Silk banners
dance in the wind over brightly-colored pavilions where knights and their squires recap
the day's battles. The new King has been chosen, and the land and people prepare for the
great hall. Lords and ladies don their most elegant clothes of velvet and satin while
merchants and artisans peddle their wares to the populace. Minstrels tune their
instruments; pavanes and galliards shall be danced during this most festive of occasions
....Greetings, Welcome! If you are reading this, you have
already shown an interest in the Society for Creative Anachronism in general, and it's
local branch, the Shire of South Keep in particular. This little book is intended to
introduce you to the basic facets of life in the Society. Please bear in mind that this is
only the beginning! Learning all there is to know about the SCA would take a
lifetime.....and it changes daily, becoming bigger and better with every new member. We're
glad you're here, because newcomers are what the Society is all about!
A brief history
The Society for Creative Anachronism began in 1966 in Berkeley,
California. That impromptu Backyard tournament has grown into a non-profit, international,
educational organization dedicated to the re-creation of the finest aspects of the Middle
Ages (roughly 400~1600 AD). The Known World of the SCA stretches from Australia and Japan
in the west to West Germany in the east. The different branches are organized by size into
Kingdoms, Principalities, Baronies, Shires, Colleges, and Ridings (plus others). For
example, you are presently residing in, the Shire of South Keep in the Kingdom of Trimaris. (All Society groups take new names
within the SCA, just as people do. This takes a while to get used to, so take your time!)
Getting started
One of the first things to do once you have gotten involved in
the SCA is to choose a name and "persona". A persona is the person you are
within the Society; strictly speaking, a person who could have lived in Western Europe
during the interval between the fifth century A.D. (the fall of Rome) and the end of the
fifteenth century (the age of Elizabeth). However, we have more than a few members whose
personas come from times before and after this era (for example, ancient Greece or
Cavalier France). Some of us also come from non-European cultures. Your name should
reflect the culture to which you belong, but you may wish to put off selecting, a specific
time period and geographical location until you are more informed about your choices.
There's no hurry!
Joining
is easy. Just go to
http://www.southkeep.org and contact the Seneschal or Hospitaller
they will point you in the right direction. You can also ask about the Shires E-Mailing list
which will keep you abreast of what's going on from week to week.
If
after talking to us and hanging out, you decide you'd like to become a
dues paying member of the Society, then all you have to do is go to to
http://www.sca.org/members/us-mem-form.pdf
and print out the membership form. It is in the Adobe PDF File Format.
If you don't have the Acrobat reader plug-in, it is available FREE from http://www.adobe.com Or
come on Down to the Park and I will be more than happy to give you one.
All that's left after that is to fill out the form completely, write a
check or money order for 35.00, include a Self addressed stamped
postcard (for confirmation.) and send to the Society membership office
in Milpitas CA.
Your
sustaining membership will get you a 12 month subscription to "TaleWinds"
the Kingdom Newsletter that details what's going on in Florida, The
Triskele, an Arts and Science focused Newsletter with articles
written by Society members in the FL area (twice yearly) Though
this may be subject to change. Additional publications are available as well as 1st
class postage. Your membership will usually get you a
small discount when paying for events. Family
Memberships available too.
Please
note that you do not need to be member to participate in most society
activities.
You can participate as much or as little as you want.
However, only members can hold offices, and receive most Awards and
Titles. Our
Chapter down here typically holds 2 small events per year. usually at a
small site in N. Miami. However most activities take place out of town
and the best ones are usually camping events,
generally held on campgrounds in Central FL.
Our
chapter in West Palm Beach, the Shire
of Seamarch , and the Broward chapter,
Shire of Sangre Del Sol generally hold 2 to
3 events per year each making an average of 8 events per year that you
can participate in without having to camp. These events are called
"Day Trips" and are smaller affairs where you can get to know
the members in the Tri-County area. Once monthly we also hold a Regional
fighter practice and revel where the 3 Shires get together and have a pot-luck
picnic and fighting practice. However as I said earlier the Best
events are usually the Kingdom level events like Crown Tourney and
coronation which are held four times a year in a campground in Central
FL.
