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Medieval battlers are knights for a day
Friday, August 18, 2000 By Anjali Sachdeva, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
The No. 1 rule at the Society for Creative Anachronism's annual Pennsic Wars is "Kill your enemy -- but don't hurt him."
That second part is hard to remember while walking the battle lines before the fighting begins. Warriors are decked out in everything from Roman gladiator helmets crowned with horsehair plumes to a blue suede Ghengis Khan outfit. With about 3,000 people preparing to hack each other to bits in the next 10 minutes, the adrenaline in the air is heady enough to infect even those who aren't wielding weapons.
But although the battle, complete with catapults that send bundles of tennis balls zinging through the air, looks like a real medieval melee, everything has been carefully planned so the participants can get the most authentic experience possible without the carnage that characterized real medieval wars.
The Pennsic War, now in its 29th year, is the unofficial annual convention of the SCA, a group that celebrates all things medieval. For the past 24 years, the war has been held at the Cooper's Lake Campground in Slippery Rock, just off Interstate 79.
Although most SCA members are teachers, real estate agents, and doctors in their daily lives, once they reach Pennsic, they discard their modern names and develop period personas which they maintain throughout their stay at the festival.
The Pittsburgh area hosts several medieval fairs, including the Greater Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival, but none compares to the grand scope of Pennsic.
The SCA has developed organized hierarchies of its members, including kingdoms. Pennsic began in 1971 when the Kingdom of the East, centered in New York City, challenged the Kingdom of the Middle, based in Chicago, to a war.
About 350 fighters gathered that year, and decided to name the war "Pennsic," a combination of Pennsylvania and the Punic Wars.
Although the first war took place in Ohio, the stakes centered around Pennsylvanians -- the losing monarch had to accept Pittsburgh as part of his kingdom.
Pennsic has evolved from a small battle to a small town. Last year, more than 10,000 people attended.
The SCA has grown too. Started as a small party at the University of California at Berkeley in 1966, it now has about 10,000 regular members and 65,000 temporary members around the world.
Some of them have come from as far as Australia to be at Pennsic this year. And after coming all that way, they want a serious battle.
There are several battles at each Pennsic War, utilizing different weapons and terrains.
For the safety of the fighters, the SCA has rules mandating the construction of armor and weapons.
The armor, which must cover the head, sternum, spine, groin and all joints, is made from 16-gauge stainless steel (most cars, by comparison, are a flimsier 18-gauge).
While the event is called the Pennsic War, fighting isn't all that goes on here. There are about 900 classes available at Pennsic this year, including "Middle Eastern Dancing for Manly Men" and "Quick Meads: Brewing Vast Quantities of Drinkable Mead in 30 days." All are taught by volunteers and, aside from materials, costs are included in the price of Pennsic admission.
For many the event is a family affair. There are separate camping areas for families, and classes designed just for kids.
Crystal, known in modern times as Laura Cheripka of Fort Mead, Md., has been coming to Pennsic for 10 years. She says her 6-year-old daughter was ecstatic to find medieval Barbie clothes for sale in the merchant's quarters.
Today Crystal stands on the side of the battlefield, watching the children and trying to catch a glimpse of her husband as he charges out against the soldiers of the East.
Although being a mother keeps her too busy right now, she's an accomplished archer and plans to join the battle in a few years.
Like most of Pennsic's visitors, she and her family are camping out for the week to enjoy the festivities. Although there are some trailers, most people opt for tents as the closest possible thing to authentic medieval accommodations.
The participants accept that they can't completely escape modern conveniences. There are plenty of people with sneakers under their tunics and taping the battles on their digital camcorders. But at times, walking along narrow paths between the rows of tents and being addressed by everyone who meets you as "m'lady," you forget that the nearby highway and the cars buzzing down it even exist.
Viscount Edward Zifran of Gendy, also known as Pennsic press liason Edward Morril, has been with the SCA for more than 30 years. He says that recent leaps in technology are part of the reason that medieval fairs are so popular.
"The resurgence of the 'good old days' happens at any technological advance. During the Industrial Revolution, there were large medieval clubs."
And judging by the popularity of the wars, there are plenty of people happy to escape from their televisions and cell phones for a few days for the simpler pleasures of some old-fashioned hand-to-hand combat.
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