Pennsic War - History

History

The Pennsic War takes place in late July/early August. Prior to 2007, Pennsic took place during the first two weeks of August, and some of the earliest Pennsics were held during September.

• The first Pennsic was held in 1972, at Newton's Campground (now Shorehaven Campground) in Waterford, Pennsylvania.
• The second was held at St. Clair Beach Campground near Pittsburgh.
• The third was held on a private farm in Wexford, Pennsylvania.
• The fourth, often called "Pennsic Pour" or "Pennsic Puddle", was held at Spencer Farm on Aquilla Road near Chardon, Ohio and was marred by massive flooding and mudslides. This is celebrated in song by performer, Duke Moonwulf Starkadderson in "Pennsic War IV".
• The fifth was held at the Berlin Reservoir outside Alliance, Ohio, after a site in West Virginia was rejected.
• The sixth and all subsequent Pennsics have been held at Coopers Lake Campground in Worth Township near Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania near the intersection of Interstate 79 and US 422. The site is easily visible from the I-79 southbound lanes.

According to the HERSTAĐR-SAGA: An Incomplete History of Pennsic,

"One day, almost 30 years ago, Cariadoc of the Bow, the King of the Middle, got bored with peace and declared war upon the East, loser to take Pittsburgh. The King of the East read the declaration of war, filed it away and forgot about it. Time passed. Cariadoc moved to New York and subsequently became King of the East, whereupon he retrieved the declaration from the file cabinet and said, 'Let’s fight.' The Middle won, and Cariadoc has the distinction of being the only king who declared war upon himself and lost."

Contrary to popular myth, the Pennsic wars were not caused by Cariadoc challenging himself to a war and losing. The challenge for the Pennsic war was initially issued by King Irial and Queen Morna of the Middle, with the stated causes being both the ownership of the new group forming in Pittsburgh, the Debatable Lands, and an earnest desire to have fun and “engage in chivalric combat of the highest”. The letter containing the challenge along with an arrow of war was carried by Duke Cariadoc, as a herald of King Irial, to King Rakkuri and Queen Maureen of the East who accepted the challenge, and broke the war arrow. The negotiations for the war, locating a suitable site, determining the rules for combat and scenarios for the battles, etc. dragged on long enough that by the time the war was actually held, neither Irial and Morna nor Rakkuri and Maureen were still on the thrones. The Midrealm was ruled by Andrew and Anne, and the East was ruled by Cariadoc and Diana, who had moved to the East during the negotiations.

The board of directors ruled a few weeks before Pennsic I that since Pittsburgh was in the same state as an existing group, in Philadelphia, that it had to belong to the same kingdom. It was considered impossible to split a state between two kingdoms at that time. Thus, the Debatable Lands were assigned to the East Kingdom prior to Pennsic being fought, which rendered moot the initial reason for the war. Since the stated purpose of the war was to determine which kingdom got Pittsburgh and the Midrealm decisively won Pennsic I, it became popular mythology that "the loser got Pittsburgh."