[ANSTHRLD] Symbols & symbolism, or, some thoughts on today's threads

[Diane Rudin]

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Lord Rodrigo wrote:

>So how does a 32 year old SCA squire recreate the 15th century life of a Yorkist >gentleman?



Think like a Yorkist gentleman might.  Think of yourself as a lord, not a squire.  A minor lord in the service of a more notable lord & his lady, Baron Karl & Baroness Kasilda.  (Yes, I know that in the SCA, the knighthood & pelican outrank the "court barony".  I'm talking about focusing more on period practice.)



>"I am King because they believe I am King."



An admirable sentiment on Duke Kein's part, and completely accurate for a modern person.  A non-modern king would say "I am King because I am annointed by God to rule these lesser folk. That's why my army just conquered this land--because God was on our side because he wanted me to rule this land."  From this point I could provide a VERY long discussion of what's referred to as "the king's two bodies", and how we so often misinterpret divine-right kingship to mean "I'm the king and I can do whatever I want".  Most monarchs in period who fell into practicing such absolutism found themselves on the receiving end of a revolt.  The people's reason was that the king's mortal body had overcome his sacred body, as evidenced by his poor stewardship.  No-one believed in the sovereignty of the people until the seventeenth century.  And I'm going to end this now because there are entire books on the subject.  (Bibliography available upon request.)



>But one thing I would hope we as a society and historical community would >remember, and I use the term historical loosely, is that we have the opportunity to >recreate so much of what was. And by this I mean that there is no need to recreate >the wheel as far as heraldry, and symbols in the middle ages are concerned. When >we change these things we make it harder to relive those times by inserting
>anachronisms where they do not need to be.



<snort>  I'm just about the LAST person on this list who would advocate re-inventing the wheel as far as *anything* about period practice goes.  I gag every time I hear someone justifying some blatantly non-period thing by saying "but it's the Society for *CREATIVE* Anachronism!"  As though Shakespeare, Chaucer, Michelangelo, Raphael, da Vinci, Titian, Alcega, Holbein, Ascham, etc. weren't creative.  Creativity as we think of it is a *very* recent, hmmm, creation.  This could lead to another very long discussion from my art history classes, but suffice it to say that I am a very strong advocate of mining the rich vein of history before us instead of digging another mine over there where we may or may not find anything good.



>I would just like to think that the idea of slowly changing to a more historically >minded rules of heraldry would be possible.



Slowly is right.  It's been over a decade that I've been advocating more authentic document practices in Ansteorra, and I have but one or two scribes who agree.  It's a matter of patient, careful education, as well as leading by example.  I have long since faced the fact that most people just want a pretty picture to hang on their wall, and don't give a *bleep* that it's totally inauthentic.  Those who do want authenticity generally know where to find me.  Now, if only my hands would work right again....



My main suggestion to you is to do careful, thorough research from reputable sources, sponsor tournaments run in more authentic fashion (within the safety rules of the SCA), and, more than anything else, lead by example.  Plenty of people like to sit around and say, "why don't they do X".  Peers are, in part, those people who decided to get up and do X.



Serena Lascelles / Diane Rudin



P.S.  Master Robin and I won't be at Gulf War; that costs money.  We'll be at Elfsea Spring Faire and Steppes Warlord.



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