If you have ever passed by the grass near Ruffner Hall and were stunned when you saw a crowd of people in medieval dress sword fighting, you are not alone. No, it's not a phenomenon involving a time machine or ruptures in the space-time continuum - it's a group at the University called Students for Creative Anachronism.
Students for Creative Anachronism is the University's chapter of the international organization, the Society for Creative Anachronism. True to form, instead of "chapters," their divisions are known as kingdoms, fiefdoms and shires.
"We are not a drama group," said Sev Loiko, third-year Commerce student and leader of the organization. "We do not perform staged combat, nor are we in any way affiliated with Dungeons and Dragons."
The society, according to the group's website, is "dedicated to researching and re-creating the arts and skills of pre-17th-century Europe."
Among other archaic activities, members create their own costumes, construct crafts and armor and hold feasts, historical dances and tournaments featuring medieval tactics of combat, third-year College student Caitlin Dunks said.
"Students for Creative Anachronism at U.Va. is largely a fighting group," first-year College student Ross Zabloski said. But the fighting techniques that the society uses are far different from those of the University's fencing club. The society's type of fighting is known as the "old castle" style and involves various classic weapons - poleaxes, daggers, shields, bows and arrows and, as Zabloski put it, "great big whacking swords."
Members participate in tournaments that use an honor system - if a fighter is dealt a blow that would have been incapacitating had the weapons been deadly, the fighter must admit his defeat, Loiko explained.
"Chivalry was not always practiced, but we take chivalry seriously," Dunks said.
Not only do the members make their own costumes, they also make their own armor and wear it during practices. Naturally, this garners a lot of attention from curious passersby.
"A lot of girls want to take pictures with us," Zabloski said.
For the society, costuming is serious business: A fighter must train for four weeks to earn the right to wear the armor.
"I have a tunic that I made myself," Loiko said. "[At] my first demo, there was a guy who was a blacksmith. He was decked out from head to toe in all accurate period armor that he had crafted. He looked like a storybook knight."
Each member creates his own costume based on a chosen persona. All members of the club have invented a fictional persona, a character belonging to an era between the Middle Ages and the Elizabethan era. Some personalities in the club include: a 13th-century Russian soldier, an early-period Viking, an 11th-century Norman knight and a Celtic clan leader. Each character is also given a rank, based on the amount of service the member has dedicated to the society and the number of fights he has won in tournaments. One can go from a lowly squire to a lord or a lady, and the highest ranks, of course, are the king and queen, Loiko said.
Apart from combat and costuming, Students for Creative Anachronism hosts elaborate historical balls. The balls feature authentic medieval dancing, a kind of group circle dancing similar to contra dancing or square dancing, only with swirling medieval gowns instead of overalls.
"It's extraordinarily fun," Dunks said.
The club also offers informal historical classes.
"There is a didactic side to SCA," Dunks said. "It's a lot about teaching. The club is currently teaching a class on heraldry, in which everyone creates their own coat of arms in addition to learning about their history and symbolism."
In addition to the events that they host at the University, the SCA also attends international society events all across Virginia. A favorite of members of the club are the feasts that feature food prepared with medieval cooking techniques, for which everyone must bring their own handmade cups, bowls and drinking horns, Dunks said.
"Going to club events is a great break to get away from studying," Zabloski said.
The immersion in the history of a simpler time is a sure way to get away from the many stresses of the modern world. Loiko also said one of the reasons he loves the club is because it is a great way to meet interesting people. Loiko and Dunks, who are currently dating, actually met each other through the club.
"Our first date was an SCA demo," Loiko said. "We were fencing, and she beat me"
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