[Ansteorra] RE: Local Awards and Non Calendar Events

Gudze O'Domhnaill gudze at pagancow.org
Wed Aug 20 00:08:37 PDT 2003


I had not heard that Ansteorran awards were sometimes viewed as less
meaningful because of their frequency, but this does not terribly surprise
me.

I am not one to judge the merits of all persons receiving an award,
armigerous or otherwise... But I would certainly concur that awards given
with less frequency tend to be more highly-valued.

As a bearer of no awards, I can say that I would be much more excited to
earn an award that isn't frequently awarded than on that is given to
everyone who meets a certain requirement of exceptional service. (Again, I'm
not saying that's how it is now, just making an example.) For example, I
would love to be the Employee of the Month, but I'd love even more to be
Employee of the Year. I'd be happy with the former, but truly excited about
the latter.

It is my humble opinion that nonarmigerous awards should make up the vast
majority of those awarded. Additionally, I might set a soft approximation of
how many of a certain award I wish to present at a given event or in a given
month/year ("soft" because I wouldn't exclude someone who was deserving
simply because I hit that number). That would help maintain the relative
value of, and prestige associated with, a given award.

Humble Regards,
Gudze O'Domhnaill

P.S. I will be weighing in on the event number issue, after I catch up on
reading everyone else's replies. :)


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "C. L. Ward" <gunnora at vikinganswerlady.com>
To: <ansteorra at ansteorra.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2003 00:39
Subject: [Ansteorra] RE: Local Awards and Non Calendar Events


> > 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.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Ansteorra mailing list
> Ansteorra at ansteorra.org
> http://www.ansteorra.org/mailman/listinfo/ansteorra
>
>





More information about the Ansteorra mailing list