Disinformation gets the goods on the Society for Creative Anachronism. Never have I seen the SCA summed up so succinctly in a few short paragraphs, capturing all that I learned to dislike after seven years in the Society.
The preeminence of fighting is maintained, however, by the ‘kingdom’ system, since leadership of each group is assumed by a ‘king’ and ‘queen’ who are selected by means of semi-annual tournaments. All awards and prestige in the organization flow from this ‘king’ and ‘queen’, which results in internal group politics that put those of many academic departments to shame.
Nice article, thanks for the tip! One of these days, I shall have to check out an SCA event. It’s been something I’ve been curious about since I first heard of them 25 years ago. The closest I’ve managed is a trip to a Midieval theme park in 1998 at CF! Speaking of which, I wonder if they’ve done an article on furries, or on werewolves? Take care!
— Bob
Disinfo is an interesting newsite in general. One of the items on my shorter shopping list is the interview series Metzger did.
Dutchess Niobe said that the SCA is a wheel which revolves around the listfield. I think about that *a lot* when I’m at events and talking to other SCAdians. Were it not for the fact that 90% of my friends came from the SCA, I would tell them all to shove it. 🙂 Now I just do lots of non-SCA things with my SCA friends. Speaking of which, I miss you! 🙂