[Ansteorra] I have a question

Hugh & Belinda Niewoehner burgborrendohl at valornet.com
Wed Jul 14 08:32:19 PDT 2010


I first heard about the SCA at a party after a Science Fiction 
Convention.  At that point in my life I was more interested in the 
future than the past.  However, I had always loved ancient history and 
as a child wanted to be an archaeologist long before most children that 
age could pronounce the word.  My bedroom was painted with Egyptian 
pictures and hieroglyphs.  As to the Middle Ages, I fear I was ignorant 
having been fed the usual short explanation of the time period in school 
as a place with dirt, plagues, violence, ignorance (until the 
Renaissance awakening), religious intolerance (I thought I would be 
burned at the stake if I'd live then), etc.  However, a woman who I can 
not now name started telling me at this party of all the great things 
one could learn in the SCA.  The thing that hooked me, however, was the 
idea of a persona.  She told me in great detail of her 'character' and 
her history and family.  As a writer I was enthralled and wanted to 
'play'--you know that childhood thing we used to do.  I wanted to escape 
the world I lived in and be someone else for awhile.  It was not until a 
few years later at a MedFaire in Namron that I again encountered the 
SCA.  The people were friendly and I gained enough information to later 
find a local fighter's practice in Northkeep.  I soon learned that 'roll 
playing' was not really a part of the SCA as I had first hoped, which 
disappointed me.  However, there was a wealth of other activities that I 
soon came to love.  I have learned more about history, the fiber arts, 
music, dance and--oh the list goes on than I could have ever dreamed 
of.  And all at little or no cost.  The classes I've taken would cost a 
fortune in the 'real' world.  Most likely I would never have heard of 
naalbinding or mead had I not joined the SCA.  After watching the local 
fighters and envying the fun they were having I even put on armor 
(beautiful armor my husband made for me--I was a great looking corpse 
:-) ) for a short period of time until health interfered. 

A funny thing about the time period when I joined.  After a bit of 
research (pre-internet :-) ) expanding on what little I knew about the 
Middle Ages I decided that I would prefer to have an Arabic persona.  
After all, the knowledge brought back from the Crusades was supposed to 
have been the great awakening for Europe according to what I had been 
taught in school.  But I was told by several people that a non European 
persona was frowned upon.  My solution was an Andalusian.  That's how 
Ismet was 'born'.  And though I at first resented having to find a 
'European' solution, I now couldn't be happier that beautiful Cordoba 
was my home.  My point is that sometimes going with the flow results in 
something unexpectedly beneficial.  Now there are hundreds of Middle 
Eastern, Oriental and even New World persona people out there.  Times 
change, people's attitudes change and the SCA adapts.

I have been hurt and disappointed over the twenty some years I've 
played.  It's going to happen when humans are involved.  You lick your 
wounds and go on.  Some of the best people I know are in the SCA and I 
am thankful to have met them.  Though I must say for me the greatest 
result of joining the SCA was meeting my husband. 

Ismet




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