Life in the SCA
Life in the SCA
Here is an listing for some topics that people new to the SCA commonly think or ask about.
SCA Basics and Etiquette:
Foward into the Past--PDF format from sca.org
Online SCA Demo--Click Here
Wikipedia's SCA Entry:--Click Here!
Who is this officer worksheet--PDF Format Get to know your local officers and what they do, by filling in this worksheet.
Persona:
A Persona is our SCA historically accurate counterpart. Personas are, commonly, a reflection of what we are interested in from the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods. For instance, if you like Tudor architecture, your SCA persona might be a house builder from that time period. Persona refers the place, culture, and time-period of your SCA preferences.
Persona WorkSheet (PDF Format): from the ADEPT
Persona Quiz (PDF Format): By Lady Shoshonnah Jehanne Ferch Emrys
SCA Name:
Everyone in the SCA creates an historic-type name to go by in the SCA. Many people like to get their names registered through our College of Heralds for a small fee. By our standards, to have a name registered and copyrighted by the SCA, Inc., it must be historically accurate. There are many sources in the SCA for helping you to choose an historical name. While, in the beginning, you may not be concerned about getting your name registered, you may want to later. This is why I advise to research a registerable name in the beginning, to save you time and trouble later. The use of "baby name" books are generally discouraged, for while a name or spelling of a name is used modernly, does not mean that it was used in Period times. Once you have a name to go by, most people will always know you by that name. It can be hard to get people out of the habit of calling you by your first chosen name, if you decided to change it later. It's just good advice to try and chose your name with care, at least the first name. If you simply can't decide on a last name, you don't need to worry about it immediately, as you can have a placeholder (like, "of Thescorre" , or "of Hornwood") until you can decide. Last names can also be descriptors, like "the Bashful" or "the Fairhaired", or even a patronnymic, as in Thorgrimsdottir (Daughter of Thorgrim). Surnames can be based on occupation as well, such as "the toymaker". Most people chose their name based on their persona and time-period. You cannot chose a name of an historical person or fictional character, your name should be completely your own creation.
Perhaps it may be a different way to look at this topic, but I find that SCA names sometimes take on a life of their own. No matter how you try, sometimes a period-like nickname just sticks and most people know you only by that nickname, even if you have a different name officially passed by the College of the Heralds. So, if you simply can't decide, perhaps you could just see "what sticks" and then build off of that nickname so it will pass through the College of Heralds.
St. Gabriel's Medieval Names Archive: a collection of sources for Period names from an assortment of time periods and cultures.
Old Norse Names: From the Viking Answer Lady.
SCA College of Heraldry: This link will take you their educational section, that is filled with articles about SCA naming practices and how to create your name.
Personal Device
A device is a peice of heraldry, almost like a crest or coat of arms, but each one in the SCA is specific to a person or group. Each person can pay a small fee to have personal heraldry that will be reserved for them alone. Certain awards, like the Kingdom Award of Arms (AoA), allow a gentle to display their personal arms on whatever they like, such as banners, clothing, needlework, etc...In historical times, when not many people knew their letters (how to read and write), a personal or familial piece of heraldry was how one let others know who they were. In modern times, a sports team's logo/trademark is very similar to this idea. Think of the logo for the Denver Broncos...a white horse head on a blue background. In heraldic terms it would be explained as: azure (a blue background), with a horse-head couped (a human or animal picture cropped at the shoulders/neck area) argent (white/silver). So, really we're using old words for something we still do in modern times. When a device is passed it is also copyrighted. No device can be too close in appearance to an already copyrigted image/tradmark or modern familial heraldry. So no, you cannot have the Denver Bronco's trademark as your device or the heraldry of the Peters family, unless you can prove beyond a doubt that you own that trademark or have familial rights to those arms. In those cases, other rules apply.
SCA College of Heraldry: This link will take you their educational section, that is filled with articles about SCA heraldry and how to create your personal device.
Garb
Garb is how we refer to our Period-styled outfits. No one needs garb to attend local weekly activities or practices. But everyone needs to make an attept to wear period clothing at our official events. Your first attempts at making or putting together garb does not need to be the most intricate or most expensive part of your event attendance, but SCA members do try to improve their appearance as they learn more about their personas and what types of garb they like. Many people in the SCA make their own garb, we buy bolts of fabirc at a time. But one does not need to be a master seamstress to make their own garb. There are many businesses that sell period-clothes, and a lot of local groups will have stitcher's guilds to help teach you to sew. You may even be able to hire or barter with a local group member in order to have garb made for you.
What you want to wear is really up to you and your budget. Many people try to match their clothing style with their time-period and the persona they are representing. Some people even base their persona on what kind of garb they like to wear. And there are some people who will wear a simple tunic (a simple, long shirt worn in the Middle Ages) all the time, no matter what kind of persona they have or event they go to. I have "field garb" and "fancy garb" myself. I use field garb to run around in at events during the day and fancy garb for attending court and feast. No matter what style you chose to wear, remember, we are not really in costumes. We have to camp, experience all kinds of weather, cook, teach, craft, and fight in these clothes. They should be sturdy and appropriate for the weather. A heavy wool cloak is never a bad investment, as it will last you for years and keep you warm and mostly dry in the rain. This is especially true for kids clothing. Event sites tend to get very muddy at times...a beautiful satiny dress for your little princess may be quite darling, but a nightmare to keep washing and mending (satin or satin-like material rips easily).
The Costumer's Manifesto:This link will take you to a site which has hundreds of picutres of styles of garb.
The Costume Page: This link teaches you the basics of sewing, costuming, and a few simple ideas for your first garb and sewing experiments.
Merchants with SCA garb, gear, and wears: This page is found on sca.org
Gear
"Feast gear' is the first type of gear in which to invest. Feast gear is simply a period-appropriate place setting (including the utensils, napkins, and cup). Most times the site we rent for our events will not have plates and utensils for our groups or members to use during our events. So, it has become SCA custom, for everyone to have a few place settings set aside in a basket or tub to bring to events, this way everyone is responsible for making sure they have gear with which to eat. Many groups will have loaner feast gear for people to use if they don't have any or if they forget to bring their own.
Most groups have some loaner gear, and this collection is called "the gold key". The gold key can consist of garb, feast gear, accessories, and maybe even camping gear. There are no standards for what has to be in a local group's gold key collection, so only the local group's chatelaine/hospitaller (newcomer outreach officer/liason) or chamberlain (keeper of the local group's equipment) will know what is available in any one place. So, ask your friendly local officers what they can help you obtain or borrow!
Other Links