Bards - All nobles?

[Olias]

I found my documentation!  While I found no definition of the term "noble"
in my 1989 copy of the Organizational Handbook, I did find several
references in my Known World Handbook, twentieth year edition.  In the
article on "Choosing a Persona", page 98 states "You may not take any title
of nobility, including 'Lord' or 'Lady'."  The same article, at page 100
also states "Men:  You're noble until proven otherwise...."  I am sure this
concept was around prior to TYC, as I recall being told when I joined the
SCA 18 years ago that "no one is a peasant unless he chooses to be, we are
all presumed to be nobility"  I was told this by more than one person, with
the added info that until we get an Award of Arms we are "unrecognized
nobility".

I suppose the relevance of all this to a bardic list is that if we are all
nobles then it is appropriate for a bard to compose pieces about anyone's
deeds.  In fact, it should be encouraged, as it might cause (or at least
help) the subject of the piece to receive some well deserved recognition
(and possible elevation to a higher station).  In addition, it enriches all
of us to know that there are more than a handful of people performing
notable deeds.  AND (I do tend to ramble) it gives those of us who live far
from the bright center of the kingdom someone to write about.

My heartfelt thanks go to Duke Jonathan not only for his clarification of
how this concept was introduced into our kingdom (he may be one of those who
told it to me, I used to go to Steppes and Elfsea events in my early days),
but also for  believing that we are all worthy of being thought of as
nobles.

H.L. Olias
former titled bard of Rosenfeld, Bonwicke, and Adlersruhe
-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Mitchell <pmitchel at flash.net>
To: bards at ansteorra.org <bards at ansteorra.org>
Date: Sunday, January 30, 2000 10:00 PM
Subject: Bards - All nobles?


>Galen here...
>
>From: Olias <olias at amaonline.com>
>
>> I must ask the question:  What happened to the concept that we are ALL
>> nobles--that until we receive an award of arms we are merely unrecognized
>> nobility and once we have received that award we are now recognized
>> nobility?
>
>Whatever happened to this concept?  I can't say that I ever heard it.
>What I was raised with, these 21 years in the SCA, is that everyone
>starts as a member of the gentry, with exceptional potential for
>advancement.
>
>The Award of Arms grants the title of Lord or Lady, but these are not
>titles of nobility in the SCA.  In the Society, noble ranks carry the
titles
>of Duke, Count, Viscount, and Baron, and their feminine equivalents,
>and the equivalent titles of other cultures.
>
>In period, the most important thing to ask about a person was, "who
>is he?"  A person was defined by his connections, relationships, family,
>patrons, and so forth.  This is true of virtually all cultures prior to the
>period known as "the enlightenment".  A person who achieved great
>thing without "connections" was considered all the more peculiar for
>having done so.  Thus, Joan of Arc, whose contemporaries believed
>that she had direct messages from God through his angels and saints,
>was still looked down upon for her lack of proper lineage, and
>an attempt was made to rectify this by elevating her family to noble
>status.
>
>The SCA embraces the peculiarly American concept that the most
>important thing about a person is not "who is he?", but rather "what
>can he do?", or sometimes, "what has he done?".  Thus, I am a Viscount,
>but my lady wife, who fills my days with contentment, enjoys not my
>rank, as my wife, but the rank which her own achievements have
>earned for her.
>
>And it is undeniable that the central figures in our game are those whose
>achievements have earned for them places among the peerage and
>noble ranks.  As bards, we must understand that sometimes, we are
>like the entertainment press of the modern era, reporting the stories
>and exploits of our culture's celebrities.  We can reflect our own values
>in choosing which stories to tell, and how to tell them, to inspire the
>next generation of peers and nobles, as well as raise the expectations
>of those who are _not_ peers and nobles, but who demand certain
>conduct of the people who are honored with those ranks.
>
>But if there are bards who wish to find the great deeds of the less-famous,
>and tell those stories to make them famous, well, I should think you'd
>enjoy the advantage of having fewer people to correct you and say,
>no, I was there, and _this_ is how it really happened!.
>
>In either case, if you can do this, then you've done something important
>as a bard.
>
>- Galen of Bristol
>
>
>
>
>
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