If you’re wondering why there were women in corsets and men in tights congregating at the International Center on Saturday, you were not alone. It’s not everyday you get to reenact Medieval times — unless you’re a member of the Society of Creative Anachronism.
“”We are a Medieval history club,”” said April Ferrel, the reigning queen of her SCA chapter. “”It is a club devoted to interest in anything roughly from the time of Charlemagne to the 1600s. Pretty much we’re talking about early middle ages through the Rennaissance.””
Along with dressing up in period costumes, the group holds classes on everything from vinegar making to medieval weaponry.
“”We also tend to be a group of people who enjoy doing hands-on things,”” Ferrel said. “”If you look around, you’ll see costumes, woodworking; we have classes in teaching spinning and weaving and period dance.””
In fact, you will find arts and handcrafts all over SCA events, whether it is someone knitting under a tree or a group of people carving wood. The schedule is full of activities with forgotten traits and medieval crafts. “”I attended [a class] this morning that was very good about Justinian and Theodora and the Byzantine empire,”” Ferrel said.
It’s safe to say these classes are not your typical college courses, but that’s why SCA members keep coming again and again to events like the one on Saturday.
“”The focus of this history club is reanactment rather than dry lecture format,”” Ferrel said. “”Most of us have taken history classes and found them a bit tedious.””
Like any national non-profit organization, SCA is organized into several different chapters, or “”kingdoms,”” such as those associated with universities or colleges, as was the case on Saturday.
“”There is a chapter of our group, [the college of St. Artimus], that is a student club at UCSD,”” Ferrel said.
Occasionally, you may find SCA at stonehenge holding a fencing competition or taking part in arts and crafts.
“”We like the art they call “”stonehenge”” because it’s always cool, even in August,”” Ferrel said.
So the next time you see a small rennaissance fair congregated somewhere on campus, don’t be afraid — just say hello, or good morrow.
Photos by Ed Wu
