Society for Creative Anachronism

The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century. A quip often used within the SCA describes it as a group devoted to 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." Founded in 1966, the non-profit educational corporation has over 30,000 paid members as of 2014 with about 60,000 total participants in the society (including members and non-member participants).

History

The SCA's roots can be traced to a backyard graduation party of a UC Berkeley medieval studies graduate, the author Diana Paxson, in Berkeley, California, on May Day in 1966. The party began with a "Grand Tournament" in which the participants wore 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 (Latin for "in the Year of the Society"). For example, 2009 May 1 to 2010 April 30 was A.S. XLIV (44). 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 26th 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) non-profit corporation in California. By the end of 1969, the SCA's three original kingdoms had been established: West Kingdom, 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 kingdoms now called the Outlands, Artemisia, Ansteorra, Gleann Abhann, Meridies, and Trimaris all are made up of lands originally belonging to the fourth kingdom, Atenveldt, which began as a branch of the West Kingdom.

Activities

The SCA engages in a broad range of activities, including SCA armoured combat, SCA fencing, archery, equestrian activities, feasting, medieval dance and recreating medieval arts and sciences, including a broad range of crafts as well as medieval music and theatre. Other activities include the study and practice of heraldry and scribal arts (calligraphy and illumination). Members are afforded opportunities to register a medieval personal name and coat of arms (often colloquially called a "device" in SCA parlance). SCA scribes produce illuminated scrolls to be given by SCA royalty as awards for various achievements.

Most local groups in the SCA hold weekly fighter practices, and many also hold regular archery practices, dance practices, A&S (Arts & Science) nights and other regular gatherings. Some kingdoms and regions also have occasional war practices, where fighters practice formations and group tactics in preparation for large scale "war" events.

Events

Some local groups participate in nearby Renaissance fairs, though the main focus of activity is organized through the SCA's own events. Each kingdom in the SCA runs its own schedule of events which are announced in the kingdom newsletter (and usually posted on the kingdom web site), but some of the largest SCA-sanctioned events, called "wars", attract members from many kingdoms. Pennsic War, fought annually between the East Kingdom and Middle Kingdom, is the biggest event in the SCA, but other annual SCA wars include Estrella War in Atenveldt, Gulf Wars in Gleann Abhann (formerly Meridies), Great Western War in Caid, War of the Lillies in Calontir and others. Other annual or semi-annual Kingdom-level events held analogously by most or all SCA kingdoms include Crown Tournament, Coronation, Kingdom Arts and Sciences competition and Queen's Prize. Additionally, most baronies in the SCA have their own traditional annual events such as Baronial Arts and Sciences competition, a championship tournament, and often a Yule or Twelfth Night feast. Various SCA groups also sometimes host collegia or symposia, where members gather for a raft of classes on various medieval arts and sciences and other SCA-related topics.

Publications

The SCA produces two quarterly publications, The Compleat Anachronist and Tournaments Illuminated, and each kingdom publishes a monthly newsletter.

The Compleat Anachronist is a quarterly monographic series, each issue focused on a specific topic related to the period of circa 600â€"1600 in European history. Issues are written by SCA members and have covered a wide range of topics.

Tournaments Illuminated is a quarterly magazine, each issue covering a range of topics and including several features such as news, a humor column, book reviews, war reports and various articles on SCA-related topics of interest.

Organization

Corporate organization

The SCA is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation in California, with its current headquarters in the city of Milpitas. 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. Because the SCA now has groups all over the world, it has also been incorporated in other countries, e.g. SCAA in Australia and SCANZ in New Zealand. These affiliated bodies work with the US board of directors with regards to societal issues, but make all decisions affected by local law independently of the US parent body. Although they agree to work in unity with the US SCA board of directors, they are autonomous and are not bound by any ruling of the US body.

Branches

The 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 awards to individuals and groups. 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). Minimum members required 400.
- Principality: area within a kingdom ruled by Prince and Princess (large area sometimes comprising entire states). Minimum members required 100.
- Region: equivalent of principality without ceremonial representative
  - Barony: area administered by a Baron and/or Baroness, the ceremonial representative(s) of the Crown. Minimum members required 25.
    - 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. Minimum members required 5.
  - College: institutional branch based at a school, research facility, etc. (may be a part of a larger local group or report directly to a principality or kingdom)
  - Stronghold: institutional branch based at a military installation (may be a part of a larger local group or report directly to a principality or kingdom)
  - 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 (may be a part of a larger local group or report directly to a principality or kingdom)

Groups are active all over the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand, with scattered groups elsewhere, including Panama and Thailand. 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 is also an active chapter in South Korea, the Stronghold of Warrior's Gate, with a mix of active duty military personnel from the several services and military-connected civilians. There are also non-territorial, usually called "households", which are not part of the Society's formal organization, the largest of which is the Mongol Empire-themed Great Dark Horde.

Kingdoms

The twenty SCA Kingdoms and the geograpic areas they cover are (in order of founding)

The West Kingdom was 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 Kingdom of the East was created in 1968. In the United States 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 Middle Kingdom was created in 1969. Its current borders include Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, lower Michigan, and parts of Kentucky, Iowa and Ontario.
The Kingdom of Atenveldt was created in 1971. It originally encompassed all the lands between the West, East, and Middle Kingdoms, and now consists of the state of Arizona, along with small parts of Utah and California.
The Kingdom of Meridies was 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 portion of Kentucky.
The Kingdom of Caid was created in 1978 from the Kingdom of the West. It currently encompasses Southern California, the Las Vegas metropolitan area, and Hawaii.
The Kingdom of Ansteorra was created in 1979 from the Kingdom of Atenveldt. Ansteorra covers Oklahoma and most of Texas as well as the International Space Station.
The Kingdom of Atlantia was created in 1981 from the Kingdom of the East. Its borders cover Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, as well as Augusta, Georgia and the District of Columbia.
The Kingdom of An Tir was created in 1982 from the Kingdom of the West. It encompasses the US states of Oregon, Washington, and the northern tips of Idaho.
The Kingdom of Calontir was 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 Kingdom of Trimaris was created in 1985. It was split from the Kingdom of Meridies and is composed of the majority of Florida, as well as Panama, and falsely but 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 was created in 1986 from the Kingdom of Atenveldt. It encompasses New Mexico, most of Colorado, parts of Wyoming, the Nebraska panhandle, El Paso County and the Hudspeth County in Texas.
The Kingdom of Drachenwald was 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.
The Kingdom of Artemisia was created in 1997 from the Kingdom of Atenveldt. It currently covers Montana, southern Idaho, most of Utah, northwestern Colorado, and southwestern Wyoming.
The Kingdom of Ã†thelmearc was created in 1997 from the Kingdom of the East. It covers northeastern/central/western Pennsylvania, central/western New York, and West Virginia.
The Kingdom of Ealdormere was created in 1998 from the Kingdom of the Middle. It comprises most of the Canadian province of Ontario.
The Kingdom of Lochac was created in 2002 from the West Kingdom (Australia) and the Kingdom of Caid (New Zealand). It encompasses the entirety of Australia and New Zealand, and was granted prior title by the Board of the Society to the Australian administered parts of Antarctica, in contradiction of the later claim put forward by the Kingdom of Trimaris.
The Kingdom of Northshield was 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 Kingdom of Gleann Abhann was created in 2005 from the Kingdom of Meridies. It covers Mississippi, Louisiana, most of Arkansas, and the western edge of Tennessee including the Memphis area.
The Kingdom of Avacal was created in 2015 from the Kingdom of An Tir. It covers British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories.

Officers

The 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 Armored Combat (rattan and armor) 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 including recruiting, onboarding, and transitioning members from other branches.
Chirurgeon: In charge of safety and modern first aid. This officer must have certification for some form of medical training outside the Society, with the minimum being Basic First Aid and CPR. Persons serving as Chirurgeons work under the "Good Samaritan" principal providing only first aid and either calling for Emergency Medical Services, or advising sick or injured persons to seek medical care on their own if they have injuries or illnesses that are beyond the scope of First Aid to treat. At some large events, such as Pennsic and Estrella Wars, EMS personnel stand by on site for the duration of the event. While the SCA does not take on the responsibility for providing medical care, it does encourage those who have medical training to voluntarily be available at events in case of injury or sudden illness.
Rapier Marshal: Supervises rapier (fencing) activities for the group.
Minister of the List or 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. Sometimes known as Minister of Youth.
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 group

Members of the SCA study and take part in a variety of activities, including combat and chivalry, archery, heraldry, equestrian activities, costuming, cooking, metalwork, woodworking, music, dance, calligraphy, fiber arts, and others as practiced during the member's time period.

Personae

To aid historical recreation, participants in the SCA create historically plausible characters known individually as personae. 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 assist members in creating a persona name appropriate to 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/Robin Hood).

Heraldry

A major dimension to the SCA is its internal system of Heraldry. Any member of the society may apply to register a name and device for their persona, which are checked by the heralds for uniqueness and period authenticity, before being blazoned and recorded in the society's Armorial. The system has evolved since the formation of the society; and now has three Sovereigns of Arms, with Principal Heralds for each Kingdom, who oversee deputy officers for matters such as heraldic education and processing registrations, and local officers (generally one for each local chapter) who assist the local participants. In addition to design of arms, heralds in the Society also provide services such as voice heraldry (similar to a master of ceremonies) at tournaments and official functions, and organizing tournament brackets or "lists."

Royalty

The SCA has ceremonial rulers chosen by winning tournaments (Kings/Queens, Princes/Princesses) in SCA armored combat. Barons and Baronesses are appointed by Royalty, although some baronies hold elections or competitions to choose their preferred Baron and/or Baroness. 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.

Rule by right of arms

Each SCA kingdom is "ruled" by a king and queen chosen by winning a Crown Tournament in armored combat. Corpora require this 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.

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 of Principalities 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 four orders of peerage: the Order of Chivalry, awarded for skill at arms in Armored Combat; the Order of the Laurel, awarded for skill in the arts and sciences; the Order of the Pelican, awarded for outstanding service to the Society; and the Order of the Masters of Defense, awarded for skill at arms in Rapier Combat. In Several of the Kingdoms the Order of the Rose, made up of former Queens, is considered a peerage equal to the other four.

Elevation to peerage

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".

Cultural impact

In May 1999, The Onion ran a front-page article headlined "Society For Creative Anachronism Seizes Control Of Russia" featuring photos of actual SCA participants from the Barony of Jaravellir (Madison, Wisconsin).

Members of the SCA are given pivotal roles in S.M. Stirling's Emberverse series, where their skills in pre-industrial technology and warfare become invaluable in helping humanity adapt when all modern technology (including firearms) ceases working.

In his conclusion to the Space Odyssey series, 3001: The Final Odyssey; Arthur C. Clarke portrays the SCA as still being active in the year 3001.

The novel Murder at the War (Knightfall in paperback edition) by Mary Monica Pulver is a murder mystery set entirely at the SCA's largest annual event, Pennsic War.

In David Weber's science fiction novel Honor Among Enemies, main character Honor Harrington mentions that her uncle is a member of the SCA and that he taught her to shoot from the hip (the time the SCA covers having been moved up to the 19th century in the future era in which the novel is set, to include cowboy and Civil War reenactors).

In Christopher Stasheff's "Warlock" series the inhabitants of the planet Gramarye are revealed to be descended from SCA participants. A prequel, Escape Velocity, describes how the Scadians first came to Gramarye, and how lands were assigned to the royal peers.

In Ariel (1983), a post-apocalyptic fantasy by Steven R. Boyett, technology suddenly stops working and sorcery and swordfight take over. Several characters who are former SCA members attribute their survival to their SCA experience.

The fantasy novel The Folk of the Air by Peter S. Beagle was written after the author attended a few early SCA events circa 1968; but he has repeatedly stated that he then studiously avoided any contact with the actual SCA itself for almost two decades, so that his description of a fictitious "League for Archaic Pleasures" would not be "contaminated" by contact with the actual real-life organization.

In Number of the Beast, Robert A. Heinlein portrayed an SCA tournament where live weapons were used and the battles actually fought to the 'death'. The defeated combatants were either transported to an alternate reality where medical technology was advanced enough that they could be revived from any wound or transported to the alternate reality that was Valhalla. The contestants' desires were placed in sealed envelopes prior to the tournament, which were destroyed if the competitor won and obeyed if a competitor lost.

In John Ringo's "Council Wars" science-fiction series, characters with SCA or SCA-like experience help their society recover from a catastrophic loss of technology.

Critiques and criticism of the SCA

Authenticity

Tensions regarding the desirable degree of authenticity at SCA functions are highlighted by David Friedman in his articles "A Dying Dream" and "Concerning the C in SCA".

The accepted minimum standard for attendance at an SCA event is "an attempt at pre-17th century clothing", which leads to numerous discussions of the definition of "attempt". 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.

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.

SCA members use modern elements when necessary for personal comfort or medical needs, or to promote safety (i.e. using rattan for swords or shear thickening substances for padding. Unlike some other living history groups, most SCA gatherings do not reenact a specific time or place in history. Consequently, SCA events are more self-referential to individual members' personas where several cultures and historic periods are represented at an event. Thus the SCA may be more of a subculture than a reenactment group. For instance, the discussions of the Grand Council of the SCA, an advisory group to the Board of Directors, debated this at length.

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".

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

The extent of the Crown's authority 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.

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".

References

External links

Official website
Society for Creative Anachronism at DMOZ
The Origins of the SCA
Gather Ye Olde Suburban Knights â€" slideshow by NPR

Society for Creative Anachronism

History