[MR] Authenticity (was pentograms)

[David Chessler]

------ Original Message ------
Received: Wed, 22 Jul 2009 06:22:06 PM EDT
From: Eleonora Pragensis <eleonora.z.praha at gmail.com>
To: atlantia at atlantia.sca.org
Subject: Re: [MR] Authenticity (was pentograms)

> It seems as though not many are truly on board with the idea that
pentagrams
> were authentic within our time frame.  I'm not convinced that one or two
> documentable instances mean that pentagrams were used in a truly cultural
> way, and I have seen nothing on a documentary level that tells me what the
> people at the time felt about the pentagram; however, I am not a herald,
and
> surely not a laurel.

People in the SCA use the term "period" in several different ways. They might
mean that something was prevalent in much of the period before 1600 (and
usually after Rome), in much of Europe. Or they might mean that something was
known or used in some part of Europe or the Middle East at some time before
1600, even if it was uncommon. Or they might mean anything in between. 

Often this arises about items such as cotton, cast iron, or chocolate that
were surely known and used late period, but which becsme common and well known
sometime after 1600. But it can refer to artistic concepts, social ideas, and
many other things of concern to some or many members of the Society. 

In the case of the Pentogram, if it conveyed undesireable impressions at some
time in the recent past, that might have been a reason to ban it. But if those
impressions have faded, then, since they are documented (even if rare), there
is no longer any reason  to ban them.
--

YIS

Davitt il Bigollo da Pisa
Erudit de l'Academie de Espee de Atlantia
Storvik (rapier)
Roxbury Mill (other things)