ANST - Re: Award Recommendations

[Lee Lemons]

Greetings!

Here is a missive HE Lorraine Deerslayer sent out on one of the lists that I thought
might be informative for all to read.  It concerns award recommendations.

Curstaidh


Lorraine wrote:

> Maybe this will give some of you an understanding of how any of the
> rest of us figure out what to put down for an award recommendation...
>
> First, Awards are given as defined by Society Law and Custom...
> Society Law is purposly vague and Custom is subjective.
>
> THERE ARE NO REQUIREMENTS THAT AWARDS HAVE TO BE AWARDED IF ANYONE
> GENERALY FITS THE CRITERIA...THEY ARE ALL AT THE BEHEST AND SUBJECTIVITY OF
> THE CROWN who get their information from THE SUBJECTS THAT WRITE THE
> RECOMMENDATIONS.
>
> And there is no guarentee that anyone will get an award when you think
> they deserve it or when they think they deserve it or when it was supposed
> to happen (we won't go into how many awards ended up being awarded at the
> "next event" because the paperwork from the crown did
> not show up or they missed someone...)
>
> <snip>



> Here is how I would (and have) gone about recommending someone for a
> thistle...
>
> The work or display of knowledge of a gentle/or gentlewoman catches my
> attention...I then watch this person and their work...as time progresses
> they seem to delve more into research and start to produce  works that are
> more and more period style...they may even have attempted a "recreative
> work".  I usually talk to them about that object. I then see how their work
> is benefiting others...sometimes they are teaching others what they have
> researched and sometimes they are teaching others technique...I ask them
> what the period technique would be (if they are not using it already). I pay
> attention to things I read in articles they write on the subject or in the
> documentation they submit for A&S. FOR ME, someone doing something because
> they are interested in it and want to share knowledge ranks a lot higher
> than someone just doing things relatively "by the numbers" so that they
> achieve an award. I do not
> form my opinions in a vacume...and behavior is balanced aganist how the
> works and skills of that person benifit the SCA and its stated
> scope.
>
> When they have reached a point when something in me says "ya know
> that person is doing thistle quality work and knows their research and is
> sharing their knowledge" then I discuss it with several others
> for feed back (to see if I have missed something).  I also try to consider
> things like how long that person has been in and how many other awards that
> person has and how much exposure that person is
> probably going to get in their SCA career...I like a person to have been in
> at least a year, and have been working at their craft that long. I think it
> is also important that the person be able to have a general understanding of
> the SCA as a culture and be apart of it...not just someone who comes to
> "party in garb" or so that they
> will be "entertained" or are doing things just because someone else wants
> them to do it. Do they actually care about the SCA? I also think that
> people's awards should be kind of spaced out, one a year or so; if you get
> people get their awards too soon it usually ruins them - they almost always
> drop out or think that the SCA is about award mongering - and my hope is
> that people will be in the SCA for a VERY LONG time. THIS is all VERY
> SUBJECTIVE.
>
> I then write the Crown
>
> The things that should be included are the person's SCA name (correct
> spelling if possible), modern name, and group of residence...it should also
> include events that person will be attending and your SCA and modern names
> and your group.
>
> Describe how many pieces they have done and to what degree of skill
> they are executed in and how "historically" accurate they are.
>
> Include arts competitions entered...research done...classes taught...
> prizes donated...articles written...and any other clue that might
> remind the Crown or their representative of the artist when the Crown has no
> personal knowledge of that person.
>
> As far as "official requirements" you would use the following document
> (The Constitution of the Sable Thistle)as filtered through the Corpora and
> By Laws and Kingdom Law (which follow)...
>
> >From the Constitutions of the Awards of Ansteorra
>
> The Award of the Sable Thistle
>
> I. Establishment of the Award
> a. There shall exist in Ansteorra an Award which the Crown, or the various
> Barons and Baronesses-in-fief at the pleasure of the Crown, shall give to
> persons who have shown outstanding work in any field of the Arts and
> Sciences.  This award shall be known as the Award of the Sable Thistle of
> Ansteorra, and shall hereinafter be referred to as the Award.
> b. Holders of the Award shall be entitled to be styled and announced in
> procession as, ”Holder of the Sable Thistle for X”, where X is the field or
> fields for which they received the Award.  The Award may be given to an
> individual more than once, but only once for a particular field.
>
> II. Arms and Precedence
> a.    The Award shall carry with it, at the pleasure of the Crown, an Award
> of Arms.  The Award     of the Sable Thistle and the Sable Crane of
> Ansteorra are to be held of equal precedence and shall be considered as one
> group.  Holders of the Award shall take precedence after Holders of the
> King’s Gauntlet and the Queen’s Glove of Ansteorra, but before the
> Companions of various baronial orders.
> b.    If the Award is given to a person who is already higher in precedence
> than stated above, then           his/her precedence shall remain unchanged.
> c.  If the Award is given to a person who does not hold an Award of Arms or
> higher precedence then his/her precedence shall date from his/her acceptance
> of the Award.
>
> III.    Bestowal of the Award
> a. The selection of a holder of the Award shall be announced publicly by the
> Crown or granting Baron and/or Baroness at an official event of the SCA.
> b. Persons being given the Award must be present to receive the Award.
>
> IV.     Holders of the Award
> a.      The number of Awards given shall not be limited, either in number of
> holders of the Award or in number of Awards given to a single individual.
> However, a holder of the Award may not be given a second Award in the same
> field of the Arts and Sciences.
> c. Holders of the Award shall retain their Award(s) despite any changes of
> residence.
>
> V. Insignia
> a. The badge of the Award shall be, “A blue thistle, sable, slipped and
> leaved Or.” (Registered August 13, 1981).
> b. Holders of the Award shall be entitled to wear a medallion depicting the
> badge of the Award dependant from a ribbon about the neck.
>
> In Corpora
> Under VII.B Other Awards
>
> 2.      Armigerous Awards and Orders.  Kingdoms may establish awards and orders
> conferring Awards or Grants of Arms, and the Crown may award membership in
> such orders according to the laws and customs of the kingdoms.
>
> In the Bylaws
> Article III: Objectives and Purposes
>
> The Society shall be dedicated primarily to the promotion of research and
> re-creation in the field of pre-17th-century Western culture, as stated in
> greater detail in Article II of the Society’s Articles of Incorporation.
>
> In the Articles of Incorporation, section II
>
> This corporation is a nonprofit public benefit corporation and is not
> organized for the private gain of any person.  It is organized under the
> Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes.  The
> purposes for which this corporation is formed include:
>
> A       Research and education in the field of pre-17th-Century Western Culture.
> B       Generally, to engage in research; publish material of relevance and
> interest to the field of pre-17th-Century Western Culture; to present
> activities and events which re-create the environment of said era, such as,
> but not limited to, tournaments, jousts, fairs, dances, classes, et cetera;
> to acquire authentic or reproduced  replicas of chattels representative of
> said era; and to collect a library.
>
> Under “Scope of the Society: Period and Culture”
> (part of the Articles of Incorporation)
>
> The Society is based on the landed nobility of the European Middle Ages and
> Renaissance.  Their dress and music, their literature and sports, and above
> all the chivalric ideals of their period, all serve to unify our events and
> activities.  Our regional and local organization sets aside the modern
> pattern of elected representatives to give us a sense of what it was like to
> live in the world of court and castle, so that our studies can go beyond
> literature and artifacts into the emotional reality of former times.
>
> Our activities range very widely, including a much broader span of time and
> culture than most groups in the “living history” movement try to sample.
> The people we’ve chosen for models were fond of play-acting and pageantry;
> they would happily base tournaments and revels on ancient history and
> distant lands, so we can use themes from outside medieval and Renaissance
> Europe as long as we keep our main period as an anchor.  They also reached
> remote parts of the world, despite the limits of their technology, and
> people born in other civilizations traveled too, so we can allow for
> individuals and information from almost anywhere.  The task is to weave all
> this together, so that the events we sponsor are recognizably our own.
>
> 

>
> In Ansteoran Kindom Law (most recent version and previous versions)
>
> Article IV: Rights and Duties of the Populace
> Section 1
> The primary right and duty of each Subject of Ansteorra is, by their
> presence, participation, research, and interaction, to assist the Kingdom in
> recreating the environment of pre-Seventeenth Century culture at activities
> and events such as, but not limited to , tournaments, fairs, parties,
> dances, classes, et cetera.
>
> Section 5: Maintainenance of Period Ambiance
>
> A        No object, conduct, or manner of dress which is blatantly modern shall be
> publicly displayed at SCA events unless permission has been obtained from
> the autocrat or the Crown.
>
> b.      Any person who displays a blatantly modern appearance shall by open to
> public censure by the Crown or its representative.
>
> Lorraine
>
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