Something something siege engines #MySCA (If anyone knows the original author of the meme please let us know so we can credit them)

There’s always been a fraught relationship between medieval academia and the Society for Creative Anachronism

The SCA - that is, Society for Creative Anachronism - is a group of history buffs and medieval enthusiasts dedicated to learning about and recreating the Middle Ages.

...We’ve probably all been to a Renaissance Fair or at least heard of people who go off on weekends and do Medieval/Renaissance role playing/reenactment stuff. People make their own costumes, many learn fencing and archery, and many also learn genuine artisanal crafts such as blacksmithing. Hey – that all sounds pretty cool, right? In this day and age, one could hardly argue with a person who instead of sitting in front of a TV watching mindless sports, or playing video games, goes out and actually DOES SOMETHING and interacts with other people right? Absolutely. Enter the SCA, which stands for The Society for Creative Anachronism. SCA is by far the largest organization of Medieval “role playing”, which today has picked up the term “LARPing”, with LARP standing for “Live Action Role Playing”. The SCA was founded in ARSH 1966 in Berkeley, California (red flag number one) and today has tens of thousands of members in chapters all over the world. Members join and adopt a persona or character, and then live in this “alternative world” as their character at SCA camps and gatherings. Here’s the problem. While SCA does in fact involve Medieval reenactment, it is also at its core a sex cult revolving around group sex, orgies, “swinging”, wife swapping, child sex, and all manner of truly sickening behavior. During the day, SCA camps and gatherings are basically Medieval LARPing, something that on the surface would appear to be family-friendly. After the sun goes down, SCA camps become orgies, with the participants still remaining in character. “What happens at SCA stays in SCA” to paraphrase the Las Vegas motto. So what does this have to do with Traditional Catholics, Trad Catholic parishes, etc.? The problem is that SCA people – and remember, SCA is a sex cult – are strongly attracted to Traditional Catholicism because they are attracted to the AESTHETICS of the Traditional Liturgy and much of the art associated with Traditional Catholicism today, which certainly is from the Medieval and Renaissance periods. They have little to no interest in the CATHOLIC RELIGION. They only are attracted to Traditional Catholicism as its visual aesthetic seems to fit in with their Medieval/Renaissance fantasy sex cult life. They are also very interested in the SOCIALIZING aspect of a parish, and often will attempt to form a clique around themselves within a parish of fellow “aesthetes” and “cool people” who don’t go in for all of that piety crap. Division and parish turmoil generally ensues. As one can imagine, SCA people who infiltrate Trad Parishes tend to form alliances with sodomite clergy and laymen. This can essentially destroy a parish community, scandalize people of good will, not to mention the damage to individual souls. (more...) A Warning: The Medieval Reenactment “Society for Creative Anachronism” (SCA) is a SEX CULT Related: Swastikas in the raiments create an uproar among Society for Creative Anachronism fans

MOSCOW—Official reports from the Kremlin Tuesday confirmed that the Society for Creative Anachronism, a group of medieval-wargames hobbyists, seized control of Russia in a bloodless coup over the weekend.

Take a virtual walk through some SCA events! These images are available for use by SCA Officers and members of the Press/Media, with permission of the photographers. Please also visit the SCA’s Digital Scribes Program for links to albums of additional photographs. Right-click (or tap) and open in new tab to see the full image

The holidays always seem to find me ill. This year wasn’t so bad, but I was down with a cold for over a week. I always think I’ll get some online stuff done with I’m convalescing,…

Most people don’t have work colleagues who regularly come into the office with bruises and photos of their weekend clashes with armored warriors. But...

Kimetha as Waldetrudis von Metten For those of you who don’t happen to be historians, that’s from 600-1600AD (a few years ago!) Kimetha Loidolt (also known as Waldetrudis von Metten) is…

I'll preface this by saying that I'm not a member of the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism), although I've been to a few events, and I've met several henna artists who are active members. The SCA is an international organization of historical re-enactment, devoted to the study, recreation, and practice of the "Middle Ages" (loosely defined as post-Roman Empire, pre-1600). SCA members develop a "persona," a character of sorts from a specific time and place, and aim to recreate that person's life "in period" — as close as possible to what clothes they would have worn, what foods they would have eaten, what crafts they would have made, etc. I'm presenting about henna at a local SCA event and I realized as I was putting my information together that it might be helpful for other artists and enthusiasts, so here you go! This is basically a compilation of previous research that I've done with links to further resources. Feel free to comment or email me with any additional sources or questions — I'd love to hear from you. Background There aren't a lot of sources on the early (pre-medieval) history of henna, and I've outlined most of them on my website, here and here. Venus with red (hennaed) hair, 1st-2nd century CE Essentially, it appears that the origins of henna lie primarily around the western coast of the Mediterranean (contemporary Egypt, Israel/Palestine, Syria, Turkey, etc.), where it was used as a perfume and hair dye. Henna continued to be known and used in the Greco-Roman world, and traveled into Roman North Africa and even into mainland Europe. We have no direct evidence of henna's use as body art in the ancient world but it seems likely that they used it to dye skin as well as hair. By the rise of Islam, henna was known as a medium for body art and was seen as feminine adornment in particular, although men used it as well to dye hair and beards. Early Islamic sources indicate that it was used by Jews and pagans in the Arabian peninsula, and that it was associated with joy and celebrations. It was favoured by the Prophet and his family and using henna became part of the sunnah [encouraged behaviour] and a mark of piety. There's more about henna in early Islam here and here. There are two main areas where henna would have been an important part of cultural aesthetics during the 'SCA Period' — the Iberian peninsula (al-Andalus) / North Africa, and Persia. I'll offer some sources below for each of them, and then some reflections on what kinds of henna would not be "period." SCA Henna 1: al-Andalus An entry for henna in a Judeo-Arabic medical encyclopedia, from the Cairo Geniza, Rylands fragment A539-4. Thanks largely to the documents of the Cairo Genizah, we know that henna was an important and widely-traded commodity in the economy of the medieval Mediterranean. It was grown mostly in North Africa, especially Tunis, but there were also henna plantations in Sicily and even in Spain. It was shipped across the Mediterranean, including Egypt, Greece, France, and southern Italy. It was an important medicine (see here) and hair dye, but its main use appears to have been for ornament. It was used by Jews, Christians, and Muslims, all in varying ways, to celebrate holidays and weddings. It was also used, along with kohl and other feminine accoutrements, to decorate the saqis, the beautiful dancing youths to whom the Andalusi poets were so fond of writing homoerotic odes. The Andalusi rabbi and philosopher Maimonides, for example, lambasts the the moral laxity of his community who allowed their boys to perform with henna and adornments, even in the synagogue (see his quote here). In fact, henna appears frequently in medieval Andalusi poetry in both Hebrew and Arabic, as an attribute of the beautiful but cruel beloved (male or female). The red of their hennaed fingertips is often metaphorically described as the blood of their lovers whom they have slain by their cold disregard. See here for an example from the 11th century Granadan Hebrew poet Shmu'el haNagid. Woman with hennaed fingertips, from the Sala de los Reyes of the Alhambra, Granada, 14th century. We know that there were henna artists working in the Iberian peninsula and North Africa among Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Maimonides mentions in the quote here that a Jewish female artist, called a meqashetet [decorator], was responsible for hennaing the bride (and groom!) before their wedding, and the 15th century Muslim Algerian jurist al-Wansharisi recorded several fatawa from Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria which discuss the importance of henna and henna artists for weddings (some are described here). Miriam dancing with the women, Golden Haggadah, Barcelona, ca. 1320. Francisco Nuñez Muley, a Morisco Christian from Granada (1490-1568), testified that "[for applying] the henna to their hands and feet and painting them in an artistic manner, the [Moriscos] would have artists who painted them; they saw this as refined and elegant, darkening it with a certain material, which appeared to them to be good for celebrations and weddings" (see here, although as the author notes there are some problems with the exact dating of this text). Unfortunately there are few extant artistic depictions of what the henna designs might have looked like. One depiction of a henna pattern on a drum, showing an eight-pointed star with a design in the centre, survives in a Hebrew manuscript, the "Golden Haggadah," mostly likely from 14th century Barcelona. Christian Biblical manuscripts show angelic figures, and sometimes even Jesus himself, with what appear to be hennaed fingertips and possibly simple dot designs. Several other illustrated manuscripts made for Christians, such as the chess manual of Alphonso X, also show women with hennaed hands, although it is mostly solidly dipped fingers and possibly some script or scrollwork. Detail from Alphonso X's Libro de los Juegos, Toledo, ca. 1283, folio 18r, showing a woman with hennaed hands. The Inquisition led to the outlawing of henna throughout the Iberian peninsula as a symbol of Jewish/Muslim heritage, although repeated lawsuits and rearticulations of the ban on henna demonstrate that it was still used well into the late 16th century. Henna appears in documents from other parts of southern Europe, including Sicily and Provence, and so it is possible that henna was used there as well, although there is little evidence. SCA Henna 2: Persia Bowl fragment, Iranian Anatolia, late 12th century, in the Louvre. Another area which developed a rich artistic tradition with henna, seemingly unconnected to that of al-Andalus, was Persia. It is likely that henna was brought to central Asia with the Islamic conquest, and the earliest records of henna appear in Persian poetry of the 10th century. Starting in the 12th century, we begin to see examples of henna in Persian art — ceramics, tilework, and especially miniature illustration. It is difficult to extrapolate material reality from illustrated manuscripts: these are idealized depictions of an imaginary world, not photographs. Some scholars argue that one can make no assumptions from manuscript art about the realities of daily life whatsoever. Nonetheless, it seems reasonable to assume that just as the clothes can be shown to have material corollaries, for the most part, the henna patterns worn (or at least aspired to) were similar in style to what is shown in these manuscripts. It's also important to remember that these depictions, especially in miniatures, are... well, miniature. A woman's hand might be half the size of one's pinky-fingernail; the lines would have to be painted with a brush of only a few squirrel hairs (or even only one!). Thus it's difficult to make any extrapolations from these paintings as to what the henna patterns may have looked like in life. In examining Persian miniatures I see essentially five main styles of henna art depicted. The first is simple dipped fingers, usually to the first knuckle, with another ring or two setting off the fingertip. These, like most henna in Persian painting, are usually shown as black, and with good, fresh henna that's applied thickly and left wrapped overnight, you can easily get deep stains that are close to black in colour. "Zulaykha Enters Egypt," detail, Mashhad, ca. 1556, in the Freer. The second style appears to show bold solid triangles along the edge of the hand or foot, often arranged asymmetrically. I believe in this instance that Catherine Cartwright-Jones may be correct in suggesting that this may represent a string resist, where strings are wrapped around the hand and henna is then filled in, creating the shapes defined by the strings. Similar techniques were practiced in Egypt, Turkey, Ottoman Palestine, and North Africa in the 18th-20th centuries — see here. Often these designs are ornamented with borders and dots. "Wine in a Spring Garden," detail, Tabriz, ca. 1430, in the Met. The third, which appears in a variety of visual interpretations, has a large solid band diagonally across the hand or foot, with ornamental designs on either sides all the way to the wrist or ankle. This band may have contained additional decoration, or perhaps script, or it may have been solid. "Yusuf Interprets Zulaykha's Dream," detail, Iran, 1533, in the Bodleian. It's possible that this is a variant of the previous style, made with a string resist, where the strings are used to define the edges of the central band and the rest of the hand is filled in with a freestyle pattern (usually represented simply with dots or squiggles). It's also possible that this style developed inspired by the boldness of the string-resist patterns, but was done entirely freehand. Certainly in some images, in any case, the solid area of henna appears closer to a triangle than a band. "Shirin Examines Khusraw's Portrait," detail, Shiraz, ca. 1490, in the Freer. The fourth style, which is rarer than the others, seems to show a central design in an almond- or cartouche-style shape, or in some images possibly a mandala, usually also with hennaed fingertips. It's not clear what the shape included (flowers? arabesques? script?), but the central placement of an independent motif, rather than a full hand design, is certainly striking. "Sindukht Learns of Rudaba's Actions," detail, Tabriz, ca. 1330, in the Freer. The fifth style is the most complex — a swirling arabesque design that covers the whole hand. Depending on the painter's ability, this is represented with greater or lesser degrees of fineness, but we must remember that the artists are working at a very small scale. Just as the elaborate embroidery on a coat might be reduced to a few lines and dots, so too the markings shown here may represent more elaborate work. Contemporary henna artists could easily find plenty of inspiration for these types of designs in the surviving islimi artwork of this period on fabrics, tilework, and manuscript illumination — I know I certainly have. "A Nomadic Encampment," detail, Tabriz, ca. 1540, in the Harvard Art Museum. We know little about how henna was prepared and applied in this period, although I admit that I am less familiar with Persian sources due to my lack of training in Iranology. From my initial research, though, it seems like we have the opposite situation from when researching henna in al-Andalus: here we have an abundance of artistic depictions of henna, but little textual or literary context to help us understand how and when henna was used. European travellers in the 17th and 18th centuries describe that dried henna leaves were powdered in a mortar, mixed with water, or lemon or pomegranate juice, and applied to the skin and nails to be left on overnight (wrapped in linen), and this was probably the case in earlier centuries as well. The designs were likely applied with a stick, or possibly a brush. One Safavid painting from the late 16th century, currently in the Met, has been titled by the curators "A Woman Applying Henna," although she holds no tools and it appears as though her hands and feet have already been hennaed. "Woman Applying Henna," Iran, late 16th century, in the Met. India As I describe in my blogpost here, the earliest evidence that we have for henna use in India seems to point to the Mughals, who arrived in India only in the early 16th century. Court documents record henna ceremonies being performed for royal weddings in the 1620s and 1630s, and European travellers of the time confirm that henna was used to dye hands and feet. But all textual records and all visual records depict only dipped fingertips, or solidly-stained hands, without any of the elaborate patterns found in Persian art. And none of these records, to my knowledge, are earlier than the 1600s. Mughal portrait, possibly Mumtaz Mahal, India, 1628, in the Freer. So What's Not Period? henna cones: I'm being somewhat facetious about this, because I recognize that often using a cone or bottle is the easiest way for us to apply the beautiful designs that we want, and the C in SCA does stand for Creative, after all. But I do think that everyone who is interested in reconstructing historical designs should try their hand at historical application techniques! A true artist is not limited by her tools. elaborate henna designs for Indian personae: as described above, henna does appear in India at the beginning of the 17th century and possibly even earlier, so it sneaks in just at the tail end of "period" (especially if the ending date is fuzzily fixed around 1600-1650). But all the evidence indicates that henna was used in India only for solid finger dips or palms well into the 19th century. henna anywhere off the hands/feet: I have not seen any reliable period sources that describe henna being used on other parts of the body, and baring one's midriff, shoulders, etc. in public would be highly inappropriate in any case (with the exception of certain Persian styles of shirts which exposed the centre of the chest... There is some evidence that they had visible designs, likely tattoos, there as well.) henna with glitter, gems, etc.: I think this goes without saying. Of course, I'm not trying to tell anybody what they should and shouldn't be doing. Make your own choices! Come up with your own creative ideas! Have fun! And of course, most importantly, do your own research! But if my work can be of any help to you, please take it with my blessing. Happy Hennaing! And SCA folks, feel free to share widely and add updates from your own research and experience! How have you incorporated henna into your persona? What sources have been most helpful for you?

Kimetha as Waldetrudis von Metten For those of you who don’t happen to be historians, that’s from 600-1600AD (a few years ago!) Kimetha Loidolt (also known as Waldetrudis von Metten) is…

Society for Creative Anachronism; SCA; Costuming; Viking; Apron Dress; Handsewing; Embroidery

MOSCOW—Official reports from the Kremlin Tuesday confirmed that the Society for Creative Anachronism, a group of medieval-wargames hobbyists, seized control of Russia in a bloodless coup over the weekend.

As so many of us struggle with the pain of separation from one another socially, so too do we struggle with the realities of systemic inequality and racism in our society. In the United States and around the world, the recent senseless killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and too many before them have unleashed […]

Decorate laptops, Hydro Flasks, cars and more with removable kiss-cut, vinyl decal stickers. Glossy, matte, and transparent options in various sizes. Super durable and water-resistant. The red belt, a clean, simple design to show pride in the hard work one has put in service to the Society for Creative Anachronism and aspirants who make the SCA awesome!

In 2016, the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) celebrated its 50th anniversary. This medieval reenactment group has grown from a backyard party held in the 1960s to a worldwide club with tens of thousands of members. To mark this occasion, Todd H. C. Fischer (known in the SCA as the Honourable Laird Colyne Stewart) vowed to write fifty poems in the year leading up to the anniversary. Collected in this volume are all fifty of those poems, including footnotes and, when applicable, details about the medieval genres and/or forms the poems were written in. From skaldic verse of the Vikings, to the lieds of the Minniesingers, Colyne has herein captured several aspects of life within the SCA in as period a fashion as possible.

Groups × Find your local group Please enter your zip code below to locate your local branch. Zip: Search List of Groups Central Region(Central Texas) Bonwicke (Lubbock, TX) Dragonsfire Tor(Stephenv…

Take a virtual walk through some SCA events! These images are available for use by SCA Officers and members of the Press/Media, with permission of the photographers. Please also visit the SCA’s Digital Scribes Program for links to albums of additional photographs. Right-click (or tap) and open in new tab to see the full image

An otherwise quiet campground becomes a bustling medieval town for two weeks every year.

Morgan is a small animal veterinarian living in southwest Virginia. Since discovering the Society for Creative Anachronism in 1976 she's been writing and perfor

Historical re-creators from the Society for Creative Anachronism helped celebrate the spring equinox during a ceremonial laying of the first tile at the Forest Grove Community Sundial.

This is a chart from the Kingdom Collection of heraldic bags designed for gifting within the Kingdoms of the Society for Creative Anachronism (Visit www.sca.org for info). This is heraldry that represents the Kingdom of Ansteorra in the SCA. Even if you don’t do the ‘historic thing’, it is still an attractive little bag that will hold precious little treasures. Basic instructions for knitting the bag appear in the comments section of the pattern. If you need detailed instructions for making this type of historic bag, they are available: Knitting Pouches Reliquary Style.

Fodor's provides expert travel content worth exploring so you can dream up your next trip. The world is a weird and wonderful place—we want to show you around.

MEISTERIN GERA GANGOLFFIN, Order of the Pelican, is wearing the flowery dress and loose trousers of the 16th-century Ottoman Empire when she greets me at the Ursulmas Medieval Faire. She’s...

Honor Before Victory. Living in the Current Middle Ages with the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) ~ By Gregor and Genoveva

In the spring of 2005, I attended my first event in the Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA), an Ithra session of classes. I was nervous, excited, and absolutely convinced that I could not set f…

Kimetha as Waldetrudis von Metten For those of you who don’t happen to be historians, that’s from 600-1600AD (a few years ago!) Kimetha Loidolt (also known as Waldetrudis von Metten) is…

Nicholas Burke (third from the left) leads his army, the Vanguard of Valhalla, at the Tournament of Armies II in August 2012. Richard Wasnock is on the far left. (Photo: Euan Forrester) Nicholas Bu…

The pelican in her piety, symbol of the order of service within the society. A clean, simple design to show pride in the hard work one has put in service to the Society for Creative Anachronism and the volunteers who make the SCA great! -- Choose from our vast selection of tapestries to match with your desired size to make the perfect custom tapestry. Pick your favorite: Movies, TV Shows, Art, and so much more! Available in small, medium, large. Perfect for decorations in apartments, bedrooms, and dorm rooms.

High-quality posters to hang in dorms, bedrooms or offices. Multiple sizes are available. Printed on 185gsm semi gloss poster paper. Additional sizes are available. I am a tiny Pelican and I believe in you. You can do the thing. For Pride, I redid my take-off of the kawaii potato by Emilys Diary ( ) – my art, text based on it but referencing the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA ) Order of the Pelican, which is effectively a lifetime service award. Yes, I am a member of the SCA and a member of this order.