They have announced the COVIDSafe policies for Pennsic.  Please read and be prepared if you plan to attend because they will be denying admittance to those who do not have the necessary items with them at registration.  Also be prepared to carry a mask with you.  Teachers and merchants are within their rights to require people in their classes or booths to put on a mask.

PENNSIC COVID POLICY
Pennsic 49 Covid policy

Covid policies of the SCA and Kingdom of Aethelmearc apply to Pennsic and will therefore require some changes from what you’ve seen in the past. Some of these may or may not impact you and some of these are critical for everyone attending to know.

EVERYONE ATTENDING MUST SHOW PROOF OF VACCINATION OR A NEGATIVE TEST FROM A MEDICAL FACILITY WITHIN 72 HOURS OF TROLLING IN.

Kingdom of Aethelmearc Covid policy
https://tinyurl.com/AEShortSummary

It’s critical to understand the details here as we really don’t want to turn anyone away at troll because someone didn’t understand what they needed to get in the gate. This applies to anyone 5 years or older so it includes your kids as well. This only applies to anyone trolling into the event for the first time. Once you’ve received your medallion you can leave and enter the site as normal.
A physical copy of your vaccination card or a photo of it are both acceptable.

You will need a form of ID as usual
If you bring documentation of a negative test remember that it has to be from a medical facility and it has to be within 72 hours of when you arrive at the troll desk so please plan your timing accordingly as sometimes lines can be as long on the weekends. Home test results are not acceptable.

There are no exceptions so if you don’t have what you need you will not be allowed into the event.
Aethelmearc requires masking indoors, but due to the large openings of our facilities places like the Great Hall, and tent spaces are considered outdoor spaces. The upper level of the cooper showerhouse next to the Cooper Store will be closed and locked for Pennsic 49. The upper bathrooms will still be accessible from the deck.

Camps, individual classes, and merchant spaces may set their own rules for requiring masks in their space so we recommend all attendees have a mask available and respect the rules for their space. The First Aid pavilion will be treated like a medical facility and masks will be required if you are admitted in to see doctors or EMTs.

The event will not be providing water containers. Attendees are requested to bring their own water containers and we will have filtered water available at various locations around the site. That includes the battlefield and public service areas.
As with things like sunscreen and bugspray, attendees should plan to provide their own masks and hand sanitizer.

Specific questions on implementation of the Covid policy at Pennsic can be directed to the email below and I will endeavor to answer questions promptly and publish updated information if I get additional information.

Baron Manuel de la Rosa y Botella de Mirguela
Deputy Mayor of Event Safety
dmwatch@pennsicwar.org

Monica Gaudio
Kingdom Seneschal
Æthelmearc
Illadore de Bedegrayne
Pronouns: She/Her
​
Æ Covid Policy -https://tinyurl.com/AEShortSummary

I feel this is very relevant to share here. I have repeatedly ranted on my own wall on Facebook more than once about this weird transition about "Viking" things into something that is only barely related to history at all, just because we, as modern people, want to craft a mythology with which we can identify.

This article on Hurstwic largely focuses on combat, but there is much relevant to any period for reenactment and research. If you choose not to read it, I will leave you with what I consider the two most valuable parts of the piece.  You can read it by clicking HERE. 

The first is at the beginning and states, "We are not vikings." Fact. You aren't, and I am not. This is a group of people that are long gone. We can learn about them, study them, event try to reenact parts of their lives, but we are, in fact, not actual Vikings.  Nothing is ever going to change that.

And the second, and most important, is near the end... "Zeitgeist / Wishful thinking". Actually, please go read this. This specifically addresses the morphing of Vikings into some modern legend that largely strips away the reality.  

Is it fine for fantasy or a LARP? Are elements of this costuming even fine for the SCA? Yup, please, come sit by my fire at an event and have a drink and we can all have a good time together.  

The problem arises when someone tries to force the past to suit some sort of modern ideal that they want fulfilled. This applies to not just fighting but clothing, gender roles, spirituality or anything else. Research is complex, nuanced and never ending.  Trying to shift history to meet our own expectations is a very dangerous and slippery slope.  This is the type of thing from which terrible memes are made (and these memes often eventually get taken as utter truth... whether it is about the role of Norse women in history or ones about Turkish coffee houses in the 16th century or really extra stupid ones about how Savannah cats weigh 40lbs, these things are typically either laden with lies or just an all-out lie).

At some point, doing this becomes a lie, a rewriting of history to suit a personal fantasy. Be honest in your own goals and approach (and yes, "I like this specific look because it is fun!" is totally valid in the SCA, and there is no need to try to justify things with woulda/coulda/shouldas).  If you enjoy studying history, dig deeper, and learn more.  If you just want to play dress up (something that is totally valid), be honest in that that is your desire.

I have started blogging again!  I am still in a phase where I am "making" more than I am researching, but I have started posting about my SCA Forestry projects.  

Last year, I learned that Æthelmearc was starting a Forestry Guild and a friend came out and prowled around the woods with me in garb.  It sounded fun, but at the time, most of what I saw folks dowing was more akin to building survival skills than anything else and 15 mile hikes at the buttcrack of dawn where you have to build your own shelter to keep from freezing for the night are just not my speed.  Once I started to learn more about it though, there are so many paths you can take!  Period fishing, herblore, foraging, plants and animals, and more.  Oh, yeah, and building out a period kit is actually an official part of it as well!

So yeah, that got me thinking more about it and suddenly I am knee-deep in a men's 14th Century kit and eating weeds from my back yard.

If you are interested in following along on my "wilderness" adventures, I started a sub-blog that can be found HERE.