[Ansteorra] What's an AoA mean?

[Robert Fitzmorgan]

On 9/17/06, Bridget the Stargazer <bridgetthestargazer at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Greetings to all who read this,
>
> Duchess Willow's recent post got me to thinking about when I was a
> newcomer.
> One of the things I remember is what I was told an AoA meant. I've looked
> at
> a website which lists the awards of the kingdom
> (http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/jessa/anst.html) and it says that an AoA is
> given at the pleasure of the Crown or in conjunction with another award. I
> have seen those with the experience of being king or queen and would like
> to
> know what earns someone their AoA? I realize that often times it comes
> from
> recommendations as the king and queen can't be everywhere to know every
> individual who deserves a given award. For those who have not been king or
> queen, what would make you recommend someone for an AoA?
>
> I ask this as I have been asked in the past and I'm uncertain if the
> reasoning is the same now as it was when I began playing in the SCA.
>
> Thank you to all who respond,
> Bridget the Stargazer



     In making an AoA recommendation I look for someone who has been playing
long enough that they feel like one of us,  who has picked out a name,  who
has some acceptable garb, and has made a contribution to what we are trying
to do.   The contribution can be helping at events, entertaining at the
bardic circle, learning and practicing a new art, or anything else that
makes our game better.
     I also look for character.  They have to behave reasonably well and not
have shown themselves to be untrustworthy, dishonest, etc.

Robert

"If you haven't found something strange during the day, it hasn't been much
of a day."     John A. Wheeler

Fitzmorgan at gmail.com
Yahoo IM: robert_fitzmorgan