The Pennsic War

From all around the world, an insanely devoted group of medieval re-creators gather in the middle of rural Pennsylvania to fight for glory at the world’s largest role-playing festival. In short, everyone is sorted into 20 respective Kingdoms and throughout the 12 day festival, war points are distributed from a variety of war-like events.

Our Experience

What is the Pennsic War?

The Pennsic War is the largest role-playing festival in the world. Happening yearly in Pennsylvania, over 10,000 members of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) recreate medieval Europe and host large scale battles. Walking into Pennsic, you never would have thought that this was once a small college gathering where students would fight each other with foam swords. And that was just in 1972… really not that long ago. Today, it is a massive event that makes a significant impact in the area, where over 10,000 people gather in the fields of Pennsylvania for almost 2 weeks to recreate medieval Europe every year. Source

What happens at the Pennsic War?

At Pennsic, there are many activities and events happening at all times. Thousands of knights gather on the central fields to battle opposing kingdoms while long range fighters compete at the archery range. Others take classes at the Pennsic University to further understand what medieval life was truly like. Some hang tight at their intricately built temporary homes and share a pint with their friends and family. At night … things get a bit wild. In all, from our experience, Pennsic does a very convincing job of mimicking medieval Europe.

How many people go to Pennsic?

The Pennsic War hosts over 10,000 participants every year making it the largest SCA event. Source

What is the SCA?

The SCA is the Society for Creative Anachronism. As stated on the organizations site, “The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is an inclusive community pursuing research and re-creation of pre-seventeenth century skills, arts, combat and culture. The lives of participants are enriched as we gain knowledge of history through activities, demonstrations, and events.” Source

Are real weapons used at the Pennsic War?

Many types of weapons are used at the Pennsic War event. Participants throw real axes, shoot period-accurate crossbows and compete in fencing competitions. In the big battles, warriors use blunted and foam bound weapons so as to not injure any participants. Source

Our Take

In the end, we were blown away by what we saw and what we were able to capture on camera. We knew the Pennsic War was a story that was eager to be told.

After its release, the Pennsic War episode of “Off the Cuff” has garnered over 1 million views on Amazon Prime and has been said to increase both awareness in the Pennsic War and the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism).

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