[ANSTHRLD] Request for assistance

[Timothy A. McDaniel]

Ld. Cedric Einarsson wrote:
> It's my understanding that only Baronies can give armigerous awards
> because the B&B's are representatives of the Crown.

To be picky:

- Um, Kings and queens, and princes and princesses, can give
  armigerous awards too, even though they're not baronies ...

- By Corpora, *only* Royalty (which it defines as Crowns and Coronets)
  can give out *armigerous* awards, awards which carry an Award of
  Arms, Grant of Arms, or Patent of Arms.  Corpora says that baronies
  can give only non-armigerous awards.

- Corpora just says "Only royalty and territorial Barons and
  Baronesses may bestow awards", but doesn't say why.  It does have a
  clause about how "The basic duties of the Baron and/or Baroness are
  ceremonial in nature in reflecting the royal presence in the
  barony.", but that's well above that.

Please note that I've been careful to avoid writing "a group can't",
just "Corpora says".  Corpora and the SCA sometimes fly in loose
formation.

For example: Note that Corpora says that baronies cannot give
armigerous awards.  Note that most all Ansteorran baronies give an
armigerous award.  Note the contradiction.  The way it actually works
is that, if a recipient of the baronial armigerous award does not
already have an AoA, the baron/ess contact the royalty for prior
approval of the award.  I suspect that most recipients of baronial
armigerous award already have their AoAs, so the award doesn't convey
an award of arms (can't wet the sea), so the baron/ess doesn't have to
consult, and any sensible baron/ess will keep the royal camel's nose
out of their baronial pavillion as much as possible.

So a baronial seneschal or whatever could give something they call The
Award of the Sable Clodhopper, and since SCA Inc doesn't have secret
police yet and Crowns generally don't bother, the shire will often get
away with it.

However, if they want to have a period-style rules hack, I think they
could form an order.  Note: I Am Not An SCA Rules Lawyer; I disclaim
all responsibility for anyone attempting this; may cause severe tire
damage; if you get banished for trying this, don't run crying to me.
A number of period orders were what we'd call "households" in the SCA:
people sometimes even unconnected with nobility forming a group for a
common purpose (no pun intended), perhaps for a limited time.
However, for period style, I suggest that such a construct be an
*order*: a group that have a rule, that meets, that decides things in
common.

If you prefer to avoid problems and just call it the House of the
Sable Clodhopper, and the founding members happen to have good
reputations and choose only people with good reputations from the
Shire of Clodhoppia, well, who's to say ye nay?

An even better way is to write letters to the Crown recommending
people for the Sable Comet.  Then it's even in the kingdom Order of
Precedence.

Daniel de Lincolia
--
Tim McDaniel is tmcd at jump.net; if that fail,
    tmcd at us.ibm.com is my work account.
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