciences activities for the group, arranging classes and demonstrations, and leading participants to others who work in fields of their interest.
- Herald - This officer is in charge of heraldic activities, such as the creation and registration of names and arms. Each kingdom has a College of Heralds which prepares submissions to go to the Society College of Arms, headed by the Laurel Sovereign of Arms.
- Hospitaller or Chatelaine - In charge of welcoming and facilitating new participants into the SCA.
- Chirurgeon - In charge of safety and modern first aid. This officer usually has some form of medical training outside the Society.
- Rapier Marshal - Supervises rapier activities for the group.
- Constable - In charge of maintaining and tracking liability waivers for events and combat activities.
- Chronicler - Produces and edits the group's newsletter. The Society Chronicler monitors each of the kingdom and local group's chroniclers, while the SCA's two organization-wide publications, Tournaments Illuminated and The Compleat Anachronist, each have their own editor-in-chief.
- Minister of Children - Arranging and officiating children's activities.
- Historian - Recording the history of the group, from the local to the Society level.
- Webminister - Derived from webmaster, this officer is in charge of maintaining the Internet presence of the group.
Culture of the groupMembers of the SCA study and take part in a variety of activities, including combat, archery, equestrian activities, costuming, cooking, metalwork, woodworking, music, dance, calligraphy, fiber arts, etc.
PersonaTo aid historical recreation, participants in the SCA create historically plausible characters known individually as a persona. To new members, a persona can simply be a costume and a name used for weekend events, while other members may study and create an elaborate personal history. The goal of a well crafted persona is a historically accurate 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 studied period. However, claiming to be a specific historical individual, especially a very familiar one (e.g. Genghis Khan, Julius Caesar, Henry Plantagenet, Queen Elizabeth I), is not permitted. Likewise, one is not allowed to claim the persona of a fellow SCA member, alive or dead. Nor is one allowed to take on the persona of a sufficiently familiar fictional character (e.g. Robin of Locksley or Robin Hood).
Royalty The SCA has ceremonial rulers, some chosen by winning tournaments (Kings/Queens, Princes/Princesses) and some by appointment (Barons/Baronesses). One of the primary functions of state for reigning monarchs is to recognize participant achievement through awards. Most awards denote excellence in a specific pursuit such as local service, arts and sciences, and combat. Some awards change the precedence and title of the recipient, giving him or her the privilege of being known as "Lord"/"Lady", "Baron", "Duchess", "Master", and so forth. High level awards are often given with the consultation of the other people who have received the award, such as peerages and consulting orders.
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 required by Corpora to be held as a "properly constituted armored combat" tournament. The winner of the Crown Tournament and his/her Consort are styled "Crown Prince and Princess" and serve an advisory period (three to six months, depending upon the scheduling of the Crown Tournament)under the current King and Queen prior to acceding to the throne and ruling in their turn.
There has been one known instance of a Queen serving as Queen Regent because the King, a real-life military reservist, was summoned to active duty with the armed forces after taking the throne.
Peerage orders The highest ranking titles in the SCA belong to the royalty, followed by the former royalty. Former kings and queens become counts and countesses (dukes and duchesses if they have reigned more than once), and former princes and princesses become viscounts and viscountesses. This system is not historically based, but was developed out of practical necessity early in the Society's history.
Directly beneath this "landed" nobility (current and former royalty) rank the highest awards, the Peerages. The SCA has three orders of peerage: the Order of Chivalry, awarded for skill at arms; the Order of the Laurel, awarded for skill in the arts and sciences; and the Order of the Pelican, awarded for outstanding service to the Society.
Critiques and criticism of the SCAThe SCA will use modern elements when necessary (like plastic-framed eyeglasses) or to promote safety (like replacing steel swords with rattan during combat). Also, SCA gatherings do not reenact a specific time or place in history. For this reason, the SCA is more self-referential than a living history group, such as Colonial Williamsburg. Within the SCA as well as outside it is discussed whether the SCA is more of a subculture group than a reenactment. For instance, the discussions of the Grand Council of the SCA, an advisory group to the Board of Directors, debated this at length. There is evidence that the SCA is recognized in the popular culture as a subculture 'fan' group, not a reenactment group.
One 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" — that is to say, lacking such undesirable elements as religious persecution, bubonic plague, and open-pit sewers. Another element of the Society is a ban on public religious ceremonies or proselytizing, in stark contrast to the real Middle Ages, and overt displays of religion are discouraged in many areas.
Despite such criticisms, there is some educational quality to the group's activities and they have helped to foster a good deal of valuable research, especially in the area of medieval crafts.
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. Argument over the extent of royal influence is another strong element of the SCA's internal culture. One view of this can be found in Mike Woodford's Trends of Change in the SCA .
Elevation to the peerage 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, although usually difficult, to again receive a peerage so surrendered. Peerages are bestowed by the Crown (the Sovereign and Consort) of a Kingdom. In most cases, this is done with the consent of the members of a given peerage, often at their suggestion. The Society's Bylaws state that "the Crown may elevate subjects to the Peerage by granting membership in one of the Orders conferring a Patent of Arms, after consultation with the members of the Order within the Kingdom, and in accordance with the laws and customs of the kingdom. Restriction: to advance a candidate to the Order of Knighthood, a Knight of the Society (usually the King) must bestow the accolade."
Authenticity Some people criticize the SCA because it does not require its members to adhere to as high a standard of authenticity as other living-history or reenactment groups. Other SCA members stipulate the fact that they are not 100% authentic in their recreations 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."
This tension is highlighted by David Friedman in his articles "A Dying Dream" and "Concerning the C in SCA".
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 (or, in one kingdom, tri-yearly) combat for the royal seats and subsequent coronations. 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.
Although it may be a false dichotomy, the distinction between the goals of fun and authenticity is an ongoing philosophical conflict within the Society. See, for example, the debates from rec.org.sca, the SCA newsgroup on USENET.
Self judging Personal integrity and honesty play an important role in how bouts are fought. The recipient of a blow is the sole judge of whether the blow was "good" (sufficient for an edged weapon to cause injury) or not. It is therefore quite possible for a fighter to win a bout by refusing to acknowledge valid blows, although in practice this is uncommon. It also tends to be noticed (and heavily frowned upon) by others if this sort of behavior begins to form a pattern. The potential to form oneself a dishonorable reputation is one of the most important incentives to be fair in calling one's blows; the "small-town" nature of many kingdoms helps make this an effective check on a system that might otherwise suffer substantial abuse.
A further disincentive to refuse acknowledging a "good" blow is that the author of the blow may attempt to increase the force of his next blow, thus possibly rendering combat too painful to continue ignoring valid blows. This is not encouraged, however, and if marshals see a bout becoming too heavy they may call a halt to the fight for safety reasons; though self judgement usually comes into play before this is necessary.
Sport vs re-creation fighting SCA combat techniques are highly developed and many techniques commonly seen at events are based on what works with SCA weapons and armor rather than those used in history. As a result of deviations from historical combat, SCA combat is often placed into the category of "sport fighting" by critics and some participants alike. However, it would be hyperbolic to declare that all SCA combat techniques are historically inaccurate. The SCA hosts events where hundreds and sometimes thousands of participants enter the combat field. As a non-profit organization, the SCA is also bound by insurance company mandates where participant safety is involved, regardless of the number of participants. Such policies do impact certain combat techniques and their historical accuracy.
Some SCA combat techniques include things that work with SCA combat and armor as well as more historically accurate techniques, depending on the group observed and on what techniques and weapons they employ. There are SCA regional groups and individuals over the globe who research and teach historical combat techniques for medieval weaponry where possible. As with all other areas of historical research, the quality of one's work is dependent upon the surviving material for study as well as the effort an individual puts into research.
The broad historical scope of the SCA, as well as a notable absence of documentation on certain fighting styles and techniques, requires participants to fill in the gaps as best possible using knowledge of other combat techniques. The most well known of these changes is that the knee and below are invalid targets within the Chivalric combat style. Another known change is that certain historical weapons are not allowed as there is no safe way to construct an approximation of historical weight and function, as with the flail.
Rapier combat has a greater abundance of surviving historical documentation of various fighting styles from Europe's fencing academies, both in original language and translated forms, and many practitioners attempt to fight in a historically accurate style using a more historically accurate Renaissance-style blade. However, rapier combat also makes concessions of accuracy for safety by disallowing percussive cuts.
These deviations from historical fighting techniques have led critics to classify SCA combat as "sport fighting" rather than "re-creation fighting", regardless of the reasoning behind them.
Authenticity of determining a 'king' by combat Actual medieval monarchs were not chosen by Tournament combat. There are, however, literary and historical bases for the custom, 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". Also, the medieval sagas contain accounts of uniting petty kingdoms under a single king through actual combat.
The SCA's first event did not 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".
See also
Further reading- Erisman, W. E. (1998). Forward into the past: the poetics and politics of community in two historical re-creation groups. Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1998. (Available from University Microfilms), OCLC:44631432,
- The Known World Handbook (3rd ed.). Milpitas, CA: Society For Creative Anachronism, Inc.
External links
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