[Sca-cooks] Interkingdom Anthropology

[Stefan li Rous]

Judith, name searcher, said:
<<< This just confounds me. Admittedly I haven't been to a whole lot of
events -- maybe four or five in college, and one since -- but they all
had feasts. Every time I hear about an event on a mailing list,
someone talks about how great the feast was. I've never seen an event
website that doesn't mention feast, even if it's just "feast menu to
be announced." Seems to me like every event's got a feast! I'm just
floored to discover that this isn't the case. >>>

Lol! Such are the joys of what some call Interkingdom Anthropology.   
Not only is the Society as sub-culture of the larger, outside   
society(s), but there are often some big differences between different  
regions and kingdoms. Some caused by climate and outside cultural  
differences, some caused by the way the SCA formed and grew and the  
much poorer communication between the various groups then.

Because I, and others, have found amusement in this, and because we  
often wish to capture these differences before many of them blend  
together, you can find examples of these differences in the SCA- 
STORIES section of the Florilegium. From the various kingdom-hist  
files, to ones that highlight specific differences such as:

SCA-cheers-msg    (12K) 11/15/08  Kingdom cheers. Vivat vs. Huzzah.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/STORIES/SCA-cheers-msg.html

Judith, you are in the Middle Kingdom, right?  Are you aware that it  
is one of the few, if not the only one, that still has arguments over  
what is an art vs. what is a science? Because it still has different  
offices for each.

To me, holding a fighter practice inside (in a gymnasium???!) is just,  
plain, weird.

There are kingdoms where almost every event is a camping event  
(Ansteorra) and it isn't unusual for this to be in an open field with  
no running water and no electricity. On the otherhand, I've heard that  
in Meridies, many (most?) of the outside events have cabins. Of course  
this makes the site fees, much, much higher.

Or that Caid, even though it has wonderful weather, has little in the  
way of camping events.

That there are kingdoms where the King's Word is *not* law, and can be  
over-ruled by a Curia of oldsters.

And that there is a kingdom that is so backward as to not have Rapier  
Combat! (Calontir)

Places where even the furtherest groups are only a short drive away  
(Caid, Trimaris) and others where the closest groups are hours away.
sprd-out-grps-msg (10K) 12/27/01  Handling SCA groups spread over a  
large area
http://www.florilegium.org/files/SCA-INC/sprd-out-grps-msg.html

Okay, note that some of this was said with tongue firmly in cheek.

But since I've already angered some people...
An-SCA-History-art (8K)  1/27/09    "An SCA History of the Entire  
Known World"
                                        by Sir Batshit ap Llewellyn  
FitzDogroot
                                        of Frontbottom.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/STORIES/An-SCA-History-art.html
SCA-dishes-art    (11K)  4/13/00    "A Guide to making the most out of  
the SCA
                                        and its members" by Kim Huett.  
(humor)
http://www.florilegium.org/files/UNCAT/SCA-dishes-art.html

Stefan
PS: I am, of course, willing to take additional comments if you think  
I've mis-spoke of your kingdom.
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****