ANST - Princes and Princesses

[Dennis J Dolan]

>Date: Mon, 13 Apr 1998 15:25:37 -0500
>From: Paul Mitchell <pmitchel at flash.net>
>Subject: Re: ANST - Princes and Princesses
>
>Mark.S Harris wrote:
>> 
>> Amra said:
>> 
>> > Changes, certainly, but with the significant exception of adding 
>the ceremonial
>> > offices of Prince and Princess -- and the attendant waggon-load of
>> > gotta-have-'em Principality awards -- the regional officers become 
>principality
>> > officers and the juggernaut keeps rolling foreward.
>> 
>> "Ceremonial offices of Prince and Princess"?
>> 
>> Where do you get this?
>> 
>> I suspect that they would be no more ceremonial than the current 
>Ansteorra
>> offices of King and Queen are. Or territorial Baron and Baroness. 
>Yes, in
>> some parts of the Known World these offices are ceremonial and the 
>Office of
>> Seneschal has the real power. However, in at least those parts of 
>Ansteorra
>> that I am familar with, that is not the case.
><snip>
>> So Amra, and the others here discussing principalities, how do you 
>envision
>> your princes and princesses?
>
>A Prince is more like a big baron than a little king, as it's set up 
>in
>the
>SCA.  
>
>Now Stefan, your Baron wields a lot more influence over the running of
>the Barony, and more directly, than does Amra's Baron, I think.  It
>differs
>from Barony to Barony, and from Baron to Baron.
>
>The Prince & Princess can't act against the wishes of the King & 
>Queen, 
>and have far less authority to act, anyway.  What they _can_ do, and
>what
>I think would be important, is to provide leadership, inspiration, and 
>a 
>focus for the kind of energy that raises armies and makes the SCA's
>special kind of "magic".
>
>And yes, there's always a Principality Seneschal.  All SCA branches
>have seneschals.
>
>The desire to create a principality, I think, has more to do with
>upgrading the status of a region than with chopping up the kingdom.
>When a shire goes for barony status, no one complains that they
>want to leave the kingdom.  I don't understand why people fear
>secession when a region starts talking about going for principality
>status, but they do.
>
>- - Galen of Bristol, Knight of Ansteorra
(Viscount of Drachenwald)

Now, I just know that I'm going to re-hash what has been hashed and
re-hashed, by those more eloquent than myself.........but, heres my 21/2
cents

The only Principality that I ever lived in became a Kingdom after a mere
12 years of Principality status, but visitors from the BOD kept
suggesting the move after only 2 years.  
There, the Prince and Princess were bound by the decisions of the Curia
(the counsel of great officers) and of course by the Crown.  Any
off-spring of Ansteorra will not be 'mere' figure heads, least wise not
anyone I've met yet, just as there has been no figure head Crown for the
past 16 years that I have been in this Kingdom. As for "gotta-have-em"
awards, as an area grows, the history and traditions will grow and grow
seperate as well they should, for we are not the carbon copy of Atenveldt
and both Kingdoms are stronger for it.

So, any *area* that wishes to become a Principality, with an overwhelming
majority of the population wishing it, should.  If the Western Alliance
were to be discussing the subject, I would have to vote against, just due
to population.

Doran MacCullom, Knight of Ansteorra

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