Camp Walls (was Re: ANST - Canton a "Beautiful" Site?)

[penningtonhall]

Goodness when I mentioned walled tents it wasn't with the idea of keeping
people out, but mearly to hide mundane tents.  Since I have never traveled
out of kingdom I did not realize what happens in other kingdoms.

My household is working on a period encampment.  We have some very beautiful
tents that shouldn't be walled in, but displayed for all to see and enjoy.

Thank you for informing me about how other kingdoms work.  It was very
enlightening.  :)  Isn't it great being an Ansteorran?


Ldy Mary Elizabeth

----- Original Message -----
From: Nathan W. Jones <njones at ix.netcom.com>
To: <ansteorra at ansteorra.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2000 10:57 PM
Subject: Camp Walls (was Re: ANST - Canton a "Beautiful" Site?)


>
> Lady Mary Elizabeth made some good comments about doing our best to hide
> mundanities in camp and such, but I had to comment on one portion of her
> letter:
>
> >Or if that is not an option get enough fabric and paint a
> > castle wall to enclose your camp with.  Most people camp in groups, make
> it
> > a group effort.
>
> Personally, I hate walled encampments.  Strong words I know, but I feel
> strongly about this.
>
> Having gone to large wars out of the kingdom such as Gulf War and Pennsic,
> I have seen many camps that build fabric walls around their encampment, or
> even more elaborate setups.  And while it can look neat and perhaps build
a
> sense of community for the people of that camp, I do not wish to see such
a
> trend establish itself in our kingdom.
>
> One of the most disturbing bits of SCA culture shock that I suffer from
> every year at Pennsic is the fact that the camps are walled.  One of the
> things that I love about Ansteorra is our sense of hospitality, and I
think
> that is built by and reinforced by our having open camps.  No one is a
> stranger in Ansteorra.  Rarely is anyone refused a welcome at any camp
they
> may come upon.  I had to travel outside of our kingdom before I realized
> that this is not a Society wide phenomenom.  There are groups that are
> downright hostile and more territorial than I would have believed.
>
> I realize that there are many factors that play into those differences in
> the level of hospitality from Kingdom to Kingdom. Perhaps it is the
> psychology of being a physical barrier between "us" and "them".  Perhaps
it
> stems from some primitive something in the human brain that comes to the
> fore when we mark our territory.  Perhaps it is just the fact that
> households tend to play a much large part in other kingdoms than they do
> here in Ansteorra.  But I will argue that it the development of walled
> encampments lead to part of it.
>
> I know we have many Ansteorrans who camp with walled groups when away from
> the kingdom, and I mean no insult by my comments.  I have learned well the
> mantra of "eh...it's Pennsic" and can shrug away things with the best of
> men.  However, I think it's something we do well without here at home.
>  Although I would welcome the opinion of someone who has exprience with
> walled camps and what they think of my poor theories.
>
> Gio,
> Bardic Avenger.
>
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