ANST - Long Courts & Oaths

[Burke McCrory]

Several people have posted lately that the length of court at coronation is
a problem, that some of the activities involved are boring, and that for
the sake of brevity we should either cut out or group up parts of each court.

To this I say ney!

We should remember that each part of Coronation (or Crown Tourney for that
matter) is important and there for a reason for it.  The different parts of
the ceremony each represent a very important part of the proccess.  These
were times of high pageantry in ancient times.  In effect each crown
abdicates the throne turning over the various symbols of the Kingdom to be
guarded by those who have earned the right.  The Chivalry guard the land
when there is no Crown, the Lions keep the Sable Sword safe from harm as
the embodiment of the land, the Order of the Rose keeps the crown of the
consort hidden and safe from harm, etc..  Each of these acts or its
equivalant, bore great significance in the middle ages.  For it was at
times like this, that usurpers often made moves on the throne.  When a new
King comes to claim the throne he/she must pass the challenge of the
chivalry or they will not be permitted to pass. This is an important part
of the process and at this last coronation Count Sir Simon gave the
challenge to the claiment.  After the new King crowns himself, he calls
forth his Consort and crowns her to be by his side.  After the new crown is
seated, they are without the symbol of the land, the Sable Sword.  It must
be reclaimed from the Lions who are the defenders of the Dream.  Once the
Lions have been satisfied and have returned the sword, the Crown can again
claim the allegiance of the peers, nobles, and people of Ansteorra.  The
oaths that are given by the Knights and Landed Nobility are not something
that would have been given lightly in ancient times.  They were deeply
personal pledges that could require you to forfeit all that you owned and
your very life, if you broke them.  While we don't require a person to
really give up their property or life, we should try to be as true as
possible to the spirit of the act.  The same thing goes for the voluntary
oaths that other members of the populace swear.  The oath the legion of
Swashbucklers swears to the Queen is just as personal and important, as the
oath of a peer.  The question then becomes what part of this process do we
drop.  If you trivialize the Oaths by doing them in group do we not
trivialize a part of the dream?  Lets just start doing all awards in a
group, like say all Grant level to be given in court can be called up all
at once and we will just read the scroll once saying "insert the name of
the award" and "your name" where appropreate.  Pretty silly, I would say.
So lets see if we can find other ways to speed up the process and give the
populace a better chance to hear without carving up parts of the dream.  I
know there will be people who will not agree with my point of view, that's
fine.  But before you speak as an old time player who has seen all of this
many times before, what about the new person attending their first
Corination.  Would you rob them of part of the magic just because you have
become bored?


Sir Burke Kyriell MacDonald


mka Burke McCrory
email:  burkemc at ionet.net
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