Master Ark Kazad wrote something beautiful

What the SCA means to me

I was just at the An Tir Crown Tournament in Fort McLeod, Alberta and I was interviewed by a reporter from the local paper. He was curious about the Society and what had held my interest for so many years.

I love playing in the Current Middle Ages. I like the pageantry, the costumes, the comraderie, the creativity. I realized, though, that the most important things about the Society for me are things you can't see, thing not apparent to a reporter walking through an event for the first time.

The SCA is a place where people can come and be the person they really want to be. It is outside of normal time and normal concerns. No matter what you do to make a living or what your social status is, here the playing field is equal. Here you can be your ideal self.

The SCA is based on the code of honor and chivalry. We say it is not the Middle Ages as they were, but as they might have been in the best of all possible worlds. It is a historically based fantasy, a Utopian society. Everyone starts out equal and rank is earned through your own effort. It is a place where you can take risks, because it is, when all is said and done, a game.

I am something of a recluse, but in the SCA I am social. I am an ordinary craftsman, but in the SCA I am respected as a Master of the Laurel. I don't have much of a singing voice, but in the SCA I became a bard. I am a pacifist, but I took up the rapier and became a passable fencer. I shot archery and always came in last, but I had fun.

I have seen troubled young men enter the Society and be taken on as squires by knights. They found an acceptable outlet for their aggression, and in the process they were taught to be honorable and chivalrous. They learned self control and they were taught this by a man they admired and respected.

Yes, when all is said and done, the SCA is a game. But there is a lot to be learned in the playing. I know I am a better man for the years I have spent in the Current Middle Ages.

I am Master Ark of Ringholden, O.L.

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That is from this page: http://masterark.com/SCA.aspx
and he's also just come to facebook, in case anyone who comes by this wants to communicate with him there. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002410205798
The photo below is part of one at masterark.com:

The part about knighthood made me think to link this, too:
http://sandradodd.com/Knighthood, something I wrote fifteen years ago, when I was very active in the Society.