Once in a while I come across a piece of writing so witty, creative and remarkable that it leaves me thinking, “I sure wish I’d written that.” When a friend shared an old copy of Sir Galen’s parody with me, I instantly knew I wanted to make his work available to visitors of my website. It is an insightful, authentic examination of life in the SCA — both the noble and the petty. Apart from being a darned fine tribute to C.S. Lewis’s work, it is also a reminder that the SCA is much more than just a sport, a hobby or a social club. I sure wish I’d written it. Enjoy!

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I sincerely hope that you enjoy it.

What you are reading is a kind of “literary filk,” the first of its kind, to my knowledge. [Subsequent note: For the sake of accuracy, I have to amend this by recalling an effort by a group of folks in the Barony of Wurmwald who produced a volume called The New Book of the Courtier, after Castiglione. — GoB, 3/97] Just as a filksong takes a tune (usually out of period) and puts new words to it, most often lyrics relevant to the SCA, I have done something similar.

My basis for this work is C. S. Lewis’ masterpiece, The Screwtape Letters, a series of letters purporting to be from a senior-ranking devil, Screwtape, to his nephew Wormwood, who has just been posted to his first assignment, tempting a munitions factory worker in wartime Britain. In the 50 years since it was written, millions have found this to be a most compelling conceit. Lewis was one of the foremost Christian writers of this century, and made no effort to blunt the moral overtones of his subject matter. In the SCA, we hold virtues such as honor, chivalry, and courtesy to be our central purpose for existence. I have tried to make these ideals the central theme of my work.

What I have done is presumption, pure and simple. I have presumed to take Lewis’ characters, Screwtape and Wormwood, and place them into our milieu. How might devils look at the SCA? What aspects would they seek to avoid, and where might they find situations to their benefit?

The SCA itself includes a wide variety of religious beliefs. If you do not happen to believe in personal damnation, you might simply be comfortable reading this as a work of science fiction, akin to Niven and Pournelle’s Inferno. If you do happen to believe that there is a power of evil in the universe, striving to take advantage of our failures in life, you may find my work disrespectful, or even blasphemous. I make no claim that anything I have written here is anything more than a work of fiction, of fancy.

This work contains much that falls into the category of social commentary. My point of view comes from my membership in the SCA, which has spanned nearly 16 years as of this writing, and residence in three kingdoms. I have been a Prince, a knight, a kingdom seneschal, and of course, a rank newcomer. If you disagree with my opinions, well, that’s your right.

Screwtape would rather I didn’t say this, but if you can make positive use out of anything in this, please don’t hesitate to do so. If you find it outrageous, foolish, or just plain wrong, try not to let it bother you. You probably don’t need my advice; I’m sure you have virtue enough.

Finally, this piece is sometimes labeled as “Banned in Ansteorra” thanks to a former Kingdom Chronicler, who reprimanded the local newsletter editor who printed the first of these letters, and ordered that no more be published, saying that it showed the SCA in a bad light. I suggest that it’s just a light, and that we must take the bad with the good.

• Viscount Galen of Bristol, KSCA, CSM, etc.
January, 1995