Who’s that pretty girl in the mirror there?

We are often asked, in the SCA, the following question: What do you want to be in the SCA?

Do you want to be King? A knight? Pelican? Maybe a Laurel?

Are you a Viking?

Maybe you are a Seneschal? Or an Arts and Sciences Officer?

And then, there’s my favorite: Perhaps you are a bard, if there can even BE such a thing!?

I have recently come to realize that I am guilty, guilty, guilty of sitting around at tourneys and doing what MOST of us do… gossiping or carrying on mundane conversations about things that have no place at an SCA tourney, such as television programs, freeway traffic, or (the horror!) penises… Yes, we have recently sunk to an all-time low!

Why?!? Because we don’t know how to do anything differently. We have chosen names we like, and most of us know from whence we came. A few of us make at least an attempt at dressing in clothing that may have been worn in our chosen time and place. But we have not given much more thought, than that, to a persona.

I think the key to developing a persona is, not knowing WHAT you are, but, rather, WHO you are. I intend to compile a list of questions to answer, to find out, a bit better, who Beathog is.

I could ask, simply, “Is Beathog an archer?” But, I learn so much more if I ask, rather, “Does Beathog have the need to be able to shoot a bow?”

I have some serious challenges ahead of me, because we have so little documentation from my chosen place in time. We cannot KNOW exactly what was worn, only make an educated guess. I admit that I question some of the research done in this area, particularly the implication that the Highland men wore no shoes and were bare-legged! I have been to the Scottish Highlands (and Lowlands), and IT IS DAMN COLD there, even in summer. I have seen the rugged terrain and cannot imagine anyone in their right mind come running down the side of the Ben without shoes! And would Beathog, living in that particular time and place, really chose to mimic her English enemy in adapting their style of dress? How much contact would Beathog actually have had with her neighbors to the south (or the Lowlanders, for that matter)?

There are no published cookbooks from Scotland before the 18th century, that I know of. What would Beathog eat? How was it prepared?

Is Beathog a pagan? A Christian? Can she read or write? Has she ever traveled outside her native homeland (other than to Caid!)?

I am very excited about taking this journey, because I know it will do so much to enrich my SCA experience, which I truly love. Feel free to travel along with me, if you wish. I welcome your comments, as long as you remember that I am learning along the way and may make mistakes. Please do not take any of my guesses or assumptions as fact, or think that I am trying to state them as such! This journey is for Beathog, and Beathog alone.

One thing that creeps me out: I have heard a few people say, “My persona was born in ____ (year) and died in ____(year). WTF?! ! First of all, knowing when you DIE is just creepy! But, if your persona has “died”, I think you might have difficulty in staying within your persona in the SCA… by killing your persona ‘off’, you have made it inaccessible to use. Just a thought…