ANST - Kein's words

[Keith Ewing]

Unto the Populace of Ansteorra does Duke Kein MacEwan give greetings.

It is with a heavy heart that I take up my pen to answer the charges of 
Baron Orm and Viscountess Megan. First let me state that I have had the 
utmost respect and admiration for Orm and Megan throughout my SCA 
career. They are true Lions.

That is why it saddens me that they have chosen such a public forum to 
discuss the problems that they have. I wish they had simply picked up a 
telephone and discussed the issues with me. Unfortunately, they have 
chosen a public forum to impugn something that I hold sacred. I hold my 
word to be the measure of my honor.  Oath breaking is not a charge that 
I can leave without answering.  

In the letter that our first and third Lion wrote to the list they 
stated several facts. I find that I must either add to or explain or 
reword some of these facts. 

Fact # 5 "Orm requested and it was granted that upon its retirement 
that sword would be returned to our hands." 
Kein’s Facts: In facts #1 through #4 it is established that this 
happened during Duke Lloyd’s first reign. According to the "Rulers" 
page on the Ansteorran website, Lloyd and Jocelyn’s first reign 
occurred between November 18th, 1979 and June 21st, 1980. During that 
time I spent some time as a senior at Midwest City High school then had 
my 18th birthday while having one of the great adventures of my life in 
Kotzebue Alaska. I had not heard of the SCA. 

Fact #7  (paraphrased)  A pledge is received from King Sigmund the 
First. 
Kein’s Facts:  According to the "Rulers" page on the Ansteorran website 
Sigmund and Sieglinda’s first reign occurred between January 31st, 1981 
and July 18th, 1981. During that time I was a freshman living in the 
dorms at the University of Oklahoma. I was exposed once briefly to the 
SCA, but I was much too busy chasing girls, drinking beer, and playing 
AD&D to view it as anything but a curiousity.

I’ve given you a little insight on my personal history to establish 
that, while I do not dispute the facts to this point as given , there 
is no way that I could be personally aware of them.

Fact #9 "Upon the loss of the Great Sword of State at the hands of Kien 
(sic), 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."
Kein’s Facts: The Sword of State was stolen from the cab of a locked 
pick up truck in the front of my house on a well lighted street. The 
thief or thieves smashed the driver side window and stole the sword as 
well as several of my own personal items. 
Kein’s opinion: I have always read that a victim must not accept 
responsibility for the actions of a criminal.  It was not my fault that 
a criminal chose to break the law and my window. This being so, I 
cannot accept that the loss of the sword was "at the hands of Kien 
(sic)". This is a realization that it took a while to come to me. I did 
blame myself for quite a while.

More of Kein’s Facts : The first people that I tried to contact upon 
the loss of the Sword were…. ORM AND MEGAN.  I contacted three people 
that I knew who were prominent in the North to obtain a good phone 
number for them. They all gave me the same number which had been 
disconnected. I was at a loss.  I contacted another Lion whose opinion 
I valued, Duke Inman. He proposed a replacement sword constructed by 
his own hand and I agreed. A week or two later at a Wiesenfieur event, 
I saw Orm and Megan. It was with great regret that I informed them of 
the theft of the Sword. I had heard many times the tale of how the 
Sword was Megan’s bride price, and that Orm had given the sword to King 
Lloyd many years ago.  It was then that Megan informed me that she had 
received a promise from a King in the past that the sword would be 
returned to her. This was the FIRST time I’d heard of it, despite being 
in the SCA since 1985, and sitting a reign four years before. 

Kein’s Opinion: I feel that there is a lot more left out of "Fact #9" 
than is put in. How could I tell Megan that I "did not intend to uphold 
the covenant" when I was not aware that it existed? 

Fact #10: "Megan, Orm, and many other Lions called Kien (sic), upset 
and distressed, to make sure he was well informed as to the Pledge, and 
the ramifications of breaking it." 

Kein’s Facts: I heard from many Lions, by no means all, nor even a 
majority. Each had something different to say. Many were not aware of 
any Pledge.  Most felt that a new sword should be crafted by Lions. 
Many said that they would support their King in whatever decision he 
made.


Fact #11: "Not only did Kien (sic), full knowing, elect to break the 
pledge; he at onetime 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."

Kein’s Facts: I did indeed tell Orm and Megan that I felt that it was 
important to get a sword into the hand of my heir. I never at any time 
compared that desire to anything else.  I never at any time told Orm 
and Megan that I had any desire to exchange swords quietly. Quickly, 
yes. Quietly, no.

Kein’s Opinions: The facts that the Viscountess and the Baron have been 
stating have been shifting somewhat from firm historical fact to 
impassioned  accusations filled with buzzwords.  Here is where the two 
Lions blatantly state as "Fact" that I am an oathbreaker.  They then 
follow this with a statement that I know is untrue. I do not accuse 
them of falsehood. I have known them for too long. I feel that they 
have probably misunderstood something that I did say.

Fact #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."

Kein’s Facts: No members of the Royal Family insisted on attending. One 
suggested it and I thought that it was a good idea. No one can 
successfully "insist" upon an Ansteorran King.  I don’t remember 
sitting  mute. And I  am certain that Alisha did not. In fact, it was 
Orm and Megan who expressed their consent with the arrangement made at 
that meeting and expressed NO discontent at that most auspicious time 
when something might have been done about it. 

Kein’s Opinions: This meeting was my attempt at fulfilling the pledge 
that I had not made. This is where I got all the Lions together to hear 
their voice. I also heard the voices of the former Kings, Queens, 
Princes and Princesses of Ansteorra. There are thirty four Lions of 
Ansteorra. At that time, one was dead, and three had moved out of 
Kingdom. TEN are members of the Royal Family. I go back now and look at 
the wording of the pledge that the first three Lions received from King 
Sigmund. It says, "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 all the Lions together would CHOOSE __and 
__  BRING FORTH TOGETHER unto the King a new sword." 
I don’t see where this pledge says that the Lions ALONE have this 
responsibility.  
Here’s a nit-picky side note.  The first and third Lion talk about the 
Crown Prince making a decision "before he could be informed fully about 
the Pledge".  Shouldn’t he have been informed of this Pledge during his 
first Reign?

 Fact #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. 


Kein’s Facts: The Lions as a body were consulted. The Crown Prince 
chose. The Lions agreed. (At least at the time.) The Crown Prince 
became King one week later. Any decision that I had made at that time 
could have been changed by him one week later. I saw no point in 
changing what he decided because it was fully within his rights to 
change it back. Besides, I agreed with him.

Kein’s Opinions: The rest of the letter that Orm and Megan posted is 
filled with their opinions to which they are entitled.  I will leave it 
as it stands except for two small passages. At one point they talk 
about the "oath that has stood for seventeen years". Well, obviously, 
it HASN’T stood. A large percentage of the Lions and the Royal Family 
were unaware of it.  They close their missive with, "The greatest 
threat is ignorance." Hmm... I agree with that.  

Now I want to talk about pledges… oaths… promises.  I never make a 
promise lightly.  I have never given anyone the right to make a promise 
for me. I feel strongly that every adult is responsible for his or her 
own actions. If my father had sworn to his neighbor that neither he nor 
any of his children would cross his property line, then, while I was a 
child, I would be bound by that oath, because he was responsible for 
me. But  when I achieved adulthood, I would expect the neighbor to ask 
for the same oath from me personally.  If he did not ask me, then I 
would not be an oathbreaker if I crossed the property line.  My father 
cannot swear an oath for me. So you see, I never felt honor bound to 
keep this Pledge that Orm and Megan informed me about. I did and do 
feel a strong responsibility to tradition, so I tried to accommodate 
the Pledge that Sigmund and Finn had made four years before I joined 
the society, but the word of one King is not binding on another. If a 
King or a Queen wants their rules to survive their Reign, they must 
write it down in Kingdom Law or receive an Oath from their Heirs.  Even 
Kingdom Law can be changed by the next Crown.

Tradition did not cover the situation I found myself in. The Sword of 
State had never been stolen before. I listened carefully to all the 
advise and counsel that I received, then I made decisions to the best 
of my ability. Ultimately, it was taken out of my hands when my reign 
ended.  Were the decisions that I made good? Opinions vary. Probably 
not. Doesn’t matter. I was the King.  Maybe Jean-Richard and Gladwen’s 
decisions will be better. If not, then Barn and Kat can take a crack at 
it. Whatever decisions are made, I will abide by them, because they are 
made by the Crown and I have sworn an Oath to support the Crown.  

In closing, I hope that no one will let this letter reflect negatively 
towards Viscountess Megan and Baron Orm . They were both very hurt by 
the loss of the Sword as was I. The Sword was special to all 
Ansteorrans, but no two were so bound up in the early history of the 
Sword and of our Kingdom. I think that, especially Megan, is angered by 
the loss. She looked for someone to use her sharp spear on, but the 
thieves were not available. Someday, perhaps, the thieves will be 
available. If they survive my wrath, I will hand over what is left to 
Viscountess Megan.


Respectfully submitted on the 7th day of April, 1998

Kein MacEwan



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