I. Introduction
There seems to be an obsession in the Society for Creative Anachronism
with the following question: "How do I write Documentation,
and how do I write it well?" A more important and basic question
might be, "How do I Research, and how do I do it well?"
Research and Documentation are two very different processes. In
research, we gather and interpret the information and background
for a project. Documentation is the process of writing and organizing
that information so that others can access it (in the SCA that
usually means A&S competition judges). Research and documentation
are necessary evils, and we expect every artisan to do them both
well. I propose that research is an art form in and of itself,
and while talent is not something that can be developed, skill
certainly can be. How can we develop good research skills? Over
the years, my own research process has grown and evolved, and
I am grateful for the opportunity to share it here, with the hope
that this essay will stimulate more discussion and thought about
the research process in general.
II. Types of Evidence: Archeological vs. Literary vs. Pictorial
Most people consider the most important documentation/research
questions in the SCA to be how many primary sources are you using,
and do you know what a primary source is?
Obviously, the closer we can be to the original pieces, the better.
More important than slavishly searching for only primary sources
is a balance of source material, in all different formats. When
I look at research, I am much more interested in finding a balance
of archeological, literary and pictorial sources.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE
Archeological sources are the materials dug out of the ground.
Sometimes this material is in very bad shape, sometimes it has
been poorly tracked or cared for after removal (especially the
late 19th century finds). Sometimes it has been restored and
you, as the researcher, will have to make a judgement call about
the level of restoration and how, if at all, it has affected the
integrity of the item.
Most archeologists are experts in digging materials up. That
does not mean that they necessarily know anything about the material
they find. They might not be textile experts, or know anything
at all about weaponry or about loom technology or farming or dyeing.
Sometimes they look at an item and don't know what it is. An
incorrect interpretation can cause a completely different idea
of who was living at a site and what they were doing there (having
women present, for instance, can made a big difference, so mistaking
spindle whorls for fishing weights can drastically change our
interpretation of a site).
"Archeological sources" are also known as "material
culture". It is a much better term, since not all extant
pieces are actually found during an archeological dig.
LITERARY EVIDENCE
Many SCAdian scholars tend to dismiss literary sources out-of-hand,
preferring to use only archeological or pictorial sources. However,
literary sources are an integral part of scholarly research and
cannot be ignored. Literary sources are those pieces that were
written during the time period in question, including letters,
wills and deeds, books, poetry, sagas, laws, sermons. Many times
these sources help to explain archeological mysteries or fill
in the gaps. They give a clearer picture of motive and inspiration,
as well as giving us the feelings and ideas of the same folks
who are making the objects we want to recreate.
For example, you might have a recipe you found in a period cookbook
- that is a literary source. You might use a listing of a garment
from Queen Elizabeth's inventories of clothing as an example of
a garment you want to make. Celtic personas often use Caesar's
letters about the wars in Britain or Early Irish law tracts as
a source, while vikings will use the saga stories to fill in gaps
about social history.
Literary sources can be very slippery. You need to keep in mind
the context of who was writing the piece, when and under what
influences. Using Caesar as an example, you have to remember that
the celts were his enemies. How will that color what he writes
about them? What impression is he trying to give the folks back
home about his victories? Viking saga stories were written years
after the setting of the story, during which time Christianity
was introduced into Scandinavia and Iceland. This will make a
big difference in how the story was written down. Some literary
sources have references to things we no longer have a general
knowledge of. The 9th century "Book of Ceremonies" (written
by Constantin VII Porphyrgenete and translated into French by
Albert Vogt in 1935) lists many different garments worn by the
Emperor and his courtiers on various feast days. But we no longer
understand what these garment names are supposed to represent.
It's like saying, in modern English, "he wore a shirt."
Well, what kind of shirt? A t-shirt, a dress shirt, a polo shirt,
a hair shirt? We many never be able to tell what kind of garment
the Book is describing.
Remember also that most of the primary literary source material
is not written in English, and any translations you find are just
that - translations. Translations are always influenced by the
person doing the translation. The choice of one word over another
can be very subjective and personal (check out any 3 translations
of the Bible for a great example).
So now it sounds like I don't like literary sources. Not true!
Combining the description of the wearing of the chlamys (cloak)
in the Book of Ceremonies with an archeological find of a similar
cloak helps me to understand why they were made the way they were.
The ceremonies all include a special presentation of the folding
of the cloak, the archeological evidence shows that the cloak
was a full circle folded in half, NOT the half circle often sited
in early costume books on the subject. The literary evidence strengthens
the archeological evidence, the archeological evidence proves
that the literary source is not a fluke. Adding pictorial evidence
makes my understanding of the cloak complete.
PICTORIAL EVIDENCE
I like pictorial evidence - it's the easiest kind of evidence
to find. Pictorial evidence includes mosaics, drawings, embroidered
or woven scenes, some jewelry, plates or urns, wall hangings or
frescoes, stones such as the Gotland stones and other monument
carvings and statuary.
Unfortunately, I have seen too many researchers relying solely
on pictorial evidence. Pictorial evidence has as many, if not
more, pitfalls than archeological and literary evidence. Who made
the picture in question? What was the influence of stylistic conventions
of the day? For instance, if you make a late 16th century Spanish
bodice based solely on the pictorial evidence, you will end up
with the waistline down around your hips - the lines of the body
in the official court portraits of the Spanish monarchs have been
elongated to an unnatural length. It doesn't mean that all of
the royal family were deformed - this was the style of the painting
of the time. Another misconception I see all the time is the size
of pearls used in Byzantine costuming. If you base your re-creation
on the proportions of Byzantine mosaics, your pearls will be HUGE.
In reality, archeological evidence shows us that the pearls used
were actually fairly small. But working in the mosaic medium (with
little pieces of tiles) that are way up high on a ceiling, the
artist had to use a larger size bit of white to represent pearls.
To make good use of pictorial evidence, you will have to do some
digging about the art of the period and how it was produced, by
whom and to what purpose. Putting all three types of evidence
together makes the strongest argument for your conclusions.
III. Organizing Your Information
So now you have all of this wonderful information and if you're anything like me, it's ALL OVER your house. My living room is lost under a blizzard of archeological dig reports, notebooks, index cards and computer print-outs, not to mention the fabric scraps, broken rivets, and kitty cats sleeping amid the clutter!
NOTEBOOKS
One of my favorite ways to try and organize my research information
is in notebooks. I take copies of articles, photocopy chapters
out of books I have in my library, correspondence, notes, etc.
and put them all into different binders for different categories.
I write the name of the author or a short description of the item
on the divider tab. That way, I can always grab a notebook on
whatever subject has come up and have all of my information in
one place. I might have one notebook on Byzantine Hairstyles,
another on Early Byzantine Women's Garb, and another on Sprang.
The same article might appear in all three notebooks, but this
way I can grab the one notebook on Hairstyles to answer a question
instead of tearing my house apart looking for my original copy
of that article. It is also helpful to be able to pull out one
notebook and carry it to an event for a competition or to teach
a class, instead of carrying 10 different heavy art books all
over the place (and risking losing or destroying them).
RUNNING BIBLIOGRAPHY
This is a VERY helpful tool! I keep running bibliographies
on various subjects on my computer. You might want to put a copy
of the updated version at the front of your notebook on that subject.
Whenever I find a new source on that subject, I add it to the
bibliography, in alphabetical order by author. I also add an annotation
(a short sentence or two describing the source and its usefulness)
so that I can remember why the reference is important (or not!).
All references go here - good, bad and ugly. When I am doing documentation
for a competition or writing a class syllabus or article, I take
out the running bibliography and edit it so that only the references
relevant to the specific situation are included. This is especially
helpful when I get a question on the internet. I can whip out
my handy bibliography from the computer instead of trying to track
down the multitudes of books and articles (which are all over
the black hole which is my life). This also helps me to refrain
from dragging all of my books, etc. into my mundane office, which
often threatens to be over-run with medieval source materials.
INDEX CARDS
I mentioned that there are index cards all over my house (I do mean all over - on tables, in piles, under the bed - you name it!). These are not my index cards - they are from my husband, who is a mundane medieval scholar and research librarian. When he was in graduate school studying medieval history, index cards were used to take notes about references. I have found index cards to be useful when I am writing an article and want to keep track of what footnotes I need and where they come from, but all in all I'm just not an index card type of person. Use whatever system works for you - you're the one who has to keep track of all this juicy information!
IV. Interpreting the Evidence
You have all of your archeological, literary and pictorial evidence gathered and organized. Many SCA artisans stop here, but now it is time to go to the next level and take a hard look at what you have found.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Are there any major wars going on during your time period?
Will it affect the kinds of luxury goods, such as silks or velvets
you can buy from the local merchants? Is there a drought effecting
changes in your diet or what your kitchens can produce? Or are
there some new inventions making your town more prosperous than
in the past?
The historical context can also help you to make aesthetic decisions
as you learn more about your art form. If you understand the religion,
culture, economics, education, etc. of your persona, you will
be able to judge what kinds of items, decorations, flavors your
persona might have favored. Some cultures might have eaten more
spicy, daring foods. Others might have favored mild cheeses and
bland vegetables, depending on what the advice of medicinal texts
of that time and place recommended. If you are a strict Catholic,
your diet would have been regulated by the saints' days. If you
were a Protestant reformer, would you have let yourself be dictated
to by the Roman church?
If I know that Spain in the late 15th century was ruled by two
very, very devout Catholics, I might understand that the fashion
of the day favored larger, full-figured bodies (showing off cleavage
and hips). Why? Because this type of body is indicative of the
ability to bear more healthy children (it is also the body type
of the queen of Spain at that time), more souls for the Church.
Fashion in England 100 years later favors the flat-chested, boyish
female figure. There, a Protestant queen with no children was
setting the fashion. Better yet, consider that the figures of
men were often padded in the chest and legs, to be more feminine,
like the ruling monarch.
This kind of speculation is often just that - speculation. But
it does encourage you to think outside of the research box - you
never know what you might find when you start to explore your
persona's entire world, not just one item to be reproduced.
ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK
Ah, one of my favorite areas of research! Too often, we get
bogged down in the small area of research we allow ourselves and
lose sight of the forest for so much care taken with the trees.
When you have found the information you have been looking for,
take a moment to consider how that item you are trying to recreate
got that way. What fashions led up to the development of that
particular sleeve? When exactly did hoop skirts come into fashion,
and how did they change before they became the ones you are wearing
today? Can you find the change in calligraphic lettering style
between your century and the century before?
And then, how did your style of lettering influence calligraphy
in the 100 years following your time period? Just how far can
you follow that sleeve treatment? What makes it change, when,
how? Did a trip to the New World do it? A religious conversion?
A lost war, perhaps? I know that the skaramangion (Persian riding
coat) was worn by the Byzantine emperors and their courtiers.
I also know that the Sassanids were wearing the same garment 100
years earlier, and that the vikings wore something very similar
100 years after the time in the Byzantine empire I study. I can
also show you almost the exact same garment 600 years later, still
being worn in Persia. How does this help me with 9th century Byzantine
clothing? The most important thing I can tell you is that I know
the differences between the 7th century Sassanian, 9th century
Byzantine, and 10th century viking versions, and I can make an
educated guess about how those differences came about.
"MOTEL OF THE MYSTERIES": DEVELOPING A CRITICAL EYE
If you have never read "Motel of the Mysteries"
by David Macaulay (ISBN #0395284252), I cannot recommend it highly
enough to you. It is a fictional account of the loss of 20th century
middle-American culture under a blizzard of bulk mail. Years later,
a future archeologist (looking remarkably like the archeologists
of the late 19th century) finds what we would instantly recognize
as a motel and begins his deductions based on the items found
inside. The television becomes an altar, the toilet seat becomes
a sacred necklace. You will never read an archeological report
the same way again.
You have to use your common sense and all that you have learned
about your time period and place to read with a critical eye.
Archeologists seem to have a deep-seated need to make everything
they find into a religious object. They are making assumptions
about what they are finding, just as you are. Often the professionals
are so compartmentalized that they also are looking at the trees
and missing the forest. You might just know more about the overall
picture than they do. If you can back up your speculations and
guesses with solid research, your guesses are just as good as
anyone else's. And anyway, that's half the run of research. Word
of caution - if you take this road, be ready to admit you made
a mistake when you find more information in the future that shows
your guesses were just plain wrong. I keep copies of all of my
earlier research/articles, etc. - they show me just how much I
have grown over the years in my research and my thinking.
V. A Medieval Aesthetic - Our Ultimate Goal
Why do we do all of this background research, which might
not actually have anything specific to do with the object we are
re-creating? The most important objective is to develop a medieval
aesthetic - a basic understanding of the attitudes and styles
of the period in question, especially as opposed to our modern
sensibilities. If you are tasting a medieval style beer with a
modern palate, it might taste awful to you, but how would it have
tasted to your persona? I know that the Sassanids did not turn
under the edges of their appliqued silk trimmings, but my modern
tailoring training moves me to neaten up those edges every time.
By trying to understand more about the culture as a whole, we
can try to appreciate how our persona would have reacted instead
of reacting as a citizen of 21st century USA.
We hear this quite often in the SCA, usually to excuse the use
of blatantly mundane objects or techniques: "If they had
it back then, they would have used it." But would they have
used it and in that particular combination? Mistress Thora Sharptooth
used to call this the "Blue Jeans Theory". It goes something
like this. In period, they had indigo dyes. They had cotton fabric
and twill weaves. Ditto for flat-felled seams, copper rivets,
buttons and decorative top-stitching. But that does NOT mean that
they would have combined those items into a nice pair of Levi's!
Developing your medieval aesthetic would tell you that this particular
garment, while feasible in the middle ages, was just not going
to be made in this particular way. I have seen numerous instances
of a dedicated researcher using her medieval aesthetic to say
that a commonly held belief about an object just cannot be true
and then eventually finding the evidence to prove that she was
right. Your instincts, after a period of education, become one
of your greatest research tools. "There just HAS to be something
else out there to explain this 'cause that explanation just doesn't
feel right" has led me to some of my most interesting discoveries.
VI. Draw Your Own Conclusion
At some point, you will have to use all that you have learned,
all the research materials you have tracked down, all the background
information assimilated, all the experience from making your own
pieces, to draw your own conclusions about your art-form and the
people who performed it in period. I have seen many artisans try
to hide behind a "primary" source, or archeological
dig report, or personal translation of an original piece, trying
to tell their audience that there can be no argument with their
type of evidence. Perhaps this explains the obsession with primary
vs. secondary vs. tertiary sources. It is a simple presentation
of other peoples' work - there is little art or wisdom involved.
This is not the art of research, just like memorizing dates and
names is not true learning about history. Please do not go to
all of the trouble of doing wonderful digging work and then doing
nothing with it!
Most SCA artisans heartily avoid this last step because it is
risky. You might make a mistake in logic or in reading your source
material. You might be proven wrong down the road. Some people
might say that you are wrong (when you know that you have a sound
argument), usually because they have not done as much leg-work
as you have. You will have to take the risk and put your theory
to the test. Why else are you doing all of this, anyway?!
It is here that research becomes an art form in and of itself.
Here we will see your talent, your passion for your subject, your
ability and your style. Show us who you are, tell us what you
think, discuss with us points of contention or confusion. Remember
to do so with chivalry and courtesy. Putting people off instead
of teaching them is a mistake and a disservice to your subject.
I understand that this can be very hard, especially in those
kingdom who have either written A&S requirements for specific
types of evidence (instead of the broader view presented here)
or who have a strong tradition of not taking any risks in their
A&S expression. The only thing I can say to you if you are
in such a situation is that you have to do what you know is right.
There are like-minded folk out here who do understand your frustrations.
Follow your heart and then teach what you have learned. Your confidence
in your research will carry you as far as you need to go, and
teaching will create a whole new generation of people whose research
is broader and much more intense than that of the general crowd.
VII. Now What?
You've done your research, you've organized your information, you've interpreted the evidence and drawn some conclusions, you're developing your medieval aesthetic, and you might even have created some art in the style of your time period and place. So what do you do with your research now?
DOCUMENTATION FOR COMPETITION (or, Writing It All Down)
With only so much room available for this essay, I refer you to my web page for a down and dirty technique for writing documentation for competition - http://www.barhus.org/documentation.html. There are also numerous essays on the web by SCA artisans about documentation and competition. The best advice I can give you here is to try and present the information in ways the judges can understand quickly and easily, with extended information for the more adventurous judges as an appendix at the back. Photos of your finished product help ensure that even if your documentation is separated from your work, the judges will be able to put the two back together again.
PUBLICATION
Other than competition, another great place to share your knowledge is with an article for your local newsletter, the A&S Aestel, Tournaments Illuminated, or even a Complete Anachronist. You already have all of your information gathered, organized and interpreted! Articles from beginner to advanced are always welcome. If you have questions about whether your piece would be useful or appropriate, contact the editors of these publications. Another way to share knowledge is to post it to a personal web page, your local SCA branch's web page, or even the AEthelmearc A&S web page (http://www.aeans.org).