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The SCA could be considered a historical reenactment or living history organization, but, unlike most such organizations, the SCA does not concentrate on a narrowly-defined time period, let alone a specific war or other event. The SCA also has a much less constrained minimum standard of authenticity. The activities of the SCA have more to do with "re-creation" (and recreation) than with re-enactment. Some SCA participants describe the SCA as a large group of people with interlocking hobbies. Others consider the organization as being more oriented to 'fantasy history,' in this case the history of the SCA itself as it interprets Western European history. The relatively low requirements to participate are also seen as one of the strengths of the SCA. Most medieval trades or hobbies within Period are practiced.
At a typical SCA event, you will see a wide range in the quality of re-creations and reenactments. Some individuals may do some aspects of re-creation well (say, music), while simultaneously doing others poorly (say, clothing). Still, there is one standard that all participants of official SCA events are held to: participants should try to dress in pre-17th century garments. In SCA jargon, this era is called "Period", although some insist that "Period" only legitimately refers to the millennium of A.D. 600–1600.
Excellent practitioners of the various arts & sciences are awarded an SCA "peerage" (SCA-wide, highest level award) known as the Order of the Laurel. Other "peerages" are the Order of the Pelican (awarded for service to the organization) and the Master of Arms/Knight (awarded for excellence in heavy weapons infantry combat).
This use of the term "peerage" is unique to the Society and should not be misconstrued to have any resemblance, whatsoever to historical peerage as practiced in the United Kingdom or similar countries, although they are inspired by medieval concepts. "Peers of the Realm" who hold Laurels or Pelicans are given the honorific "Master or Mistress" depending on gender. This holds true also for Masters/Mistresses of Arms. Male knights are styled "Sir." There is no groupwide consensus on the correct honorific for female knights; both "Syr" and "Dame" have been used. The difference between Masters of Arms and Knights is that the latter swear fealty to the Crown while the former do not. This is a choice that a person so selected for the honour must make at the time of investiture into the ranks of the Chivalry.
The SCA is worldwide in scope. There are active groups all over the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand with scattered groups elsewhere. The Knowne World is divided into Kingdoms. As of October 2004, there are 18 SCA Kingdoms worldwide. Worldwide, there are about 30,000 [1] paid members, though many people participate without joining.
Each SCA kingdom is "ruled" by a king and queen chosen by a Crown TournamentThis article is about the tournaments of the Middle Ages. For the general article on tournaments, see tournament. Tournament or tourney ( Fr. tournement tournoi Med. torneamentum from tourner to turn), the name popularly given in the middle ages to a spec. This is typically held as a double-elimination, one-on-one combat tournament (it should be noted, however, that there is no historic precedent for this method of selecting rulers). The winner of the Crown Tournament and his/her Consort will be styled "Crown Prince and Princess" and serve a six-month training period under the current King and Queen prior to acceding to the throne and ruling for six months in their turn.
To prepare for tournament and wars, some groups hold "fighter practices" where a full contact martial sport is practiced. The fighters wear armor (often of their own making — of plastic, leather, metal, wood, or any combination thereof) and strike each other with weapons primarily made of rattanRattan are climbing palms of the genera Calamus and Daemonorops used for furniture and baskets. A rattan cane is a cane used to administer corporal punishment in many countries including Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. See caning. See also Rattan furnitur and made to resemble swordA sword (from Old English sweord akin to Old High German swerd is a bladed weapon, consisting in its most fundamental design of a blade and a handle. The blade is normally of metal and often ground to at least one sharp edge and usually has a pointed tips, pikeA pike is a pole weapon once used extensively by infantry principally as a counter-measure against cavalry assaults. Pikes were extremely long weapons, carried by infantry and resembled a spear between 10 and 14 feet long. These eventually grew in size bos, spearA spear is an ancient weapon, used for hunting and war. It consists of a shaft, usually of wood, with a sharpened head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be of another material fastes, axeAn axe is a tool with a metal blade fastened to a handle at 90 degrees, commonly used to split wood. Axe is the name of two rivers in the South of England. See: River Axe, Devon, River Axe, Somerset Colloquially, axe is a general name for an electric guits and other medieval weapons. This 'Heavy Weapons Fighting' is interesting among martial arts for its lack of formalized training. This allows new-comers to learn at their own pace and to add to the game in unpredictable ways. Typically several years of direct experience in the SCA's Heavy Weapons Fighting are needed to excel in tournaments. SCA Heavy Weapons Fighters also practice many-on-many engagements called melees or wars, and make up the world's largest non-militant army, according to an unofficial FBI source.
Some groups practice a style of fencing with rules different from Olympic fencing rules. SCA fencing does not recognize lanes or right-of-way. It is an attempt at "re-creating" rapier combat of the 16th and early 17th centuries. Some SCA practitioners of this art have become recognized worldwide as scholars in the field outside of the SCA. However, overall knowledge is spotty at best, though slowly improving.
Some SCA groups hold regular classes in various medieval arts and sciences are practiced. These might include dance practices where Renaissance Dance and English Country Dance are taught, or calligraphy and illumination workshops where interested people study and create illuminated manuscripts. At large gatherings, such as the annual Pennsic War, many people offer classes on various aspects of medieval life.
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