authenticity and fun!!! Yes you can have both!!!!!

Meadhbhni at aol.com Meadhbhni at aol.com
Thu Feb 23 15:40:22 PST 1995


Sorry, The first post went out by mistake, this is the complete posting:

I am not going to quote anyone since there are so many different comments.  I
have been reading the thread on authenticity and fun.   This has been a
tug-of-war in the SCA for the time I have been in (since 1978).  I don't
think it will change.  There will alway be those that want everything
absolutely authentic and those that just want to have fun and are not as
concerned.  Inbetween there is pretty much everyone--striving for as much
accuracy and authenticity as we can while still having fun doing it.

I know that dance has been a big topic, since I am not as versed in that, I
will use cooking as a big topic.  ( i do have a little experience in that
arena). Personally, I try to present foods at A & S competitions that are
documentable to a specific period. This way, it serves as an education
tool--what the foods were and possibly the tastes that occured during a time
period along with the dinner customs of the period.  Food that is cooked for
the larger group (as a feast) should be done in a manner that represents the
time period but not necessarily the actual foods of that period. For example,
am I going to go ballistic because someone is serving potatoes at a feast?
 NO!! Will I cringe because bread was bought at a store instead of made from
scratch?  NO!!    Sometimes I think we have forgotten that we are the society
of CREATIVE Anachronism.  If I cooked a feast using some of the actual foods
in period---no one would eat dinner!!!! (the meat would be a bit gamey as
well). So, I separate feasts from A & S displays. 

Another issue on the authenticity front:  the society has never been a
're-enactment' group (like the Civil War groups)>  One of the quotes I
remember about the SCA:  The Middle Ages, not as they were but as they should
have been.  We pick and choose what we represent, no disease, no poverty,  no
religious persecution but we do have WAR (at least the fun parts).
 
well, that's it for my soap box.  sorry about the other message being sent
early (if it hit the list, if not then, disregard)>

meadhbh



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