[Ansteorra] Start/end of Period

[Elisabeth B. Zakes]

On 9/21/06, Lori Campbell <countesskat at yahoo.com> wrote:
> I'm gonna say, just for anthropology's sake, that Ansteorra does not
> appear to confine itself to the period typically labeled "after the
> fall of Rome".
>
> We've always had the occasional Roman persona, but in recent years
> there has been a definite trend towards people adopting a Roman mode of
> dress and naming practices.
>
> I think, perhaps, Ansteorra isn't alone in this.  As I recall, the
> Grand Council's discussions were generated from concerns about similar
> trends elsewhere - the idea that the SCA time period might be edging
> earlier and earlier, away from the true middle ages and more towards
> "late antiquity."  Some believed it to be counter to our purpose of
> recreating the middle ages, hence the reason we were asked to discuss
> the possibility of setting a definite start date for the period covered
> by the SCA.  As Brendan said, the idea wasn't popular.
>
> Kat MacLochlainn
> (GC member, at-large)

A perusal of Corpora, on page 9 of the .pdf version online
(http://www.sca.org/docs/govdocs.pdf) shows just how nebulous we are
at the corporate level. "Middle Ages and Renaissance" can cover a lot
of ground, and "all of the centuries prior to the 17th" makes it even
less exact. I recall when we had one ancient Egyptian household. Yes,
ancient, as in dates B.C.

I would be happy with Corpora defining exact start and end dates, and
places. More than a few people think the "cutoff date" is 1650, which
is outside the "prior to the 17th [century]" time period. And seeing
18th-century pirates at one Pennsic was certainly jarring.

That page also does not state a specific area, just "a social
structure adapted from the forms of the European Middle Ages." It then
goes on to refer to "the life and culture of the landed nobility in
Europe prior to 1600 C.E." and acknowledges that personae from Asia or
Africa are "[guests] to a European court." So it is strongly implied
that the SCA covers Europe in the Middle Ages and Renaissance to 1599,
and the definition of "period" on the next page bears that out. But
without anything explicitly stating so, we will always have people
unclear on just what we're aiming for. Where on the timeline do we
move from Dark Ages to Middle Ages to Renaissance? It varies by
country and culture.

My twopence.

Aethelyan Moondragon
Bryn Gwlad