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A CHALLENGE WAS IS
SUED because of an inci
dent the night before at the
feast and revel, and it re
sulted in a swordfight, left.
Vlad Ravna (Lyndon Joslin,
left), fights Lady Sharallel
of the Curly Locks (Debra
Bays, right) in the chal
lenge match. Lady Sharal
lel said Vlad “was too drunk
to remember” what the
challenge was all about.
Society for Creative Anachronisms brings past alive
By Scott Haring
Battalion Reporter
The first thing you notice is how different every
thing sounds with the helmet on. Most sound is muf
fled by the foam rubber padding that separates your
head from the 16-gauge steel.
Visibility is limited; some helmets have eyeslits
only 1/4 inch wide. Your armor is heavy, and it gets
heavier as the fight nears. After donning arm and
leg armor you find your movements are somewhat
akin to a robot’s. It’s a sunny spring morning, which
is good. Rain makes your armor rust, and heat
exhaustion is a danger in the summer..
Then you see your opponent, and he is bigger
than you. A lot bigger. You begin to wonder why you
said those things about him at last night’s feast. It’s
too late to do anything about it now; the challenge
has been issued, and it’s unthinkable for an honora
ble person to refuse.
The marshall has so far kept the two of you sepa
rate with a large sword of his own, but with the shout
of “Lay on!” he moves out of the way. Your sword is
well tied to your right hand. An honorable opponent
will allow you to pick up a dropped weapon, but it
doesn’t look good at all. The large shield strapped to
your left arm is very heavy, but it’s the only thing that
keeps his sword from your body, so you ignore your
protesting muscles and keep holding it up.
You circle each other warily, and then you un
leash a series of blows that do nothing more than
bounce off his shield or miss completely. He swings
back, and it is only sheerest luck that your head was
not taken off. This guy is good. It’s clearly time for a
desperate gamble. You run around him, hoping that
he will leave an opening as he turns to face you. But
his shield meets your swing, and a well-placed
sword stroke by your opponent puts an end to the
match.
After having “died,” you get up and walk away,
yourself and your opponent the best of friends. The
sword that did you in was made of rattan, and while
there may be a nasty bruise tomorrow morning, no
body is hurt.
These people are members of the Society for
Creative Anachronisms. They have 2,350 dues-
paying members in the United States, England and
Germany. They claim 10 times that number regu
larly participate; non-paying members can do any
thing the paying ones can except hold office.
Anachronism is defined as a person, object, thing
or event that is chronologically out of place, espe
cially one appropriate for an earlier period. The SCA
is recreating the Middle Ages, which they define as
prior to 1650. While any civilization from any time
can be used as a basis, making it possible to be a
caveman or an aborigine, most people prefer to es
tablish their “persona” as coming from a Western
European country in the time from 800 to 1500.
The society has its own government, its own ge
ographical boundaries, its own customs and names.
Things not related to society life are called “mun
dane.” All members have a society name, which is
used at SCA events. Many people don’t even know
each others’ mundane names.
Last weekend the local chapter of the SCA was
the host for the King’s College of Ansteorra, which is
a principality made up of Texas and Oklahoma.
Ansteorra is part of the kingdom of Atenveldt, and is
itself split into many shires or baronies. The local
chapter is known as the Shire of the Shadowlands.
A King’s College is an event where people from
all over the principality gather to learn about aspects
of medieval life and how to keep the society thriving
in the 20th century. Courses are taught on every
thing from medieval cooking to using SCA’s non
profit corporation status in dealing with the Internal
Revenue Service.
Sir Balthazar (John Weaver) spent two days
teaching Go, a game he said dates back 5,000
years. In mundane life, Sir Balthazar is a leukemia
researcher at the Baylor College of Medicine. He
added, though, “I do that (research) in my spare
time. I do this in my real time.”
There was also a course in blackwork embroid
ery, fine black thread embroidered on white linen.
The result is simple, yet beautiful. Also taught was
candle casting, yarn spinning, lace making, Celtic
knots and calligraphy.
The most visible aspect of the SCA is the fighting.
Anyone who wishes to fight is first briefed on all
rules, including safety rules. Certain minimum
equipment is required before a person may fight.’
This includes a helmet made of at least 16-gauge
steel, a kidney belt, a protective belt around the
throat, groin cup, and knee and elbow pads.
Fighting has different attractions to different
people. Lord Otto the Merciless (Gary Butler, a stu
dent at Texas A&M) said, “I like to bash people’s
heads in.”
Vlad Ravna (Lyndon Joslin of Houston) said fight
ing relieves tension. “After an hour-long ride on an
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