[Ansteorra] Peerage . . . (Was Squires, Spurs and belts, OH MY!)

[Faelan Caimbeul]

>I don't see how you can assume that in Ansteorra we judge a person's worth
stricitly on the awards they have received. There are many who are respected
as if >they are Peers...who for one reason or another have not had what it
takes to actually be acclaimed a Peer.

 

I never said any such thing.


>And, no offense meant, but, how do you judge whether a Peer is still
deserving of their title when you are not the one who made them thus.

 

Again, I never said that. The comment was made by the Peer that told me the
little tale. I'm not saying that at times I haven't questioned someone's
worthiness, but then again, I question my own all the time, too.


>I have also found that most people need to maintain a very shallow vision
of others to maintain "respect"....once they know people to any depth they
cannot >maintain that camelotesque illusion...and therefore are heartbroken
at the fall of their heroes from their pedestals...(yes I know I'm mixing
allusions) And the heart >break is the at the loss of the illusion. It
doesn't really have anything to do with the person the illusion is about.



Absolutely not true. I know several Peers; Knights, Laurels and Pelicans
that are just as courteous, selfless and humble in the "real world" as they
are in the SCA. The more I get to know them, the more I respect them and the
more those qualities become apparent. This, I think, is what my friend meant
by " and some who don't deserve it " . He is one who exemplifies a knight to
me, a mentor, confidant and all around honorable man, both in the Society
and out. What he was referring to is people I think you may be referring to.
Those that play the game, but it's just play, and it's just a game. When you
get to know them, you realize this, and the hero falls off his pedestal. 


As a Peer...

I have found that it is incredibly hard to live up to my own ideals of what
a Peer should be, much less those ideals of random members of the populace
who haven't the depth or breadth of knowledge of the SCA to know what the
"Job" of a "Peer" entails.

Sometimes I'm a good example of a Peer, sometimes I'm the bad example.

It depends upon the situation and the perspective of the observer.

There are times when I've appeared to be a "bad Peer" because I was doing my
duty as a Peer to take the brunt of the situation so as to make sure that
others could do their jobs effectively. Those who saw only the surface of
the situation would believe one thing...those who knew the depth of the
situation would know another.

Peerage looses it's value when:

people attempt use you for their own ends...
whether it is someone who wants the weight of your Peerage in their
"fight"...
or when you are used as a pawn by the powers that be...
and when you get tired of being in the "Fish Bowl" all the time...
or tired of being a target...
and tired of having to discern every person's motives when they approach
you...
when all you want to do at the moment is just relax and have a little fun...

cause we're all in this for fun aren't we?

That's the truth of why Peers leave the SCA...

and to be able to stay...you have to figure out how to have fun and
concentrate on those things that are redeeming to you in the SCA while
dealing with all of the BS above...as well as all the things in your
personal life...jobs, kids, SO's, etc...

If you really are in the SCA for fun and that's it...
don't even start on the journey to be a peer...
don't even let it cross your mind...

cause there are lots of things you will have to do on your journey that are
not fun...and there are lots of things you will have to do when you get
there that are not fun...

In Service to the Reality,

Lorraine DeerSlayer
(insert alphabet soup here)



Faelan Caimbeul <faelancaimbeul at gmail.com> wrote:

That's my point. There are many in this Kingdom of knightly bearing who are
not knights. I think this is more defining than title. Unfortunately though,
I have also found not just Knights, but other peers as well who are not as
deserving of those titles anymore. It's sad, but some people work their
tails off to get something, then seem to forget why they got it and it
looses it's value. 
(snipped verbage)

Faelan

 

  

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