MOA

Michael F. Gunter mfgunter at tddeng00.fnts.com
Wed Jun 4 11:14:48 PDT 1997


> From Marrock at msn.com Tue Jun  3 17:33:12 1997
> 
> I am a student to Master at Arms Daniel Blackaxe.  As I understand it, anyone 
> can swear the oath of fealty to the king, yet a Master at Arms, by its 
> definition implies he swears oath of fealty to his weapons and the use of his 
> weapons.

As a former squire to Duke Lloyd, MSCA, I feel I have some grounding in stating 
that this "just ain't so."  Neither Lloyd nor any of his squires ever swore any 
oaths to our weapons.  He was our teacher and we were his students.


>Masters don't HAVE to swear oath of fealty, but the may if they 
> wish.

This is correct.  Masters of Arms may swear personal oaths of fealty to the 
current Crown as may any other member of the populace.

> 
> As a Master at Arms, you may interrupt court without permission also.
> 

This topic I feel has already been discussed fully.

> A baldric hangs over the shoulder, and was used to help carry the weight of a 
> sword.  Baldric wearers believe the knights wish us to wear them, for if a 
> baldric is not secured well, it might slip off the shoulder down around the 
> arm helping to entangle our sword arm allowing the knights the 'in' to strike 
> a blow (GRIN).

That comment (joke) is insulting and unworthy of Masters.
As an aside, that incident actually happened to Duke Lloyd once.  His baldric fell
across his arm and needless to say seriously hampered his fighting ability.  He
still won the fight but never again wore his baldric while fighting.

I hold Masters at Arms in high regard and have considered the possibility of 
taking up the baldric since Mastery is more in keeping with my personal tastes.

If you feel that MoA's recieve a bad rap then it is yours and your Master's duty
to "out-knight" the knights.  To strive to be the best fighters, teachers, and
examples of Chivalry out there.  You should make the knights look up to you not
act as if your Master was given a bum's rush.

Just some thoughts.

Yers,

Gunthar



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