[Ansteorra] Odd question reguarding persona development

[Deirdre]

Very nicely done! Weaving history and SCA together is what Duchess Willow
suggested I do with mine, and that's the easy part *grin*
The perspective you bring up is my point to newcomers (I was hospitaler in
Ansteorra for years, and here in Calontir for a couple, too), but you but it
so much better than I do. Thank you!

Deirdre


-----Original Message-----
From: Behalf Of Michael Silverhands


My lady,

Keep in mind that *very* little detailed information is known about
our period of study.

Consider this: I know some American Civil War re-enactors. They have
the benefit of re-enacting events that took place only about 150
years ago, and were very well-documented. There are even photographs.
One fellow re-enacts a particular Lieutenant from Arkansas who fought
in a certain battle, wore a particular outfit that day, and was
killed by mini-ball fire at about 2:30 in the afternoon. When they re-
enact that battle, he wears exactly that outfit -- down to the pocket
watch and shaving kit in his breast pocket -- moves from point to
point in that battle exactly as his shadow did, and falls down "dead"
at 2:30 in the afternoon.

Now consider this: the Battle of Crecy is one of the best-documented
events of our period. We're pretty sure of the exact date (August 26,
1346) and place. We're pretty sure of which nobility and royalty were
present, and who died. The event was pretty well chronicled,
including a surviving narrative by the French chronicler Froissart.
(Feel free to use Google or Wikipedia to read up on this. Fascinating
stuff!)

But despite all that, we don't really know what they wore that day,
let alone what they had in their pockets. Even though we know most of
the nobles and royals who were there, we can't be 100% sure, and we
have virtually *no* idea of who all those other people on the field
were that day -- let alone where they came from, who they served,
what kind of life they had, etc., etc.

So, one could assume to be a lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth, and
still know virtually nothing in the way of details. You would have to
research as much as possible, and "make up" a lot. Even taking the
position of being that close to a monarch, we have a lot of "wiggle
room" to invent and have fun with our personaes.

I won't go into my whole back-story (if you care to read it, feel
free to write to me off-list), but here's a sampler of my story: as a
young man I went on what was later called the First Crusade (largely
to get as far away as possible from the king, William Rufus, who
was... unpleasant, to say the least). I left England in the army of
Robert, Duke of Normandy, but soon fell in with a group of French
knights including Godfrey de Bouillon, Duke of Lower Loraine
(France), and his brother Baldwin. Three years later, we stood in
Jerusalem. ...skipping story...time passed... Most of us returned
home. I was in no hurry to return to the sphere of influence of
William Rufus, so I lingered in Champagne, in France, where I stayed
for a while in the company of a young knight named Hugues de Payens.

Again, feel free to use Google or Wikipedia to read up on those names
I just mentioned. By assuming an association with those people, it
allows my persona to know a great deal about the events that led up
to the founding of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and the creation of the
order of Knights Templar -- both of which are of keen interest to me,
personally, as an amateur historian.

Again leaving out the details, later in life I returned to my
homeland, Stargate in the lands of Ansteorra (which is apparently
somewhere in England *grin*). I served as Baron of Stargate for a
time, and later was made a Peer of the Realm for my service to the
Crown.

So there's one example of interweaving real history and SCA history.
Does that help, my lady?

Kind regards,
Michael Silverhands
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