[ANSTHRLD] system overhauling

[Diane Rudin]

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Lord Alden wrote:

>Maybe the SCA got it backwards[....]

Backwards, inside-out, sideways...darn near everything but correct.  Knights outranking lords, lords who aren't nobles, "court baron" as an adjective-noun phrase, stringing sets of initials after your name to list your awards, non-lifetime rulership, on and on and on--it never ends.  Without a *very* radical overhaul, that's the way it stays.  I mostly ignore it, and try to concentrate on adding authenticity to our symbols and relationships.  If you spend all your time looking at the Coke can in the room, you'll miss the beautiful silk Elizabethan gown on the lady in front of you.

The people who set up the SCA structure were more informed by Victorian notions and fantasy novels than precise research.  Yes, I know that the first event was a party to celebrate Diana Paxon's MA in Medieval Literature.  I've never met Ms. Paxon, but I have met several people in the SCA with advanced degrees in medieval art & lit who caused me to wonder what their thesis committee was smoking, because they didn't know much about medieval art & lit, much less medieval history & civilization.  Couldn't quote a single source, didn't understand the mindset, etc.  I've also met several people in the SCA whose advanced degrees were in sciences, math & business who knew a great deal about medieval & Renaissance art, lit, history & civilization.  And vice-versa.  Just as we in the SCA have knights, laurels, and pelicans who are unworthy, so the academic world has master's- & doctorate-degreed individuals who are unworthy.  (What's sad is when they get tenure.)

How is this relevant?  Every system has its flaws.  Unless those flaws are doing you out of life, liberty, and property, just rise above it all and sail on.  Yes, it's annoying that the awards structure of the SCA is inauthentic.  It annoys me that there are people with academic credentials who refuse to support their assertions with evidence, or who will only do so to another academic.  Ignore it, focus on the good things, and lead by example.

Serena Lascelles  /  Diane Rudin



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