[Ansteorra] Spurs (was:Squire belts (was: Sable Thistle...etc.)

Faelan Caimbeul faelancaimbeul at gmail.com
Wed Jun 21 21:40:34 PDT 2006


I once had a Knight explain all this to me thusly:

The chain is a symbol of fealty and service, nothing more. By that
definition, anyone who sears fealty to their Lord, Baron or King would be
entitled to wear it (yes, I came from one of THOSE kingdoms).

The spurs were nothing more, historically, than a tool used to ride a horse.
The SCA made the association because normally only knights had the money to
afford a riding horse. However, many nobles as well had horses, and many
equestrians today have horses and corresponding horseshoes too, even though
they are not knights; and so the spurs were not indicative of a knight
either.

The white belt is a purely SCA thing. It's in law and the only official
symbol of knighthood. In period, a white belt simply meant you had a white
belt, hopefully matching your ensemble (but more than likely not). 

Therefore, the only true indication of a knight is his heart. How he carries
himself, how he treats others, how he pursues art and culture, protects the
weak, leads and generally makes a good effort to be the best person, the
best warrior, he can be. This means that we can find many a "knight" who has
never had a white belt, spurs or a chain, and should; and several who do
have this things and shouldn't.

Faelan





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