Scope of Personae & SCA

[rmetzler@nmaa.org (Robert Metzler)]

Poster: rmetzler@nmaa.org (Robert Metzler)

If the SCA is to resemble anything like an educational organization there needs to 
be limits on what are acceptable personae (personas, personies, personum?).
An organization that tries to be all things to all people ends up doing a lot of things,
but it does them poorly and most everyone ends up being disappointed.

If the organization accepts an elf as a persona, does that not also mean that one 
could register an angle or a demon as a persona?  Without doubt the midevial mind
accepeted them as real.  To continue the point, why limit persona to humanoid creatures of
religion, myth or folk tale?  Various medieval cultures believed in dragons, sphynx and a host
of other intelligent creatures why not register them?   Perhaps because it makes a mockery of our 
attempts to illuminate, inform and educate people about medieval life?  

That doesn't mean one can not have some fun with personae.  For grins and giggles I looked into 
registering a neaderthal persona (pre-1600 europe!) but couldn't come up
with documentation for the name (what did they call each other?  Zog....
Oook. ...Dances with Sabertooths...how about Fubawaba?).   But we seriously, we have to draw the line 
somewhere.

My  two cents worth says that part of the SCA's current problems stems from
its being too broad in scope already.  Beyond fantastic personae, throwing in a greater number of more 
African, Asian, American personae into the mix makes things worse, not better.  Such a braod range 
interferes with our attempt to re-create the middle ages.  The fact that some people are not satisfied 
that the SCA does not play the way they want does NOT mean that what we are doing is
wrong.  They are not joining the Kiwana's club either, doesn't mean that the Kiwana's need to change.

If you want to be a Knight who says Ni,  join a Monty Python fan club.
You want to be a Klingon, join a Star Trek group.  You want to be an elf
or a vampire, go to cons are try any of a number of live action roleplaying groups.

  But it is my belief that you should not try to whine your way into the SCA.


Hreodbeorht MacBeath

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