Inter-principality awards

[dennis grace]

Viscount Sir Galen wrote:

<hiatus>
>First, I have noted elsewhere that Drachenwald Law empowered the Coronet 
>to bestow Awards of Arms and armigerous Orders over their own signatures. 
> The Seneschale of Elfsea, Eowyn ferch Rhys (among many others), received 
>her AoA from me, as Prince of Drachenwald; it was legally and properly 
>done without consultation or permission from the Crown, because the 
>authority had been delegated in Kingdom Law.  We have been told that 
>Principalities are needed in part to ease the Burden of the Crown; what 
>sort of easing is it that requires them to sign off on every AoA?  If we 
>get principalities, I have said here that I will advocate that the 
>Coronet have the authority I had as a Prince.  If the Principality Orders 
>are armigerous, we have the situation that they cannot be given to 
>non-residents without permission of the recipient's own Prince.

I agree that the formation of principalities can ease the burden of the
Crown, but normally I believe this easing comes in the form of a more
extensive chain of reportage.  In a Kingdom of 1500 plus citizens, it is the
rare Sovereign who can come to know all of her subjects, even with the aid
of her numerous barons and baronesses supporting.  As for Drachenwald's
blanket permission to grant Awards of Arms, considering that vast body of
water separating Crown from Coronet, I think I would have required the same
sort of law.  For a Kingdom the size of Ansteorra, however, I cannot imagine
that such extreme measures are at all necessary.  Granting permission for
the Coronet to give AoA's creates, as far as I know, only one glitch (I'm
loath to call it a real *problem*).  What if the Prince and Princess decide
to recognize a subject whom the Crown had already been slated for
recognition (perhaps on an even grander scale--in a larger event, with a
greater degree of pomp, or with a Kingdom-level armigerous award).  Simply
to avoid such events, I would expect the Coronet to obtain at least voice
approval on every armigerous award. 

>
>Second, Sir Lyonel and others have lately argued that the matter will 
>very rarely come up at all, in any case.  Quite right; it will be very 
>rare for someone to be active outside his own principality.  Which brings 
>us back to my original assertion, that people will have a disincentive 
>(that is they'll be less likely) to travel outside their own 
>principalities, due to the fact their activities "abroad" will not 
>contribute to the eventual receipt of their next award.  This will not 
>prevent inter-principality travel by any means, but it will mean that 
>fewer people will do it as much.
>
With all due respect to His Excellency, context is all. I have known quite a
few people who were and are "active outside their own principalities," and
as I attempted to convey previously, they seldom receive much consideration
for principality awards.  Oh, certainly, once in a great while someone comes
along from another principality who puts in the sort of effort that deserves
the Coronet's recognition. Odd, though--don't you think?  I mean, if you
have the time and wherewithal to spend in a neighboring principality, why
not spend it in your own? 

To some degree, however, I concur with Viscount Sir Galen's position with
regard to travel outside one's own principality.  Principality or no, most
citizens tend to be more active around the core of their home groups--a
simple matter of logistics for many of us.  Even if I am able to become as
active, here, as I once was in Artemisia (a hope I dearly cherish at
present), I doubt sincerely that my travels will often take me as far north
as Wiesenfeuer or as far west as Bonwicke except on remarkably rare
occasions.  Moreover, as I (and a number of others) have at least implied in
previous missives, I do not consider the absence from events of individuals
who have traveled several hundred miles, SOLELY or PRINCIPALLY for the sake
of visibility, a loss.  As for the squires, apprentices, and proteges who
are told by their Mistresses/Masters/Knights to travel to specific Kingdom
events in order to allow the peerages to get to know them--that won't change
with the addition of principalities.  As Viscount Sir Galen pointed out, one
of the reasons (though certainly neither the primary or sole reason) that I
(in my SCA infancy) and the other squires of Artemisia attended Estrella war
was to increase our visibility with the Chivalry.  Come to think of it, we
travelled that same 1600 miles one August just so my lady could enter the
Atenveldt Kingdom Arts and Sciences Competition (which she won) and show off
for the southerly laurels. We would have made both trips, principality or
no; we would have made no additional trips, principality or no.

Viscount Sir Galen has stated that he concurs with my claim that the matter
of inter-principality award-giving is a moot point.  I, too, find that I
must concur with much His Excellency has to say regarding
principalities--people within principalities will not have any additional
incentives to travel outside their home regions--much as at present. (Though
His Excellency *did* use the word "disincentive"--a claim for which I have
yet to see support.) So, until we next meet across these electronic courier
lines to so heartily agree, I remain

Yours in Rhetorical Service

Sir Lyonel Oliver Grace
______________________________ 
Dennis G. Grace
Assistant Instructor
Postmodern Medievalist
Division of Rhetoric and Composition
University of Texas
___________________

Baro, metetz en guatge                    |  Lords, pawn your castles,
Chastels e vilas e ciutatz                |  your towns and cities.
Enanz qu'usquecs no'us guerreiatz         |  Before you're beat to the draw,
                                                    draw your swords.

                   -- Bertran de Born