No subject

closest things to a founder you will find of this area, principality and
kingdom

I don' want to argue about this point but I will tell you a little story
back when Sir Randall was the Second Prince of Ansteorra. A reporter came
to do a piece on the SCA and the person showing her around made a point
of saying that we had created our own language and stressed that we
didn't call clocks clocks but "magic time pieces" and privies were not
privies but "shrines of the swirling waters", and cars were "dragons" and
etc. The piece she wrote about us made us look like idiots. All our good
work, all our research, all our arts and sciences were discounted because
we liked to be hokey. We didn't freak her out. We didn't shock her. She
thought we were just dumb. Most of us were so upset  by the article that
we dropped most of the really cutesy term out of our vocabulary. These
term have only recently (in the last ten years) been sneaking back in to
our speech.

One of the strengths of the SCA is that we study history. We live
history. We have reality on our side. Talk to the  role-playing groups.
We are the people who really fight and are serious about what we are
doing. We are the people who have ideals and beliefs that are real. Many
people come to use looking for nobility and beauty and courtesy and
magic. I have met a lot of people that have walked away from us because
we seem trivial and frivolous.

I believe in fun. I believe that Ansteorra can be fun. I don't think we
have to be self-mocking to do so. It is always easy to make people laugh
if you make them self conscious about standing around in funny clothes. I
think the funny words only stresses that what we are doing isn't real and
it is only a cocktail party in funny clothes. I think it destroys the
magic. The magic is a hard thing to feel and if one hokey word destroys
that feeling in one person we are losing so much more than a bunch of
cheap laughs can give us.

Willow de Wisp
> _______________________________________________

On Mon, 8 Apr 2002 20:49:15 -0500 "Chuck and Rhonda Leggett"
<RLEGGETT at austin.rr.com> writes:
> If I may offer a personal observation, I believe that much of this
> good-natured controversy is the result of the changing demographics
> of the
> SCA.  The Society is no longer a group of (barely) twenty-something
> college
> students, though (thankfully!) we still have many of that group.
> However,
> the median age has risen over the years, to the point that now the
> Society
> has a large content of somewhat older, more mature, more serious
> players
> that have more interest in the historically accurate aspects, rather
> than
> the fanciful, "playful" attitude of yesteryear. There are those who
> wish to
> maintain the youthful attitudes of the "old days" when they joined
> (We all
> have a little Peter Pan in us, or we couldn't play).  One extreme
> sees the
> other as anal-retentive authenticity Nazis, while being themselves
> seen by
> the opposite extreme as childish and giddy.  Fortunately, either
> extreme is
> very rare; this is perhaps the most tolerant group of people I've
> ever known
> (or known of).
> For myself, I prefer to use the "proper" terms, but I find the
> "early
> Scadian" dialect amusing at worst; certainly not offensive.
> For example, when someone says "Troll Gate," my old and weak ears
> hear the
> word "Toll Gate."  It never occurs to me that some infidel is having
> a
> fantasy attack  After all, there's limited space in Bedlam; not
> every
> "special" citizen can be "kept safe!"
>
> Enough.
>
> Ever in service,
> Marion du Massue.
> House of Brick.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Ansteorra mailing list
> Ansteorra at ansteorra.org
> http://www.ansteorra.org/mailman/listinfo/ansteorra


________________________________________________________________
GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
Join Juno today!  For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.