Welcome to Altavia

A Barony in the Kingdom of Caid, in the Society for Creative Anachronism

On May 11, 2024 Altavia’s Anniversary was held at

Veterans Memorial Community Regional Park in Sylmar, California!

Please see details here!

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Baron Griffith Von Bremen and Baroness Amabel Radleigh

The Barony of Altavia is a local chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), an international organization dedicated to researching and re-creating the arts, skills, and traditions of pre-17th-century Europe. The Barony of Altavia includes the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, and Malibu, and is part of the Kingdom of Caid which includes Southern California, Greater Las Vegas Area, and Hawaii.

Members of the SCA study and take part in a variety of activities, including combat, archery, equestrian activities, costuming, cooking, metalwork, woodworking, music, dance, calligraphy, fiber arts, and much more. If it was done in the Middle Ages or Renaissance, odds are you’ll find someone in the SCA interested in recreating it. What makes the SCA different from a Humanities 101 class is the active participation in the learning process. To learn about the clothing of the period, you research it, then sew and wear it yourself. To learn about combat, you put on armor (which you may have built yourself) and learn how to defeat your opponent. To learn brewing, you make (and sample!) your own wines, meads and beers. You will frequently hear SCA participants describe the SCA as recreating the Middle Ages “as they ought to have been.” In some ways this is true – we choose to use indoor plumbing, heated halls, and sewing machines. In the dead of winter we have more to eat than King’s venison, salt pork and dried tubers. However, a better description is that we selectively recreate the culture, choosing elements of the culture that interest and attract us.

Altavia News From Their Excellencies
September 2024

Hello Altavia!

The heat of the summer is here, and we hope everyone is staying cool. We thank everyone who keeps braving the heat to come out and join us at bardic and fighter practice on Mondays, as well as Archery practice on Sundays. We even had a great turnout yesterday for Labor Day, at fighter practice, and were happy to spend the evening with you all.

This month’s schedule did cater towards the hot month, with indoor events at Festival of the Rose in DunOr, Academia in Nordwache, and an online liqueurs and cordials discussion for our arts and sciences class.

Highland War was also this month, and our Baron Griffith joined some of you out in Al-Sahid for the war fighting, much to his enjoyment.

We’re preparing for Crown Tournament this weekend, and looking forward to welcoming the winner, and new Heir on Saturday. We hope to see many of you there for an excellent (though hot!) day of fighting.

Yours in Service,

Baroness Amabel

Baron Griffith
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