Culture

Nu-Medievalists do battle in Pennsylvania

by Kaitlin | August 14, 2007 at 12:41 pm

1800 views | 14 Recommendations | 4 comments

Prithee, knave, what brings thee to the woods of Western Pennsylvania? Why, the Society for Creative Anachronism, of course! As Ryan previously reported when he came across some SCA warriors doing battle in our fair city of Vancouver, SCAers are a big, passionate bunch. And every year, opposing kingdoms meet to do battle in various locations across the world. August (Æthelmearc to those in the know) means Pennsic War for the Kingdoms of the Middle and the East, with events staged in rural Pennsylvania. This year is the 36th--ahem, XXXVI--annual Pennsic. They came; they saw; they staged nerdy, medieval-style battles.

For the record, the Middle Kingdom won 15 - 6. And before you laugh at the nerdiness of a few die-hards, consider this: There were 11,288 people in attendance.

The SCA is an international organization dedicated to researching and re-creating the arts and skills of pre-17th-century Europe. Our "Known World" consists of 19 kingdoms, with over 30,000 members residing in countries around the world. Members, dressed in clothing of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, attend events which may feature tournaments, arts exhibits, classes, workshops, dancing, feasts, and more. Our "royalty" hold courts at which they recognize and honor members for their contributions to the group.

Mistress Safia would remind everyone that the Pennsic Second Annual Youth Arts and Sciences Exhibition will take place August 7, 2007 at Youth Point.

Mistress Safia writes:

Greetings unto all of our young aspiring Artisans of the Known World, and to their parents/caregivers, from Mistress Safia al-Khansaa', Coordinator of the Second Annual Youth Arts and Sciences Exhibition!

I'd like to remind everyone that there is an incredible experience that awaits you at Youth Point (next to the playground) on Tuesday of War Week ...one that will inspire you, rejuvenate you, and make you just say..."WOW!!"

Pennsic rocked this year: I fought 3 out of 5 days...Wish I had fought more but heat and hangover got the best of me...My birthday was awesome! How many girls can say that they had a bunch of Northern Army Thugs sing to her?? Many thanks to the woman who helped me most in my kitchen this year! You have the bell for a reason, my dear...Our new land was sweet and our neighbors were great...I am proud to say that I am now Man-at Arms to Valentinius Von Drackenclaue...Haus cirlce was also an awesome part of my birthday! THanks to our Duke and Duchess for our first Yucca party...Potato vodka rules!! I miss everyone already!! See you all soon, family!

And yes, there are kids involved, as well...in fact, last year, the
kids had to save everyone from a "Pennsic Plague" of mice. Yikes! And
this year? [q
url="http://tribes.tribe.net/darkthirty/thread/b332578e-d17b-432a-b336-918fee474263"]

During the Pennsic XXXVI, Circus of the Damned will again be
sponsoring a "treasure hunt" for the Children of Pennsic, and the call
will again ring out throughout Pennsic for the children to help save
Pennsic from certain doom. This year, a new breed of ferocious creature
will need to be tamed and captured by the Children, allowing them to
serve the populace of the Knowne World and become heroes. [/q]

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PEP

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 15:06 on August 14th, 2007

Good stuff, wittily written. SCA fascinates me. I've been to several medieval festivals. Fascinating how many people are into re-creating different eras: Civil War, Medieval, etc. Has there ever been another historial era where so many people would like to go backwards in time?

denseatoms

at 19:40 on August 14th, 2007

On the one hand, we have those who focus on the past. On the other, the Trekkies who yearn for the future. Wouldn't it be remarkable to find a group that recreates the present day with the same general disregard for complete accuracy, pastiche and panache? Would we then be able to recognize our own times?

denseatoms

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 17:59 on August 14th, 2007

To each his own, and this looks as if it could be fun (or not). But whatever can be good, harmless fun is a Force for Good in the world.

The costumes look pretty handsome, but they remind me of a striking moment in the Washington National station last June. Right in the middle of crowds wearing tee shirts and jeans stood an Amish couple. The woman wore a plain dress, but "plain" in an authentic sense -- of careful work on a sturdy garment meant to be worn in a decent manner day in and day out. Her bonnet, her father's straw hat, shirt, trousers, etc. all were of the same hand. And never -- but never -- would you hope to find such astoundingly simple reality in any movie, stage play, tourist trap or reinactment. Words fail me to explain it exactly. But the effect was overwhelming.

The medieval garb, methinks, is not of selfsame ilk, alas -- in despite of his manye coloeurs and bolde luicke.

PEP

at 06:22 on August 15th, 2007

Denseatoms, what a vivid picture of the effect the Amish couple had on you. Maybe with the "dominat" TV culture we tend to forget that there are many people who can, and do, step outside the artificialities.

You've got a point about Trekkers (I was chastized once for calling them "Trekkies!"). In fact, both backwards-looking groups like SCA and the forward-looking ones hypothesize a "better" world. Say, one with the beauty and pageantry of medieval times, without the lousy food, foul-smelling houses (and people), and the Black Death and other diseases.

I think you're onto something: it's about creating a better world.