[Ansteorra] Use of Titles (was Re: hiding mundane)

[Jay Rudin]

Alden Drake wrote:


>I find the topic of proper use of titles to be somewhat ironic, since
> the titles we use in the SCA are not historically proper.  You'd think
> that a society that strives to recreate the period would correct itself
> when it finds itself in error.  Yet for some reason a person can be a
> Peer, go by the title "Master/Mistress", and not be a baron/ess or above
> (how weird is that?), meanwhile, someone who has been awarded arms can
> be called "Lord/Lady"! (a proper title for a Peer).

By the way, "Lady" / "Lord" is a proper title for any number of non-peers, 
too.

> The best way I have
> found to accept this is to recognize that my title is Ansteorran.  While
> my persona is that of an Englishman, I hold a Grant of Arms from
> Ansteorra, not England.  As such, I am willing to subscribe to such
> conventions that are Ansteorran (or determined by Corpora).

Yes, I understand the frustration.  I certainly don't want to defend the 
accuracy level of the award system.  But the fact remains that the use of 
titles has more purposes than merely to be a re-enactment, and therefore 
what looks like an error at first glance may in fact be a deliberate 
departure for good and clear reasons.  (Of course, lots of it is also poor 
decisions made early and not corrected because the act of correcting would 
cause major political and social problems.)

In the Middle Ages, ruling was the most important thing, and was honored 
above all else.  Therefore, people who ruled lands (baronies, counties, 
duchies, etc.) are the highest ranked class.  To be true to the exact 
structure, current landed barons would be the only peers.  But to be true 
to the ideal, the highest ranked people should be the people doing the most 
honored things.  In any organization, that means the workers, so Pelicans 
should be peers.  In any re-enactment society, that should include the best 
re-enactment, so clearly Laurels should be peers.  Based on its 
pre-eminence from the first tourney, and the fact that our kings come from 
it, knights are also in the class of peers.  This structure is not true to 
the form of the Middle Ages structure, but it is true (more-or-less) to its 
purposes and spirit.

Similarly, as an Elizabethan noble, I should be caught up in the Cult of 
Gloriana, treating my Queen as the ultimate font of honor and the most 
important person in the world.  And so I do.  But her name isn't Elizabeth; 
it's Deanna.  I can either pretend to be in fealty and serve Queen 
Elizabeth, whom I never see and who cannot accept my oaths, or I can swear 
to, and serve, my actual Queen.  Which one is actual re-creation?

The structure of awards, titles and rank, both English and SCA, grew out of 
experience, not logic.  Since our experience doesn't match theirs, our 
structure won't either.  Further, changing titles after they are in use is 
a major upheaval, which will cause much heart-ache, much confusion, and 
will end up with a system that is not appreciably more authentic (unless we 
intend to treat the top artists like merely talented peasants).

Consider the following three statements, which I presume any new award 
system would want to apply:
1. The correct term for the highest ranked artists, chosen to be equal to 
the best artists around, is "Master".*
2. We wish to give the people who do the most impressive re-enactment the 
highest possible rank.
3. The highest, most honored group will be called peers.
>From these three statements, I deduce that "Master" / "Mistress" will be 
peerage titles in any new system

*Yes, I'm usually punctilious about using both forms of a title for the 
SCA.  But I'm talking about medieval usage.  I know no example of a guild 
mistress for a trade guild.  Even if one exists, it's rare.

The attempt to explain why our titles aren't like theirs is akin to an 
actor playing Hamlet, trying to explain why a Danish Prince is speaking 
modern English pentameters, why he talks out loud when he's alone, why he 
can see an audience of hundreds of people when he's in his mother's 
bed-chamber, or why he can see a lightboard off-stage.  The correct answer: 
ignore it and play the role.



Some people try to explain why they are now in Ansteorra, or Atlantia, and 
why all these weird people are around.  I've heard "persona stories" about 
sailing across the sea to Trimaris, or about (yes, I'm serious) time 
travel. There are two problems to all of these explanations:



1. They fail to explain.  Why does an nobleman sweep the floor?  How can an 
Elizabethan accept an Irish king?  Where are my servants?  Why aren't we 
trying to get back to England?  The list of questions to be answered is 
infinite.  Any answer given opens new questions, until the only solution is 
to have the persona of a 21st century SCA member.

2.  All such explanations take us further from our personae, and further 
from the periods we study.  Even if I found an explanation about how I 
could speak to a Moor, how does that explanation help me study, or focus 
on, or learn about, Elizabethan England?  Answer: it doesn't.



The only solution to the unanswerable questions is not to ask them in the 
first place.  This is the literary skill of "willing suspension of 
disbelief", and is necessary for any serious persona in the SCA.



A movie that many people think is the best one ever made begins with a rich 
man dying alone, and saying one last word.  The rest of the movie is about 
a reporter trying to track down the meaning of that word.  BUT HE WAS ALONE 
WHEN HE SAID IT.  How did the reporter know what he said?  Answer: don't 
ask.  Suspend your belief and enjoy the movie.



Similarly, I don't want to be Jay asking how an Elizabethan ought to 
respond to a Moor -- I want to be Robin talking to Mahdi.  My persona 
doesn't have to include either other people, or Ansteorra.



At some point you will have to stop asking the unanswerable (and 
uninteresting) questions and just take on your persona.  The earlier you do 
this, the more authentic your persona can be.  (and the less frustration 
you'll feel.)



Robin of Gilwell / Jay Rudin