RE: Crying in your beer/mead/drink.... (fwd)

[clevin@ripco.com (Craig Levin)]

Poster: clevin@ripco.com (Craig Levin)

William Ringlancer of Locksley:

> <William reaches into his saddlebags, pulls out a big #10 shiny can with the
> word "WORMS" printed in big, block letters.  He whistles idly has he also
> pulls out a big crank can-opener....>

Yick. Couldn't you have brought some ice cream?

> A while ago I beleive it was the BoD that asked for input as to where the
> SCA was going......something about how we perceive ourselves....are we still
> a historical group?  Are we more akin to the LARPS but just with tighter
> criteria?  Are we a party organization?
> 
> I know that the SCA is different things to different people, and I'm curious
> to hear some of those opinions.......  so please, sit with me and share your
> thoughts.  Specifically, How would you classify the SCA?  How would you
> acurately describe what we do?  and What do you get/hope to get out of the
> SCA?

I would call us an umbrella organization. We aren't necessarily
as strict about the level of our recreation as the buckskinners
or the people who recreate periods of American history, but
that's because the task of doing so is harder (though not
impossible) for us. It's not implausible for some older families
to still have 19th century things of their great-great-grand-
parents, but the sixteenth century just isn't going to be likely.
So, while we reward people for doing good research, we don't
really penalize those for whom research is not their bag.

We have room for people who just want to have a good time with
their friends-that's how I began, really. On the other hand, the
more fun you want, often, the more time you may have to put into
research of some sort (better mead, cooler garb, snazzier armor,
etc.), and so you grow into doing more research and learning
more. At least that's my way of looking at it.

Someone brought up the fact that we're not a group of historians.
By and large, we're not; I'm a medievalist by training (MA,
Catholic University, 1997), and I know I'm in the minority.
However, even the academics who have the greatest problems with
the SCA generally will grudgingly admit that we at least try.
Usually, I tell my colleagues that we ought to be a bit more
welcoming; who else is going to buy those books? 

The greatest reason that I have stayed in the SCA has been the
friendships I have made. I'm rather a shy person, believe it or
not, but the SCA is sort of an extended family to me. Family
aren't strangers. 

Part of why I've stayed in the SCA has been the fact that, aside
from academics, the SCA is one of the few groups of people where
it's no shame to spend a pleasant afternoon in the comfort of
one's books. Also, my roots in medieval studies spring from the
same roots as the SCA-Narnia and Middle Earth. Intellectually,
it's a comfortable environment. 

I've also stayed because the SCA is a place where I can put my
training and talents to good use. Most medievalists aren't in
front of classrooms-there are more of us than there are positions,
so we take what we can find to make ends meet. I'm a research
coordinator (essentially a librarian) for a medical association.
In the SCA, I am a herald. I use my linguistic talents and my
familiarity with a great deal of medieval literature to the
advantage of my clients. I want to place my years of research
into medieval pomp and circumstance at the disposal of my baron
and baroness, and any others who are interested. 

I guess I came for the friends, but stayed for the service I
could render them. If I actually had a goal in the SCA besides
having a good time, it would be to ensure that, through my skills
and talents, I helped others to learn and have a good time too.

In Service,

Dom Pedro de Alcazar
Barony of Storvik, Atlantia
Storvik Pursuivant
Argent, a tower purpure between 3 bunches of grapes proper

-- 
http://pages.ripco.com:8080/~clevin/index.html 
clevin@ripco.com
Craig Levin
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