Over the years, the number of people competing in Crown Tournament has gotten a lot smaller compared to days of yore. There could be a number of explanations for this: the disappearance of an Invitational Crown list, the start of the Tournament of Chivalry, and the general addition of a number of other ways an Unbelt can gain word fame without fighting in Crown.

These explanations are not necessarily the causes of a decline in participation, but instead may stem from one common branch. Read More »

When I was Kingdom Youth Officer, I once taught a class on new ways to make Youth Point fun and exciting to all SCA members, not just children. After the class, a fellow caught me leaving the room and wanted to ask a few questions.  He said he was part of some other historic reenactment groups, and nearly every member had a long gray beard.  They just couldn’t get new members to stay.

He wanted to know if I was I seeing this trend in the SCA? What did I think we could do to increase longevity?

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On the road down to Gulf Wars, we discovered just how much Knights and Masters of Defense have in common, at least in theory. We all know that what works in theory doesn’t always work in application.

To begin, Azriel had just authorized in armored combat a week before Gulf Wars.  This would be her first armored melee event. I’ve only fought in a handful of rapier melees over the last few years, with most being a negative experience. I was worried that Azriel would end up with a similar experience in armor. I thought we would have fun, but I have thousands of ideas.  Only one or two are any good. Maybe this was bad one? This could all end in disaster.
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The last picture of hero’s before they head off into the unknown, completely unaware of the danger that awaits.

Our adventures began before getting to site.  As we neared the end of our long drive, we had decided to stop for the night about an hour from site. Azriel brought up the directions to a “hotel near us” on google maps, and it was just a short distance off the freeway. We got off on a standard two lane country road. Read More »

What happens when a recently made Knight and Master Of Defense load up and drive for 17 hours to an event? You would think not a lot. We couldn’t have much in common or we wouldn’t be in completely different orders?

Our weapons aren’t the same. The armor is completely different. The sides are different culturally. Worse, there is often a negative viewpoint each side views the other through “How good can they be they don’t: “fight with real swords” / “take a real hit”.” Read More »

One of the things I’ve always enjoyed about the SCA is all the little adventures you can find for yourself. Life is chain of moments. It’s up to each of us to seek out them out and hopefully make a chain of them worth remembering.

Due to a series of unfortunate events, I was unable to attend Maidens this year, but that is no reason to sit around. I got up Sunday and did my traditional non-event Sunday morning hike, about 12 miles.  Today I found myself thinking that maybe I’ve visited this park too many times or maybe all the parks kinda look the same in January, all scrawny trees and mud. I looked for somewhere new to visit.  

Every town has something amazing hidden in it, often a large number of somethings, if you’re willing to look for them. Read More »

Duke Guillaume (SirGuillaume.com) authored a book “Here Comes the Reign” that serves a light hearted tale of his adventures as the King of Caid. In his book, he makes a joke that he was never any good at adapting to his opponent, so he needed to travel the kingdom to fight everyone in order to learn what everyone does, so he could beat them.

I actually like this explanation. It touches on the core principle of how we learn as humans (as well as the need to get out of your local area and fight everyone throughout the kingdom). The human mind is an amazing thing. It comes with an innate desire to learn and adapt, and it’s exceptional at it. Read More »

I haven’t published anything in awhile, and recently, a number of people have approached me about the blog. When will I write something again?  Why aren’t I keeping up on it? That sort of thing.

Everything I’ve written since Pennsic, I think could be countered with one of these two statements, “Well, that’s easy for you to say Gebhard, you’re already knighted” or “Please, newest Knight in the kingdom, tell us how it really is.” No likes the a new kid on the block sweeping in to tell you everything you’re doing is wrong.

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During my vigil, I asked all my visitors this question, “What do you think is the worst mistake a Knight can make?”

The answers were always interesting. When I asked Duke Cariadoc, the first King of the Midrealm, he said, the greatest mistake a Laurel can make is not to say “I don’t know”, a Knight to not accept a blow, and a Pelican to not say “I can’t do that”, as all come from pride. Read More »

The sky was still dark when I awoke, to many thoughts stirring around in my sleep. Getting out of bed and I walked in the courtyard of our camp. Pennsic is quite, the white pavilions peaks against a dark blue sky only the brightest of stars left visible.

I take a few steps through the wet grass and sit on a wooden bench, and to watch something in years of Pennsic I’ve never seen, a sunrise.

The weight of the gold chain placed on me just a hours before, is already is coming to bare. Read More »