Society for Creative Anachronism (usually shortened to SCA) is a historical reenactment and living history group founded in 1966 in California, which recreates pre-17th century Western European history and culture. The SCA describes itself as a group devoted to the study of the Middle Ages, life, and culture of the landed nobility in Europe before 1601.

As of 2006 the Society has approximately 30,000 paid members.^[1]

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.^[2]

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).

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. ^[2]

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.

Organization

The SCA is divided into administrative regions which it calls kingdoms (which typically cover several U.S. states or Canadian provinces, and can be as large as countries or collections of countries as needed to reach a suitable number of members). Kingdoms are sometimes divided into subregions known as Principalities and contain chapters (typically which encompass a county or part of a county), which are called Shires, Provinces, Baronies, Cantons, Colleges, and Strongholds. Kingdoms, Principalities, and Baronies have ceremonial rulers who preside over activities and issue group awards (Orders).^[3]

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.^[4] (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.)

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, 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.

Kingdoms

SCA Kingdoms are (in order of founding):^[1]

• The West Kingdom 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 Kingdom of the East 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 Middle Kingdom 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 Kingdom of Atenveldt is the fourth kingdom, created in 1971 from the Kingdom of the West. It encompasses the state of Arizona, Mexico, and Iraq with the exception of Baghdad.
• The Kingdom of Meridies 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 Kingdom of Caid 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 Kingdom of Ansteorra is the seventh kingdom, created in 1979 from the Kingdom of Atenveldt. Ansteorra covers Oklahoma and most of Texas.
• The Kingdom of Atlantia 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 Kingdom of An Tir 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 Kingdom of Trimaris 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, Nebraska, as well as El Paso County and Hudspeth County of Texas.
• The Kingdom of Drachenwald 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 it is not the largest in terms of population. Its borders cover all of Europe including the British Isles and Iceland as well as Africa, and the Middle East. In a humorous twist, it achieved its independence from the East on the fourth of July.
• The Kingdom of Artemisia is the fourteenth kingdom, created in 1997 from the Kingdom of the Outlands. It currently covers Montana, southern Idaho, most of Utah, western Colorado, and Wyoming.
• The Kingdom of Æthelmearc 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 Kingdom of Ealdormere 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. 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 Kingdom of Northshield 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 Kingdom of Gleann Abhann 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.

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. [1][2].

• Seneschal - The seneschal acts as the group president - the administrative head of the group. Every local group is required to have a seneschal which reports to the kingdom seneschal.
• Reeve - The treasurer, also known as 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 as they transition into the SCA.
• Chirurgeon - In charge of safety and modern first aid. This officer usually has some form of medical training outside the Society, be it standard first aid and CPR certification up through being a medical doctor or registered nurse.
• Rapier Marshal - Supervises rapier, modernly known as fencing, activities for the group.
• Constable - In charge of maintaining and tracking liability waivers for events and combat activities.
• Chronicler - Producing and editing 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.

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.

Culture of the group

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 studied period. However, claiming to be a specific historical individual, especially a very familiar one (e.g. Genghis Khan, Julius Caesar, Henry Plantagenet, Elizabeth Tudor), is forbidden. 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).

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 functions of state for reigning monarchs is to recognize participant achievement through awards. Most awards designate 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. ^[3]

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 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.^[3]

As of 2005, only one Queen has been made "by her own hand" (that is, by winning a Crown Tournament herself), 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.

Peerage orders

The highest ranking awards within the SCA are called Peerages .^[3] (although this term is mostly an SCA term of art - not in keeping with European practice).

Critiques and criticism of the SCA

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, 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 ^[5] 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.^[6] There is evidence that the SCA is recognized in the popular culture as a subculture 'fan' group, not a reenactment group.^[7]

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"^[8] — that is to say, lacking such undesirable elements as religious persecution, bubonic plague, and open-pit sewers.

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.^[9]

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. A discussion of this can be found in Mike Woodford's Trends of Change in the SCA ^[10]

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, 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, this is done at the request of the members of a given peerage.^[3] 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 must bestow the accolade." ^[3]

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" ^[11] and "Concerning the C in SCA".^[12]

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 events have been dedicated to particular historic events or have portions of their camping sectioned off for only strict reenactment, sometimes called "Enchanted Ground",^[11] 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 "Authenticity Nazis" or "Period Nazis"^[13] (with the obvious controversy that the term "Nazi" engenders in 21st century America). 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.^[14]

SCA armored combat style and determining royalty by armored combat

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.

Self judging

Personal integrity and honesty play an important role in how bouts are fought. The person hit is the sole judge of whether a blow was "good" or not. Although it's therefore quite possible for a fighter to win a bout by refusing to acknowledge valid blows—"rhinohiding"—in practice this is rare.

Sport vs re-creation 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.

Combat to determine a 'king' is inauthentic

Tournament Combat isn't how actual medieval monarchs were chosen. 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.^[2]However there is a literary and a historical basis for the custom. This has a number of possible literary and historic justifications, 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".

See also

• Living history
• Renaissance fair

References

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, http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/top3mset/3d1bf10fccaf2f12a19afeb4da09e526.html
• Society for Creative Anachronism at the Open Directory Project
• Locate an SCA group near you
• SCA Online Demo
• Society for Creative Anachronism homepage
• "The By-Laws and Corporate Policies of the SCA,Inc"
• The Known World Handbook (3rd ed.). Milpitas, CA: Society For Creative Anachronism, Inc.
• "The Origins of the SCA"