ANST - Nobility/peerages

[Timothy A. McDaniel]

Pug wrote:
> IMO, the oath of fealty is to the Crown, not to the King and Queen.

That's one of the standard SCA explanations.  IMO, you can't swear to
the Crown or the Throne.  Will the metal on their heads uphold your
right to justice?  Will the chairs they sit on acknowledge your rank?

I don't think they had such an abstraction in period.

> Personal oathes of fealty should be done in private. 

I wonder if maybe all oaths should be in private.  If I Recall
Correctly, current UK practice is that one member of each rank of
peerage swears fealty for them all.  Then again, they have some 1200
peers -- but then again, their reigns aren't usually measured in
months.  Were there mass fealty oaths in period, or were they always
one-on-one?  If the latter, then maybe they should be done in private
just to keep court from lasting three days.

Daniel de Lincolia
-- 
Tim McDaniel.   Reply to tmcd at crl.com;
    if that fail, tmcd at austin.ibm.com is my work account.
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