<p>The Society for Creative anachronism, which started out essentially as a backyard party in the ‘60s, is now a world-wide organization with members in the tens of thousands. To mark the occasion of the Society's 50th anniversary in 2016, Steven Muhlberger was asked to write a history of the organization, from its fledgling days when hobbits and elves were not an uncommon sight, to recent times when much more emphasis is placed on historical accuracy. Dr. Muhlberger was uniquely qualified for this task. He is a professional historian with seven scholarly books to his name, and has a long and diverse experience in the SCA, where he is known as Duke Finnvarr de Taahe. Under that name he has been recognized for excellence in tournament combat, reigned twice as king, and been honored for high accomplishment in the arts and exceptional service to the organization. Dr. Muhlberger describes how the Society originated in the unique environment of California's Bay Area; how a combination of discontent and whimsical creativity led a small group of young people to stage a tournament and then found "the Current Middle Ages;" and how this movement grew to include, eventually, participants on every continent. This is the story of how 20th-century America produced one of its most interesting and popular historical hobbies. This volume is a must for anyone interested in the SCA and its origins, in medieval re-enactment and its connection to science-fiction and fantasy fandom, and in what has been called "inter-kingdom anthropology" – how the Society relates to the larger society around it.</p>

Fifty Years of Re-creating the Middle Ages: A History of the Society for Creative Anachronism

History

Muhlberger, Steven

de Taahe, Finnvarr

Europe

Stonebunny Press

Steven Muhlberger adds a significant new work to the understanding of the 'tournament' of the 14th century with this groundbreaking work. Drawing extensively and with great expertise from the historial record, and featuring the first translation of the 14th century Demands Pour La Joute, Le Tournois et La Guerre, by Sir Geoffroi de Charny, Dr. Muhlberger has created a crystal clear picture of what the sweat, blood and competion of the mounted tournament was all about. Illustrated with six beautiful full-page color illuminations, the book is also unusually accessible for an academic work, an enjoyable read for medieval enthusiasts at any level of knowledge or experience. The book is presented in two parts. Part I offers the analysis, while Part II contains the original French transcription by Michael Anthony Taylor and a facing page translation of each question posed by the wiley 14th century de Charny. Muhlberger's translation of these questions alone warrant interest in the book, since they lend a fascinating glimpse into the concerns of tourneyers and how they thought.

Jousts and Tournaments: Charny and Chivalric Sport in 14th Century France

Chivalry Bookshelf

Few images of chivalry are stronger in the popular mind than that of two armoured knights in a joust, crashing together astride their chargers. Yet, considering the importance of formal combat to the medieval aristocracy, we possess surprisingly few detailed accounts of tournaments, jousts or duels. As the great sporting event of its day, fans of feats of arms enjoyed hearing about them, but extensive descriptions of the actual events involving contemporary warriors were not what they were looking for. Sometimes, however, there was an upswing of interest that inspired poets and chroniclers to write more detailed descriptions of both combats and accompanying celebrations. One particularly rich time for source material are the years 1389-90, when diplomatic competition between Charles VI of France and Richard II of England inspired the kings to sponsor some of the most spectacular formal combats of the entire Middle Ages. These feats of arms attracted a great deal of attention from contemporary writers and they were not soon forgotten. As a result, we have valuable descriptions of how jousting was performed and appreciated at the highest social levels in the two great rival kingdoms of the West. Bringing together some of the most important accounts of medieval jousting, especially those of the jousts at St. Inglevert, Royal Jousts is a direct look at the sources that have influenced our modern notion, and every modern reconstruction, of late medieval jousting. It is also the first entry in our new Deeds of Arms series a series of short, colour-illustrated readers that make primary source accounts of famous displays of martial and chivalric prowess of the High and Late Middle Ages and early Renaissance accessible to a broad audience.

Royal Jousts at the End of the Fourteenth Century (Deeds of Arms)

Freelance Academy Press

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