Lion of Ansteorra

[Jeanne Stapleton]

The noble lady Clare asks:

>         I am curious since the concept of the Lion originated for us
>         from
> Atenveldt how it is handled to our neighbors to the West?  Does the
> award get handed out automatically or do they skip reigns.  Did
> Artemsia and the Outlands continue the tradition and how have they
> handled when and how they give it out.

I do not know what Artemisia's award structure is to be.  The 
Outlands does not have a Lion (think about the initials for just a 
sec...Lion Of the Outlands...whoops...).  I am not sure why this
is so, not being thoroughly versed in the lore of my adoptive
kingdom.  What we do have it the Walker of the Way (WOW :-))
for those who embody the ideals of the Dream (tm).

Now, *An Tir* on the other hand adopted and adapted the Lion of An 
Tir in the (second?) reign of Tjorkill and Hlutwige.  I'm not sure 
how that came about exactly, but I suspect they came to know of the 
idea via Master Korwyn Ariannaid, who was living in the same barony 
at the time.  Anyway, it has *not* been given every reign; I'm not 
sure why some Crowns chose to bestow it and others didn't.  I don't 
think it's because they felt there was no one worthy of the award.  

I was very fortunate to be present when our predecessors bestowed the 
Lion of An Tir on Baroness Amanda Kendal of Westmorland from Lion's
Gate at the Council of Crowns in An Tir.  Duke Inman was on the 
throne of Ansteorra and was present, as was Baron Hossein; they both
came forward to be part of the ceremony, which I know meant a great
deal to Amanda.

I was even more fortunate to be the Crown that presented the Lion of 
An Tir to the Dowager Princess Janeltis, now departed from this 
mortal plane.  That was one of the signal moments of my SCA life.

I've been reading a little on and off about how Lions are chosen in 
Ansteorra, but I don't remember the particulars, I'm afraid.  The 
principal Lion of An Tir keeps a list and periodically polls the 
members and presents a list to the Crown with everyone who's been 
nominated and how the members ranked them in order from 1-? as being 
the embodiment of the ideals of An Tir.  The Crown can then pick from 
the list, or not, at Their will.  
We didn't pick from the list; I came up with someone who wasn't on it
and proposed Her Serene Highness to Rorik (my king), but the Lions
all kind of smacked themselves in the head and said the equivalent
of, "D'oh!" when I mentioned Janeltis.

Countess Berengaria de Montfort de Carcassonne, OP
Barony of Caerthe
Kingdom of the Outlands