Society for Creative Anachronisms

[josephusminimus]

All over the US there are groups of SFCA folks doing their thing weekends.&nbsp; Mostly they're known for the participation in&nbsp;regional period&nbsp;festivals and those groups specializing in that time period.&nbsp;&nbsp;But they're everywhere, enthusiastic about what they're doing.<br /><br />&nbsp;<p><em>The <strong>Society for Creative Anachronism</strong> (<strong>SCA</strong>) is an international <a title="Living history" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_history">living history</a> 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 <a title="Middle Ages" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages">Middle Ages</a> "as they ought to have been",<sup id="cite_ref-What_is_the_SCA.3F_0-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_for_Creative_Anachronism#cite_note-What_is_the_SCA.3F-0">[1]</a></sup> choosing to "selectively recreate the culture, choosing elements of the culture that interest and attract us".<sup id="cite_ref-What_is_the_SCA.3F_0-1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_for_Creative_Anachronism#cite_note-What_is_the_SCA.3F-0">[1]</a></sup> Founded in 1966, the society had about 32,000 paid corporate members as of 2008<sup class="plainlinks noprint asof-tag update" style="display: none;"><a class="external text" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Society_for_Creative_Anachronism&amp;action=edit">[update]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_for_Creative_Anachronism#cite_note-1">[2]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-SCA_Front_Page_2-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_for_Creative_Anachronism#cite_note-SCA_Front_Page-2">[3]</a></sup> numbered within the 60,000 total SCA participants.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_for_Creative_Anachronism#cite_note-3">[4]</a><br /><br /></sup></em><sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_for_Creative_Anachronism">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_for_Creative_Anachronism</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">I've never been interested in becoming a member, but I've sometimes attended local weekend meetings as a guest.&nbsp; It qualifies as a hoot and I'd gladly attend another somewhere up the road if I come across a member while paused somewhere.&nbsp; <br /><br />[video]<br /><br />Watching all that pagentry and pomp, people beating hell out of one another with wooden poles and wooden swords is worth the price of admission&nbsp; [free], if there weren't other interesting things going on all the while.<br /><br /></span>[video]<br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Usually they'll have a costume or three lying around to loan guests who came unequipped.</span></sup></p>

 

[mockturtle]

Very interesting!&nbsp; It would be fun to re-create the Battle of Agincourt!&nbsp; <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" />&nbsp; Or would that be considered more early Renaissance than Middle Ages?

 

[fluffabear]

My cousin's family puts on the Ren Faire in Mariott-Slaterville in UT. I love it!<br /><br />Here's me with him and my other cousin.<br /><br /><img src="http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/pocketxcub/600332_474749349204490_1145317792_n.jpg" alt="" width="411" height="230" />

 

[josephusminimus]

Very interesting!&nbsp; It would be fun to re-create the Battle of Agincourt!&nbsp; <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" align="absMiddle" border="0" />&nbsp; Or would that be considered more early Renaissance than Middle Ages?

<br /><br />Probably being done somewhere by some group.&nbsp; The reinacting thing's going full tilt for a lot of phases of history.&nbsp; Probably the rules and spillovers to other groups are somewhat flexible.&nbsp; For example, here's just the Mountain Man fragment of US history reinactors.&nbsp; Notice the tentacles creeping into the Civil War and Revolutionary War reinactors.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.reenactor.net/forums/index.php?page=57">http://www.reenactor.net/forums/index.php?page=57</a><br /><br /><br />Their main page illustrates the span of it all:<br /><br /><div style="padding-left: 30px;"><em><span style="font-size: x-large;">You've found reenactor.Net -- the world-wide, on-line home of historical reenacting!</span></em></div><div style="padding-left: 30px;" align="left"><em><img style="margin: 2px; border: 0px solid;" src="http://www.reenactor.net/forums/tp-images/1uidnew_front.jpg" alt="1uidnew_front" /><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Historical reenacting is a great hobby!! </span></strong><span style="font-size: small;">And here on reenactor.Net, you will find information about historical reenacting all around the world. Now, you're probably thinking "You mean like the Civil War stuff?" Well, sort of... ANY time period you can think of is reenacted today and we cover them all! So look through the site and maybe you'll find something that interests you enough to get into it. The links are broken down into what we call "Time/Areas" or simply "T/A's." Each of the T/A's are run by an Assistant Webmaster who is active in that period and holds a great love for it.</span></em></div><div style="padding-left: 30px;" align="left"><em><span style="font-size: small;">Not only will you find links to individual unit websites, but also those of overall "parent" organizations. Eventually, each T/A will include a reading list and overall links to other sites which pertain to that period of time.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><a href="http://www.reenactor.net/forums/index.php?PHPSESSID=d53fba708fb84c2bc6aad788ae0dda05">http://www.reenactor.net/forums/index.php?PHPSESSID=d53fba708fb84c2bc6aad788ae0dda05</a>&amp;</span></em></div>

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

I used to attened the rennaissance festival with my ex wife.&nbsp; It was a lot of fun and she was a 'regular', all her buddies would go.&nbsp; I also hung out in college with some of these guys who would do the larp thing as well.&nbsp; I have gone larping once, which isnt the same as this, which tries to be historically accurate.&nbsp; I like both.&nbsp; Its amazing to see authentic looking chainmail and weapons someone made using the same methods that they did back then.<br /><br />Our wedding was themed like this, we even had a pirate band do the reception.&nbsp; They were tremendously awesome.<br /><br /><br />I wish i hadn't lost my gear when we split, literally hundreds in clothes, rapier, etc.

 

[mockturtle]

Cool!

 

[Nelda]

Ahh- Renn Faires and the SCA. I started going to them in California in 1966. (jeez, I AM older than dirt)<br />They are so much fun. There are webpages that if you are interested, give the yearly calendar by state or month.<br /><br />Nelda

 

[mockturtle]

I knew we had Renaissance fairs here in WA but only just discovered a Medieval village 'living history' project.&nbsp; Sounds interesting: <a href="http://www.camlann.org/">http://www.camlann.org/</a>

 

[josephusminimus]

El Rancho de las Golondrinas&nbsp;outside <strong>Santa</strong> <strong>Fe&nbsp; is </strong>a bit like that, though the time capsule's&nbsp;for a slightly later time - by a few centuries.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.golondrinas.org/">http://www.golondrinas.org/</a><br /><br />

 

[Bodhi]

My son works The Ren Fest here in Plantersville, TX almost every year... he is a fine HAWKER!<br /><br />SCA has been said to be too strict on period exact garb, speech, etc...&nbsp;so quite a few people join alternative groups like (and I know I will spell this wrong)&nbsp; AMPGARD.&nbsp; It is national, divided into regions, kingdoms... etc...&nbsp; My son has made many a padded "sword" and sewn a few peasant shirts.<br /><br />I just enjoy going to Faire and eating the food!<br /><br />

 

[maki2]

My best Ren Faire ever was one I attended just by chance. I was on an extended camping trip in France about 10 years ago and while driving around I kept seeing signs advertising a Ren Faire. The faire was located right on the banks of the River Seine, on the hill above the fair was the ruins of the Castle built by Richard the Lionheart.

There were a lot of activities including jousting, falconry exhibits and of course all the standard crafts of blacksmith work, weaving, cooking, leatherwork, etc. It was a grand time and a great lifetime treasure of a memory.