Glossary of SCA Terms

From the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc., Organizational Hanfbook

Revised April 1, 2022

GLOSSARY

In this volume, the following terms are used only with the meanings given here:

• Society: The entirety of the Society for Creative Anachronism (a worldwide group of affiliated

organizations).

• SCA, Inc. or SCA: The Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc., California nonprofit (or not-for-profit) corporation
• Board: The Board of Directors of the SCA, Inc.
• Governing documents:
  • The Organizational Handbook, which contains the Introduction, Corpora, the Articles of Incorporation of the SCA, Inc.,
  • the By-Laws of the SCA, Inc.,
  • the Corporate Policies of the SCA, Inc.,
  • and any amendments and appendices.
• By-Laws: The By-Laws of the SCA, Inc.
• Corpora: The policies governing historical re-creation within the Society, and those policies applicable to the entire Society.
• Subscribing member: A Sustaining or International member of the SCA, Inc. or its approved equivalent in an affiliated organization.
• Society Member: Membership in the Society is defined in the By-Laws of the SCA, Inc., or in the approved organizational documents of any corporation affiliated with the SCA, Inc.
• SCA, Inc. Waiver Card: A card which indicates that a properly executed waiver is on file at the corporate office. This card may also contain membership information.
• Armigerous award: An award that can convey Arms by Award, Grant, or Patent.
• Consort: The member for whom the combatant fights in a Royal Lists.
• Coronet: The Sovereign and Consort of a principality, acting together.
• Court of Chivalry / Court of Inquiry: A panel, defined according to kingdom law, convened to investigate issues and possibly recommend action to the appropriate Society authority.
• Crown: The Sovereign and Consort of a kingdom, acting together.
• Officer: A Society member serving in an appointed office as defined in Corpora, or as an appointed deputy in such an office, or in another office as may be defined by Kingdom Law, at any level of the Society, or in the role of organizer of a Society event (commonly referred to as “Autocrat” or “Steward”), or as a Territorial Baron or Baroness, or as Crown or Coronet or heir to a Crown or Coronet.
• Peerage: Collectively, the members of the populace who hold a patent of arms. Any person holding a patent is a peer.
• Period: The era used by the Society as the base for its re-creation activities. The Society is based on the life and culture of the landed nobility of pre-17th Century history, focusing on the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
• Realm: A kingdom (including any principalities), or a principality.
• Royal Lists: Properly constituted armored combat tournaments to determine the successors to current royalty. They are known as “Crown Lists” for kingdoms and “Coronet Lists” for principalities.
• Royal heirs: The victor in the Royal Lists and the victor’s consort for the period between the victory and the Coronation (kingdom) or Investiture (principality).
• Royal Peer: An individual who has reigned as King or Queen, or as Prince or Princess of a principality, is referred to as a Royal Peer.
• Royalty: The persons who hold the offices of Sovereign or Consort of a kingdom or principality. The heirs to those positions are also considered royal, but Corpora uses the terms “royalty” and “reigning royalty” interchangeably, and only to refer to Sovereigns and Consorts.
• Sovereign and Consort: The victor in the Royal Lists and the victor’s consort, respectively, after their Coronation or Investiture.
• Subject: Any person who physically resides within the borders of a realm for more than half the year. Those who do not maintain a residence meeting this definition may be considered subjects of the realm where they participate most frequently if they obtain written acknowledgment from the royalty of that realm. Those who participate in Society activities primarily in a realm other than the one where they reside may be considered subjects of that realm if they obtain written permission and acknowledgment from the royalty of both realms. Decisions of the Coronet in such matters depend upon the approval of the Crown.

ADDENDUM

• Activities happen at events, practices, or in the home.
• Awards and Honors: Recognitions granted at various levels
• Crown: The joint power of the Monarchs of the Kingdom.
• Events: are the primary gathering activities for participants of the SCA
• Households and Warbands are non-official groups formed by members of the populace.
• Officers: Caidan Officers run specific areas as defined by Kingdom Law.
• Persona: A "Persona" in the SCA is the history or "back story" people tell about their life. For some people, a Persona is simply the name they use; for others it is much more complex and involves elaborate costumes, registered name and heraldry, and much, much more.
• Royals: Past and present rulers of the Kingdom
• Tournament / Tourneys are core events for the SCA and usually involve competition in one or more combat forms such as Armored Combat, Rapier, Archery, or others.
• War: generally multi-day events which feature melee fighting instead of tournament fighting. A wide array of other SCA activities are enjoyed at wars.