Some thoughts about place and time in the SCA

I think a lot about how I look at things and people in the SCA. The most recent set of thoughts started from something Master Elias Gedney wrote about trying to keep a canton alive when folks preferred to play/work at the baronial level.

It stirred something I have been thinking about a lot lately.

We're getting into some interesting Intra-Kingdom Anthropology questions.

I have not lived there for about nine years, but when I was living in the Barony Beyond the Mountain, what you had was four stable (almost all the time) cantons that made up a unified barony.

There were two levels -- cantonial and baronial -- and they were both very steady.

Master Elias posted about having issues as a cantonial seneschal, trying to keep the canton going while most people wanted to play/work at the baronial level.

Now here's the thing, I am developing a personal philosophy of the SCA that posits that the structures, mores, views, etc. that you encounter when you start in the SCA are the ones that stick with you.

If I had moved to Elias' canton (same state, different barony), I would not have thought twice about taking both cantonial and baronial offices.

I look at this in terms of many things.

Just an example: In terms of knighthood.

Sir Kenric is always going to seem like a "young" or new knight to me. He broke in at about the same time. I put both of the men called Sir Angus into this group, as well as Sir Kai from Bergental. We interacted for a long time as non-peers. Do I respect them any less? Not at all. [Please read knight as "member of the Order of Chivalry."]

There are, then, "old knights." This is where it's a good thing that I do not fight, so they cannot remind me how young they are. 

These would include people who became members of the Order of Chivalry  before I started in 1993 and would include Master Feral, Viscount Edward, Duke Balfar, Sir Stephen, Sir Mord and others. Always been knights. This list also includes men who became knights early in my SCA career, including Count Robin Wallace and Earl Yngvar of Aethelmearc and Sir Torrin and Sir Torvald.

Then there are those I consider "younger knights." This usually includes either people who started in the Society well after me or who have been knighted since I became a peer. This would include our king, Sir Yesungge and Sir Antonio. (Note, Sir Seosamh does not fall in here because while he just became a knight in the last two years, I have always known him as a peer and one of the scariest people in the SCA). [Just kidding.]

This works for me for most peerages, groups, laws, etc. 


Same thing with events. There are events that are still at the same time, at the same site as when I started. (Northern Region War Camp, Fourth of July weekend, Shire of Glenn Linn, for example).


There are events that had traditional sites in the past and have new traditional sites (Great Northeastern War, Birka).


There are events that are no more, and there are new events.

Anyway, I have been thinking on this.

Thoughts?