[Ansteorra] RE: Local Awards and Non Calendar Events

[C. L. Ward]

> Um.. HELLO I did say local awards that carry
> an AoA did I not?  The  comet,thistle and AoA
> are KINDGOM awards. I was talking about local
> awards that carry AoA's. ie The Firebrand of
>Bjornsborg. Local baronal award carrys and Aoa.
> Pieter

Pieter, not all local awards carry AoAs.  The Bjornsborg Firebrands, at
least when they started, did not, although the Ursae Majoris and later the
Ursae Australis did. A barony can have as many (or as few) nonarmigerous
awards as they want.

And, as for what you do about local awards you'd like to give at these
non-calendar events, is the Crown can read 'em into law at any Crown court -
for which one does not have to have the whole kingdom present.  I'd think
that the Crown could summon a few witnesses into Their camp a little ahead
of Group X's noncalendar event, open Their Court, read the scrolls into law,
Close Court, and send the awards via messenger (or FedEx, etc.) to Group X
to be duly presented with much publich hoorah and rejoicing at the
non-calendar event.

But, honest-to-goshen, "having an event so we can give out awards" has gotta
be the worst reason for holding an event I have ever heard in my life.  The
awards can't be all we're here for... surely some folks have got to be doing
cool stuff in the SCA because they think it's neat, or fun, etc.  Awards are
the cherry set atop the ice cream and hot fudge on the sundae... nice, but
not, after all, what you paid $3 for at the Dairy Queen.

On a related but slightly tangent topic, one thing that just kind of took me
by surprise the other day was hearing that some people got offended if they
didn't get their awards in evening court because they felt that somehow they
had been given less of an honor.  By my lights, an award given to me doesn't
mean that I have had an Honor!! bestowed upon me by the Crown (though that
is part of it).  Rather, the Big Deal of an award is that friends,
colleages, and other people doing some of the same stuff I do in the SCA
thought I was doing something neat enough for recognition.  The Crown may or
may not really know every person to whom They grant an award... but the
Crown does know that the person being given the award has in some way
impressed the people who recommended the recipient for that award.

I personally enjoy it when the Crown convenes court on the listfield, or at
the archery range, or on the dancefloor, and grants an award to a person
witnessed by the members of that person's SCA community... We may each live
in a given barony or shire or canton, but each of has one or more
"communities" with whom we play, be it chivalric combat, A&S, archery,
equestrian, rapier, the kitchen crew, etc. and I feel it is very special to
get an award in some of these "communities" with the folks we play with in
these venues witnessing, at least or even more special than it is to get one
in one's local SCA group's big evening court.

Over last weekend, I heard the opinion voiced that compared to some other
kingdoms, Ansteorra gives out "too many" awards and that consequently
they're not as highly valued here as they might be elsewhere.  That was a
very different belief than one I'd ever encountered, but it was one that
made me think.  I do have to giggle when I envision the chaos and riot that
would ensue if it were suddenly announced that half of the awards currently
given in Ansteorra were to be permanently retired and that the remaining
ones would be given out half as often than before...  but certainly it would
make courts shorter, and you wouldn't have to worry about no awards being
given at noncalendar events, lol!

::GUNNVOR::

Insomnia.  *sigh* It leads to waxing elephants.