Becoming a Peer

[Gunnora Hallakarva]

al-Sayyid Amr ibn Majid al-Bakri al-Amra commented upon the necessity or
lack therof of being:

a squire before one could be made a Knight

an apprentice before one could be made a Laurel

a protege before one could be made a Pelican

As a Laurel, I will certainly tell you that no one cares if you are an
apprentice when you're being discussed by the Circle.  What the Laurels want
to see in a Laurel candidate is:  master-quality artistry, leadership
ability, maturity.  I would imagine, from my conversations with members of
the other Peerages, that the requirements are not all that different from
Circle to Circle.  

I was never, ever, not once an apprentice.  The same can be said of many of
the Laurels.  And many indeed are the apprentices who will never become
Laurels. I don't know what other Laurels look for in an apprentice, or why
they take apprentices.  I like having apprentices because their energy and
desire to learn tends to keep me active, creating, and learning.  The sig at
the end of my message sums up what I tell my apprentices (for those of you
who don't read Norse):  "I will not teach you how to win the Honor-Leaf
crown (i.e., the Laurel) but rather how to have the nature and bearing of a
Peer."

Knights are more likely than other peerages to spend some time in the
apprentice-peer relationship (squirehood, in this case) before becoming
knights.  But certainly knights have been and will continue to be made who
were never squires.  Pelicans are perhaps less likely to have been a protege
first, mostly because those folks who are Pelican material are out there
shagging their asses and doing what needs to be done, rather than following
someone else around learning how to do it (or whining because they aren't a
peer yet).

Maybe we should all take a lesson from the Pelicans and start DOING more and
waiting less for it to happen to us.  The point in all this is NOT to become
a Knight, Laurel, or Pelican.  Wise up, folks.  It is no fun in and of
itself.  When Master Cedric said to me during his vigil, "Mistress Gunnora,
many people this evening have spoken wise words to me about the
responsibilities of being a Laurel.  Tell me, what are the priveleges?"  I
was struck dumb (those of you who know me will understand how unusual this
sitaution can be!)  

OK, what ARE the good things about being a peer of any stripe?  Hmmm.  Does
being a Laurel get you more money on your tax return?  Does being a Knight
cause you to accrue more seniority at work?  Does being a Pelican make your
mortgage payments any lower?  Smell the coffee... there are no real world
benefits to peerage.  

OK, how about SCA benefits... you get to wear a little symbol around your
neck.  Knights get the belt, chain and spurs. Laurels can wear a goofy crown
of leaves.  But is this an advantage?  No?  OK, how about the fact that you
can now sit for hours and hours and hours in a peerage circle?  This is an
advantage?  No?  OK, you get to teach.  But you were doing that anyway or
you wouldn't have been considered for the peerage in the first place.  You
get to do kick-ass art/fighting/service.  What?  Oh, yeah... that's why they
made you a peer.  Do people respect you more?  No.  If you were worthy of
respect before you got the peerage, you will have respect afterwards, but if
you are a jerk no one will respect you no matter whether you have all three
peerages and forty-two brass hats.  A peerage will not cure your hemrrhoids
(but might introduce you to ever greater pains in the ass), reverse baldness
(but it might accelerate hair loss as you tear your hair in frustration),
will not win you friends (but might attract flesh-eaters, peer-wannabes and
other syncophants).

There is one, sole and solitary good thing about being a peer, and that is
that the Crown is required to listen to your advice.  But they not only do
not have to take your advice, they can totally ignore it.  But at least you
got to tell them what you thought.  And you know, a letter to the Crown does
the same thing for any person of any rank if you send them one.

I guess that I don't understand those who pant after any award for years and
then get bitter because they don't have it.  Don't get me wrong, it is
EXCELLENT to ASPIRE to an award... if what you are wishing for is for is to
gain the skills that would enable you to be worthy of the award.  I think
every single person in this Kingdom should ASPIRE to one day be a Lion of
Ansteorra, to become exemplars of what the SCA is all about.  But I think a
true Lion would never worry about getting the award though, because if they
ARE a Lion, they are out there playing the game and having fun. 

That's the bottom line.  ARE YOU HAVING FUN?  If you are, no award or lack
thereof is going to make you have more fun.  It is nothing more than a kudo
from your friends that hey, you're doing neat things.  If you are not
enjoying the SCA because you aren't getting an award, you should quit and go
join the Scouts, who will let you actively work towards merit badges.
Better yet, go to school and compete for good grades.  If all you want is
awards, there are MUCH better places to go for external validation of your
worth than the SCA.

But if the SCA is fun to you, if you have a good time at events, get misty
eyed over the singing at campfires, feel the rush of adrenaline as the
bagpipes skirl up behind the shield wall you're standing in, look forward to
the camraderie and friendship you find within the SCA, then YOU DO NOT NEED
AWARDS.  You already have the best the SCA can offer.

Wassail,
::GUNNORA::

Gunnora Hallakarva
Herskerinde
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