Learning from the past

[dennis grace]

Greetings, Cosyns,

Lyonel ici.

On the matter of "surprise" knightings, Aelfric of Alburn posits:
>The last one that I heard of was about five years ago in the East.  
>Baron Murdock of Andubdagean (no, I can't spell it; if you learded to 
>spell it they made you Senescal, a bullet that I continue to duck) 
>was returning from a Christmas vacation with his wife and three 
>children to visit his family in Irland. His wife insisted that they 
>had to go to Twelth Night, so they left the airport and went directly 
>to the site.  They informed him of the knighting when he got there.
>
>I can only imagine what he must have been thinking the next morning 
>"was I Knighted last night, or was it just a Jet Lag induced dream".

Yeah.  This is probably a pretty good assessment.  I don't even have the
excuse of jet lag or hangover, but I couldn't tell you much about my
surprise knighting. I remember being snatched; I remember the king's knuckle
cracking when he delivered the collée; I remember lots of flashbulbs going
off.  If it weren't for the photos, I wouldn't know the details.

So I remember the before, and I remember the after--be damned if I can
recall the thing itself.  I suppose it was very nice (???).

I have mixed feelings about surprise elevations.  My wife's Laurel ceremony
was amazing.  Her Laurel convinced her to bring various bits of her works
for an Arts display at a high-court Winter Solstice event in Loch Salann
(Salt Lake City).  After setting up Aquilanne's works for display on a table
near the main entrance, her Laurel deflected Aquilanne's suspicions by
explaining that other artists had promised to bring works later.  At that
evening's court, the not quite dozen Laurels present at the event brought
suit before the king, claiming an injustice and bringing forth Aquilanne's
works, one or two per Laurel.

By the time the king got around to calling her name, Aquilanne was already
fighting back the tears (unsuccessfully, according to the photos we have of
the event).  The king dubbed her, which raised a few eyebrows, but I know
that the king in question had a good deal of respect for my wife.  

Of course, everything that led up to the elevation ceremony would likely
have been the same, and she could have designed her own ceremony and
prepared new garb.  Still, that evening was magical, and I doubt that any
revision could have made it more so.

Yours in E-Service

Sir Lyonel Oliver Grace
_____________________________
Dennis Grace
University of Texas at Austin
English Department
Recovering Medievalist
amazing at mail.utexas.edu

Things are more like they are today than they have ever been before.
                                                  --Dwight D. Eisenhower

(Don't Republicans say just the cutest things?)