Heavy Metal

By: Brittany Stoner

Knights in shining armor on the HUB lawn offer a weekly glimpse into medieval life—just forget about those modern buildings in the background.

Locals won’t just see Frisbee games and sunbathers on the HUB lawn this summer—they may have the chance to see knights in armor battling each other.

With summer weather here, members of the local Shire of Nithgaard have ventured back outside. But these Shire folk aren’t furry-footed Hobbits—they’re local residents and Penn State University students who enjoy gathering together to reenact aspects of pre-17th century European medieval history.

The Shire of Nithgaard falls under the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc., an international organization based in California with more than 30,000 members worldwide divided into 19 “Knowne Worlde” kingdoms. Members of the Shire of Nithgaard hail from Centre, Huntingdon, Blair and parts of Mifflin counties and fall under the larger Kingdom of Æthelmearc, which includes western Pennsylvania, New York and West Virginia.

The SCA is dedicated to creating a sense of history and inviting people to learn by doing, says Scott Farrell, the group’s vice president of media relations.

“SCA is ‘creative anachronisms,’” Farrell explains. “The focus is on learning about history and hands-on research...we really encourage people to get involved with what they’re interested in and give it a try and see what it would have been like to try to do those activities in a historical context.”

As a result, Farrell says the group openly welcomes people who are only just starting to have an interest in or learn about the time period, as it can be less intimidating than other historical groups that focus more on accuracy.

‘Good-looking guys in armor’
In the winter, when snow coats the HUB lawn, members of the Shire of Nithgaard can be found practicing their armored combat in the drill hall behind Wagner Building, sharing their practice space with Penn State’s ROTC, which creates an image of a parallel universe.

“Who’s gonna kick out a bunch of people with armor and swords?” jokes member Laura James, a 2010 Penn State graduate. She joined the group four years ago and has participated mainly in the fighting components of the group, although she has also experimented with equestrian activities, leatherworking and sewing.

There is something for everyone, ranging from sword fighting and dancing to calligraphy and traditional cooking.  

The group attracts students and adults alike through first-hand encounters—their combat practices on the HUB lawn are hard to miss. But they also catch members through the student involvement fairs.

James first discovered the group at the HUB fair while searching for a topic for a freshman seminar report. “I saw two good-looking guys in armor,” she says with a laugh. The rest is history.

The group also caught junior Dave Frister’s attention more than a year ago. After speaking to members at an involvement fair, Frister stopped by one of the Sunday afternoon fight practices and quickly became hooked. “I started for the fighting.”

Perhaps the most renowned aspect of the SCA is the combat, which includes heavy fighting and fencing. James says that while members can typically become involved in fencing combat matches within a couple of weeks of practice, it will take her about six months to a year to build up the muscle, control and skill needed for heavy fighting.

“Everyone has a different idea on how to teach and how to fight,” James says. “You listen to all their advice and take what works best for you.”

Members use swords made from rattan, a type of heavy bamboo, for the heavy fighting, and lighter-weight swords for basic combat. To decrease the risk of injuries, fighters must be at least 18 years old to fight and wear helmets and hand coverings.

“I’ve been whacked a few times,” Frister says.

But James adds she has been hurt more times in her university fencing class than at SCA combat practices, and that most of the injuries that do occur are accidents, such as slipping on wet grass.

What’s in a name?
But it’s not all about whacking people with swords. There’s the research component too, in which members study how life really was in the original Shires, recreating as much as they can.  Farrell says members create personas for themselves to add to the reenactment.  These personas vary greatly—member and State College resident Bradley Winters is Griffin, a Highland Scot from the mid-1500s, while Nick Hyle, who serves as Nithgaard’s heavy fighting marshal and has been in the group for 28 years, interprets Thorvaldr, a Viking mercenary in the service of the Byzantine Empire.

Members dress according to their persona—it’s the only other requirement aside from the $20 to $30 membership fee. “You don’t have to show up in a spectacular costume, just in some sort of attempt,” Farrell says.

Frister’s Aniol persona wears a $120 helmet and leather armor Frister made himself, although he hopes to make a metal suit in the future. For those who have no idea where to begin with costuming, more experienced members are there to help, and Frister purchased patterns online and sought sewing help from a woman in the group.

Laura James, whose Gwynneth persona is still evolving, says having a different name in the group also brings members closer together, which is important to the SCA atmosphere.

“I think the SCA still provides one of the places people can build a community and feel like they’re contributing to something in a place like that today,” Farrell says. “It’s really a very family-friendly organization. Every kind of age range and interest is welcome.”

Farrell explains that while the SCA—which had its first meeting in 1966—began with a focus on “young folk,” many of the college-age members have since gone on to have families of their own and bring their children and grandchildren to SCA events. Some Shires have third or fourth generations participating.

James says that while most Shire of Nithgaard members are in their 30s to 50s, there are also several students from State College Area High School.

“It’s an odd environment to grow up in,” James says, adding that she thinks members of the group have a different outlook on life. They’re more confident, especially the young women.

The group interacts with those beyond their Shire as well. Various events take place throughout the year to draw members of SCA kingdoms together. The annual “Pennsic Wars” is a two-week summer event hosted by the Kingdom of Æthelmearc.

James says that while these events may seem to encourage combat, the group “brings peace through warfare,” as members from all over the world sit down and talk at the end of the day.  The SCA also helps with international traveling, as Shires will connect travelers with local members in the countries they are visiting.

The rest of the time, Nithgaard residents can be spotted on the HUB lawn most Sundays. Their armor and swinging swords elicit a variety of reactions from passersby, who ask questions and take pictures.

“A lot of people think it’s cool,” James says, “[but] they’re gun shy about trying it.”

“It takes some effort to get people to show up and stay,” Frister says, explaining that people tend to think they don’t have the physical strength to participate in the combat or the money for the costuming, when they may be seeing members who have been in the group for several years.

“People show up and see [this] beautiful gear and think they can’t get started in this. They’re looking at a very high plateau and they really should just be looking at the foothills.”

But the lure of recreating the images from movies and books is still there.

“They’ve always sort of imagined themselves to be a knight in shining armor or a lady in a beautiful gown and here is their chance to kind of relive that,” Farrell says.  •SCM

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