What is the SCA?     The Society for Creative Anachronism is a non-profit educational organization which brings to life the chivalry and culture of the Middle Ages and Renaissance through research and recreation.  Together we construct armor, then fight in tournaments and wars;  we research and make clothing, then wear it to feasts and revels;  we learn songs and dances, then perform them late into the night by the light of a fire.  We started as a backyard party in 1966, and have grown into an international organization with tens of thousands of members.

What's a Barony?    A Barony is one of the local branches of the SCA.  Our "Known World" is divided into several Kingdoms.  Kingdoms are often subdivided into principalities and/or regions.  The local branches are Baronies (larger metropolitan areas), Shires (smaller cities and rural areas), and Colleges (at universities). Baronies can also contain Cantons (smaller areas in or around the city).  For example, the Barony of Madrone (Seattle and King County, WA) is in the Western Region (Puget Sound) of the Kingdom of An Tir (the Pacific Northwest).  It contains the Canton of Porte de l'Eau (the Eastside) and the College of St. Bunstable (at the University of Washington).

Do your Kingdoms have Kings and Queens?    Yes, and our Baronies have Barons and Baronesses.  Our Kings and Queens are chosen by a twice-yearly tournament.  In An Tir, these are weekend-long camping events held in May and September.  Barons and Baronesses are appointed by the Crown.

Why the strange names?    Participants in the Society choose a culture and time period as a focus for their activities.  They then take on an name from that culture, and usually make appropriate clothing as well.  There's so much history and culture through the SCA's period that it can be beneficial to start with a more narrow focus.  Having a different name helps make our recreated society more separate from the modern world.

Do you use real swords in your tournaments?    No, for safety reasons we use swords made of rattan, which is like bamboo, but solid.  The swords have about the same weight and balance as real swords, so we still need to wear armor, which can be made of metal, chain mail, leather, or other materials.  In addition to tournaments, we have wars, which pit large teams against each other.  Our wars can also involve archers.  Fencing is practiced in the Society as well.

Is it all fighting and combat?    We practice gentler arts as well.  Calligraphy, dance, brewing, cooking, jewelry, embroidery... if someone did it in the Middle Ages, chances are someone's doing it in the Society.  We research the arts through manuscripts and other sources, then share what we've learned.  By bringing these skills back to life, we find out more about Medieval and Renaissance culture... and have lots of fun!

But... why do you keep doing all this?    While learning about the society of Medieval Europe, we've created our own unique society – where chivalry is not dead, where service is valued and skills are rewarded, where lords fight not for their own glory but for the honor of their ladies (and vice versa!).  Our feasts and revels are a joyous escape from the day-to-day reality of the modern world.  At our wars and tournaments we create Valhalla:  we fight valiantly all day, then celebrate together all night.

OK, so how do I find out more?    Well, there's a lot of information here on our web site, and on the other sites we have links to.  You can look at the list of Upcoming Events to see what's coming up on our calendar.  Our Baronial Guilds have their own scheduled activities which you can refer to on the Guilds link.  If you have specific questions that aren't answered on the site, you can send email to the web mistress and get them answered.