What is the S.C.A.?

Where did the SCA Begin?

How is the SCA organized?

What Kind of People are in the SCA?

How Do You Get Involved?

What is the S.C.A.?

The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), is a group dedicated to researching and recreating the Middle Ages in the present. The SCA is an international organization dedicated to researching and re-creating pre-17th-century European history. Many groups meet weekly, and at these meetings we dance, talk, study, learn, revel, and make plans. The SCA was incorporated in 1968, but recognizes a tournament held in Berkeley, California, on May 1, 1966, as its founding date.

An "Anachronism" is something that is out of its proper time frame. "Creative anachronism" takes the best qualities of the Middle Ages and Selectively re-creates them in the modern world.

The purpose of the SCA is the study and recreation of the European Middle Ages, its crafts, sciences, arts, traditions, literature, etc. In the SCA we study dance, calligraphy, martial arts, cooking, metalwork, stained glass, costuming, literature... well, if they did it, somebody in the SCA does it.

The thing that separates the SCA from a Humanities 101 class is the active participation in the learning process. To learn costuming, you design and build costumes. To learn SCA infantry fighting, you make armor, weapons, shields, etc., and put them on and go learn how it feels to wear them when somebody is swinging a (rattan) sword at you. To learn brewing, you make your own wines, meads and ales.

You will frequently hear a SCA person describe the themselves as recreating the Middle Ages "as they ought to have been." In some ways this is true -- we use indoor plumbing, and computers to research. In the dead of winter we have other things to eat than King's venison, salt pork and dried tubers. However, a better description is that we selectively recreate medieval culture, choosing elements of the culture that interest us most.

Where did the SCA Begin?

The SCA was started in 1966 in Berkeley, California by a group of science fiction and fantasy fans who wanted a theme party. Following the party, a group got together to discuss the idea of a medieval re-creation and re-enactment group (which has ended up being much like the Civil War, Revolutionary War or Buck-skinning re-enactment groups that were beginning to form in the US). In Britain, medieval and British Civil War recreation societies had existed for any number of years. The Californians incorporated as a non-profit educational society, started forming groups, and away they went.

Since 1966, the society has grown to include over 24,000 paying members in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Italy, Greece, Romania, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia. Many of us guess that for every dues-paying member, there are three or four other active participants.

How is the SCA organized?

The SCA is a feudal society. The SCA "Knowne World" is divided into seventeen Kingdoms, each with a King and Queen (who rule by right of arms), a Prince and Princess (heirs to the throne), and a council or Curia of Great Officers who handle the day to day business of running the kingdom.

A feudal society takes its form from the idea of service and duty. A noble owes duty of service to his lord, who might be a Baron or Knight. In return, his lord owes protection from danger, and food, money, etc., when times are bad. For his own part, the lord owes fealty (the word that encompasses this idea of reciprocal responsibilities) to his own overlord, and so on up the ladder to the King. In return for their service as good stewards of the land and readily available warriors, the King owes Knights, Barons, and other high nobles protection, honor, and a return of money, food, etc., in times of hardship. It is something like the idea of a Pyramid club, but the benefits are greater and the idea of personal honor and mutual responsibility, not profit, tie the structure together (or at least it did in Europe for nearly a thousand years).

In the SCA this structure underlies our Society, although not nearly as rigidly as in the medieval days. Our King, the head of our Kingdom and our liege lord, has fought for in a Crown Tournament for the right to make his Lady Queen and the right to wear the crown. Royalty are bound by the laws and customs of the kingdom and the Society as a whole, but still wield significant power over their subjects. Of course, four to six months later there is a new King, with different ideas. Life can get interesting.

Geographically, the SCA covers the globe, with the majority of its members living in the United States and Canada. There are 17 kingdoms, each with its own King and Queen chosen on the field of combat. (See map) You are a subject of a kingdom by virtue of where you live for the majority of the year. The kingdoms are independent of each other, and there is a considerable amount of variation among them. Each kingdom has a body of written "law" established by the King and Queen, to define the specific rules it follows, and a larger body of generally accepted custom that gives each kingdom its unique personality. All the kingdoms build their laws and customs on a framework called the Corpora, which sets overall rules for the Society.

Kingdoms are divided into local and regional chapters called principalities, baronies, shires, marches, cantons, colleges, and ridings. The names of these divisions reflect the size of the membership and /or the larger division through whom the local group reports. Your local group might use one of the terms as part of its name

What Kind of People are in the SCA?

SCA folk tend to be people like you and me -- just plain folks, but people who enjoy doing something more with their weekends. It seems that a high percentage of SCA members are involved in high tech fields -- Computers, Aerospace, high energy physics, etc. Perhaps the attraction the SCA holds for them can be attributed to the fact that people who spend all week with highly complex, modern technology find it relaxing to spend their leisure time working with a different kind of technology, in a less modern setting. There are lots of people in all fields in the SCA -- historians, writers, secretaries, law enforcement personnel, teachers, programmers, insurance agents -- the appeal of the SCA is widespread.

A housemate of a SCA person recently said: "From what I can tell about these wild and crazy SCA people, they do more than just this fighting thing. They really like to make and wear the medieval clothes (garb), eat the medieval food, dance the medieval dances to the medieval music, maybe even make their own medieval music, and other medieval party type activities. They also seem to like to be medieval so they can relax and have a good time. They are quite willing to talk about SCA or invite you to the SCA stuff or whatever."

How Do You Get Involved?

We welcome you to attend our local meetings and our events. You needn't join the SCA, Inc, to attend and participate (although if you decide to be with us regularly you may wish to join). The only requirement to come to an event is that you make some attempt at pre-1600 costume -- and most groups have "loaner" costumes for people who want to come to their first event. Each SCA participant remembers the day s/he started, and most people are happy to help out a newcomer. Many local groups have officers whose sole duty is to help new members find their way into the SCA.

Welcome to the Current Middle Ages!

In US/Canada:

Shire of Sylvan Glen Contact Page

Member Services - Society For Creative Anachronism
PO Box 360789
Milpitas, CA 95036-0789
(800) 789-7486

In Australia:

Office of the Registry - Society for Creative Anachronism
PO Box 1623
Kersbrook SA 5231
AUSTRALIA