Sca-isms, or Why I Don’t Store My Buttons in Urine

SCA-isms:

Or Why I Don’t Store My Buttons in Urine

By Maitresse Tanglwyst de Holloway

This class is a discussion about the difference between the SCA and an historical re-enactment group. First of all, let’s get a few things defined.

Historical Re-Enactment: Wikipedia has a good section on this. It says, “Historical reenactment is a type of roleplay in which participants attempt to recreate some aspects of a historical event or period. This may be as narrow as a specific moment from a battle, such as the reenactment of Pickett’s Charge at the Great Reunion of 1913, or as broad as an entire period.”

Historical re-enactment groups try to reproduce events from history in as exact a detail as possible. They look for actual items from their time period and either reproduce them using the exact same process and/or purchase these items for use or display. They have roles for each individual on the field for the reenactment of a particular battle and the battle outcome has been predetermined by history. It was through one of these groups that I discovered Civil War officers stored their brass buttons in urine to keep them shiny.

The Society for Creative Anachronism: According to the Chatelaine section of the SCA Officer Website, “The Society for Creative Anachronism, or SCA, is an international organization dedicated to researching and re-creating the arts, skills, and traditions of pre-17th-century Europe.

“You will frequently hear SCA participants describe the SCA as recreating the Middle Ages ‘as they ought to have been.’ In some ways this is true – we choose to use indoor plumbing, heated halls, and sewing machines. In the dead of winter we have more to eat than King’s venison, salt pork and dried tubers. However, a better description is that we selectively recreate the culture, choosing elements of the culture that interest and attract us.”

Authenticity v. Fun: The Argument

One of the common arguments one hears after 21 years in this Society is authenticity versus fun. The people who want to have the SCA be authentic and historically accurate often clash with people who are just here to have fun. Authenticity mavens seek a purer SCA, where the look mirrors the Arthurian ideal which was the model for this game. Royalty are elegant and prominent, courtesy and chivalry are the norm, ladies wear gowns and lords are gracious and the speech and subjects are period and dream-weaving.