ANST - Peerages: *do* vs *is*

[Dennis and/or Dory Grace]

Hi all. Aquilanne here.

Cian wrote:
>Taking of Protege(e)s by Pelicans has not been a
>_common_ practice anywhere I have been.  The numbers of
squires/apprentices of
>friends and acquaintances of mine over the years far exceeds that of
protege(e)s
>of my Pelican friends.  This is both on a total number and student per peer
>basis.  There have also been fewer total Pelicans.  I am not sure of the
reason
>for this but it may be the nature of the work.  I can take someone and teach
>them sword, shield and pole arm play and shield work (no bias there).  A
Laurel
>can teach brush, needle, and spoon strokes.  What would a Pelican teach?
At the
>risk of becoming overly philosophical, it seems in many ways that service
is an
>innate thing waiting for expression and not a skill to be developed.  Perhaps
>the Chivalry and Laurels are recognized for what they _DO_ and Pelicans are
>recognized for who they _ARE_, something diffiult to see and often
uncomfortable
>to recognize.  This is not to say that, as Laurels and Members of the
Chivalry,
>our identity is not a part of our peerage, just that we are first noticed
for an
>activity.

Well, to speculate a bit, I would guess that the lower frequency of
Pelicans taking proteges might very well stem from the fairly common
misapprehension that quite a few folk seem to share--that of "how does one
*teach* service?" Another good gentle (I apologize for not remembering your
name; I accidentally dumped your post before I could credit you) already
shared some very good examples of what kind of things a Pelican could teach
a protege: how to efficiently autocrat an event, how to successfully
compiled handbooks, how to move through beaurocratic processes, etc.

In addition, a Peer should be able to instruct and guide a
protege/squire/apprentice as to SCA customs, local and otherwise, courtly
graces, share their philosophical approach to greater concerns such as
chivalry, honor, respect, perspective, tolerance, generosity, empathy, etc,
etc, etc. A fine seam does not a Laurel make, simple physical prowess will
not win a white belt, and all the logged hours in the kitchen will not
guarantee a cap of maintenance. A Peer is someone who both *does* and *is*.

Which leads me to the main thrust of why I wanted to address Cian's post,
which contains some not-uncommon notions. The main thing I wanted to
address is the notion that: "Perhaps the Chivalry and Laurels are
recognized for what they _DO_ and Pelicans are recognized for who they
_ARE_, something diffiult to see and often uncomfortable
to recognize."

First off, make no mistake: a *Peer* what a person *is*. What they *do* is
what they *do*. A Knight is a Peer who fights. A Laurel is a Peer who does
art. A Pelican is a Peer who serves. Mundanely, I do calligraphy and
illustration and graphic design for a living (such that it is ;->)--that is
what I *do*. What I *am* is an artist. In the dojo where I train, the
instructor *does* Cha yon ryu karate; what she *is* is a martial artist.
When my husband goes to UT every day what he *does* is takes classes and
teaches rhetoric; what he *is* is a student and a teacher. When a Peer is
recognized in the SCA, they are recognized for what they *are*; what they
*do* merely suggests _which_ circle recognizes them.

I hope I've helped to clear up some misconceptions.

BTW, for anyone interested, I'll be taking Allysyn Kranidious,
wifeoftimotheniftymutantlefty, as protege at Bryn Gwlad's Baronial Faire
and Investiture.

Aquilanne

Dory Grace--The Inkwell
denouncer of Tytyvylus & warrior crone
amazing at mail.utexas.edu
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