The Shire of Caer Gwyn is a Medieval and Renaissance historical reenactment group exploring the arts and skills of the pre-modern world. We are a local branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) located in Urbana-Champaign, but with connections to many other SCA groups throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe, and Asia. Our group is a blend of townies and college students, since the focal town of our area is Champaign-Urbana, home to the University of Illinois. We have an active student organization on campus as well as many townsfolk who attend our many activities.
History
Caer Gwyn was recognized as an official shire in 2019 at Festival of Maidens / 12th Night. Caer Gwyn inherited the stewardship of the Festival of Maidens, which historically has been one of the earliest combat events of the year for the Midrealm. While Maidens is heavily combat focused, many of Caer Gwyn’s denizens are currently focused on the Arts and Sciences. However, we also currently have a small number of archers and are trying to increase our fighter ranks.
Caer Gwyn originally applied to become a new group under the name Caer Gwynt. This was unfortunately too close to the Welsh name for Winchester, which the College of Heralds rejected. Although the group officially dropped the “t” in order to pass, it still occasionally shows up sometimes.
Caer Gwyn
St. Carol on the Moor
Würm Wald
Caer Gwyn began when two much older shires, Würm Wald and St. Carol on the Moor, realized that they had been working together to hold several events and had become stronger together than they had been when they worked apart.
St. Carol on the Moor was founded in 1979 by newlyweds Myrra and Carlo at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.
The tower represented on Caer Gwyn’s device hearkens back to the tower that existed on St. Carol’s original arms, and now represents the iconic towers of Altgeld Hall on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus as well as the Old Main “Castle” tower on the Eastern Illinois University campus in Charleston.
Würm Wald saw series of changes over the course of SCA history, starting as a barony on the University of Illinois campus in 1973 before re-purposing itself into a shire in the 2000s.