SOCIETY FOR CREATIVE ANACHRONISM 1977 – 1995

I began my introduction to the Society for Creative Anachronism in 1977, with an initial meeting at a friend’s home. Little did I know what I was getting into…”The Current Middle Ages!” I met some very interesting folks at that meeting and surprisingly, some of them are still good friends, to this day…45 years later. Anyway, not really knowing what I was getting into, I dove deeply into the subculture of the SCA. It helped that the individual whose home we met at became my girlfriend shortly after that meeting. She was able to walk me through the things I should know.

It was time to do some historical research about the timeframe I was interested in. It was the 13th century, around the time of Edward III. I decided that since I had some interest in archery, having shot as a child and swordplay (fencing club), I would be a man-at-arms. In 1978, I took a side trip to Europe and fell in love with Wales, the people and the countryside. There were actual mountains there! So, when I came back and re-entered the world of the SCA, I was a Welsh-English archer and man-at-arms. 

Now, one needs garb (costumes) to play in this particular sandbox and I did not sew. Lucky for me, I did meet and enjoy the company of three lovely ladies, who did sew, during my tenure in the world of the SCA. I will not mention their names, but should they read this, perhaps they will know of whom I am speaking. I owe them all a debt of gratitude as they were all fine seamstresses and sewed the garments I designed. There were a few that were almost close to historically accurate, but the majority of them could be called “medieval fantasyesque”. I was happy with what I received and still have a few of them in my wardrobe. I will confess to having had some of them “let out” due to my advancing years and girth.

At some point, I formed my own household and even acquired a medieval pavilion, allowing me “real estate” to invite family and friends. This made my involvement even more fun and allowed me to set up on the front row of the eric, the area where court activities and fighting were done. 

FROM A LONG TIME AGO . . .