Octopodial Chrome

Right after college I got involved in the Society for Creative Anachronism, a bunch of amateur mediæval recreationists (rather amusingly, their website is broken…). It was a lot of fun for awhile learning to fence, making Anglo-Saxon, Renaissance Italian & Elizabethan clothing and so forth, but I eventually fell out of it, mostly for time reasons but partly out of disappointment that so many folks were more interested in fantasy and not history. This great video from CBS does a good job of capturing a lot of what I loved and hated about the SCA. Makes me a bit nostalgic! Happy days…

I wish I’d a dog so that I could get him a set of dog armour for him to wear. Then I’d take him boar-hunting. It’d be a blast.

Also, just walking down the street with an armoured dog would be cool. I’d have to name him Panzerkrieghund, of course…

Well, for the fifth year in a row I’ve managed not to make it to Estrella War (an SCA war between the kingdoms of The Outlands, Atenveldt, Caid & Artemisia. Pictures & videos are slowly making it onto the web, though; here are a few good ones I’ve managed to find so far:

Calontiri & Outlands Forces

A nice pic of soldiers from Calontir and the Outlands milling about prior to battle. Calontir has the distinctive purple tabards, while my own Outlandish fellows wear the green tabards with the white hart. I don’t know any of this particular bunch, I think, as these are from al-Barran, as one can tell from their standard (see, heraldry is useful!). Incidentally, if you’ve ever seen a deer crossing sign with a little green crown sticker pasted over its head—then you know that someone from the Outlands has been nearby.

Bridge Battle

A short clip of a bridge battle. Not the greatest fighting in the world, but still…

A lady in German dress

It’s really nice to see someone make an effort, particularly with such a complex and time-consuming style. There are quite a few folks who don’t even really try. From the look on her face, I suppose that she’s singing.

Coursing Hounds

Some folks in Caid have done a fair amount of research into hunting & coursing with dogs. It’s a pretty new area for the Society, but looks like great fun.

Maybe I’ll manage a trip next year.

Here’s a great YouTube video about the SCA, taken from some news programme or other. A bit more emphasis on fighting than I’d have (I was always more interesting in partying & shopping than in fighting), but still a very good picture of what the war side of a large war is about (there’re also the classes, and the merchants, and the whole social side). It manages to convey how there are those times when one can suspend belief and persuade oneself that there’s actually an actual fight going on, when one’s hair stands on end and it all seems very real. You should watch it!

Just discovered Cunnan, a wiki for mediævalists and re-enactors, with a pretty strong SCA focus. I’ve already done some work on mediæval recipes and cookbooks.

Anthony Bryant has created a beautiful set of SCA postage stamps. They are valid postage, albeit a touch expensive (almost thrice normal postage). If anyone wishes to send me an Outlands set, he’ll be my friend for life.

After way too much sewing, my Elizabethan slops are complete! Yard upon yard of fabric, thread, pleating and stitching—but it’s all done with now. I hate sewing, but I do love having sewn. Now all I need to finish are my netherstocks and a codpiece to cover the join in the front of my slops, and I’m finished. Well, for now; eventually I need to make sleeves. And a ruff & cuffs. But for now, I’m nearly done…

A month or two ago I started a project to construct a set of Elizabethan clothing, most importantly a doublet (kinda like a vest with sleeves), slops (kind like knee-breeches) and netherstocks (imagine woven knee socks). Well, the doublet is essentially finished and the slops wait only to be stuffed. It’s been a long hard slog, but the end approacheth.

There’s a new site out which explains what the SCA is & is about. It’s pretty attractive.

I went to Caerthe’s Twelfth Night today. I gotta say that when the SCA shines, it really shines: where else could one get crown roast of lamb with barley, savory toasted cheese with mushrooms, pickled Roman cabbages (Brussels sprouts), parsnips & carrots, bread pudding, saumon caudle (salmon soup), chickens in hocchee (chickens stuffed with grabes and garlic), minted peas, sambocade (a sweet cheese tart something like a softer cheesecake) with sour cherry sauce and wardens in syrup (pears in a sweet red wine sauce) for $14? And that was just dinner; lunch involved a stuffed boar’s head, brawn with mustard, stewed potatoes, buttered cauliflowers, mushrooms alexandre, a Hanseatic stollen (fruitcake), meringues, candied lemon peels and fruit—and was included in the same price.

Of course, with all this well-done and authentic food one did also have to put up with the sort of folks who have no idea of what real history was like; perhaps inspired by others they will improve in time.

Every year the RCMP riot squad practise their skill against a local barony’s SCA fighters. This is just way to cool:riot police against armoured fighters. Originally spotted in a link to a web forum.

I’ve just ordered The Knights Next Door. It looks to be a very interesting read about the SCA and other recreational mediaevalists. I can’t wait for it to arrive.

I’ve recently created a gallery of my 15th century Italian clothing; here are the pictures currently in it. There’s more information about the clothing itself on the page.

The SCA is often accused of being ahistorical—and not always unjustly. However, as the Rules for Submissions to the College of Heralds demonstrate, there are strong attempts to avoid and correct this in certain quarters. The heralds are doing their best to ensure historical practise in their realm of influence. Now if only we could get everyone to play ball…

Ever wanted to make a mediæval chandelier? They're remarkably simple, as this chandelier page demonstrates. The main furniture page of that same site has some other wonderful resources and well-researched articles on historical furniture.

Stephen Bloch (aka John Elys) has written the fine What the SCA is Not, which looks at re-enactment, living history, re-creation and experimental archæology, and whether or not the Society for Creative Anachronism meets the definitions.

For my own part, I’d say that it’s definitely not re-enactment or living history (although sometimes some people manage a bit of the latter), can be good re-creation and at its best can be experimental archæology.

Maggie Forest has written a brilliant article on tunics. Based on cemetery finds, she has devised a pattern which uses very little fabric, is comfortable and looks pretty sharp. The key is to recognise that fabric is and always has been rather expensive: wasting it is ridiculous. The only changes I make is that I add gussets (a triangle front and back) underneath the arms, and remove the centre front and rear skirt gussets.

Tim Dawson, who is himself often an intelligent & thoughtful critic of the Society for Creative Anachronism, has addresses some of the critiques of the SCA made by others.

…and all is well with the world. God’s in His heaven, birds are in the air, and my mace is in my home—its home from now on. Here are a few pictures of the beloved thing:

Isn’t she a beaut? Isn’t it a work of art? Isn’t it simply perfect?

My only problem now is that I really want to start knocking holes in my walls…

I showed my folks my Italian wardrobe this evening, and I’m afraid to say that they hate it—the braghetta (codpiece) at least. Silly, really, considering that it’s quite within spec, as shown in the picture below, c. 1499–1503:

Mine’s actually slightly more modest, so I figure I’m alright. Parents!

Tonight I purchased a membership in the Society for Creative Anachronism, something I’d avoided doing ever since the non-member surcharge was instituted. I figure that, much as I might disagree with some of the Society’s methods, its goals are worthy. Plus, now that I’m a member I can whinge with the rest of ’em.

I’ve completed my calze, after an arduous day’s sewing. Now my set of fifteenth c. Italian clothing is basically done—everything else is gravy.

Tonight I got my calze properly fitted. Next I need to sew over the basted seams and put in eyelets at the proper spots, but I’m in the home stretch now! I’m wearing my mutande (underwear), calze (what some might term tights), camicia (shirt) and farsetto (doublet), and I look completely and utterly sharp. I cannot wait to get everything completed!

My doublet, it is finished. After hours upon hours of labour (there are 40 eyelets, each of which took 15–30 minutes to complete, and the collar lining took several hours itself, and then there’s the rest of the construction), I have sewn a 15th century Italian farsetto. Interestingly, now that it is done I cannot even recall how long it took (although I should note that at my current bill rate the eyelets alone would have cost $1,000–$2,000).

I should also note that I am incredibly sexy in my camicia (shirt) & farsetto. I may need to hire a police guard in order to protect myself from the hordes of women certain to throw themselves at me. It’s that good. Now, to work on my calze…