ANST - Sword Facts (Long)

[Megan & Orm]

Unto the Gentle  Folk  of Ansteorra I bid greetings. 

I was told that some of you had directed questions to me concerning our
early days as a principality.  My apologies for not responding; I had
unsubscribed to the list because I was having trouble handling the added
email traffic, then our system was down for 2 weeks.  If anyone wishes to
reach myself or Baron Orm on any subject, you are welcome to email us at
lions at icnet.net, and we will do our best to respond to you personally.
Then you can post at will those answers you deem of general interest.

For the last three months myself, Baron Orm, and some others of the earliest
Lions of Ansteorra have been working to bring the matter of the Sword to a
complete resolution, but it does not seem that there will be one at this
time.  Indeed, it has been given out that one was reached, but this is not
so, and we wish the populace to know the facts of the matter.  Before
proceeding however, I want to point out that any sword a sovereign holds in
his or her hands for ceremonial purposes is the sword of state at that
moment.  What we are speaking of in what follows is not about a sword, but
about the fundamental values underlying what we __say__ we are doing here.
--Megan

The FACTS, unaltered and as complete memory allows are:

1.  Megan conceived of, found, arranged for the purchase of, and the
presentation of the Sword of State that has been our symbol for almost 18
years.  

2.  Megan, Baron Orm, and all the crew of the ship Raven assisted in its
purchase.

3.  Orm reforged it, to make it a worthy  weapon,  as well as a fitting symbol.

4.  Orm, with the crew of the Raven, presented the sword to Lloyd I  with
these words form Orm:  "This I give you to hold for the populace of
Ansteorra  while you are king.  It belongs to the kingdom, and is yours to
wield and guard for THEM!"

5. Orm requested and it was granted that upon its retirement that sword
would be returned to our hands.

6. During the reign of Sigmund I,  Megan, 3rd Lion of Ansteorra,  arranged
for the Lions of Ansteorra to become stewards of the sword.  Prior to that,
it had no connection with the Lions, save that the first 3 Lions were also
Raven crew, from whom the sword came.

7.   Orm, Ivar and Megan asked for and received from Sigmund, mid reign, a
pledge that  the Sword of State should be the especial charge of the Lions
of Ansteorra, and that when the time came that a new sword was needed (i.e.,
if that one were lost, broken or retired), all the Lions together would
CHOOSE __and __  BRING FORTH TOGETHER unto the King a new sword. 

8.  At the end of Sigmund's first reign, Orm, Ivar and Megan, of their own
will and without "permission", went to the king and redeemed from him the
Sword of State.  Thus they established the tradition of the Lions taking the
Sword from the king.  They then, again of their own accord, brought it forth
to Finn, and charged him as Orm had charged Lloyd, that the sword was his to
hold for his people.  They reestablished with Finn the covenant between the
Lions and the Crown, and so it went for many years.  At some point, while
Megan was out ill, the Lions began to fail to explain the Covenant to the
crown and new Lions.  It was explained sporadically, but not well, until
Megan and Orm resumed play.

9.  Upon the loss of the Great Sword of State at the hands of Kien, he
expressed to Megan and Orm that he did not intend to uphold the covenant
between the Lions and the Crown,  and that he and Inman had decided that
Inman would bring forth the new sword.

10.  Megan, Orm, and many other Lions called Kien, upset and distressed, to
make sure he was well informed  as to the Pledge, and the ramifications of
breaking it.

11.  Not only did Kien, full knowing, elect to break the pledge; he at one
time told Orm and Megan that he wanted to handle an exchange of swords very
quietly at coronation, thus, sweeping the matter under the rug.   He
indicated clearly to Megan and Orm that it was more important to him to get
ANY sword into the hand of his heir than to keep faith with the Lions of
Ansteorra.

12.  A meeting was held that was to have been between only the Lions and the
Crown, but which some members of the royal family insisted the royal family
must attend.  At the meeting, many of the royal family, some knowing the
full extent of the Pledge, and some ignorant of it, urged the Crown Prince
(not the Crown, not the Lions) to make a choice of where the next sword
would come from--before he could be informed fully about the Pledge, and
before he could  hear discussion on other options from the Lions.  In fact,
Megan had brought 2 candidates to the meeting for consideration, offered by
1) a barony, and 2) a gentleman of the realm, but they were spurned without
being seen, all while the king and queen sat mute.

13.  The end result of the meeting was that the Lions as a body WERE NOT
ALLOWED TO CHOOSE a new Sword of State, though we will participate in
bringing it forth together, subject to some terms that not all of us agree
with.  Only half of the pledge was honored, and that, subject to restrictions. 
****************

Having stated the facts, we will now note what deeply troubles us about them.

Some Lions have expressed deep frustration and distress over this incident;
some have not spoken, and not having known of the Pledge may not care.  But
principles of integrity and   honor were violated by the crown, and these
principles the Lions are called on to guard.

As this selection process stands, the sword of state that is being made
represents a broken pledge; it does not represent unity.  It also represents
the intervention of most of the then present Royal Family in a contract
between the Lions and the Sovereign.  This sword is the convenient and
expedient answer to a problem that would require wisdom, honor,
responsibility and time to sufficiently solve, in order to fulfill the oath
that has stood for 17 years.   If these words upset those who have urged
these choices, we hope you will reconsider what you hoped to achieve from
this pledgebreaking.

Of late we have seen Virtue and Principle put aside for the sake of
convenience and expedience.  In our minds, in the matter of the replacement
of the sword, it's the symbol of the very virtues that the crown is supposed
to uphold and protect that has been dishonored __by__ the crown.  
HOW IS IT CHIVALROUS TO BREAK A PLEDGE?

Sweeping these things under the rug is a form of condonement.  Anywhere a
code of silence is preserved at the expense of the values a group purports
to uphold, the group is diminished.  As long as we continue to turn our
heads just because the subject is uncomfortable, we will allow these things
to happen again and again.  

Granted,  there are some, royal family, Lions, and populace alike who do not
know or cannot comprehend that only half of this matter has even been
addressed. We are remedying that now.  

The important thing is, the king and queen did know, and broke the pledge
anyway.  Just as the king would not consult a single knight and deem that he
had consulted the order, so too, going to one of the Lions for a solution is
not a substitute for involving all of us, as the pledge required.  We have
written Kien, and though the kingdom seneschal officially requested to him
that he respond to us, he has not.  (Anyone wishing a copy of that letter,
please let us know--it is germane to the present discussion.)

The Lions of Ansteorra, are named to defend The Dream.  What are the
elements of that dream?  The value of one's given word is one, at least.
We are sad for a pledge that we depended on for 17 years, and that, at the
last, was cast aside.  Megan found and we brought forth the Great Sword of
State of  Ansteorra ourselves.   So that others could share in that with us,
we made provisions that the whole Pride of  the Lions together would choose
the next one, but the king and queen broke faith, denying the Lions at least
that reward in return for their stewardship.  We ourselves were summarily
dismissed without acknowledgment for our maintenance of the sword over the
years.

What we hope to achieve by expressing these facts and corresponding concerns
is this: Illumination of the populace, and a change in the way we do
business within the kingdom court.  We believe that the Crown should uphold
the pledges it is bound to, and the virtues that form the basis of what we
call The Dream.  Illumination is vital, for it is in the dark that those
pledges and virtues are most easily sidestepped.   We have come, over the
years, and especially now, to know that the greatest threats to the Dream
are not weak, unwise kings, petty dukes, or even a greedy BOD.  The greatest
threat is ignorance.


Baron Orm Skjioldbidig, Premier Lion of Ansteorra, OL
Viscountess Megan Andoniel of Glengalen, Lion, OP
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