Re: Questions for Atlantia Members

[clevin@ripco.com (Craig Levin)]

Poster: clevin@ripco.com (Craig Levin)

> Poster: 83DAVEY@cua.edu
> 
> 	I am a senior English major at the Catholic University of America. 
> I am studying Arthurain Legend and I am writting a paper about Medieval 
> practices in modern times. I would appreciate anyone who receives this 
> e-mail to take a few minutes to answer the questions below and help me 
> write a coherent paper with your point of view included. Thank you.

Please give regards to Prof. Grimbert from her student Craig
Levin!

> Why do you as a person living in the twentieth century reinact 
> pre-seventeenth century culture?

Well, at first it was because my friends did it, and it seemed
fun. Now, actually, I point you to Lewis' Studies in Medieval and
Renaissance Literature, in the first essay (De Audendis Poetis),
for something of a start on why. Basically, like Lewis, I find
that some parts of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance are just
too good to stay away from.

> What turned you on to doing this event? How did you hear about it?

Any particular event? The first event I went to I heard about
from a friend. Since then, I've obtained my information from
either the kingdom newsletter or the local seneschal. Since
becoming a member back in 1990, it's usually been the kingdom
newsletter. 

> What do you do for a living, is there any connection?

I am the research coordinator for a charity. While it's a blast
to be there, and I've been there for more than a year, it's not
exactly SCA-related.

> Do you hold any rank in your region? If so what is your function? And how 
> did you get this position?

I think you've got to learn more about how the SCA functions.
Rank need not imply function of any sort. Plus, there are many
roads to rank and respect. I suggest speaking with a few of the
local SCA members. A number of us are CUA alumni, btw.

As it stands, though, I was granted an award of arms, the first
SCA-wide recognized award, by the king of the Midrealm in the
spring of 1994. I hold the office of Drakkar Pursuivant-local
herald-for Storvik. I essentially volunteered for this position,
though I did get a good deal of training for it, both by other
members of the SCA and thanks to a great deal of delving in CUA's
library-the heraldic collection is quite good for an American
school.

> What is the common theme that holds you as a group together? If it is 
> just the time period in history, how did you become initially interested?

One might say that people become part of the SCA because they
already had leanings in one way or another that caused them to
encounter members of the SCA. Among the things that caused me to
run with a crowd that eventually encountered the SCA were:
fantasy role-playing games, a pre-existing interest in history, a
love of fantasy, historical fiction, and medieval literature
(including the Matter of Britain), and brief forays into foil
fencing that left me hungry for more. 

I've stayed because the SCA, both like and unlike academia,
offers rewards for people who are interested in those things. One
of them is companionship. Another of them is respect and honor.
In many ways, the SCA is a sort of subculture, one which takes as
its core values a rather Victorian view of chivalry. I suggest
French Chivalry, by Painter, or, for a more modern view (both of
chivalry and of the historiography of chivalry) Keen's Chivalry
or Barber's Knight and Chivalry. One notable SCA member has
called Keen's Chivalry "the manual for the SCA."

> Are you a paying member of Atlantia? If so, are there any benfits?

Atlantia is one of a number of kingdoms. One becomes a member of
the SCA by going to events and identifying as a SCA member (why,
yes, I _am_ a Nominalist!). One can, if one desires, pay dues to
the home office in California. With the receipt or the card
they'll send you, you will, at the very least, be able to hold
office, organize an event, and train to fight (fighting takes a
whole office in and of itself, as does registering a name and
coat of arms). If you pay them a little more, they'll also give
you a subscription to the kingdom newsletter of your choice and a
subscription to a quarterly periodical about the arts and crafts
of the Middle Ages.

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