Whine, whine, whine

[Vicki Marsh]

Greetings, Aodhan:
>
> hb> Allow me to correct myself " The Principalit of Hell " recognizes
> hb> archers befor the Kingdom of Ansteorra does in a maner similar to
> hb> other Kingdoms. Also their are about eight Sable Thisle, one Sable
> hb> Falcon. I have heard of one Laurel and to that HL Gillie, Masters
> hb> Iolo and Leon in 16 years 
>
>I don't know where you get the figure 16 years from.  The SCA is just over 30
>years old, the Kingdom of Ansteorra just over 17. 

<snip>

If I might interject, Gilli was active in the principality of Ansteorra - in
Archery - when I met him in 1978.  Iolo joined around 1979 and started
making crossbows almost right away.  Steve Jackson (previously known as
Vargskol Halfblood, Baron Bryn Gwlad) still has an early 'Iolo' Crossbow
sitting in his living room.

> Archery has not garnered
>enough interest to be more than an "oh, yeah, we can shoot some arrows in the
>corner of that field" activity until recently. 
<snip>

I beg to disagree.  I know there were Academies of the Bow starting over
seven years ago in Middleford (somewhere I have a copy of the
proceedings.....I never throw stuff like that away, plus my ex taught a
class there). Sir Galen of Bristol and Bryn Gwlad hosted the Southhaven
Tournament of Archery in 1990, and it had a respectable turnout.  The
Moustache War was the first time that Combat Archery was used extensively in
this kingdom.  I think that was in April 1989.

 It *has* grown enough interest
>that archery only events are not uncommon.  I haven't seen any period
>encampments only, or costuming only, or weaving only events...

The Combat Archers of this Kingdom ( and I include the engineers and workers
on the siege engines) have contributed greatly to the might of the
Ansteorran Army at Gulf War.  The archers who compete in the regular archery
shoots also add a great deal to our Kingdom.  It is a wonderful way for
teenagers, youths, and people with physical impediments to fighting to
become involved in a safe manner.



>Awww...  Pity the poor archers.  Their arrows get broken and they have to make
>new ones.

Yes, we all have made items that have later been destroyed with the passage
of time.  It does not excuse childish behavior on the part of fighters to
destroy the arrows.  
>
>Sheesh!  Get some perspective.

Looking at it with some perspective - How would a fighter feel if she
dropped her favorite sword in battle only to see a fighter from an opposing
force purposefully stomp on it and walk off?


In my humble opinion, archery is a fighting skill unto itself, much like
rapier.  It is a sub-community that contributes a great deal to our Fair
kingdom, and as such, I think it deserves a separate award. At least a
non-armigerous one - comparable to a Sable Falcon.

Just as there are those chivalric fighters who also become Laurels for their
ability to make armour, so can fletchers and boyers (see Iolo and Leon).
However, except for the one Sable Falcon reported (I don't know who it is),
there are no others with awards for their contribution to fighting.

In Service to the Kingdom,

Zara Zina, Baroness of Elfsea