Society for Creative Anachronism
The Society for Creative Anachronism is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century. A quip often used within the SCA describes it as a group devoted to the Middle Ages "as they ought to have been", choosing to "selectively recreate the culture, choosing elements of the culture that interest and attract us". Founded in 1966, the non-profit educational corporation has over 20,000 paid members as of 2020 with about 60,000 total participants in the society, including members and non-member participants.
History
The SCA's roots can be traced to a backyard party of a UC Berkeley medieval studies graduate, the author Diana Paxson, in Berkeley, California, on May Day in 1966. The party began with a "Grand Tournament" in which the participants wore helmets, fencing masks, and usually some semblance of a costume, and sparred with each other using weapons such as plywood swords, padded maces, and fencing foils. It ended with a parade down Telegraph Avenue with everyone singing "Greensleeves". The SCA still measures dates within the society from the date of that party, calling the system Anno Societatis. For example, 2009 May 1 to 2010 April 30 was A.S. XLIV. The name Berkeley Society for Creative Anachronism was coined by science fiction author Marion Zimmer Bradley, an early participant, when the nascent group needed an official name in order to reserve a park for a tournament. "Berkeley" was dropped as the group expanded. Three other co-founders were science fiction author Poul Anderson, his wife, writer Karen Kruse Anderson, and their daughter, Astrid.In 1968, Bradley and her husband Walter Breen moved to Staten Island, New York where they co-founded the Kingdom of the East, holding a tournament that summer to determine the first Eastern King of the SCA. That September, a tournament was held at the 26th World Science Fiction Convention, which was in Berkeley that year. The SCA had produced a book for the convention called A Handbook for the Current Middle Ages, which was a how-to book for people wanting to start their own SCA chapters. Convention goers purchased the book and the idea spread. Soon, other local chapters began to form. In October 1968, the SCA was incorporated as a 501 non-profit corporation in California. By the end of 1969, the SCA's three original kingdoms had been established: West Kingdom, East, and Middle. All SCA kingdoms trace their roots to these original three. The number of SCA kingdoms has continued to grow by the expansion and division of existing kingdoms; for example, the kingdoms now called the Outlands, Artemisia, Ansteorra, Gleann Abhann, Meridies, and Trimaris all are made up of lands originally belonging to the fourth kingdom, Atenveldt, which began as a branch of the West Kingdom.
Activities
The SCA engages in a broad range of activities, including SCA armoured combat, SCA fencing, archery, equestrian activities, feasting, medieval dance and recreating medieval arts and sciences, including a broad range of crafts as well as medieval music and theatre. Other activities include the study and practice of heraldry and scribal arts. Members are afforded opportunities to register a medieval personal name and coat of arms. SCA scribes produce illuminated scrolls to be given by SCA royalty as awards for various achievements.Most local groups in the SCA hold weekly fighter practices, and many also hold regular archery practices, dance practices, A&S nights and other regular gatherings. Some kingdoms and regions also have occasional war practices, where fighters practice formations and group tactics in preparation for large scale "war" events.
The research and approach by members of the SCA toward the recreation of history has led to new discoveries about medieval life. The SCA does not require participants to wear historically accurate clothing or equipment. According to the newcomer's guide:
Events
The SCA holds its own events as a non-profit education organization for the benefit of SCA members and their guests. This is unlike most Renaissance fairs, which are open to the public and held mainly as entertainment for profit. Another noticeable difference is that SCA events are historically earlier than most Renaissance fairs. Each kingdom in the SCA runs its own schedule of events, which are announced in their kingdom newsletters, but some of the largest SCA-sanctioned events, often called "wars", attract members from many kingdoms. Pennsic War, fought annually between the East Kingdom and Middle Kingdom, is the biggest event in the SCA. Likewise, Estrella War was held for over thirty years, mainly between two large regional SCA groups: the Kingdom of Atenveldt and the Kingdom of the Outlands. Most Estrella Wars were held near Phoenix, Arizona in late February and would last around 7–9 days. Several thousand people attended each year, some from as far as Sweden, Germany, France, Italy, Greece, and Australia. On July 13, 2021 it was announced that Estrella War was cancelled permanently. Other annual SCA wars include Gulf Wars in Gleann Abhann, Great Western War in Caid, War of the Lillies in Calontir and others. Other annual or semi-annual Kingdom-level events held analogously by most or all SCA kingdoms include Crown Tournament, Coronation, Kingdom Arts and Sciences competition and Queen's Prize. Additionally, most baronies in the SCA have their own traditional annual events such as Baronial Arts and Sciences competitions, championship tournaments, and often a Yule or Twelfth Night feast. Various SCA groups sometimes host collegia or symposia, where members gather for classes on various medieval arts and sciences and other SCA-related topics.The minimum standard for attendance at an SCA event is "an attempt at pre-17th century clothing", and there is a general goal of maintaining a historical atmosphere. However, SCA members will use modern elements when necessary for personal comfort, medical needs, or to promote safety. Unlike some other living history groups, most SCA gatherings do not reenact a specific time or place in history, leaving members free to dress as any culture within the SCA's time period.
Collegiums, symposiums and universities
Many branches of the SCA organize in-person and virtual events with peer-to-peer learning opportunities. Classes, lectures, and workshops may be offered as part of a local branch's regular scheduled activities or at a full-day or multi-day event. Some educational events are virtual or hybrid and many of the lectures are recorded and available to the public.Educational events in the SCA may be referred to as academies, collegiums, schola or universities. A collegium is a local in-person or virtual event offering multiple classes. A symposium is a society-wide event that focuses on a specific area of the SCA. A university in the SCA is an organized series of courses set up in the style of a modern university.
Publications
The SCA produces two quarterly publications, The Compleat Anachronist and Tournaments Illuminated, and each kingdom publishes a monthly newsletter.The Compleat Anachronist is a quarterly monographic series, each issue focused on a specific topic related to the period of circa 600–1600 in history. Issues are written by SCA members and have covered a wide range of topics.
Tournaments Illuminated is a quarterly magazine, each issue covering a range of topics and including several features such as news, a humor column, book reviews, war reports and various articles on SCA-related topics of interest.
Organization
Corporate organization
The SCA is incorporated as a 501 non-profit corporation in California, with its current headquarters in the city of Milpitas, California. It is headed by a board of directors, each of whom is nominated by the membership of the SCA, selected by sitting directors, and elected to serve for 3.5 years. Each director serves as an ombudsman for various kingdoms and society officers. The BoD, as it is called, is responsible for handling the corporate affairs of the SCA and is also in charge of certain disciplinary actions, such as revoking the membership status of participants who have broken Corpora regulations or modern law while participating in SCA activities. Because the SCA now has groups all over the world, it has also been incorporated in other countries, e.g. SCAA in Australia, SCANZ in New Zealand, SKA Nordmark in Sweden, SKA in Finland, and the UK CIC which covers both the UK and Ireland. These affiliated bodies work with the U.S. BoD with regards to Societal issues, but make all decisions affected by local law independently of the U.S. parent body. Although they agree to work in unity with the U.S. SCA board of directors, they are autonomous and are not bound by any ruling of the U.S. body.Branches
The SCA is divided into administrative regions that it calls kingdoms. Smaller branches within those kingdoms include Principalities, Regions, Baronies, and Provinces; and local chapters are known as Cantons, Ridings, Shires, Colleges, Strongholds, and Ports. Kingdoms, principalities, and baronies have ceremonial rulers who preside over activities and issue awards to individuals and groups. Colleges, strongholds, and ports are local chapters that are associated with an institution, such as a school, military base, or even a military ship at sea.All SCA branches are organized in descending order as follows:
- Kingdom: Area ruled by a King and Queen '. Minimum members required 400.
- * Principality: Area within a kingdom ruled by a Prince and Princess '. Minimum members required 100.
- * Region: Equivalent of principality without ceremonial representative.
- ** Barony: Area administered by a Baron and/or Baroness, the ceremonial representative of the Crown. Minimum members required 25.
- *** Canton: Local branch reporting through a barony.
- ** Province: Equivalent of barony without ceremonial representative.
- *** Riding: Local branch reporting through a province.
- ** Shire: Local branch reporting directly to a kingdom or principality. Minimum members required 5.
- ** College: Institutional branch based at a school, research facility, etc..
- ** Stronghold: Institutional branch based at a military installation.
- ** Port: Institutional branch based at a military installation in situations where groups of members will be detached for long periods, as with ships at sea.