[Ansteorra] Ansteorra Digest, Vol 6, Issue 26

[Marc Carlson]

>Alix deBohun czarena_unrest at yahoo.com
>I have been on both sides, acted as escort for a male friend, and have been 
>the lady escorted by a >male friend. I've never looked at is as validating 
>my presense (even if that's what the tradition >started as).  When someone 
>is called into court to be made a peer, they are oft heralded in with >much 
>pomp and circumstance.  To me, being escorted into court is the same idea 
>on a much >(much) smaller scale. It's saying "this person is important 
>enough to have entourage "(even if its an >entourage of one).

In mundane monarchies, it's perfectly normal to have a person, whether male 
or female, announced into court by a Herald (and not in the current Knight's 
Tale shtick thing either), and if they are escorted by anyone it's the 
Herald.  Of course, that's a system that doesn't do the "Surprise" thing for 
awards either - at least not as a normal thing.  But that's a separate issue 
:)

>You, of course, bring up a good point though. The visual of several men 
>clamoring to get to an
>unescorted lady is (while often humorous) probably not the best behavior. 
>Unless its a dear
>friend/other half , perhaps letting someone who is closer and has offered 
>is a better idea.
>my 2 cents :)

Absolutely.  Anything that draws away the attention from the person getting 
the award, or whatever, eventually serves to trivialize the event.

Marc/Diarmaid