The Making of a Princess: the Role of Ritual in Creating
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THE MAKING OF A PRINCESS: THE ROLE OF RITUAL IN CREATING COMMUNITY AND IDENTITY IN THE SOCIETY FOR CREATIVE ANACHRONISM by DEBORAH L. PARKER A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of English and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2017 DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE Student: Deborah L. Parker Title: The Making of a Princess: The Role of Ritual in Creating Community and Identity in the Society for Creative Anachronism This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of English by: Martha Bayless Chair Daniel Wojcik Core Member Aletta Biersack Core Member Holly Arrow Institutional Representative and Sara D. Hodges Interim Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded September 2017. ii © 2017 Deborah L. Parker This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (United States) License. iii DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Deborah L. Parker Doctor of Philosophy Department of English September 2017 Title: The Making of a Princess: The Role of Ritual in Creating Community and Identity in the Society for Creative Anachronism Every weekend in the Society for Creative Anachronism, people from the far reaches of the globe leave behind the structures of their everyday lives, dress themselves in clothing from the Middle Ages, and construct medieval personae. Within a pastiche of fantastical and historical influences, participants create the “Middle Ages as they should have been,” a liminal space where they experience a temporary communitas. Through their participation in informal rituals and formal ceremonies, they celebrate each other’s successes and create a community—a utopia—in which courtesy and honor are the shared core values. In addition, through their performances, people access their creative potential and explore issues of identity. When the weekend is over, the participants return to their modern lives, and—for many—a residue of their temporary creative adaptation persists and contributes to a transformation of their person. Using my insight as a participant observer, this dissertation focuses on some of the elements that contribute to the process of community creation and personal transformation. iv CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Deborah L. Parker GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene DEGREES AWARDED: Doctor of Philosophy, English, Structured Emphasis in Folklore, 2017, University of Oregon Masters of Arts, Teaching, 1992, University of Oregon Bachelor of Arts, English with Honors, 1989, University of Oregon AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Ballads & Fairy Tales Herbalism Shakespeare PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Adjunct Instructor, Oregon Institute of Technology, 2007 - present College Composition I & II Fundamentals of Public Speaking Adjunct Instructor, Central Oregon Community College, 2010 - 2016 English Composition: Critical Reasoning & Analysis, College Composition: Argumentative Writing. Oregon Arts Commission Grant Reviewer, 2014 Graduate Teaching Fellow, University of Oregon, 2008 - 2011 College Composition I & II. GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS: $30,132 Maybelle Clark Macdonald Fund/Publications Technology, La Pine High School, 2017 v $1,600 Oregon Shakespeare Festival/School Renewal Partnership (3-year), La Pine High School, 2015 $800 Bend-La Pine Education Foundation Classroom/Continuing Partnership with OSF, La Pine High School, 2015 $2500 Bend-La Pine Education Foundation Classroom/Partnership with OSF, La Pine High School, 2012 $17,850 Oregon Shakespeare Festival/School Partnership (3-year), La Pine High School, 2012 $3,000 Sunriver Rotary Club Foundation/Publications, La Pine High School, 2010 $3,000 Three Rivers Care for Kids Foundation/Digital Media & Yearbook, School Partnership Three-year, Three Rivers Elementary School, 2006 American Society of Newspaper Editors/Internship with The Bend Bulletin, La Pine High School, 2004 American Society of Newspaper Editors Partnership with The Bend Bulletin/ Texts, Printing, & Cameras, La Pine High School, 2003 American Society of Newspaper Editors Fellowship/Intensive Journalism Training at Ball State University, La Pine High School, 2002 PUBLICATIONS: CIM/CAM Curriculum: From Personal Finance to Conflict Management: A Comprehensive Program for Grades 9-12 at La Pine High School. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my sincere appreciation to Martha Bayless who saw potential in my topic and in me and agreed to be my adviser in my darkest hour. In addition, special thanks are due to Aletta Biersack who opened my mind to the value of the counter- cultural roots of the SCA and shepherded me through the dissertation process when my adviser was out of the country. I would also like to thank those who gave me direction when I lost my course: Sharon Sherman, Lara Bovilsky, Dan Wojcik, John Baumann and Dianne Dugaw. Thanks also go to my dissertation-writing cohort for their valuable input and positive feedback, especially Rose who turned my quantitative data into graphs that helped me better understand. Finally, this investigation would not have been possible without the support and participation of my friends in the Society for Creative Anachronism, but especially Sir William Geoffrey the Rogue for sharing his wealth of knowledge, the queens and princesses who shared their experiences and thoughts, and Duchess Mary Grace of Gatland, Dame Johanna Trewpeny, Lady Sigriðr in Ráðspaka, and Lord Brandubh de Santini who gave freely of their time for interviews. vii For my mother and father who started me down the path to the dream and for my husband and children who accompanied me there. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 1 Literature Review ...................................................................................................................... 15 II. THE CONSTRUCT OF CHIVALRY, THEN AND NOW: WHAT DOES THE SCA VALUE? ............................................................................................................................................. 20 The History of Chivalry ........................................................................................................... 20 The Romanticizing of Chivalry .............................................................................................. 26 The Beginnings of the Society for Creative Anachronism ........................................ 29 Utopic Resistance, Not Escapism ........................................................................................ 32 Pro-social Values Distilled by Royal Duty ....................................................................... 33 Affective, Cognitive, and Behavioral Displays of SCA Values .................................. 40 Society Knights Epitomize Chivalric Virtues of Courtesy, Generosity and Honor .............................................................................................................................................. 44 Community Is the Reason to Play ....................................................................................... 50 The Middle Ages As They Should Have Been ................................................................ 52 The Shortcomings of the Society ......................................................................................... 56 Intentionally Seeking Community ...................................................................................... 58 III. ‘FOR THE APPAREL OFT PROCLAIMS THE MAN’ (OR WOMAN): DRESSING ONE’S PERSONA .................................................................................................. 60 The Cultural Expectations of Garb ..................................................................................... 62 Sumptuary Laws in the SCA and the Impact on the Individual ............................. 64 Historical Authenticity Versus Culture of Fantasy and the Impact on Persona .......................................................................................................................................... 72 ix Chapter Page Historical Authenticity Versus Culture of Fantasy and the Impact on Community ................................................................................................................................... 75 Dress and Identity ..................................................................................................................... 81 Dress and the Conception of Self ........................................................................................ 87 Common Ground ........................................................................................................................ 95 IV. MORE THAN WORDS: CEREMONY’S ROLE IN BUILDING COMMUNITY ................................................................................................................................. 97 In Need of Ritual ......................................................................................................................... 97 Performance Studies as an Orientation to Analysis ................................................... 100 Cognitive Appraisal Theory of Emotion ..........................................................................