ES - Various

[Axel , Jeanmaire & Diane Remes]

Jeanmaire here, again.  Hope you all aren't bored with me yet.

Viscountess Kate wrote:
>>
>I am having a hard time knowing who is a pel or a laural. Knights are
>kind of obvioux but if they are pel's or laurals they're not.  I would
>appreciate your in put please.  V.Kate
>===========================================================================
=


This is exactly what I was talking about with teaching a class on how to
recognize peers of various sorts.  People aren't being intentionally
discourteous - in many cases they just don't know.  Thanks, Kate, for having
the courage to ask.

Knights, of course, have their three marks of regalia:  chain, white belt,
and spurs.  In some kingdoms there are conventions about gold chains, spurs,
&/or rowels (the little round things that stick out from the spurs) for
knights and silver chains, silver spurs, and silver rowels, or no rowels for
squires.  I get that stuff confused, and most knights don't wear spurs very
often, anyway.  So look for a white belt and a chain.  A white baldric
denotes a Master of the Chivalry.  Male Laurels and Pelicans are also called
Masters, which can sometimes be confusing, but, what the hey, we're all
peers.  Female Laurels and Pelicans are called Mistress.  Unfortunately the
regalia for the Laurels and Pelicans consists only of a medallion.  Since
many awards confer a medallion, the peerage medallions can be hard to spot.
Also, if a Pelican is doing dirty work, which they often do, they may not
even be wearing their medallion.

The Laurel medallion is a green laurel wreath on a gold field.  The pelican
medallion is a picture of the pelican piercing its own breast with its beak,
in order to feed it's starving children on the blood.  (OK, a bit gruesome,
but appropriately medieval, and completely authentic.)  While the Pelicans,
to my knowledge, seldom if ever wear anything besides the medallion,
Laurels, as the Arts & Sciences types, have become inventive about showing
off..... ah..... being flashy..... ah......  whatever, over the years.  I
have seen Laurel medallions made from almost every medium imaginable - gold,
silver, enamel, amber, real emeralds, other green gems, like tourmaline,
cross-stitch and other embroidery - I have one that Darius made for me
carved out of horn.  Also, Laurels tend to wear laurel wreaths on pouches,
buttons, trims, and wherever else they can find to put one.  I have a pair
of laurel wreath earrings, which most everyone in the Barony has seen by
now.  Most noticeable, though, is the Laurel Wreath crown, which is simply a
coronet, usually in gold (or gold colored metal) made of laurel leaves.  A
person who is being Laureled that day is often provided with a wreath of
fresh laurel leaves, and will wear a cloak with laurel wreath(s) embroidered
or appliqued or woven on.  See what I mean about inventive?

This info, by the way, is off the top of my head.  For more detail, check
out the SCA web site, or try a copy of the Known World Handbook, which has
lots & lots of this sort of stuff, plus the arms of all the Kingdoms &
everything else you might want to know.  We have owned about 5 copies over
the years, and they keep disappearing because we lend them out & they don't
come back.  Think of it as our contribution to newbies.

I hope this answers your question.  If you need more info, or if I've
confused you, feel free to post again.

In service,
Jeanmaire


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