[ANSTHRLD] question about nobility

[Jay Rudin]

-----Original Message-----
From: heralds-bounces+rudin=ev1.net at ansteorra.org
[mailto:heralds-bounces+rudin=ev1.net at ansteorra.org]On Behalf Of Alden
Drake
Sent: Thursday, August 04, 2005 2:33 PM
To: Heralds List, Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc.
Subject: Re: [ANSTHRLD] question about nobility
Aldoen responded to Daniel:

> > I always liked Knights Banneret myself.  And I won't bring up the
> > whole thought of peers in fealty should be Sir or Dame( regardless
> > of type) and those out of fealty being Master or Mistress.

> If you have evidence that period knights always swore fealty to the
> king, except perhaps the Salisbury Oath to William the Conqueror, I
> should like to see it.

Exactly right, but don't try to map medieval customs onto the SCA structure
of the same name, when we know our structure doesn't match theirs.

Most period knights swore fealty to the lord who knighted them and had legal
authority over them.  Until kingdom law states "The word of the Baron/ess is
law," the correct analogue for their leige is the Crown.

> I like the idea of knights-bachelor (knights not belonging to
> an order (like the Garter)), but as the only knights in the
> SCA are members of the *Order* of Chivalry, there seems to be
> no room in our game for the knight-bachelor.

What problem would the Knight-Bachelor be created to solve?  Are there any
top SCA fighters who are upset that they can't be Knights-Bachelor and have
to be members of the Order of Chivalry instead?  [Yeah, Clare, I know about
Starhelm.  Anybody in the last quarter-century?]

My experience is that all peers are proud to be part of their order.  I'm
certainly proud to be counted as member of the Pelican and the Laurel.

We can invent all kinds of awards based on some idea that sounds neat.  But
it's not enough for an award idea to be theoretically cool; it also has to
serve some real purpose in the SCA.

Robin of Gilwell / Jay Rudin