principalities...Hi Aethelyan!

[Dennis Grace]

>Greetings to all my Good Neighbors!
>
>Hey Aethelyan...good to see your words on-line! True, the principalities would
>indeed be a part of the Kingdom of Ansteorra. However, the Kingdom of Ansteorra
>consists of _all_ of it's people. I feel that it would not be long, a few years
>at most, until one or more of the principalities would vie for Kingdom status.
>That, if they succeeded, would certainly kill Ansteorra. Which 1/3 of us would
>we lose...? I don't want to _ever_ see my friends and shield companions depart
>from our family. All I can see is the dissolution of our great Kingdom if we
>split into Territorial principalities. Even though that may happen _years_ from
>now...the thought of that loss saddens me.
>
>
>Aethelyan wrote...
>
>>Any principalities within the Kingdom of Ansteorra would be as much a part
>>of Ansteorra as the Baronies of Ravens Fort or Bryn Gwlad currently are. A
>>principality is not separate from the Kingdom, it is another administrative
>>branch within the Kingdom. Therefore, Ansteorra would still remain, in every
>>sense of the word, and we would all remain Ansteorrans, and there would
>>still be only one star and one kingdom. :)
>>Aethelyan of Moondragon.

Sir Kief,

With all due respect, cousin, I think you've not given Aethelyan's words a
fair read.  If I mispeak myself hear, my sincerest apologies, but you've
offered no reasonable support for your counter claims (to wit:  "I feel
that it would not be long, a few years at most, until one or more of the
principalities would vie for Kingdom status.")  Upon what evidence do you
base your claims?  More to thje point, if some portion of this kingdom is
wont to "vie for Kingdom status" in the near future, then they must be
unhappy with their current status.   Designating portions of a Kingdom
"Principalities" should (as a number of respondents have already noted) in
no way imply impending division.

Also, Sir Kief, you keep beating your "one star and one kingdom" drum as
though desperately trying to drown out a contrary position.  No such
position has been proposed in any of the missives I've seen in the past
three days.

I've seen a few rather disturbing claims on this listserve in the past  few
days, and (as a former Principality of Artemisia denizen) I would like to
offer some clarification on a few matters. Principalities are still part of
the same Kingdom.  As such:  Principalities still fight as segments of the
same Kingdom at wars (albeit a better regimented portion, with the prince
acting as a general for his King); Principalities offer a sense of
belonging to groups in less centrally situated lands by offering visible
representatives of the Crown in the form of the Coronets; Principalities
increase the pomp, thereby improving the atmosphere generally;
Principalities add another level of awards, thus providing greater
recognition of growth; Principalities don't creat new officers, but
Principality officers _do_  receive greater recognition for their efforts,
which increases officer retention.

As a warrior, I found the organization offered by Principalities vastly
superior to the catch-as-catch-can hodgepodge I found in my first Estrella
Wars as a member of a loosely knit  region.  Principalities _do_ create a
larger number of important events, but the Crown need not (and usually does
not) attend every Coronet list, investiture, A&S competition, and so forth.
As for the supposed need to subscribe to extra newsletters, pshaw.  We
subscribed to the Principality of the Sun's newsletter for one year and
found it to be a complete waste of money.  Important events always get into
the Kingdom chronicle.

Not that I'm entirely sold on Principalities.  They have their negative
aspects.  Most citizens will want to subscribe to their _own_
Principality's newsletter, so you do have _one_ (small) added expense.
Principalities increase the ratio of brasshats to non-brasshats.  This adds
a certain degree of color, but it can become tedious in some instances.
The down side of an extra level of award recognition comes with niggling
peers.  Example:  say someone brings up Lady X as a candidate for
knighthood in a peer circle.  Typically, someone (usually a knight who does
not yet know Lady X) asks if Lady X has yet received the Kingdom level
award for fighting.  If not, the Crown may consider such a level of
recognition more appropriate than paying greater attention to grooming Lady
X for the Chivalry.  If, on the other hand, Lady X lives in a Principality,
the need for Principality-level recognition is often used as another layer
of delay.  Personally, I find such practices tantamount to checklisting
and, therefore, onerous, but it happens nonetheless.

I realize that the history of the SCA includes quite a few situations in
which Principalities (An Tir, Ansteorra, Outlands, etc) broke off as
Kingdoms.  In each case, as in the impending division of Artemisia from
Atenveldt, the geopolitical tensions that ultimately resulted in the
division were present BEFORE THE PRINCIPALITIES WERE FORMED.  Ansteorrans
generally strike me as quite proud of their Single Star heritage, and
Ansteorra is certainly large enough to encompass three--nay,
five!--Principalities.
So, don't  think of it as division, think of it as organization and enrichment.


In Service
Sir Lyonel Oliver Grace,
MP, Baron, Thane, etc.

(currently living incognito in Bryn Gwlad)

Dennis G. Grace
Assistant Instructor
Postmodern Medievalist
Division of Rhetoric and Composition
University of Texas

Micel efel deth se unwritere
                                        --Aelfric of York