View/Download the Guide (color, 8.5″ x 11″ pages)
Also available as a 8.5″ x 5.5″ booklet (4 pages, double-sided)
and in high-resolution for web use
Please note the following updates to the Newcomers’ Guide:
- Page 2: “What is the SCA?”
The organization’s updated Mission Statement no longer refers to Western Europe:
The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is an international non-profit volunteer educational organization. The SCA is devoted to the research and re-creation of pre-seventeenth century skills, arts, combat, culture, and employing knowledge of history to enrich the lives of participants through events, demonstrations, and other educational presentations and activities. - Page 3: There are currently 20 kingdoms within the SCA.
- Page 5: “Who’s Who in the SCA?”
Peers of the Realm: The rank of Peer comes with elevation to one of the four Society Peerage Orders: Chivalry, Laurels, Pelicans, and Masters of Defense.
Members of the Order of the Masters of Defense are recognized for their great skill in rapier and/or cut-and-thrust combat. They are addressed as Master or Mistress. Masters of Defense wear a white livery collar with the order’s insignia of three crossed rapiers, in the shape of an inverted ‘Y’. - Page 6: Local SCA Administrative Officers: There is no longer an SCA office of Chirurgeon.
- Page 6: Combat in the SCA – Armored combat is open to those who have reached the age of 16, and rapier combat is open to those who have reached the age of 14 — although some kingdom may have rules which set these ages higher.
- Page 7: Children in the SCA – as noted above, in some kingdoms 16- and 17- year olds may participate in combat with adults. A mark is placed on their armor to identify them as minors.
- Page 8: Where to Find Your SCA Equipment: SCA.org no longer has links to SCA Merchants. Try searching online for “SCA Merchants”; there are Facebook groups and websites where people have compiled lists and links.