ANST - How important is fighting?!

[Laury Torrence]

Damaris of Greenhill wrote:

> Your post got me to thinking....All of the aspects of SCA peerage
> orders, (fighting, A&S, service) are all interdependant on one another.
> I mean, to recreate the atmosphere of a tourney, you need things like
> banners, pavillions, list ropes, armour (that looks real from a
> distance), costumes.  So fighting is the reason for A&S.  Then there are
> the marshalls, list mistresses, water bearers, pages and so on and so
> forth.  Why are they there?  Because there is a tournement.  And
> tournements are entertaining if anything.
> There is, within me, a childlike wonderment of anything colorful and
> exciting.  However, you take away the A&S and the Service people at an
> event and you just have guys and girls hitting each other with sticks. 
> But without them why go to the trouble of making brightly colored
> banners, pavillions, costumes and armour?
>
> Do I make any sense here???

I totally agree with Damaris here, we ARE all interdependent with each
other, to a large extent.  The Tourneys are a large part of our existence,
as they have always been, and should always be.  The Arts and Sciences
support the fighting in many ways, and in turn the Tourneys draw individuals
who will see our A&S work.  It is an interesting and convoluted relationship,
for where would we be as a Society without both?  And without those souls
who are dedicated to making it all work as a whole, we wouldn't be nearly
as large, nor as interesting, to such a wide group of people.
The "child-like wonderment" is the thing that grabs us.  The scholarly works
of those who delve into A&S entice us, and pique our curiosity to know more.
The color and pagentry appeal to us all, and we work for that "perfect" moment
when it all comes together, and you can take a step back into the past for just
a fleeting time................I think that's the reason(s) we do what we do.  Not for
the "cookies", but to be able to *be* who our ancestors were, even for that
fleeting moment.
Personally, those moments are the ones I live for, and all the other stuff melts
away or becomes insignificant in the light of that perfection.  In other words,
all the crud is worth the blossom it produces.  One of my most cherished moments
was Grand Court at 25th year.  The mundane stands didn't matter, the site didn't
matter, nothing made any difference to me but the sound of hundreds of Ansteorrans
chanting the name of Our Queen by Right of Arms (Rowan).......and nothing will
ever erase the emotions I (we) felt at that moment.  The immense pride and love for
our Kingdom, and our Sovereign was as palpable as velvet.  It still makes me a bit
misty-eyed!  THAT, to me, is one of the biggest reasons I play.
But enough of what *I* think, anyone else care to relate one of their *special moments*?

HE Caterina
je suis le tenebreux


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