Archangel Michael, fresco from the Nereditsa Church, 1199
Nereditsa Church had one of the most well-preserved fresco complexes of Medieval Rus period.
The photo was taken in 1930s. During the World War II, Nereditsa Church was destroyed almost completely. Later, in 1950s, the church itself was restored, but frescoes could not be saved.
Alright, so I was gonna ask this on the SCA facebook page. But based on a discussion I just read, the page is full of ableist, old, ornery, flaming white douches. Which leads me to believe they’re likely racist to boot.
I’m hoping for a more interesting, educating and peaceful discussion on here. If you aren’t in the SCA but want to get in on this, please do! I’m exceptionally curious about this topic.
So within the SCA you develop a persona/character based on a time period and culture. Most people go with viking, roman or western European. There are loads of others but those make up the bulk of it.
When explaining the SCA to someone and how to join it, I told them about developing a persona. I said that unless they are of certain closed cultures, they should avoid making a persona based on them (specifically; First Nations peoples, Maya and Inca. I realize now I should have also included Romani). When listing personas I know of, I listed Mongolian as one. This didn’t appear to be appropriation to me at the time, because he portrays it well and also from a time during the Mongolian empire, when they were oppressors rather than the oppressed. I got an ask about it and that fueled my curiosity.
We say white people can’t experience racism or cultural appropriation because they (we) are the oppressors and the dominant culture. Does this apply as well to dominant cultures in the past? Is it cultural appropriation if you are portraying a persona accurately (something the SCA as a whole strives for) and respectfully from a time when they themselves were the oppressors?
It is my understanding that because we’re doing the research into the history and material culture of the civilizations in our scope, and not just wearing it like a costume, it isn’t appropriation.
I have approximately 0% Chinese heritage, but my latest research project has been the Tang Dynasty. I was afraid to do it at first, because I didn’t want to be approproative, but I’m glad I did. I learned about an amazing period of Chinese history, and I’ve been able to share that with others. It has also expanded my social sphere as I have discovered the SCA folk who are also interested in ancient/imperial China. I don’t have a Chinese persona, but apart from having an SCA name, I don’t play the persona game.
If you’re respectful and approach something with honest interest and scholarly intent, you’ll be fine. If someone accuses you of approproation, all you can do is apologize and try to explain your intent. Who knows? Maybe you’ll learn something new and make a new friend.
Being Royalty in the SCA is more than just a fancy title.
It’s about making moments. You get the rare opportunity to make someone’s SCA history. To make someone’s day. To surprise them unexpectedly.
The above photo was taken at Pennsic in the hair braiding shop just outside of MidRoyal. One of my staff noticed that someone we had on our award list was there and they weren’t staying for court. I was able to open court right there, with my herald, and give this young lady her AoA.
This is one of my favorite moments in my time as Queen and I’m so thankful someone was able to take a picture of it.
If you are lucky enough to be in the same position I have been in, remember that it’s not about you, it’s about everyone else. Be the Queen/King in their story. It’s their story, you are just one of the many characters in it.
This question came via Facebook, re: a medieval floor tile pattern found on Pinterest. The originally Pin’s description is: “This pattern is from a floor grate in the Frankfurt Cathedral (built in the 14th and 15th centuries).” Kate wanted to use this pattern on her painted pavilion floor, but wanted some more info first. Go you, Kate!
I was able to find some additionalimages of the Frankfurt grate, as well as some other resources for period floor tiles.
The Medieval Tiles of Wales [link]J. M. Lewis National Museum Wales, 1999 The second half of this book includes illustrations.
Take a closer look at our digitized collections than ever before with our brand new image viewer. Click the “View in Beta” button from any digitized book to try it out. The new site offers easier browsing, enhanced zoom, and the ability to compare images side-by-side. This site is still in beta testing, so let us know if you have any feedback.
In school they told you that Medieval and Renaissance people of Europe didn’t ever bathe or wash and slept among pigs and were covered in poo. Not entirely true. Most people were pretty darn fastidious, because who likes being filthy? Ew, nope.
Vikings in particular were noted for their extreme tidiness and a very common accessory was a little keyring-like hygiene kit, with a little scoop thing for cleaning your ears, a little pick for cleaning under your nails, and so on.
Except in portrayals we have of bath-houses or the bathing regimen of rich folks who had servants for labor, one didn’t sit in an entire person sized tub of water every day because someone has to lug that water by hand and heat that water by fire. You washed by undressing and scrubbing yourself clean, with only a few cups of water being used. I myself can bathe this way, and until very recently it’s how most of the population of Earth kept clean. Hair was washed less frequently because without a hair-dyer it is hard to get it all dry in any amount of time, but it was also kept cleaner by use of veils, caps, and other head coverings which kept dirt and dust off and absorbed oils.
Some bulkier outer clothing was not often washed because people wore inner garments. Outer clothing was also tricky to wash, especially fancy stuff made of silk or embroidered work. Skin oils and sweat were absorbed by the inner layers which were removed and washed. Modernly we think clothes- one layer, over brief lil’ undies. Most Medieval and Ren people always had a layer or two or ten between their skin and their cote or doublet. THAT’s what gets washed. I mean, how often do you wash your winter coat? Maybe dry cleaning once a season, right? Because it doesn’t really get very dirty, unless you spill things on it.
Periodically a plague would make it less convenient to visit bathhouses and people worried about getting sick would wash less. Pomanders, scented hankies and the like were for avoiding the stenches in the streets of big crowded cities, as public sanitation wasn’t very good in more crowded later times, and didn’t noticeably improve until the late Victorian era. (look up the Great Stink in London history… Ew.)
An of you medieval students with more (better documented) info to add, please do.
