Getting Medieval - the Society for Creative Anachronism in Ireland by Nina Shiel

Ask any reader of the Irish Sci-Fi news about general fantasy and Sci-Fi fandom in Ireland and they will happily tell you that it is strong and alive, and name several acquaintances and friends who either actively work in organising conventions and other events, or otherwise participate in the "scene." Ask any reader of the Irish Sci-Fi news about gaming in Ireland, and arcane terms such as IGA, Gaelcon, Warpcon, and LARPing will readily surface, along with "Oh yes, I know so-and-so who..." Ask any reader of the Irish Sci-Fi news about the activities of the Society for Creative Anachronism in Ireland, and there is more than a fair chance than you will be faced with a blank look.

The SCA originated in California in 1966 (really, what else were you expecting?) and its birth is often attributed to the authors Diana L. Paxson and Marion Zimmer Bradley, and to a particular party held in Diana's backyard. Since then, the society has spread all over the world, rooting in places as far apart as Finland, South Africa, Israel, and New Zealand. The focus of the society is on European history pre-AD 1600, although also Far and Middle Eastern "personas" - the overall look and mannerisms assumed by a member - are occasionally seen. Western European High Middle Ages and Celtic personas are generally the most popular.

In Ireland, the origins of the local groups also firmly lie within the Sci-Fi congregation. The Words of Creation were uttered in 1986, when a group of people from Trinity College's Science Fiction society were fatally exposed to the idea. In good Irish style, nothing concrete happened at that time, until three years later, when Gaelcon provided a background for a fencing demo, which roused sufficient interest for the wheels of history to start rolling after a slow start. The co-operation and mutual interests of Sci-Fi fandom, the Gaming scene and the SCA were thus well and truly proven and established. As time went on and members changed, the different groups drifted somewhat apart, and the presence of the SCA in Ireland became a little-known, but stubborn, fact.

Currently, active groups can be found in Dublin, the Midlands, Cork, and in Ulster. The entire society is structured in a Feudal fashion, and Ireland, known as Lough Devnaree, is part of the Crown Principality of Insulae Draconis, comprising Ireland and Britain, which in turn is part of the Kingdom of Drachenwald (Europe and South Africa). The Kingdoms and provinces within the SCA are not static, but subject to change. Processes exist for active groups to upgrade their status all the way to kingdom level. Drachenwald, for instance, is one of the newer kingdoms.

So, what do we actually do? Anything they did in the Middle Ages, and more. Well, in fact less, since we don't wobble around dying of plague or fever like flies. The SCA is an unashamedly romanticised version of the Middle Ages, a fact which sometimes irritates groups devoted to serious re-enacting. SCA itself tends more towards recreation than re-enactment. In the SCA, women are allowed and encouraged to fight, and anything that looks "period" from the distance of ten feet, rather than ten inches, is considered proper. We like our indoor toilets, hot showers, and modern safety regulations and medical care. At the same time, SCAdians (pronounced skaydians) tend to be well-learned in their chosen fields, and study is very strongly encouraged. These fields consist of, include, and vary from heavy armoured fighting, light rapier fighting, archery, dancing, costuming, etiquette, cooking, brewing, literature, calligraphy... You get the idea.

The nature of the SCA allows a member, or any participant, to be as active in the society as they wish. They may only want to turn up to an occasional weekend event, or to attend the regular fighting or arts and sciences (=everything else, usually crafts) practices, or they may wish to get involved in local or wider, or even kingdom level, administration and politics. For many members, SCA is very definitely a way of life, for others, it is a hobby among many.

This all sounds very much like LARPing, I hear mutters from the back. The SCA does share some notions with live action roleplaying, but there are essential differences between the two. The persona can be little else but a name and clothing style appropriate to a particular period, or it can be a fully formed character. While LARPing focuses on storytelling, the concern of the SCA is living the life as someone you would have wanted to be had you lived in the Middle Ages. To put it another way, we practice our arts and crafts and socialise with people, but we do not act out stories. In events, which range from one day or less to two weeks, you tend to stay in persona all the time, but even outside events SCAdians often address and refer to each other using their SCA names. It is not unheard of for an SCAdian of twenty years never to have heard the "mundane" name of someone they have known for all that time!

It goes without saying that the SCA has enormous appeal to people who occasionally get tired of the mundane world, and look for inspiration in other worlds or in other times. The experience of staying in an old castle, away from the lights of cities, surrounded by people dressed in flowing beautiful clothes, with laughter and music and the smells of a cooking feast in the air, can be almost overwhelming to a first-timer. As the ordinary world fades away, what remains is camaraderie and belonging, and that particular Elsewhere that so many people yearn for.