[MR] Fw: Egyptian Personas in the SCA

[J. C. Smith ispán]

Hi there,

Thank you for an excellent post.  Your point on the difficulty of setting a 
start date is certainly logical, but it is not reflected (at least as far as I 
have seen) in SCA official documents.

I remember the days of elves in the SCA, and the other things you correctly 
state we got rid of.  My point, which I did not make well enough, is that the 
BoD (which ridded us of those things) has the authority to set a firm start 
date, but they have not.  Since they have not, we have no start date.

Barcsi Janos

JEFFREY C. SMITH

"The only way Congress can give one American a dollar is to first take it from 
another American. Therefore, an entitlement is a congressionally given right for 
one American to live at the expense of another." -- Economist Walter E. Williams




________________________________
From: Arthur Donadio <dukecuan at hotmail.com>
To: jsmithcsa at yahoo.com; atlantia at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org
Sent: Sat, June 4, 2011 11:14:51 AM
Subject: RE: [MR] Fw: Egyptian Personas in the SCA


One of the reasons that the docs do not give a specific beginning date is that 
scholars can and do debate the centuries that the Middle Ages should include.  
But the broadest acceptable definition would start from the so-called fall of 
the Western Roman Empire.  Gross simplification alert:  In other words, a period 
in Western Europe that looked back to Rome until the advent of the humanists, 
reformation, etc. heralded the birth of the modern Western world.  Clearly Spain 
before, during and after the Reconquista is included in our study (although 
little recreated in my experience).  I would be interested to see what a 
remaking of El Cid (one of my favorites) would do to boost Castillian, 
Aragonese, and Navarrese persona research.  In the Atlantian climate, Spanish 
garb and armor choices would seem worthy of deeper exploration.  When I said 
Fatimid persona, I was thinking more to the East and completely forgot about 
about Spain and Italy.  

 
I am really not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but dillution of our game is 
an issue that always needs to be considered.  Some years ago, a gentlewoman who 
was organizing Tempore Atlantia (A&S competition with specific time ranges that 
occurs at kingdom level events) wanted to advertise the competition as covering 
the years 1450-1650.  I told her no.  She argued that a lot of our folks 
researched garb and accoutrements that pushed out to 1650 and she did not want 
to exclude them.  But 1600 is the line - that is where the game ends.  Some 
people like powdered wigs and tricorns; there are groups for that.  Some people 
like to be on the wrong side of history - there is a healthy Civ War community 
in the South for that. 
 
The inquiry about Egyptian culture clearly referenced 4th century or earlier.  
That is not us.  If the intent is to trace the influence of Egyptian trade, 
goods, medicine etc. as one part of a paper that winds up teaching us about how 
Western Europeans got cotton, then I am certainly interested.  That did not come 
across clearly at first and so generated the discussion that has proceeded.  I 
am not attacking Rohesia or you, Altan and I support research that enriches what 
we do.  

 
As for the suggestion that no one has the authority to deal with people playing 
baseball in our football game; that is clearly wrong.  Years ago we effectively 
got rid of elves, ninjas, and vampires - or at least drove them underground so I 
don't have to see and deal with them (which is the same thing).  


Arthur
 
known in the SCA as Cuan.

Arthur


 
> Date: Sat, 4 Jun 2011 07:35:45 -0700
> From: jsmithcsa at yahoo.com
> To: Atlantia at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org
> Subject: [MR] Fw: Egyptian Personas in the SCA
> 
> Hi there,
> 
> 
> Agreed.  I dislike the argument as well.  I was in it for several years at the 

> Grand Council (where it was not resolved and during which, IIRC, the BoD 
>refused 
>
> to take it up) and it will not be resolved by any/all of us chatting on the 
> Merry Rose.
> 
> My feeling is, if the lady wants to be an Egyptian, the GovDocs don't 
> stop her, and I don't believe anyone else has the authority.
> 
> Barcsi Janos
> (whose son portrays a citizen of Trebizond, and who has seen Africans, dozens 
>of 
>
> Japanese, scores of Romans and even one "cave girl" at SCA events and 
> corresponded with an SCA Tibetian.)
>  
> JEFFREY C. SMITH 
>  
> "The only way Congress can give one American a dollar is to first take it from 

> another American. Therefore, an entitlement is a congressionally given right 
>for 
>
> one American to live at the expense of another." -- Economist Walter E. 
>Williams
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: Terri Morgan <online2much at cox.net>
> > But that is by custom, not rule.  The Governing Documents
> 
> *sigh* 
> 
> and another round of "what's our time period?"...
> ========================================================================
> The Merry Rose Tavern at Cheapside
> List Info: http://merryrose.atlantia.sca.org/
> Submissions: Atlantia at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org
> Subscriptions: 
>http://seahorse.atlantia.sca.org/listinfo.cgi/atlantia-atlantia.sca.org