OK...now another question

[molly_world]

Some responses on my last post (thanks for the perspective folks!) have gotten me thinking...in our quest for authenticity in the SCA, are we throwing the baby out with the bathwater? If we strip away the older (non-period) traditions, but provide no substitution in their place, are we really doing a service to those around us? OK...the Maypole isn

Comments

[luscious_purple]

Well, there are lots of other dances ... Baron Stefan of Cambion will happily teach them at the drop of a hat. :-)

And period young folk may have danced around a pole and sang bawdy songs -- they just didn't put ribbons on the pole and weave them together.

I'll keep cogitating...

[molly_world]

Actually...you raise a good point. In our pursuit and practice of the authentic arts, we need to be careful to not alienate those who we might someday want to join us. I've got no problem with folks practicing authenticity...but I hate those who whose only contribution seems to be loudly proclaiming "Ur doin' it wrong" to anyone who'll listen, smile. (I soo need to make that into a button!) It doesn't engender feelings of community or a desire to participate in the (more authentic) alternatives. No one wants to learn from someone who offends them within the first 5 minutes of meeting them.

[aeliakirith]

I think every time you take something away without putting something back in its place, you leave a hole. And I agree that those holes lessen the group. "Let's not do Hole in the Wall" just takes something away. "Let's do Horse's Bransle instead of Hole in the Wall" is better, in my opinion. It's also harder--there's more work involved in replacing one thing with another. Just not doing something doesn't really take any effort.

I also think that the SCA is more than just the study of the Middle Ages. The traditions of the group itself, and of the various kingdoms and baronies and shires, have their own value.

[tmixtli]

It's been a couple of years since I could get the family to an event, but the minute I can arrange it, I intend to push hard for period sports. I don't intend to inflate a pig's bladder for a football, but the fact that a period soccer game has no set number of players, no prescribed field length, and no positions makes it an excellent medium to get people involved in an historical activity. It's familiar, it's rowdy, and it's casual

[beatrixherald]

I agree with Tximi,

Not everything we do is completely authentic, but that doesnt mean it cant be fun and "medieval-ish." There are plenty of archers, fighters, and fencers out there using modern equipment to do what they do. there are Plenty of bards who sing modern folk filk. And many of us love it.

I think it is perfectly OK to have anachronistic details that are not perfectly authentic, as long as you acknowledge that it is inauthentic and have a reason for it. I do that all the time with very nice bits of calligraphy and Illumination. I use modern paint and paper because its cheaper than vellum and pigments for giving away as award scrolls. I alter some of the letters to make it easier for the herald to read.

I think working towards authenticity is a good thing, but there has to be room for SCA culture as well as medieval culture. So what if Hole in the Wall is not a perfectly medieval dance, as long as we arent trying to SAY that it is, then who cares.

[cayswann]

I tend to write original SCA-specific songs, and these become highly popular. I now have Armored Combattants and Rapier Fencers begging me to lead them in Singing ON TO THE BATTLE FIELD. Yup, fighters singing. Top of their lungs. Period songs? Not yet. But CAIDAN songs, which gets them excited. And I have one modern filk in the bag, because it's funny. (I didn't write the lyrics, but I've helped lead the song on the field