Re: Coins

[mn13189@WCUVAX1.WCU.EDU]

Poster: mn13189@WCUVAX1.WCU.EDU

> However, I haven't found it especially magical to hear one merchant
> after another say, "No, this isn't enough... wait, these aren't
> quarters! Hey, neat!" Of course, some merchants _do_ behave just
> like a merchant of the Period receiving coin of the realm, but they
> (and the other merchants) would have behaved that way getting paper
> dollars, so I haven't gained anything.
> -- Alfredo

Just the feel of heavy coin in your pouch, instead of having to pull out a
wallet, complete with drivers license and credit cards, to pay for your
goods.  This simple act can help YOU keep your period mentality,
regardless of how the merchant acts.

For myself, I have an idea in my head of who my person would have been in
period, and that is seperate (related, but seperate) of who I am in the
SCA.  For instance, my persona would be mid-14th century, but I often wear
16th century garb, especially to dressy occasions, because I think it
looks spiffer.  Also, I have my AoA, but in period, my persona would not
be anywhere near a lord.  Do I refuse my title because it conflicts with
my persona?  Heavens no!  I keep the medieval Eogan and the SCA Eogan
seperate.  But having the notion of the medieval Eogan in my head helps
the SCA Eogan sound less like the modern Matt.  I do a lot of things in
the SCA that cover a broader spectrum than what my medieval persona would
have been exposed to.  So?  This is good.  But it does not mean that I
need to abandon the idea of persona, just change it to be more flexible.
(I doubt, for instance, that my persona would have ever heard of
"Atlantia"--wasn't that that island that sank?)

Of how people in persona should react to obvious mundanities, I am
reminded of a poem by Seamus Heaney (that I will print in full here if I
find it, because it is short), called "The Forge."  It describes a
blacksmith in his shop, sweating in his heavy leather apron.  He is making
horseshoes.  He sticks his head out of his shop door for a moment.
Outside cars and trucks whizz by on the highway, but his mind sees and
heard the clopping of hooves on cobblestone streets.  Then he re-enters
his shop and continues working.  We don't need to ignore everything
modern, and pretend like cameras and cars and coolers don't exist, even
when they are right in front of our faces.  We can acknowledge them, and
then accept them, and then refuse to let them ruin our mindset.  We can do
this by minimalising them as much as possible and not giving them much
heed.  What causes a bigger disturbance, someone taking a flash picture at
court and then being berated because of it, or some wack-o starts
shrieking about witchcraft, or if everyone just momentarily accepts the
fact that maybe cameras exist in this middle ages, and then forgets about
it?
Just a few thoughts.
Aye,
Eogan

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