Cunnan - User contributions [en]

Saint

2007-09-30T22:20:20Z

69.64.64.190:

tacoleto
Sainthoods were bestowed by the [[Catholic Church]] upon to those who they wished to recognize posthumously for the power of their faith and the miracles associated with them. The Church would canonize a Saint if two miracles could be attributed to that person after death. If only one miracle was proven that person would be beatified, as in the case of [[Blessed Herman the Cripple]].

For this reason, [[church]]es and the [[nobility]] like to possess various relics and artifacts that were claimed to have belong to the saints, including bodyparts. Of course, there were a lot of false or incorrect claims made. At one stage [[Martin Luther]] asked how the 12 apostles could be buried in 26 places in [[Europe]]. The [[shroud]] of Turin may in fact be a [[medieval]] fake.

The Catholics also liked to make use of established local or [[pagan]] religions when trying to convert an area. One way was to take a popular local spirit or diety and transform it into a Christian saint. So Ireland's Brighid became Saint Brigid, and any annual ritual date became the saint's [[feast]] day. Even the [[Buddhism|Buddha]] became known as Saint Josaphat, although he was later desanctified by the Catholic Church.

Various skills, crafts and trades have [[patron]] saints that are considered to give them protection and guidance. These saints have some link to the field for which they are a patron. This link is sometimes very weak. For instance, the apostle Nathaniel (aka Bartholomew) is a patron saint of [[leather|tanners]] and he is often shown holding a skin. The fact that he was flayed alive and it is his skin is not always obvious but it does explain why his body is sometimes painted red.

[[Literature]] that discusses the life of one or more saints is a ''hagiography''.

In the [[SCA]], the names of saints are included in the names of [[college]]s as their patron saints. This is to reflect the fact that many medieval and Renaissance colleges were also named after patron saints. There are also numerous examples of saints being spontaneously created for entertainment value, such as [[Saint Brand the Maille-Maker]] or [[Saint Cunard the Tenacious]], in the SCA. While widespread, these practices do not break the rule on [[religion#religion in the SCA|religion in the SCA]].

==Internal Links==
''See Also:''

*[[List of Saints' Feastdays]]
[[category:religion]]

Stone Carving

2007-09-30T20:49:58Z

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letocnaoud
#REDIRECT [[Stone carving]]

Army

2007-09-30T18:59:49Z

69.64.64.190:

eldelcna
An '''Army''' is a large grouping of land-based [[fighter|soldiers]] and their supporting personnel; an equivalent term for seagoing fighters is a [[navy]].

Armies can be as simple as a mob or raiding party with little to no leadership, or a rigidly hierarchal organization with clearly defined roles for all members. According to the [[Saxon]] ''Laws of Ine'' an army or ''here'' consisted of 35 or more men.

Professional standing armies, such as the [[Roman]] [[legion]] or the [[modern]] army, were comparitively rare in [[period]]. While [[medieval]] armies were made of [[fighter|warriors]] who trained their whole lives to fight, unit discipline and organization tended to be limited to personal bonds of [[fealty]]. In addition, many [[feudalism|feudal]] armies had an extremely limited term of service, typically forty days.

== Leadership ==

Most armies are headed by a single [[commander|commanding officer]]. Authority can be delegated to [[lieutenant]]s, who are in charge of individual divisions or ''units'' of the army. In large fighting forces (like what would be found at an SCA [[war]]), there might be more than one level of leadership, with orders going from the [[general]] to a lieutenant, to a [[sergeant]], to the individual soldiers. This is referred to as the [[chain of command]].

Historically, it was generally agreed that the better the leadership of an army is, and the more responsive the soldiers on the field are to that leadership, the better an army will perform on the field. For this reason, generals tend to be accomplished fighers, who studied [[tactics]] and military theory.

== Training and discipline ==

As with any hierarchical organization, if individuals in the organization do not accept their station the performance of the whole unit will suffer. For this reason, most [[modern]] professional armies undergo extensive training to the aim of instilling discipline, training in specific roles, and an ''esprit d'corps''.

== Armies in the SCA ==

Most [[SCA]] armies tend to be fairly well-trained (better than many armies in [[period]], at least, since SCA fighters have extensive practice with their weapons). SCA fighters also have more in common with [[medieval]] warriors that modern soldiers do, since SCA fighters are volunteers and largely lack the discipline of a professional soldier.

Armies in the SCA are usually raised by [[Kingdoms|Kingdom]] or [[Crown Principality|Principalities]], although some are raised by [[barony|Baronies]] or [[shire|Shires]]. Kingdom armies tend to be made of units comprised of forces fighting by [[barony]] [[shire]] or [[canton]], although large [[household|households]] often fight as discrete units.

Most [[Kingdoms]] in [[North America]] send armies to the annual [[Pennsic War]]

== Internal Links==
*[[Mercenary]]
[[Category:military]]