What is the SCA?
The Society for Creative Anachronism, or SCA, is an international organization dedicated to researching and re-creating the arts, skills, and traditions of pre-17th-century Europe.
Members of the SCA study and participate in various activities, including combat, archery, equestrian activities, costuming, cooking, metalwork, woodworking, music, dance, calligraphy, fibre arts, and much more. If it was done in the Middle Ages or Renaissance, odds are you’ll find someone in the SCA interested in recreating it.
What makes the SCA different from a Humanities 101 class is the active participation in the learning process. To learn about the clothing of the period, you research it, then sew and wear it yourself. To learn about combat, you put on armour (which you may have built yourself) and learn how to defeat your opponent. To learn brewing, you make (and sample!) your own wines, meads and beers.
You will frequently hear SCA participants describe the SCA as recreating the Middle Ages “as they ought to have been.” In some ways this is true – we choose to use indoor plumbing, heated halls, and sewing machines. In the dead of winter we have more to eat than King’s venison, salt pork and dried tubers. However, a better description is that we selectively recreate the culture, choosing elements of the culture that interest and attract us.
What “Stuff” Do I Need To Do To Be Part of the SCA?
There are a few things that you will need to do to participate in our events, and to feel like a part of the Society.
- Clothing (see section below)
- An SCA Name (see section below)
- What to do/expect at an event
- Stay in contact: how to find out what’s going on (see section below)
Clothing
We have a low bar to participation in our events: Everyone in the SCA must dress in a style of clothing from pre-1600. It does not have to be perfect! It does not have to be accurate or well-researched, it must simply be “an attempt”. You will likely improve your clothing over time, but for your first few events a simple tunic, or medieval-esque dress is enough – a guide to a simple T-tunic can be found here. There are many other sites that can teach you how to make appropriate clothing, a search on Google for “SCA garb” will turn up a variety of ideas and instructions. Pinterest is also a great resource for ideas.
You will see many people at SCA events wearing amazingly elaborate clothing. Usually, they have made these themselves and often enjoy talking about what they have made and perhaps how you could also make something similar. Feel free to go up to someone whose clothing you admire and ask them about it, it’s one of the best ways to learn.
Names
In the SCA we often choose a name to use within the society, to approximate a name that would have been used prior to 1600. You will likely be encouraged to choose one (although you do not have to choose – some people go by their real name). Heralds in your group are available to help you choose or document a chosen name.
You can just choose any name, however, once you start to feel your way around the SCA, you may want to register the name you use when playing. It’s best to choose something that would have been viable back in the day.
There are some rules around choosing a name that is registerable, but don’t let that scare you. To register, the SCA name you choose must meet certain criteria. You do not have to register, but if you wish to, the name you choose must be accepted by the College of Heralds. The College of St.Gabriel has lots of resources for this, including the article Choosing a Name: Hints for Newcomers
Your real name is often referred to as your “Mundane Name” vs your “SCA Name” and various forms and event bookings will require one or the other, or both.
Stay in Contact
If you’d like to contact us by email you can contact us by email at chatelaine@ildhafn.lochac.sca.org
As we may have waxed lyrical about a number of topics or upcoming events here are some initial links to assist you further:
Our Local Groups:
- The Barony of Ildhafn – the group that covers the upper North Island – all of our Auckland based activities are included on this site
- The Canton of Cluain – the sub-group of the Barony, this group covers the Waikato, Bay of Plenty and King Country
- SCA NZ -the New Zealand arm of the Society for Creative Anachronism, an international group dedicated to pre-1600 research and recreation. SCANZ is the umbrella organisation that provides membership and insurance for SCA branches around the country.
Upcoming events and regular activities calendar.
Take a look at our calendar to see when various regular activities are taking place.
The following events are also coming up
You can also stay in contact via our email groups and social media