Hold!

Used to warn others of imminent danger. Anyone can yell "Hold!" when they see a dangerous situation.

Most often heard on the field of combat (tournament or war) when a situation has arisen where the combatants, marshals, or audience are in danger. E.g. the fight has drifted too close to the audience, a child or animal has wandered onto the combat field, a piece of armour has failed and the fighter is in danger of being hurt, or too many "dead" have accumulated for safety.

If you hear "Hold!" shouted anywhere near you, stop what you're doing RIGHT NOW and look around for imminent danger. You may be dragging your skirts through the fire or driving too close to a ditch.

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Possibly one of the most important words you will ever learn. It has a number of uses, from calling a 'hold' on the field of combat because a piece of armor has come loose, to stopping a child from touching a sizzling hot cooking pot. It means that something has the potential to go seriously wrong and is about to become an emergency or hazard. If someone shouts it at you (and it is always shouted), STOP what you are doing immediately. Someone is seeing a danger that you aren't. It's frequently one of the first words SCA children learn.

HOLD!!! is also used in combat situations to stop a fight for a number of reasons. It could be a problem with armor, a situation where someone isn't fighting fair, someone needs to rest a minute, or there is a hazard on the field (like an errant small child).

-- Mistress Arlys o Gordon