Strangely Caught in the 17th Century

Strangely Caught in the 17th Century

Strangely Caught in the Early 17th Century

As I posted online in the Freecycle Café Group seeking an interesting subculture, I never knew just how interesting this search might actually get. Shirley a member of the local SCA, Society for Creative Anachronism, emailed me offering me the chance to attend a coronation for their king. I figured this would be interesting. I barely knew how to spell anachronism let alone know what it actually meant. However I am always open to seeing something new. She stated that I could come to her home on Friday and meet and interview some of the members before the actual coronation. This group I later discovered is very dedicated to their craft but rather pushy in their desire to get people to join them. It teeters on the brink of a cult.
The SCA is a group of medieval re-creationist. They have members spread all over the world. They recreate the pre 17th century European era. They work hard to create costumes for whatever the game of the day is. There are many games; they range from coronations, to battles. They also hold what they call universities. These universities are days that senior members of the SCA gather to help new members learn how to cook, sew, and card wool, and how to do beading, archery, tool making and pottery. They were adamant that I join them at the university which was to be held the following week. Mind you, the coronation I was to attend was the following day and they were already making plans for me to join them in other activities. As I stated, they were very pushy in recruiting new members and this worried me a bit. Shows I have watched about cult behaviors came to mind.
When speaking to Shirley on the phone she sounded like a friendly, well educated person. She said that she was paraplegic. I must admit I could not imagine how she was to get around the fields and places that their “games” were held, as she stated that they were rather primitive sites. The experience with this group became...

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