For my dear friends in the SCA and those who are curious just what it is that I do on the weekends.
I get asked about the SCA often. Sometimes it’s because I’m wearing strange clothing, sometimes because of something I have said, and sometimes folks are just wondering about the bruises. There are parts of the SCA that are easy to explain to folks in the post office. Medieval re-enactment, sword fighting, brewing, Medieval feasts, spinning, weaving, sewing, knife making, casting and all of the rest. People usually “get” why these things are cool pretty easily. If we talk long enough, I will mention my “Kingdom” and then have to explain that concept. This seems a little more odd to folks unfamiliar with the SCA. “Well, yes, we divide ourselves up into geographical groups which we call kingdoms…and we get a chance twice a year to fight for the honor and the duty of ruling that kingdom as king and queen” But here is where we get into the part that is more difficult to explain. When I first began the SCA, the oath of fealty seemed strange to me. I didn’t like the thought of swearing an oath of fealty and service to some guy wearing a pointy hat. I take promises seriously, after all, and that whole “till death take me, my lord release me, or the world end” part seemed like pretty strong wording. Over the years, I have come to realize that it is not the person that I am swearing loyalty to, but the kingdom of Meridies itself. But what is this construct that we call Meridies…what am I promising to protect and defend? So, we come to the reason why I am writing this…what is Meridies? Simply put, to me, Meridies is home. And here is why.
Meridies is…the person who gets up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and sees his neighbor struggling with a tent that has fallen down. He doesn’t walk past…he stops to help. It is the lady who brews hundreds of gallons of beer each year, just so that she can share it with her friends. It is the fighter who sees a broken strap and the near-stranger who is disappointed he won’t be able to fight the rest of the day…but the fighter has rivets and strapping and just takes the time to get that person back out on the field. It is seeing that someone forgot to bring lunch and sharing what you have with them instead of keeping it to yourself. It is the “scary-looking” Viking biker that a mother in the grocery store might pull her child away from in fear, but I know that not only would that Viking risk his life and limb to keep myself and my family safe, he would do the same for the stranger’s child.
Meridies is…the person who sees someone limping off the field and runs to the kitchen for ice and shares 3 of their last 4 Advil with the person who has just twisted their ankle, or knee, or gotten hit in the hand on accident. It is seeing that someone has drunk a little too much at the Known World party and walking them back to their camp, even though it is a mile out of your way and you just started talking to that cute girl; because you want them to be safe. It is the folks who drink too much and talk too loudly stopping everything to find the parent of the crying child who has just woken up from a nap in the car and can’t find her mommy. It is watching the newest baby of Meridies being walked around the field and seeing the unspoken oath made to him as folks hold him, pat his head gently, or touch his toes…seeing the promise in their eyes of “I’ll watch over you little one, I will always help you when you need me.”
Meridies is…the fighter who wanted more than anything in the world to win this tournament congratulate their friend who just beat them. The words you hear of “well done, my brother” are not empty words. The congratulatory hug is real. It is the person who has spent all day in the kitchen washing dishes because he wants to make others happy and besides, the company in the kitchen is amazing. It is coming back to an event after cancer treatment, or a deployment, or a flood and being welcomed back with open arms and open hearts…knowing that there was a space left empty in the kingdom in your absence. It is one the strongest and toughest men that I have ever known telling us how much money we raised for charity, voice breaking, tears streaming down his face, because he is so proud of our generosity and the fact that we all think his idea is a great one.
Meridies is community, but it is more than that…it is family, yet we get to choose. It does not matter what your religious or political views are, and it most certainly doesn’t matter what race, gender, nationality or sexual preference best describes you. We are all Meridians. Of course, we don’t all like every other one of us, but that doesn’t mean we don’t look out for each other. We tell each other when we are screwing up, because we love each other and we love what we do. We also tell each other when we get it right, because we love each other and we like to see each other succeed. There is no modern equivalent to what we have within the Kingdom of Meridies…perhaps the closest word we could use would be “tribe”. Meridies is sharing food, drink, work, living space, knowledge, pain, victories, losses, stories, laughter, skills and love-so very much love. This may not be just Meridies. I pray that SCA’ers in others kingdoms also get to feel what I feel here. Of course, there are so many others in so many kingdoms whom we also consider Meridians…wherever their residence may be. And I hope for their sakes that at least every once in a while, they get to come home…to this place half-way between make believe and Utopia…Meridies. Long may she live, if only in our hearts.
Corona Vult
Meridies is…the person who gets up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and sees his neighbor struggling with a tent that has fallen down. He doesn’t walk past…he stops to help. It is the lady who brews hundreds of gallons of beer each year, just so that she can share it with her friends. It is the fighter who sees a broken strap and the near-stranger who is disappointed he won’t be able to fight the rest of the day…but the fighter has rivets and strapping and just takes the time to get that person back out on the field. It is seeing that someone forgot to bring lunch and sharing what you have with them instead of keeping it to yourself. It is the “scary-looking” Viking biker that a mother in the grocery store might pull her child away from in fear, but I know that not only would that Viking risk his life and limb to keep myself and my family safe, he would do the same for the stranger’s child.
Meridies is…the person who sees someone limping off the field and runs to the kitchen for ice and shares 3 of their last 4 Advil with the person who has just twisted their ankle, or knee, or gotten hit in the hand on accident. It is seeing that someone has drunk a little too much at the Known World party and walking them back to their camp, even though it is a mile out of your way and you just started talking to that cute girl; because you want them to be safe. It is the folks who drink too much and talk too loudly stopping everything to find the parent of the crying child who has just woken up from a nap in the car and can’t find her mommy. It is watching the newest baby of Meridies being walked around the field and seeing the unspoken oath made to him as folks hold him, pat his head gently, or touch his toes…seeing the promise in their eyes of “I’ll watch over you little one, I will always help you when you need me.”
Meridies is…the fighter who wanted more than anything in the world to win this tournament congratulate their friend who just beat them. The words you hear of “well done, my brother” are not empty words. The congratulatory hug is real. It is the person who has spent all day in the kitchen washing dishes because he wants to make others happy and besides, the company in the kitchen is amazing. It is coming back to an event after cancer treatment, or a deployment, or a flood and being welcomed back with open arms and open hearts…knowing that there was a space left empty in the kingdom in your absence. It is one the strongest and toughest men that I have ever known telling us how much money we raised for charity, voice breaking, tears streaming down his face, because he is so proud of our generosity and the fact that we all think his idea is a great one.
Meridies is community, but it is more than that…it is family, yet we get to choose. It does not matter what your religious or political views are, and it most certainly doesn’t matter what race, gender, nationality or sexual preference best describes you. We are all Meridians. Of course, we don’t all like every other one of us, but that doesn’t mean we don’t look out for each other. We tell each other when we are screwing up, because we love each other and we love what we do. We also tell each other when we get it right, because we love each other and we like to see each other succeed. There is no modern equivalent to what we have within the Kingdom of Meridies…perhaps the closest word we could use would be “tribe”. Meridies is sharing food, drink, work, living space, knowledge, pain, victories, losses, stories, laughter, skills and love-so very much love. This may not be just Meridies. I pray that SCA’ers in others kingdoms also get to feel what I feel here. Of course, there are so many others in so many kingdoms whom we also consider Meridians…wherever their residence may be. And I hope for their sakes that at least every once in a while, they get to come home…to this place half-way between make believe and Utopia…Meridies. Long may she live, if only in our hearts.
Corona Vult