That’s up to the parent. I have friends who had twins about 9 years ago and the twins recently decided to pick their own names and heraldic devices. Up until now the kids have gone by their real names at events, but since both of them recently received awards, thought it time to get medieval names. The generally call their parents ‘mom and dad’.
The SCA is open to all. Events are not closed to children, and in fact, unless you have been specifically banned, no one can be barred from attending an event. We have family activities and children are encouraged to get involved in anything they can handle. For instance, archery does not have an age restriction, and any interested child is taught safety along with the rest.
Granted there are exceptions but the SCA is a bit more conservative and cohesive than you might think. The need to shield littles from rated R activities is minimal. Minors at large events wear wristbands with their name, parents names, and what barony/shire/warband/etc they are camped with.
There are parties going on at large events where the alcohol flows freely and the conversation loud, boisterous and adult. Groups will not knowingly serve alcohol or tolerate inappropriate advances toward minors. Alot of us know each other far better than most folks know their neighbors and its not unusual to find people that have been involved for 20+ years.
There are ALOT of families involved and plenty of little kids. Folks with littles tend to camp on the fringes of campsites so singing, storytelling, and late night bacon sessions are less prone to wake the wee bairns.
In most of our lives people carry them constantly and lifes little emergencies dont stop so do SCA members carry cell phones? Have you ever seen say a herald or king or queen sneak off and take a phone call?
I see it happen a lot if the person in question has a real-life job that is means they have to be available. I have friends who are attorneys, doctors, IT professionals, etc and many of them are constantly on-call. It has more to do with living in a 24-hour economy than anything else.
They are everywhere. answering one in the middle of court would be seen as extremely rude, but otherwise, its not uncommon to see them in use for cameras or phones.
I may be interpreting it wrong, but based on DrDeth’s excellent explanation it seems to me that it is a male dominated activity. The men seem to have a way to progress through the ranks via tourneys and chivalry, but the status of the women seems to be tied to that of their men. Is this correct?
That is correct only for one ceremonial position, that of sovereign. Our royalty is chosen through armored tournament, so while it is not unknown for a woman to be a good enough fighter to win the crown, it is rare enough to be a statistical blip. So in this one case, men, usually fighting for women are the ones who confer their status on their female consort. So for one part of the SCA, that is true.
However, most of the real work of the SCA is done by both men and women equally. I hold the position of Kingdom Seneschal which means that for the 501(c)(3) not for profit organization, I am this regions VP of Operations. About half of the 20 kingdoms we recognize have female kingdom seneschals. Additionally each kingdoms organizational officers (ie the people who do the real work) are usually half women. Our award structure is built so that people are rewarded with status according to their own work, rather than someone else.
Right, the Fighting is 80% male dominated, the Service is about 55/45 Female/male and the Arts are maybe 70% Ladies. Officers are about 60/40 female/male I would say or close enough to 50/50.
I had heard someone was working on a mechanism for an A&S based crown tournament that would be placed into a rotation that like 1 out of three crowns would go to an artist not necessarily a fighter.
I had a Duke recently tell me that he expects to see Rapier in the Crown rotation within 10 years. I’d be thrilled to see it changed up to include Rattan, Rapier and A&S.
[tunes: (slow) The Patriot Game; or (fast) Sweet Betsy from Pike]
Oh, have you encountered the club “S.C.A.”?
They look medieval, in a modernized way;
They hold royal courts, feasts, and tourneys by sword,
To recreate Kingdom (and even the Horde).
Their people will tell you some fine-sounding things,
Of honour most noble, and the valour of kings,
Of how hard they work to earn chivalry’s name,
And then they will tell you, “It’s only a game.”
It’s forty-five years now, almost to the day,
Since I started “playing” in the S.C.A.
I’ve learned a few lessons, both painful and true,
And if you’ll have patience I’ll tell them to you.
Sometimes telling evil from good’s hard to do;
What’s kind and what’s cruel might give you a clue.
In play and in real life, the rules ain’t the same;
When the pieces are people, it’s not just a game.
Now, no-one could number the tourneys I’ve seen
Where men fought for honour, or for choosing the Queen;
In chivalric armor, how knightly they’d look,
But they would not acknowledge the blows that they took.
Some folks can’t distinguish the false from the real:
Awards are worth more than mere humans, they feel;
They’ll trample real people for fictional fame;
They don’t think it’s wrong, 'cause “it’s only a game.”
I’ve seen many good folk (I don’t know them all)
Earn honours for service beyond duty’s call,
Or crafting and artwork more lovely than Kells’s;
The awards for their labour went to someone else.
So if getting titles and glory’s your aim,
Be quick to take credit and swift to shift blame,
Know whom to suck up to and whom to defame,
And then you’ll have mastered the S.C.A. game.
Like any man, each king has had his own flaws:
Some proved it with malice, greed, spite, and bad laws.
That many are bastards should be no surprise,
When they’re crowned 'cause they’re fighters, not fair, kind, or wise.
So if you encounter the grand S.C.A.,
Look close at their actions, not just what they say,
Take heavily salted the things that they claim,
And don’t let them tell you it’s only a game!
You know, I have been part of the SCA since AS IX (not always active, like now). There are jerks & politics in the SCA just like every non-profit. But overall, the SCA tends to attract much fewer of such. I saw way more bad stuff in Scouting than the SCA.
I only encountered one fighter who didnt take blows, and he wasnt a Knight. I never knew* anyone *to take credit for another persons craft. I admit there were Officers who didnt acknowledge their minions like they should have, sure. And, yes, one of my honors was delayed due to politics- but I did get it.
So, yeah, the SCA is made of Humans and humans have flaws. SCAers have as many flaws as any Human, but they tend to be less "jerkish’ than most. Many do take honor seriously.
I have two stories- when I was Exchequer a Squire came to me with $500 in* loose $20’s he had found on the eric, laying there in the grass. Not a wallet, just a rubber band. How many of us would turn that* in? (We found the owner, it was his rent money!)
One time I took at shower at a event where the site had pay showers- 50 cents. I had taken $1.50 in quarters, just in case. For some reason the shower came on after just one .25, and it was long enuf to wash. So, not having any pockets etc, I left the 1.25 in quarters with a sign “For any that forgot their change- Take what you need.” A sign- saying “FREE MONEY”! I forgot my towel and went back- after 30 minutes, there was now $2.25. After six more hours- $3.75. In other words- with a sign saying “FREE MONEY”! people left money, not took it. (In the end we left it as a tip for the site janitorial staff, it was like $7.00)