On the Job: A Knight's Tale

 Scott Farrell stands in his backyard, covered in armor.

His long sword is drawn and a crown sits upon his head as he poses for pictures on a hot Santee afternoon.

Wearing nearly 60 pounds of armor and layers of medieval clothing isn’t exactly conducive to comfort at this time of year, but for Farrell these ancient accoutrements are like a second skin, a part of who he is.

This is no sweat for a knight of the realm.

He smiles as he describes everything he’s wearing, the weapons he’s brought out of his armory (a.k.a. garage) and how the sword and poleaxe would have been used in Europe centuries ago.

Farrell, you see, is a 21st-century man captivated by the Middle Ages and their codes of chivalry, on a quest to explain their relevance in 2011.

Farrell, 46, is the director of Chivalry Today, a business he runs out of his home near the . He’s a combination who also studies and demonstrates the martial artistry of King Arthur’s age or, if called upon, can quote and perform in one of the Bard’s plays.

“Any time you can put on armor and go around talking to people, it’s fun,” says Farrell.

The quest

Farrell started Chivalry Today about 10 years ago. He gives one-hour presentations at schools, summer camps and scout assemblies for young people, and also speaks to adults at and civic clubs and organizations. Schools and organizations provide donations to Chivalry Today, as do listeners to his monthly podcasts through his website.

He says about 6,000 listeners tune in to the podcasts, which cover a variety of themes, such as “Three Knights of Shakespeare: Chivalry Takes the Stage,” and “Ideology of Chivalry.”

For children in elementary school, he might show up as King Arthur, wearing a crown and discussing the Knights of the Round Table; for older students, he may be outfitted as a knight, complete with a heavy helmet and weapons, and discuss in detail how knights fought and their code of chivalry and honor. He’s appeared at historical re-enactments, Shakespeare festivals, Renaissance fairs and martial arts gatherings.

He bills his presentations as a sort of field trip that comes to campuses, not a bad thing these days with tightened budgets.

Depending on the audience and event, his presentations may also include falconry, catapult and sword-fighting demonstrations and music and dancing.

“I can be in armor, and they (students) can touch and feel,” he says. “It’s a hands-on experience, which helps me capture their imaginations.”

He estimates he’s been to hundreds of schools all across San Diego County and as far as Victorville and Orange County, often accompanied by his wife, April, an instructor at UCSD who shares his interests in Medieval Europe.

Recently, he gave a presentation at the to adults titled “.”

Capturing his imagination

Farrell, who grew up in Santee (he and April now live in a house once owned by his grandparents), didn’t grow up as a sword-wielding Lancelot, dreaming of slaying dragons along Mission Gorge. But he’s always been captivated by heroes and their deeds.

“I’ve always loved heroic stories,” he says, citing movies in which people did the right things against great odds. Films such as “Star Wars,” “Prince Valiant” and “Planet of the Apes” inspired him.

“It’s the heroic quests,” he says. “Even today it’s more so that than specifically medieval history and knights. What makes a hero? What makes a real person do things that make them admirable?

“To me, that’s the real meat, the code of chivalry. Why it’s so hard to be decent, to do the right thing.”

And, he adds, such a code shouldn’t be thought of something dead and buried, too archaic for 2011. If anything, he says, codes of honor should be as relevant now as ever before.

When he speaks to students, he generally has no script, and the presentations often go with the flow of questions and comments. That’s what he wants. But the underlying theme of his discussions is the concept of chivalry – how it was in the days of yore and how it can be practiced today.

He challenges children to tell him about people they admire for virtues such as honesty, generosity and justice. Many students, he says, catch the spirit. One recently brought up jury duty as an example of citizens doing something positive for the greater good, something he’d never thought of before.

“They come up with great ideas,” he says.

After listening to his presentations, some teachers have told him he’s “addressing a need,” and the ethical and moral discussions complement such modern instruction programs as the Pillars of Character and PeaceBuilders.

Career shift

For the 15 years before Farrell started Chivalry Today, he was a journalist, writing and editing for two business-oriented magazines in the county. But in 2001, he decided to quit and start his own business.

Today, the journalist still lurks beneath the armor. His website is robust, and full of his commentary about chivalry as it relates to the past and present. Also, he’s been working on a young-adult novel for several years, called “The Champion in Silence,” about a girl who becomes a Knight of the Round Table, based on a 13th-century French legend. Plus he’s contributed chapters to a couple of books that touch on his passions, including “Living a Life of Value.”

He’s also studied acting at San Diego’s Old Globe and is part of San Diego’s Intrepid Shakespeare Company, which takes him into local schools, camps and organizations.

So, he is fully immersed in what he loves, set free from jousting with the challenges that came with his previous, traditional career.

“Frankly, it has been good,” he says. “I find myself much happier, even though I’m not financially better off.”

Plus, as he says, it’s fun to wear that armor.