[Elfsea] Baronial Awards for A&S and Martial activites - long

Wed Aug 29 18:23:30 PDT 2007

I think I know the right answer.

Every landed noble or couple can "champion" an area that they wish to see
grow. One of the ways to do this is to make awards to be given out for
excellence in that area. Because we did not wish to have an award that
conflicted with anyone else's, Llywelyn and I looked into several different
possible awards. It wasn't easy to create a name for an award that went
along with the castle theme of Elfsea, or that would go with the Portcullis
or the Keystone. 

 Llywelyn, as the military leader, of the Barony at the time, felt strongly
about the need to train and encourage the growth of melee fighting. This was
in addition to individual fighting, but there was already an award structure
as well as tournaments that supported individual prowess in rapier,
chivalric, and archery martial arts. The Crown wanted melee units, so
Llywelyn, Galen, Stella, and Airiklee worked to develop the Arthurian
Company and the Baronial Levy (all Elfsea fighters not in the Arthurian
Guard). We did not attempt to register the device on the tabards or the
name, but then, we didn't need to.

The Baronial Guard was not a separate fighting unit at the time, but their
jobs were primarily to aid and protect the Baron and Baroness. They were
also a ceremonial unit, comprised of fighters, many of them new, and young
children of good character and honor who stood guard during court. 

Llywelyn and I treasure those people who make the dream alive for us. We
appreciate good research, good arts, and the sharing of knowledge through
the active reconstruction of the arts and sciences of the Middle Ages and
Renaissance. We like music, stories, good costuming, fine weapons,
encampments, and food that make us learn about another time and place. So,
we created the Azure Grail of Elfsea.

Also, this persona development and dedication to the Barony are two areas
that Llywelyn and I felt should be recognized, especially due to the fact
that we used to have the Culture Camps. While we could not recognize or
award everyone who worked at those events, the leaders who taught, fostered,
and supported the camps with honor, courtesy and chivalry were worthy of
obtaining the Grail.

Llywelyn is also of the school of heralds who do not like a rampant
proliferation of awards, cookies, or orders. People *should* strive for
greatness - not for an award - but because it's worth striving for. We
thanked our autocrats by "paying" them at the Moot after an event - usually
in the form of pearls or books. We also tried to thank our officers and
helpers with largesse and public words of appreciation. We also publicly
recognized members who had traveled and represented the Barony at other
events, cheering for them when they won a contest or tournament.

I like to think that our membership does what they do for fun, for honor,
and for chilvary and not just for the awards. I know that our award system
isn't fair and it isn't guaranteed to be equitable because I went 11 years
between awards at one point. Nothing is ever perfect.

I have also felt that our three areas of recognition - the arts, the
service, and the martial arts - sometimes do not take into consideration
those people whose impact are spread out over more than one of the areas. Is
scroll painting an art, or a service? Is developing a war melee group for
the King a service, or a martial art? If someone recreates a Norse or
Burgundian encampment, with music, food, dress that are so welldone that you
feel transported to another time and place - it is an art or a service, or
perhaps all three if they have a pas d'armes?

If someone wishes to recognize someone's arts or fighting ability, largess
and word fame are still greatly valued by all, even by Nobles and Peers of
the Realm.

(Besides, if Llywelyn and I, or any of the current or previous landed nobles
had created every possible award, there would be nothing new to create for
the next set of landeds:)

In Service,

Mistress Xene Theriane, OL,OP,CB, OHBG, OKE, AGE, etc......and my favorite:
MOA (a challenge to the Heralds out there!)

-----Original Message-----
From: elfsea-bounces at lists.ansteorra.org
[mailto:elfsea-bounces at lists.ansteorra.org] On Behalf Of Dragonetti
Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 9:06 AM
To: 'Barony of Elfsea'
Subject: [Elfsea] Baronial Awards for A&S and Martial activites

Not being a heraldic type, I sought assistance on a couple of occasions to
advance this effort, however, distractions diminished a persistent effort on
my part and "life" frequently happened among those I in whom I had sought
council. There had been discussion of altering the Eastern Tower to simply
the "Towers" in order to allow more leeway in issuing different "flavors" of
the award, (i.e., Eastern for static or performance A&S, Western for martial
activities, Central perhaps for excellence among our youths, etc.)  This
would alleviate the need to go through the submission and approval process
with the college of heralds over and over for each new "flavor". Hopefully
our successors can fair better than I in seeing this effort through. It is
an excellent topic and I am pleased to see it getting a bit of attention.
Thank you Mistress Caterina! :-)

HE Armand

  _____  

From: elfsea-bounces at lists.ansteorra.org
[mailto:elfsea-bounces at lists.ansteorra.org] On Behalf Of Richard Threlkeld
Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 11:56 PM
To: 'Barony of Elfsea'
Subject: Re: [Elfsea] New website

Agreed. We do have one for A&S, but it is rarely awarded. We have talked of
combat awards, but have not yet built such an award structure.

Caelin

From: elfsea-bounces at lists.ansteorra.org
[mailto:elfsea-bounces at lists.ansteorra.org] On Behalf Of
Klfrench1023 at aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 22:31 PM
To: elfsea at lists.ansteorra.org
Subject: Re: [Elfsea] New website

Thank you for your reply.  I am aware that there are Kingdom awards for
Shires, but this doesn't entirely answer my question.  It seems that these
awards are largely given only for service.  If there is a structure in place
to give a Barony the power to recognize those contributions which are
outside the realm of service, whether it be on a Baronial or Canton level,
then why are they not utilized?  Service is indeed something worthy of
recognition and praise, but the martial and artistic communities contribute
just as much in their own venues to our enjoyment of the game.  I am just of
the firm belief that we need to encourage growth and participation in all
sectors, not merely in one.  

M. Caterina

  _____  

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