Who should fight (was)R

[Mark Harris]

Bs. Katrionna MacLochlainn states:

>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.

And

>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).  

Ah, so anyone can enter the list if they meet these basic requirements
whether they are the best or worst fighter and then it is just a
matter of deciding who is the best on the field that day? NOT!

No, the list is not completely random. Sometimes the list is set up
so specific fighters are set against specific fighters. At a minimum,
the list is initially set so that no knight fights another knight
thus guarranteeing that more knights make it into the upper tiers of
the tournament. 

Interesting since in period it was much more likely that a knight
would ONLY fight another knight, the non-knight being below his
station. Perhaps the tornament should be rigged so that all knights
must fight another knight in the first round and non-knights should
only fight non-knights in the first round? 

So, why is "Ducal perogative" any fairer or worse than the current
manipulation of the lists? Although whether the crown list should
be fair by modern sensibilities is another question.

Ld. Stefan li Rous
Barony of Bryn Gwlad
Ansteorra