ANST - Patents

Paul Mitchell pmitchel at flash.net
Mon Oct 18 16:24:59 PDT 1999


CraigCC at aol.com wrote:
> 
> In a message dated 10/18/1999 5:07:10 PM Central Daylight Time,
> timden at lcc.net writes:
> 
> << So my questions are:
>   What is the difference in having a Royal Patent or not?
>   Why are we one of the very few (only?) Kingdoms that dont give them out?
>   Would it be in the Kingdom's best interest to give out Royal Patents to
>  those stepping down?
> 
> 
>  Sir Timo Kalamanos >>
> 
> I am very interested in discussion on this topic.
> 
> HRH Alaric

Well, my lord Prince, I offer the following as my first service
to you:

As we all know, the Royal Peerages are the ranks of Duke,
Count, and Viscount, and their feminine equivalents.

Shortly before I became Prince of Drachenwald (my Investiture was
in January of 1984), the Board of Directors observed that the
kingdoms and principalities, by long tradition, were granting
patents of arms with the Royal Peerages, or to their Ladies of
the Rose in some kingdoms.  The Board issued a ruling, still
in effect so far as I know, that patents of arms could not be
granted with royal peerage titles unless the incoming ruler
polled their patent-holding predecessors on whether the 
current/outgoing rulers met the requirements in _Corpora_
for patents of arms.

For this reason, Kaylitha and I polled the four resident
holders of Viscounty rank in Drachenwald on the question
of whether Prince Alexander and Princess Katya should be
given patents of arms.  Alexander and Katya had not
ruled the satisfaction of these four, and we were told 
unanimously they should not be granted patents of arms.
And so their viscounty rank did not and today does not 
include patents of arms.  In my opinion, following this 
counsel was the worst mistake I made as Prince of Drachenwald, 
perpetrating a terrible and lasting public injustice against 
two friends who certainly deserved better.  Viscount Alexander 
and Viscountess Katya today are well-liked and participating 
members of our home Barony of Elfsea, as Your Highness knows.

Six months down the road, and my successor (who was also
one of my predecessors) consulted the other three and
they agreed that I, too, had not ruled to their satisfaction,
and so Kaylitha and I also did not receive patents of arms
with our Viscounty rank.  Viscountess Kaylitha today lives
in Bryn Gwlad and is only peripherally involved with the
SCA.  I received a patent of arms with my knighthood.

Granting patents of arms with royal peerage rank serves
no positive purpose.  It is solely a method to punish the
outgoing rulers.

I beg you to maintain the Ansteorran practice as it is.

- Galen of Bristol
============================================================================
Go to http://lists.ansteorra.org/lists.html to perform mailing list tasks.



More information about the Ansteorra mailing list