Re: Acrobatics

[kuijt@umiacs.UMD.EDU]

Kendrick writes:
>Actually with the talk we've been having about doing juggling classes
>at university and having a juggling workshop as an event, maybe
>a juggling guild is a possibility.  Anyone interested?

As I read this, my first thought was "aagh.  Another guild."  Then
I thought about it, and I realized the source of my discontent was
not the action (juggling and tumbling and stuff) at all, but the
use of the common SCA thought-pattern: "A bunch of people want to
do X--Hey!  Let's form an X guild!"

The issue is that for many things an SCA "guild" is about as medieval
as a committee.  A guild is a mercantile association, attempting to
gain a monopoly (or maintain one) on a particular trade, and gain
political bargaining power through formal recognition (a union, of
sorts).

There is nothing wrong (and everything right) with the idea of forming
an association of jugglers, tumblers, stilt-walkers, and other street
entertainers.  But why call it a guild?  You can call it a company,
a troupe, any number of things, but guild doesn't really sound right.
It brings up images of those D&D pseudo-organizations, the Thieves'
Guild and Assassin's Guilds, neither of which ever did or could exist.


Regards,
Dafydd