Society for Creative Anachronism

Non-profit logo	of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Blazon: Or, a laurel wreath vert]]
Non-profit type	501(c)(3) non-profit corporation
Founded date	1966
Location
Area served	Worldwide
Focus	Historical reenactment
Num volunteers	About 32,000
Homepage	sca.org

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", Founded in 1966, the society had about 32,000 members .

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 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 (Latin for "in the Year of the Society"). For example, 2009 May 1 to 2010 April 30 is 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 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.

All SCA branches are organized in descending order as follows:

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 regulations or modern law while participating in SCA activities

Kingdoms

The nineteen SCA Kingdoms are (in order of founding):

Royalty

The SCA has ceremonial rulers chosen by winning tournaments (Kings/Queens, Princes/Princesses) in SCA Heavy 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.

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, ; Arthur C. Clarke portrays the SCA as still being active in the year 3001.

The novel Murder at the War (Knightfall in paperback edition) is a detective story concerning a murder that takes place at the SCA's largest annual event, Pennsic War. The story takes place entirely at Pennsic.

In the David Weber 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.

In Ariel, a 1983 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, though there are indications Boyett is lampooning the organization.

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 "Society of Arcane Pleasures" would not be "contaminated" by contact with the actual real-life organization.

Critiques and criticism of the SCA

SCA members use modern elements when necessary for personal comfort or medical needs, or to promote safety. Unlike 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. In a tournament a Roman may fight a 15th-century knight, then a Viking, then an American Indian. 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. 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":. 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

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.

Elevation to the 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. 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",

Sport versus re-creation fighting

SCA rapier combat makes concessions of accuracy for safety by disallowing percussive cuts, though there is currently investigation into the subject under the experimental "sidesword" program.

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

Adrian Empire

Living history

Markland Medieval Mercenary Militia

Nova Roma

Pennsic War

Renaissance fair

SCA fencing

Cosplay

Tabikap

References

Further reading

The Known World Handbook (3rd ed.). Milpitas, CA: Society For Creative Anachronism, Inc.

Burns, C. (Director) and Cardinale, T. (Director). (2001). In Service to the Dream [Motion Picture]. Burbank, CA: Mythos Productions LLC.

Geist, B. (Interviewer). (2000, May 7). Weekend Warriors. CBS Sunday Morning [Television Program]. New York, NY: CBS Television.

External links

The By-Laws and Corporate Policies of the SCA, Inc

The Origins of the SCA

Gather Ye Olde Suburban Knights - slideshow by NPR

Category:501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations Category:Historical reenactment groups Category:Medieval reenactment Category:Non-profit organizations based in California