The Society for Creative Anachronism is devoted to the research and re-creation of pre-seventeenth century skills, arts, combat, and culture. It’s a living classroom, where participants can (and do!) explore any aspect of life in the ancient or medieval world. Members of the SCA enjoy a wide range of combat, visual and performing arts, practical crafts, heraldry, and much more. As an all-volunteer organization, activities thrive based on the interest and energy invested into them by everyone who takes part. Get involved and explore any topics that strike your interest!
Swords, shields and shining armor!
Armored combat (aka “Heavy” or “Rattan”) fighters engage in both single combat tournaments and large melee battles, often with dozens or even hundreds of participants. They wear authentic medieval-style armor made from materials like steel, leather, fabric, and plastic. While most combat scenarios use rattan weapons such as swords, spears, and axes, there is increasing interest in using rebated steel weapons. Large battles may also feature teams of archers, ballistae, catapults, and other ranged weapons.
Contact a Trimaris or local group marshal to get started!
A taste of history…
Food is at the heart of culture and also at the heart of the SCA. Whether sampling from medieval cookbooks to presenting feasts fit for kings, our cooks explore the flavors and spices that inspired global exploration. SCA brewers also craft fine wines, meads, and cordials to complement these meals and share with friends.
Contact the Cooks or Brewers Guilds to get started!
“Vestis virum facit” or “clothes make the man.” Erasmus (Adagia 3.1.60)
Each time period and culture had a look and style of dress that was unique, sometimes with touches of past fashion woven in. As you might imagine, finding medieval clothing ‘off the rack’ isn’t the easiest. The Society has a wonderful tradition of costuming, helping newcomers begin their medieval clothes journey, and costumers that make such exquisite works that their arts would not look out of place if dropped back in time or if found in a museum.
Contact the Costuming and Fiber Arts Guilds to get started!
Making historical artifacts in the 21st century!
Medieval goods, from everyday items to royal jewels, were handmade by skilled craftsmen. In the SCA, artisans explore and develop their skills across a wide range of trades, recreating these traditional crafts while learning about history.
Contact the Craft & Trades Guilds to get started!
My kingdom for a horse!
Horses were a vital part of society in the Middle Ages, and the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) continues this tradition. Equestrian activities include games of skill once practiced by medieval squires, such as hitting the quintain, jousting at rings, spear throwing, and archery from horseback. Riders demonstrate historical gear and costumes, often participating in obstacle courses or team events.
Contact a Trimaris or local group marshal to get started!
Every art has a beginning!
The fine arts of the Society for Creative Anachronism are as varied as the fine arts of the modern era. Nearly every art practived now has roots deep in history and stretch back to an era of teaching through apprenticeships and guilds. Thankfully, you need not sign a contract to live and work toward a single art for many years with paltry pay and uncomfortable accommodations. Here, we offer classes in varied fine arts regularly at events and even at local class nights, so you can try out as many arts as you would like and maybe fall in love with a few.
Contact the Craft & Trades Guilds to get started!
Hear ye! Hear ye!
Heraldry is in use everywhere in the SCA – from brightly colored banners flying in the breeze, to painted shields borne by fighters on the field. SCA Heralds do much more than research and register each unique coat of arms and persona name. Heralds also announce Court proceedings and tournaments, help make activities more accessible to Deaf and hard-of-hearing people, and manage Award records and precedence.
Contact the College of Heralds to get started!
They live as they are sung, for the words are the body and the music the spirit.” ~ Hildegard von Bingen, a 12th-century German abbess.
The performing arts always seem to be a touch that completes a medieval scene or feeling at an event or reenactment. A harpist playing during a candlelit feast, a skald telling a gripping tale by the fireside, the performance of historical plays and sketches before royal audiences, beautifully dressed dancers moving through the steps of a dance like in a movie or the harmony of voices coming together, just so. There are dozens of ways to become involved with the bardic arts, and nearly every event has a bardic circle where you can listen and participate.
Contact the Performing Arts Guilds to get started!
Singing
Improvisational Theater
Songwriting
Puppetry Arts
En Garde!
Rapier combat recreates fighting styles from the later Middle Ages, based on surviving manuals and combat theories. Wielding steel blades, small daggers, and a range of other items to block and parry attacks, rapier fighters
Contact a Trimaris or local group marshal to get started!
The illuminations in a book are more than just decoration; they are windows to other worlds…
Beautifully crafted scrolls, books, and manuscripts from the Middle Ages inspire the continued practice of calligraphy (historic writing styles) and illumination (decorative book painting) in the Society. These scribal arts are commonly used to create handcrafted scrolls that accompany awards and honors, preserving history and enhancing official documents.
Contact the Trimaris College of Scribes to get started!
Make the SCA you want to be part of!
Service is the foundation that keeps the SCA running, with contributions from volunteers being essential to every event and activity. There are two main types of service: group service, which supports the day-to-day operations of local and kingdom-level groups (e.g., officers, teachers, event planners), and event service, which involves helping run tournaments, feasts, classes, and more during scheduled events. Getting involved can be as simple as offering to help or becoming a deputy. Service not only supports the community but also fosters personal growth, connection, and fulfillment. While awards and recognition exist, the real reward lies in contributing to the success and joy of others.
Contact a Trimaris or local group chatelaine to get started!
Spinning the yarn of history into the cloth of today
Explore fiber arts like spinning, weaving, dyeing, embroidery and sewing using pre-17th-century methods. The SCA fiber arts community shares their love of textile and needle arts through classes, displays, and casual socials, both at events and at smaller local gatherings.
Contact the Fiber Arts Guild to get started!
What society does to its children, so will its children do to society. ~Marcus Tullius Cicero
Contact the Kingdom Minister of Youth to learn more about Youth Activities. Adult volunteers are also welcome to assist with programs.
“It’s not how big you are, but how big you play.” ~John Wooden
Children from ages 6 through 17 can participate in a kid-friendly version of adult armored and rapier combat. The program emphasizes courtesy, honor, and service as well as skill and safety. Boys and girls participate together, divided into three age brackets, Division 1: ages 6-9, Division 2: ages 10-13, and Division 3: ages 14-17.
Like their adult counterparts, youth fighters take part in a variety of tournaments and melees, ranging from one-on-one bouts to melee battles. There are even tournaments to determine Youth Martial Champions, who serve as honor guards for their Baron and Baroness, Prince and Princess, or King and Queen.
Contact the Kingdom Youth Marshal to learn more about Youth Combat. Adult volunteers are also welcome to assist with programs.
* Note: We place the safety of all our participants as our highest priority, not just the warriors in armor. Every kingdom has guidelines in place for monitoring children’s activities by age, including ensuring that children too young to be unsupervised stay in reach of their parent or guardian. For activities such as classes and workshops that go on simultaneously with activities for the adults, we require two supervising, unrelated adults to be present at all times, and we have a background check system in place for all officers who supervise children.
