evile

Oct. 12, 2004

http://www.taylordailypress.net/articles/2004/10/04/news/features/news
01.txt

http://www.taylordailypress.net/articles/2004/10/04/news/features/news
01.txt

Battle royale

HARD DAY: Kenneth McClain wipes the sweat from his brow after a
fight. The participants practice weekly and attend many events that
include fighting as well as more scholarly pursuits in the arts and
sciences. Photo by Jeremy Weber.
By Heather Allee

Swords, armor, mead and more can be found among the members of the
Society for Creative Anachronism.

The international group focuses on recreating and reenacting life in
Western civilization before 1600 A.D., concentrating on the Western
European High Middle Ages.

The local groups gather weekly for meetings to discuss the happenings
within the kingdom, which includes all of Texas and Oklahoma, as well
as what's going on in the smaller geographical areas, called baronies
and shires.

One group, the Incipient Shire of Tir Medoin, is made up of people
from this area and meets in Taylor the last Monday of the month to
spread their passion for all things medieval. There are about 30
people that are a part of the shire.

"This is a lot of fun. We really, really enjoy this," said Jeffrey
Fox of Taylor, whose persona name in the organization is Geoffrey
Tailor. "There's really a lot for people to get involved with. The
hanging out, the fellowship is just a lot of fun."

The group meets in Rockdale every Monday except the last. Following
that is fighter practice, a time for valiant knights to come together
and battle one another with swords.

Well, not quite.

The swords the knights of the SCA realm use are made of rattan staffs
wrapped with strapping tape, then duct tape. A guard or crosspiece is
attached to the end of the sword that the knight will grip.

Armor is a little more complex. Many knights construct their own
armor from metal, leather and other materials. It is made to closely
resemble armor from the SCA "period" and can be quite heavy.

The heavy armor and non-metal swords are used to reduce injury, but
most seasoned SCA members can tell you that getting hit by a sword
isn't a painless experience.

For those who aren't as interested in the fighting aspect of the
period, there are other things SCA members do in their recreations,
including making costumes, art and mead. These are all part of the
arts and sciences division of SCA.

While all of this creates beautiful clothing, paintings and good
drink, those who make it have another purpose: events.

At least one SCA event is held every weekend all over the country and
around the world, according to the SCA Web site. Most groups hold one
or two events a year, but members attend many more. Fighting events
and competitions among artisans are common.

This weekend, the Shire of Trelac in San Angelo hosted the Crown
Tournament, a competition in which the heirs to the throne of the
kingdom of Ansteorra are decided in combat.

The king and queen of the kingdom are also decided in this way and
they remain crowned for a year, at which time there is another
tournament to decide the royalty for the realm for the next year.

"Even the government of the local groups and of the kingdom is done
in a very real fashion," Fox said.

There are three special groups within SCA called peerages.

The first is Chivalry which is made up of the knights and their
squires. Those named as knights are prime examples of the honor and
fighting prowess of those in the chivalry.

The second is the Order of the Laurel, containing the masters of the
arts and sciences. These craftsmen and artists are recognized for
their research in medieval crafts and their willingness to teach
those crafts to others.

The final peerage are those in the Order of the Pelican, those that
give the most of themselves to others in their kingdom. The pelican
was thought to be the most self-sacrificing of birds in the middle
ages because it was believed they would pierce their own breast to
feed their young in times of little food.

Memberships in the SCA range from $20-$35 and there are discounts for
families. For more information, see the SCA Web site at www.sca.org
or the kingdom Web site at www.ansteorra.com