Awards and Coronets

[James Crouchet]

On 25 Mar 1995, Aodhan Ite an Fhithich wrote:

> 
> Dia duit!
> 
>  [Replying to a message of James Crouchet  to All]
> 
>  JC> There didn't  really seem to be a great
>  JC> need for a new armored fighting award, and it's  creation left a
>  JC> glaring hole in the rapier hierchy -- either at the CSS  level or the
>  JC> KSCA level according to your point of view -- if you compare  the two
>  JC> (many people do).
> 
> Savian, I'm not sure what you mean here.  There has always, in this Kingdom,
> been a number of gaps in the fighting hierarchies as compared to the arts and
> service.  Heavy fighters were either Knights/Masters or they weren't - there
> were no intermediate awards to serve as progress markers.  Rapier fighters

Different views, I guess.  I felt the Sable Falcon filled this gap as the 
Queen's Rapier does for rapier.  I didn't feel absolute parity was needed 
with the A&S, nor did I see lack of an AoA or GoA being attached to such 
an award as a problem. 

> were either Dons or not - the Society hasn't seen fit grant them the peerage
> we all pretend the WSA to be, and there was no intermediate progress marker. 
> The CSS partially redresses the gaps for the heavy fighters.  The situation
> for rapier fighters is essentially unchanged (although making the WSA a
> polling order may give its members a notch more prestige).
> 
> Not that I'm necessarily advocating AoA level awards for fighters.  Part of me
> thinks they're being slighted by not having a level of recognition that's
> available for artisans and worker-bees.  But the precedent herald in me thinks
> our system is already too much like a merit badge system.
> 
> 'Tis a dilemma.
> 
>  JC> Just to confuse things more, the WSAs were converted from swearing 
>  JC> service to the queen to swearing fealty to the crown at the same time 
>  JC> these other changes took place.  Note that this was a change in
>  JC> tradition  made at the request of the crown, not a change to kingdom
>  JC> law.
> 
> I presume the Crown here was Inman?  Then get Michael and Michaela to change
> the tradition back.

I think you minunderstand me.  I am not complaining, I was just pointing 
out how the timing further confused the issue.

> 
> Feicfidh me' ari's thu',
> 
> Aodhan

Savian