[ANSTHRLD] households.

[N.D. Wederstrandt]

>
>Note: * HOUSE *.  I recall Robin of Gilwell explaining it.  As best I
>recall, there were three principality awards.  Leaving Madonnas aside,
>the other two were to *households*.  There was some doubt on whether
>one prince/ess would be able to give Ring Thegns in their tenure,
>because they were not members of a household.

         By early definition - House was a Lord and a lady and household 
was anything larger.  Talk about early punishment.  A married couple could 
be a house but three single people constituted a household.  Two single 
people couldn't have a house.  (grin).


>Households were pathologically powerful in early Ansteorran history.
>I recall Robin saying that it was because SCA territorial branches
>formed and firmed somewhat after SCA people started getting active, so
>households filled in as the organizational principle.  An SCA branch
>has the virtue of its defect: it's geographical.  That means you can't
>exclude someone who lives in the area.  Judging by early Ansteorran
>politics, that's actually a substantial benefit.

         Also we had nothing higher than Lords and Ladies.... one made 
households for that reasons.  You could have dinners and have somebody to 
sit at the top of the table.   And unfortunately, as Robin said, households 
were exclusionary and created some problems.  It also though I think helped 
a great many people get around - make it to events.  Households policed 
their own groups to correct social misbehavior.   We also had some unusual 
events based on households.  Households made treaties back then (the Lluda- 
a treaty between households)  the Clan Games - a multi household war 
between people who didn't really get along that well, having a war, and 
killing each other in fun when they wanted to vent out anger at each other.
         My personal feeling is that households run well, are beneficial- 
much like guilds.

         The Ring Theygns were Anglo-Saxon based because Ansteorra, early 
on was conceived of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon in persona. (The earlier people 
in the Kingdom honestly wanted the Kingdom to have a persona.)

Clare