Who should fight (was)Re: Ducal perogative
Lori Jones
LJONES at ossm.edu
Sun Mar 2 20:08:53 PST 1997
Well, I was catching up on my reading from the list when this
particular subject caught my eye. After reading the posts on the
subject and thinking about the opinions and attitudes expressed by
many individuals, I'd like to add a few thoughts to the mix.
As near as I can tell, our Crown Tournament oath does not allow
competitors the luxury of bowing out. In Ansteorra, that privilege
is reserved for the Duchy. They, and they alone, have the right to
enter a Crown List and later elect to withdraw. All others (ranking
from County on down) must keep the oath they swore upon entering
the tourney. It seems to me that forfeiture of a bout (someone of
non-ducal rank walking off the field and refusing to fight any more)
should not be allowed. Now, I know you can't force someone to fight
(duh!), so a possible way to discourage this might be not allowing
that person to fight in any more Crown lists (after all, to be a King
one should be able to keep his word, yes?)
Sure, it is possible for someone to fight half-heartedly, or to
purposely relax their defense, or to use an unfamiliar style of
weapon, etc., in order to give an advantage to an opponent they'd
rather not "take out", but these things are all still just another
means of bowing out in a less public fashion. My opinion is that
this is extremely unfair to all competitors, as it allows someone
that doesn't even want to win the opportunity to affect the
outcome of the list and, by doing so, to affect the welfare of the
entire kingdom). YMMV.
Our kingdom prides itself on maintaining high standards of honor.
These highest standards should ALWAYS be evident in our Crown
Tournaments. IMO, there is no honor in fighting just to try and
ensure that someone else does or does not win.
Many times I've heard the argument that up-and-coming fighters should
enter Crown for the opportunity to "prove" themselves to members of
the chivalry or to show off their skills. I disagree with this.
Crown Tournaments comprise only 2 of 52 weekends out of every year -
leaving plenty of other opportunities for fighters to display their
skill at arms. Those who enter our kingdom's most prestigious list
with the dream of ruling this great kingdom deserve the chance to win
or lose to someone who shares this same dream, not just one who
wants to build a reputation or make a name for themselves.
Again, YMMV.
Those who enter Crown Tournament should do so with the sole intent
of doing honor to themselves, their consort and the Kingdom they wish
to rule.
I've seen much to indicate that many in the populace feel it is the
right of an Ansteorran citizen (regardless of personna, rank, or
geographical origin) to enter Crown List. This simply is not true.
Entering Crown list is a privilege granted by the King, as the
person and their consort must be acceptable to the Crown. Our
Kingdom's generous tradition is that anyone can (after fulfilling
requirements of Kingdom Law and aquiring a member of the Chivalry to
speak for them) enter the Crown List - whether they happen to be the
best or the worst fighter in the kingdom (at least this is what
Ansteorran tradition seems to indicate).
Bs. Katrionna MacLochlainn,
CSS, CSM, CIM, QG, KG, LoW, SC, SCo, ST, SF
Barony of Wiesenfeuer, Kingdom of Ansteorra
*********************************
"Discussion is an exchange of knowledge;
argument an exchange of ignorance."
- Robert Quillen
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Lori Jones
Oklahoma School of Science & Mathematics, Library
LJONES at ossm.edu
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