ANST - Meetings and Volume at any Court

[Tim McDaniel]

On Thu, 15 Jan 1998, Baron Burke / Burke McCrory
<bmccrory at oktax.state.ok.us> wrote:
> ... more than capable of getting to the dais without aid.
> BUT, that is a mostly a 20th century perspective.  Ladies
> in most places in the middle ages would have always been
> escorted, to not be would have been scandalous.

Do you have evidence conveniently to hand?

> I think, and will continue to encourage, that any lady
> called into the presence to be escorted as a statement of
> the high standing that we hold all ladies in.

And I will continue to say that it should be the *lady's*
choice as to whether she wants to be escorted, and if so
*she* should reach out to the man.  Otherwise, she's put on
the spot of spurning a man immediately in public, or of
having unwelcome company.  If *she* wants him, fine by me.

In the chivalric romances, I doubt that the ardent knight
ripped the sleeve off his beloved's dress as a favor.  *She*
might bestow the favor on him (or bestow her more intimate
favors, leading to her husband discovering them, leading to
lots of deaths and a great romance).  *His* job was to
languish for love and venerate expectantly, and take
whatever romantic crumbs she tossed to him.

I think it's a lot like the debate about "points of honor"
on the list field.  In brief, some say it's a good thing and
ought to be encouraged, and some consider it insulting.  The
problem is that they're coming from two mutually-exclusive
axioms, and you can generate a logical theory of chivalric
conduct from either.  That means the most you can hope for
is convincing a few of the others that your axiom is better,
or at least get them to recognize that there *is* a
legitimate difference.

Daniel de Lincolia
-- 
Tim McDaniel; Reply-To: tmcd at crl.com; if that fail, tmcd at austin.ibm.com
is work address.  tmcd at tmcd.austin.tx.us is wrong tool.  Never use this.
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