Peer elevation...

[Brendan McEwen]

My question is:  Would anyone actually want a peerage if they were not
up to the standards of the current members of the peerage?  I myself
strive for excellance in all that I do.  Define excellance?  Good
question. 

		Brendan McEwen


> > I see artisans now with 5
> > to 7 years SCA participation who probably would have held a Laurel ten years
> > or more had they started in the SCA at the same time that I did and remained
> > active, and these paragons are deemed fortunate if they hold even so much as
> > an Iris. (Not to pick on the Laurel Circle particulalrly, their circumstance
> > is merely the one for which I believe I possess the "best" comparative data
> > at this time.)
> 
> Well part of this is due to the standards laid out. I've heard complaints
> that people got Laurels/Knights/Pelicans and not expect more out of the
> people currently being considered. This is because, in part to swollen
> heads *wink* but mostly from, the fact that in corpora it clearly states
> that for Knights:
> 
>   (a) The candidate must be considered the equal of his or her
>   prospective peers with the basic weapons of tournament combat.
> 
> For Laurels:
> 
>   (a) The candidate must have attained the standard of excellence in
>   skill and/or knowledge equal to that of his or her prospective peers
>   in some area of the Arts or Sciences.
> 
> and for Pelicans:
> 
>   (1) The candidate must have attained the standard of service to the
>   Society or any of its branches equal to that of his or her prospective
>   peers, which is above and beyond that normally expected of members of
>   the Society.
> 
> Everyone complains that So-and-So didn't have to work this hard to get
> it 10 years ago. Well the standards are *supposed* to change over time.
> We expect more out of people as our group grows and matures.
> 
> Sorry for my brief excursion outside of the actaul discussion, but I
> thought I'd throw this in.
> 
> Btw, do we still actually enforce:
> 
>   g. They shall have made every effort to learn and practice those
>   skills desirable at and worthy of a civilized court. To this end they
>   should have some knowledge of a wide range of period forms, including
>   but not limited to literature, dancing, music, heraldry, and chess,
>   and they should have some familiarity with combat as practiced in
>   the Society. They should also participate in Society recreations of
>   several aspects of the culture of the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
> 
> to become a peer in this Kingdom?
> 
> Ciao,
> 
> --
> Phelim Uhtred Gervas  | "I want to be called. COTTONTIPS. There is something
> Barony of Bryn Gwlad  |  graceful about that lady. A young woman bursting with
> House Flaming Dog     |  vigor. She blinked at the sudden light. She writes
> pug at pug.net           |  beautiful poems. When ever shall we meet again?"