Scholars of St. Thomas Aquinas
Shire of Appledore
Persona Challenge Categories
Each Candidate must enter the seven (7) Required categories and three (3) of the six Optional categories.

Required Categories
1) PERSONA CREATION: [Required] Candidates must develop an authentic and logical persona based on historical research and data. This persona cannot be one of an existing historic or literary character. Information provided in this competition must include: full name, date of birth, present age, place of birth and current residence, a brief geneaology that includes present social position, and a brief personal history.

2) CALLIGRAPHY/CORRESPONDENCE:[Required] Candidates must provide an example of calligraphy or correspondence suitable to their persona’s time and place. This can take the form of an illuminated page of text, or a letter written in period fashion utilizing historic methods, tools - and if possible - materials. The criteria listed here is a minimum standard, it is not designed to limit creativity.

3) COSTUMING: [Required] Candidates must wear and present a complete and detailed costume for their persona, including undergarment/s, overgarment(s), footwear, and headwear.
• Judging will take place during a discussion of clothing styles and will be judged on construction and design; the Candidates may be asked to show the inside of their clothing. (If this is done, it WILL be done in a discreet manner and will not include the last layer of clothing).

4) DAILY LIFE/LIVELIHOOD: [Required] Candidates must demonstrate a knowledge of everyday occurrences in the life of their personas such as household and or livelihood responsibilities, hobbies, pastimes, religious observances, community obligations, and other personal duties/needs of their persona
• Judging in this competition might be based on an informal gathering where personas might discuss the visit of a reigning monarch, the guild they belong to, anticipation of a coming holiday, their position in society, and their means of making a living.

5) HANDCRAFT: [Required] ] Each Candidate is given a chance to display and demonstrate an item they have made by hand that is appropriate to their persona. This can be an item their persona would have purchased rather than made themselves, however, for the purposes of Scholars, the Candidate must have produced the item himself. Examples could include; farm implements; woodworking tools; furniture; period weapons; period armour, musical instruments; quill pens; paper; books or codex ... the possibilities are endless.
• Judging is done through a display and/or demonstration to the judges, and a discussion between judges and the Candidate.

6) SKILLS/SCHOLARLY PURSUITS: [Required] Each Candidate is given a chance to display and demonstrate a skill or proficiency appropriate to their persona that is not covered in the other categories. Possible examples can range from “manual” skills such as: jewelry making, wood carving, weapon or armour making; hunting; smithing; to more academic skills such as argument, rhetoric, or a presentation of a working science or philosophy.
• Judging is done through a display and/or demonstration to the judges, and a discussion between judges and the Candidate.
• Candidate must inform the autocrat of any special needs at the time of application. Documentation of technique, materials, elements specific to persona, may be required.

7) COURTESY AND ETIQUETTE: [Required] Candidates must demonstrate a working knowledge of courtesy and etiquette as it applies to their persona throughout the event by their deportment. A brief oral quiz may also take place during the informal discussions. Topics may include addressing nobility, officers, peers and servants; table manners (for your persona); and, of course, courtliness and common consideration and politeness.

Optional Categories:
DANCING: [Optional] Candidates must dance and teach three period dances of their choice. List your choice of dances on the application form, and bring a cassette with the music for all three of your dances to avoid unfamiliar music.
• Judges will act as interested parties who wish to learn the dances the Candidate has chosen.

GAMES AND PASTIMES: [Optional] Candidates must show proficiency in, and ability to teach, one indoor and one outdoor game, where appropriate to their persona. Suggested indoor games: chess, nine-men's-morris. Suggested outdoor games: jeu-de-boules (Bocce), Prisoner's Base. These are considered the "standard games" for this category. Candidate may substitute another game, indoor, outdoor or both, that is appropriate to his time period or culture.
Where appropriate for the persona, other pastimes may be substituted. Examples might include: riddles, string games or figures, word games.
• Documentation is required for all games and pastimes of choice. It may be necessary for the Candidate to discuss methods of judging for any non-standard pastimes.

BARDIC/PERFORMANCE: [Optional] Candidates must memorize and perform a period song, story, or poem of reasonable length. Voice or instrument is acceptable.
• Performances will take place in the Inn on Saturday night. A maximum time limit of 5 minutes per contestant may be imposed. If time permits, other songs (SCA, etc.) will be allowed after all Candidates have performed.

FOOD: [Optional] The Candidate should be able to discuss food and diet in general. Should have knowledge of sources of food (grown on own lands, imported, trade, etc.), preparation and storage methods, the equipment used for these, fast and feast days and customs for persona, restrictions on diet, any philosophy of food common to the era or culture. Cooking or food preparation can form part of this category but is not required.

HABITAT: [Optional] This category overlaps that of Everyday Life, but is not identical. The Candidate must display a working knowledge of the persona's home such as that displayed during the Everyday Life discussion. He should also have good overall knowledge of shelter in general in his time period and culture, the geography of his home and any other areas he should be familiar with, climate, who lives with or near him, sources of water, disposal of waste.
(NOTE: Habitat and Food are judged in a round-table discussion. Since they overlap and intertwine so thoroughly with Everyday Life, we have decided that the best way of judging these categories is to combine the round-table discussion of Everyday Life, a Required category, with the round-table discussions of Habitat and Food.)

SURVIVAL TECHNIQUES: [Optional] Candidates must prove their ability to survive a hostile situation. Techniques should coincide with what is appropriate to their persona. Techniques may include - but are not limited to - any of those listed below. If a technique other than those listed below is chosen, the Candidate must be prepared to demonstrate proficiency should the judges decide they are not convinced of the persona's ability to survive.
Documentation is required. It should include the availability of specific weapons or methods, and that it was acceptable or possible for a man of this culture and time period to use and practice this skill. Knowledge of weaponry specific to the persona should be indicated, but actual combat demonstration and testing may be confined to SCA-legal weapons, protection and procedures.
Standard Survival Skills: any of the following:
a] Sword and Shield: will be judged in the list field. The Candidate may be entered in the tournament of the day, or a special combat or series of bouts may be arranged, depending on schedule and the Candidate's preference.
b] The Arte of Defense: will be judged in the list field. The Candidate may be entered in the tournament of the day, or a special combat or series of bouts may be arranged, depending on schedule and the Candidate's preference.
c] Archery and Thrown Weapons: will be judged on the range in a standard format.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: All Candidates are encouraged to provide a bibliography of books and articles used to research the various aspects of their personas. This is to provide an on-going source of references for future Candidates, and the populace of Tir Righ and An Tir as a whole.

Application Process
Application Form (PDF)
Application Form (HTML)
Competition Categories
Judging Criteria