ANST - Just what the heck are we doing anyway?

[Ulf Gunnarsson]

And Gunthar spake:
> I don't roleplay worth a damn because the SCA isn't a play. It's
> a real life organism. My awards aren't because I rolled them up
> with some 6-sided dice, they are me and whether I'm fighting
> in armor or talking about my latest computer game I'm still who
> I am.

A point I love to make is that the people of the Middle Ages were people,
just like us.  They sat around the tournament fields talking about politics
and taxes, fabric shopping and unruly children, life and death.  They
invented great things even though they had no calculus.  They wrote great
novels though character development hadn't been refined yet.  In other
words, they were us, minus a few bits of technology and some polish on the
arts.  Some were of noble character and some were scoundrels.  They were
"real-life" then, as well as now.

I have to disagree with Gunthar.  I have always thought him a role-player.
He has always struck me as a good example of a slightly obnoxious knight,
who thinks highly of himself and higher of other people.  He does so boldly,
without apology for his nature.  As a Peer, he works to solve problems
within the Kingdom yet somehow manages to retain a personal opinion.  He
shoulders responsibilities, both his and others.  And when Gunthar takes off
his SCA clothes and walks in the 21st century, he carries those attitudes
with him.

He may not be "acting" out a role, but he IS fulfilling one.  I think he
sets a good example in the SCA.  I have always thought him a role-player
because I have always seen him doing the things the SCA espouses, like
chivalry and honor. Things that are so sorely lacking in the modern world.

Now, as for the thought of Gunthar at a cocktail party... does he wear the
shiny knee cops or go for the duller ones, since it is black tie? :)


Ulf Gunnarsson


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