Picture a meadow ringed with bright pavilions, with pennons flying overhead. Noble lords and ladies watch the center of the meadows, where knights in armour strive with sword and shield. Minstrels play lutes and harps, singing songs of love or battle. In the shadow of one tent a King and Queen confer soberly with richly-dressed advisors.
The Shire of Ramsgaard is located in the shining Principality of Tir Righ, found in the grand Kingdom of An Tir. It is an active Branch of The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA).
The SCA is an international non-profit educational organization dedicated to researching and re-creating the arts and skills of pre-17th-century Europe. The SCA’s “known world” consists of 19 kingdoms, with over 30,000 members residing in countries around the world. Members, dressed in clothing of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, attend events which feature tournaments, royal courts, feasts, dancing, various classes, workshops, and more.
The borders of the Shire of Ramsgaard extend to and include Kamloops, Salmon Arm, Merritt, Logan Lake and Barriere.
The Kingdom of An Tir includes Oregon, Washington, the northern tip of Idaho, British Columbia, the Yukon, and the Northwest territories.
The Society for Creative Anachronism is an international organization dedicated to researching and re-creating the arts and skills of pre-17th-century Europe. Our “Known World” consists of 20 kingdoms, with over 30,000 members residing in countries around the world.
Members can take part in armoured combat competitions, archery and thrown weapons, or arts and sciences.
If you’ve ever wished you could be that swash-buckling pirate or a musketeer, your dreams can come true in the Shire of Ramsgaard. Through the study of arts and sciences you can learn to craft almost anything medieval. Things like smithing, sewing, bead making, pewter casting, botany, astronomy, painting and so much more.
The arts and sciences brings authenticity to what members do in the SCA. The clothing they wear, the encampments they sleep in and the items they use.
In the SCA, and in the Shire of Ramsgaard, target archery and thrown weapons are fun and rewarding activities that are open to all of appropriate age (five and over for archery, and nine and over for throwing (minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian). Target archery uses a variety of traditional bows and crossbows (no compound bows) and practices the noble art of archery on the range. Participants strive to use equipment that is as traditional as practicable.
Rapier was a form of fighting that came about in the later years (about late 1400’s) and was more of a courtly style of fighting, and is more comparable to the Three Musketeers. Unlike armoured combat, it’s fought to the touch and is not based on force. It is fought with steel swords and is based on honour and chivalry. Like armoured combat, a winner is decided between the fighters not a judge and there are tournaments, small wars and large wars to participate in.
The noble lords and ladies also throw knives, axes and spears in competition. They throw knives and axes at hard targets such as wood rounds, and spears at soft targets like hay bales.
The Quest for the Golden Fleece, held in The Shire of Ramsgaard this past April at the North Thompson Agriplex in Barriere, by all accounts was great a success. The Shire was blessed by the presence of Their Highnesses William R Christiansen and Carole Fraser (Thorwulf and Wulfwyn), and Their Excellencies Mark ‘Uilliam’ Hood and Roxanne Hood (Uilliam and Caitrina). Many gentles came from all around to attend this new event in the North Thompson.
Most recently, on Oct. 21 - 23, the lords and ladies again gathered at the North Thompson Agriplex for the Frolic and Feast at Freeze Off 2016 in the Shire of Ramsgaard. Attendees enjoyed all of the festivities, the feast, and the combat!
As one attendee commented, “Freeze Off is about ringing out the harvest season, as we simply gather to eat, fight, and be merry.”
The Shire of Ramsgaard will be holding celebrations and competitions in 2017 in Barriere at the North Thompson Agriplex on Apr. 28-30, and Oct. 13 - 15.
Find out how you can join and participate by going to: http://ramsgaard.wixsite.com or by going to their Facebook page.