Talk:SCAism

Even if the steward would in many senses be a better term than the autocrat, the latter has remedial characteristics, that would encourage using it further more.

The word autocrat communicates rather nicely the fact, that this person is ultimately in charge of the event bearing the responsibility and thus having a rather final say on how things will run in the event. With the meaning of sole ruler, this particular term is the very best in communicating the mandate and responsibility.

The question is, if this communication is really necessary, sadly I have seen that it sometimes really is.

-- Dim foreigner

• True, but it is part of the old argument in the SCA - what is better? Doing something as they did in period (for at least one part of the world) or doing it as we have traditionally done it in-house for years? There is no right or wrong sometimes, but SCA terms and SCA definitions of existing terms (e.g. reeve) are sometimes easier to work with when interacting with modern expectations and the modern world. Being a pedantic linguist, I like to use old terms with their original definitions, rather than inventing new ones. I find it more "quaint" and adds to the atmosphere that we call the Dream. - Cian Gillebhrath

Both valid points - it may not be up to Cunnan to decide. Would anyone like to rewrite SCAism with an emphasis on neutrality?

- Morgant 20:51, 17 Aug 2005 (CDT)

I see the word S.C.A.ism and had interpreted it to mean �the practices and custsoms of the S.C.A.� as opposed to the Jargon of the SCA.

The jargon context of S.C.A.ism would be better off to be worded as �S.C.A.ese�. It is more linguistically consistent with the words such as computerese (computer jargon), legalese (legal jargon), officialese (offical jargon), etc. - ScotaLaureate

• [shrugs] That may be so, but we are trying to record/explain terms etc that the SCA and other groups use, and SCAism is what people say rather than SCAese, and it has the two meanings. We are the record keepers, not the linguistic police (says he who spends most of his time on Cunnan correcting formatting, spelling and grammar :^) ). -- Cian Gillebhrath 17:38, 13 Feb 2006 (CST)

Thou shouldst look at the Wikipedia, anything with -ism in it relateth to a doctrine of somesort, but not language use except for maybe with the word �neologism�.

Basically, I�d interpreted that this �S.C.A.ism� meaneth the cultures and practices as exhibited within the S.C.A. as opposed to S.C.A. Terminology, and I always will. ☺

To avoid any possible misinterpretations of the word �S.C.A.ism�, I�d basically recommend that this article should be renamed to something like �S.C.A. Terminology� or �S.C.A. Jargon�.

• I'm with Cian on this one. Words become words not because they make sense, but because they are adopted into common usage. Conrad Leviston 17:12, 19 Feb 2006 (CST)

About the use of the word 'garb'

Hi all! Wondering how old the word 'garb' was, I turned to the Oxford English Dictionary, and it looks like right at the very end of the SCA period it was beginning to be used to denote clothing, or a fashion.

To quote the OED, http://dictionary.oed.com garb, n

{dag}3. Style, manner, fashion; manner of doing anything, style of living, form of behaviour. Also, a prevailing ‘mode’ or custom, ‘the fashion’. Obs.

• 1599 SHAKES. Hen. V, V. i. 80 You thought, because he could not speake English in the natiue garb, he could not therefore handle an English Cudgell.
• 1599 B. JONSON Ev. Man out of Hum. IV. iv, His seniors give him good slight looks, After their garbe.

{dag}b. Fashion, make, sort (in quot. 1599 with allusion to GARB n.1; cf. L. ejusdem farinæ).

• 1599 B. JONSON Ev. Man out of Hum. II. i, I am so haunted at the court, and at my lodging with your refined choice spirits, that it makes me clean of another garb, another sheaf, I know not how!

There are later references to garb being specifically clothes, but in the sense, that 'so-and-so is wearing Tudor garb' then it seems to be a (very late) period useage. When it comes to people 'making garb' then there doesn't seem to be a medieval basis for the usage.

Of course, this debate may not be for Cunnan to decide, but it could be interesting to know? --203.214.15.120 12:03, 28 January 2007 (EST)

I think I knew that the word garb had historical origins, but the way it is used in the sca seems to me nothing like historical useage. I think of historical useage as being closer to a synonym for outfit. Eg I'd be happy with "he wears the garb of a peasant" or "garbed as a servant", but I haven't done the histoical research to prove it. I find sca useage un-historical eg "garb-making", "garb vs mundane clothes" "a piece of garb" "I need to change into garb" "loan me some garb" etc.

As such I think it deserves to be called an scaism, but it probably would be appropriate (and good!) to have a page devoted to how sca useage differs from renaisance useage, if anyone could be bothered writing it. Tiff I agree on garb being a (primarily later period usage) and thus a SCAism. I also note that medieval reenacment groups not having associations with the SCA don't use the term, as far as I have observed. Bags not writing the article though.--User 144 20:56, 29 January 2007 (EST)