ANSTHRLD - Re: Scroll Text Recommendation

[Timothy A. McDaniel]

I have to leave for the airport in 15 minutes -- I wish I had
time to devote to this question, as it deserves much more.

Ulf wrote:
> A preliminary review by one of the members of the college
> outside our barony, whom we respect, brought an opinion we do
> not share.  The individual felt that our text was too fanciful
> and flowery, too bardic instead of heraldic, and would much
> rather we follow period examples.

I entirely agree.

I like reality.  Not the full medieval reality with disease and
war and oppression.  But the things that are safe and good, I
like to have us do.  One history of Henry II has more richness,
more truth, more reality than all the words Tolkein ever wrote.
I think many people agree in many cases, or museums would not
bother with real items -- might as well have a replica Wright
Flyer in the Smithsonian.  (A group of blind people were asked
about accessability, and in particular iif it would suffice if
the Air and Space Museum provided a small replical they could
feel.  After discussion, they said it would be, as long as it was
placed directly underneath the real one.  That is the power of
reality.)

I think the officials and branches of the SCA ought to provide a
good example to the populace, encouraging and doing more
authentic things when they are just as easy and safe as
non-authentic ones.

Further, it's a false dichotomy to say "authenticity versus
popular" or "authenticity versus fun".  Some things can be both.

One of the most magic moments I've ever had in the SCA was
hearing my first Ansteorran county scroll.  It sounded so real,
so right, meshed with what I'd read, with all the sonorous legal
sing-song that my jaw dropped.  It was literally awe-inspiring.

I have heard of places where they do a writ-form scroll along
with a Book of Hours page.  The writ is authentic, the Book of
Hours page looks as pretty as the scribes and illuminers care to
get.  Further, the BoH page can have whatever text they like
without affecting the writ: for this person, it might be
Anglo-Saxon alliterative verse praise poem; for another, a simple
list of events they've autocratted; for another, an illumination
of things they've done ...

> These follow a strict format, usually with a lot of legalese to
> insure that the recipient pays his taxes and provides men in
> times of war.

The ones I've seen are much more interested in making sure that
the recipient gets all his rights of pillage and postage, sackage
and wreckage, et cetera.

> These fall short of the expectations of a modern audience, who
> think of scrolls as fancifully illuminated bits with mighty
> words written on them.

An opportunity to educate!  A friend, a high-ranking fellow of
Calontir at the time, told about seeing a new person get a plain
writ.  He said (and believed firmly in the truth of -- he wasn't
just trying to make her feel good), "Oh, that looks so REAL!
It's just like a real period one would be!  I am so ENVIOUS!"
She went away happy, as I would have been.

To judge by Ren Faires, modern people expect turkey legs,
potatoes, corn on the cob, and iced tea.  (Turkey legs are fine,
I think -- I recall hearing that Hungary was noted for large
turkey farms in the 1500s.)  The rest are not.  If people come in
to the SCA expecting the other things, do we pander to them,
given that iced tea is believed to have been invented at the
World's Fair in 1893?  No.  Nor should we wear t-shirts and jeans
(except during setup and teardown), et cetera.

> Given that we are not actually granting lands and extracting
> taxes with any of these awards, maybe we should look more
> afield for examples.  Letters and orders, declaration of
> knighthood and grants, indulgences... there is a wealth of
> texts out there where Someone In Authority made a written
> statement that, by its writing, improved the life of another
> and conferred special recognition.

I would like to see such things, but you have shown no evidence
that you have done so.  In fact, in all cases in the SCA I've
heard of, texts have been made up out of whole cloth.

Besides, what are you doing when handing it over?  Surely you're
not just reading it -- surely you're praising the person.  That
is what made it more magic for me -- hearing the king or the
baron say such nice things about me.

Another thought comes to mind: I don't think any charters are
read for real-world knightings today.  Perhaps that can be
dropped?

> in harking to a name carried on the wind and shouted by the
> thunder

Either Oklahoma weather is unusually talented, or most of the
people in Namron are named like Wsssssshhhhhhh Rustle,
Boom Boom Rumble, and Crack ***BLAM***.

I have to go now -- please, I implore you to continue with your
current form.

Daniel de Lincolia
-- 
Tim McDaniel is tmcd at jump.net; if that fail,
    tmcd at us.ibm.com is my work account.
"To join the Clueless Club, send a followup to this message quoting everything
up to and including this sig!" -- Jukka.Korpela at hut.fi (Jukka Korpela)
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