Society for Creative Anachronism activities
Members of the group participate, to a greater or lesser extent, in a wide variety of activities based on those found in pre-1601 CE cultures.
The vast majority of interests in the SCA are either combat-focused, or focused on the day-to-day crafts of the period, known within the Society as A&S (Arts & Sciences).
This practice has ample historical antecedent; ancient musical codices are full of tropes that set new lyrics to existing tunes.
Together these arts are used to create illuminated manuscripts, individual pages of which are commonly called "scrolls" within the SCA, and generally accompany awards granted by the royalty and aristocracy.
Most Kingdoms have formal groups of scribes who are responsible for producing these documents and teaching the arts, generally under the direction of an officer whose title usually includes the word "signet".
[1] Despite the fact that period documents of this sort, such as letters patent, usually contained little illumination, scrolls are commonly modeled after the pages in Books of Hours, Bibles or other medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, including elaborately painted borders around the text.
While most scrolls are done on paper or vellum, this has occasionally led to SCA scribes creating works on objects ranging from stone tablets to drinking horns, and in at least one case, on sheet metal inscribed with Braille.
Such feasts may focus on dishes from England, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, or other locations and times within the SCA's period of study.
Cooks who strive to stick to period recipes for their dishes make an effort to ensure that their menus are balanced to allow for modern palates, ingredients, and equipment, or to compensate for tight budgets or labor shortages.
Many members, including men, enjoy practicing the arts of needlepoint, embroidery, cross-stitch, weaving, lace-making, quilting, kumihimo, spinning, nalbinding, sprang, braiding and dyeing.
Newcomers to the SCA can usually borrow garb for their first event or two by contacting the local group's Gold Key officer or Chatelaine/Castellan, who is responsible for helping acclimatize new members.
In practical terms, the Modest Proposal rendered the Society as autonomous in matters of heraldry as the Colleges of Arms of various nations are in reality.
The Society's College of Arms also registers and maintains SCA names, checking against duplication and ensuring at least minimal period authenticity.
Due to requirements of larger safety zones to protect spectators from ricochets and overshots, combat archery is usually limited to large melees.
However they must properly retire their bow or crossbow before making the switch and meet safety requirements which protect any half-gauntleted hand (such as using a basket hilt).
The Armored Combat or "Heavy Weapons Fighting" forms practiced in the SCA roughly mirror those of medieval infantry, and both tournaments and battles are fought.
Maces and axes have heads made of rubber or stiff foam, and pole weapons (resembling medieval pole-axes, glaives, halberds or bills, etc.)
For the purposes of calling blows, all heavy-weapons combatants are considered to be armored in a chain mail hauberk, with an open-faced helmet with a nasal.
With centuries of historical examples to draw upon, shields may range from large rectangular Roman-style scuta to small bucklers, with common styles including the "kite", center-grip (round or oval), and "heater" (so called because it resembles the shape of a flatiron).
While many SCA members attempt to re-create rapier combat of the 16th and early 17th centuries, in practice it often becomes a blend of Society rules and modern fencing.
Some weapons and combat practices, while actively used within the SCA's target period, have been barred from use because it is difficult or impossible to make them safe, or for stylistic reasons.
The stated reason was that the appearance of firearms signaled the downfall of chivalric combat, which the SCA attempts to recreate, and therefore having said items on the field detracts from the experience.
While these were previously permitted, problems arose due to the sling's inaccuracy, including the possibility of a poor throw flying vertically or even backwards into spectators.
In many kingdoms, members interested in various arts and sciences will band together to form guilds, much the same as medieval artisans and workers did, in order to preserve and disseminate knowledge, and to promote their crafts.
Guilds run the gamut from loosely structured associations of people with a common interest, to official organizations sanctioned by Kingdom law and chartered by Society royalty.
Events, which occur on rented sites, vary enormously, offering a wide variety of activities and are attended by garbed participants.
Evening activities can include bardic circles (formal and informal), medieval dancing, and post-revels (a party usually held at an individual's home).
An officer in the local group called the Minister of Arts and Sciences is usually in charge of promoting these crafts and aiding members in finding appropriate information.
Combat at a war can involve forces numbering 100 to 3,000 participants on each side and can include safe versions of archery and siege engines.
The SCA provides demonstrations of medieval arts and sciences, and members often teach beginner classes on the crafts and activities that can be learned.
