Bors and Galen - Both Right (was: Re:Reality)

[Mjccmc01 at aol.com]

Bors is right; fealty in the SCA isn't "real" in the sense that anything we
have adapted from the Middle Ages is "real."  For one thing, SCA fealty lacks
the enforcement mechanisms that they had in the Middle Ages, i.e., real
armies and the Roman Catholic Church.  (probably a good thing, too, despite
the visions of inquisitions that periodically dance through my fevered
brain).  Their fealty oaths were often sworn on holy relics; thus, violation
carried the threat of eternal damnation.  For the less pious, the prospect of
the overlord's armies on your fief helped keep you honest.  The only
"enforcement" we have for SCA fealty is some sort of loose social contract in
which we agree to participate, or, in the most extreme cases, a enforced six
month vacation  in which to contemplate non-SCA reality.

However, I also must agree with Galen (of Bristol, not the Galen "the slimy
Italian" Nicolli in whose company I am often found) that the fact that the
SCA is a voluntary, recreational activity does not keep it from being real or
our actions from being important.  Any act we participate in carries with it
the potential for moral choice, and recreational opportunities provide plenty
of opportunities to blot one's soul with bad behavior (check out the parents
at a Little League game sometime).

To be forsworn in an SCA oath of fealty and to be forsworn on your IRS 1040
may vary greatly in their potential penalties, but it seems to me you've
broken your word in either case, and the effect on your character is about
the same.  The road to Hell (or wherever) may be paved with good intentions,
but it's landscaped with "but I didn't lie/cheat about something
_important_."

So, while I like to think I have a fairly healthy grip on reality, I think
our choices between right and wrong (to put it in very basic terms) are of
equal importance in all of our activities.

BTW,  Aquillane, I may only have one foot in the stirrup, but Siobhan, as a
gently reared woman of quality, rides sidesaddle. (wink)

Fondly,

Siobhan