ES - Re: response to role playing

[Ori Pomerantz]

	Hi,

	His Excellency, Baron Galen:

> But I knew a norseman once who aspired to knighthood, and
> I told him never to let his persona be an excuse for
> unchivalrous behavior.

	The way that I view it is that Ansteorra is a West European, late
period kingdom (it is a lot more like the kingdoms of Christendom than
those of Islam). An important difference is that it is a tolerant kingdom
where good people are accepted regardless of ethnicity, faith (or lack
thereof ;-) ) or any such criterion.
	However, it is a West European kingdom. If you would be a knight,
you need to follow the appropriate rules of Chivalry. If you would be a
herald, you need to do West European heraldry, which is many cases is
against Islamic law. If you would be a Baron[ess], you need to act like
the ideal of a Eurpoean Baron[ess], not like a Mongol Khan or a member of
the Imperial Chinesse beaurocracy with the corresponding job. If you would
be King, you need to consider yourself King, not the replacement (Caliph)
of Allah's messager or Allah himself.
	We need this standard for the society to function. A King who
acted like a Chinese Emperor (who appointed provincial rulers for short
periods of time, and never to their home provinces) would not function
very well with a Baroness who acts like she inherited her Barony and only
held it in fief on paper and both would have problems with a "knight"
whose only loyalty was to his or her clan. As long as we judge people by
their talents and virtues, it is good that we require common ground, even
if it means we do things which are out of character for our personas.

	To a large extent, this is how Uriah acts, or tries to act. That
is, Uriah recognizes himself as a stranger and respectfully tries to learn
and follow the laws of the land, while at the same time remembering that
these aren't exactly HIS laws. Since I'm so used to being a foreigner, and
the people of this fair kingdom are so friendly and willing to teach, this
works out well. For the most part the laws ARE the same, but there are
differences, which I try to play on.


	Illa Lika (Uriah would be a native speaker of Arabic who learned
			Hebrew for religious reasons, so the Arabic "see
			you later" is probably the most appropriate),
		Uriah of Hebron


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