A Plea to Write More History Articles

 

Attending Baron David's three part workshop on the History of Cynnabar
got me thinking. I know, a dangerous thing to be doing at most times,
but I try to think at least occasionally, to the surprise of my family
and friends.

David presented the history of Cynnabar in the form of slide show, and
it was wonderful to actually see pictures of our "days of yore",
younger faces of those I know, and images of people that I did not.
We could see development of our regalia, where we used to have events,
what the early armor was like, and thousands of other details.

Each of those pictures is worth a thousand words, but to me they
cannot replace the written word. And that, in my opinion, is what is
lacking - not missing in David's talk, but from the lore or Cynnabar
itself. Every year we go through the cycle of members leaving, moving
on to other areas, taking with them their great wealth of historical
knowledge. We are very fortunate to have exceptional new members to
take their place. Would it not be grand if all members, young and
old, new and experienced, had access to a written history of the
Shire?

Such a history would be a colossal effort to write, and most likely a
very tedious effort for a group of people. But that is not how I
think our history should be written. In your hands (or on your
computer monitor!) is the means to record our history: the Citadel.
Imagine if you could read in these pages an event review or demo
report that told not just what we did, but the people involved, along
with some interesting anecdotes. I envision articles that, when read
fifteen years down the road, would remind the writers and friends of
the things they did and how they felt at the time. A good history is
not just dates and places and names. A good history shows what
happened at those events and how people felt. All those interesting
stories we want to tell our friends the next day should be recorded as
articles for the benefit of present readers and future readers. It is
this history that will show the rich life and traditions of Cynnabar.

So, what articles could be written? Of the top of my head, here is a
list of topics I would love to see turned into Citadel articles. How
did archery get restarted in Cynnabar? A account of the archer
contingent at War. How did Bedlam start? Music in the days of Aldric.
The current music group - what they do and what performances are like.
What happens at dance practices - who attends, where are they held,
and how are they run? Regional dance practices. Event anecdotes. A
history of Triastarium Household. A history of other households, or
just some interesting anecdotes. Camping with the Cynnabar group at
Pennsic. Special moments at events (like the singing after court at
Terpsichore). The early days of IMAS. The current days of IMAS. Past
and present movers and shakers of Cynnabar. Fun Wassail stories. Why
the student group started. Festifall stories. The development of the
Citadel. The Citadel on line experiment. Cynnabar's web page, who is
doing it, what it is like. The list can go on and on ... what topics
did I forget, and what articles do you think you could write?

A caution: don't bite off too much in one article. Writing a
"complete history of fighting in Cynnabar" is a daunting task, one
that is easy to put off. Instead, take a slice of what you know about,
and write a small article from your point of view. When you leave, the
stories you know leave with you, and that is a loss to us all. I
encourage everyone to take some time through out the year to add to
the written historical record of Cynnabar, and write an article for
the Citadel.

 

Last Updated: 28 June 98
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