[ANSTHRLD] baronial service awards

[Jay Rudin]

Alden asked:


> Looking at the OP, I noticed that when people step up as landed B&Bs,
> they become the Principals for that barony's service award.  If they
> hadn't received the award prior to that, does that award come with the
> barony-in-fief elevation, or does the Crown bestow it separately?  And
> after they step down, does the service award remain with the person?  I
> haven't really seen anything anywhere on the protocol for this.  I would
> think that since it's an award, it would have to be read into law in
> court, so it would be a separate item.  Can anyone share some
> history/information on this?

Not afraid to ask the tough ones, are you?

This one is based on experience, not logic.  It became traditional long ago 
that the B&B are in fact members of the baronial service orders, and retain 
it afterwards, despite the fact that Crowns do *not* retain membership in 
the various kingdom orders.

Why?  I don't know.  This became the custom in pre-Principality days, and I 
wasn't here yet. But it makes this much sense -- being baron/ess *is* 
service to the barony, and theoretically qualifies you for the baronial 
service order, but being Crown does not inherently qualify you to be an 
Iris, Lion, etc.  (Yes, I know -- this argument *could* be used for the Star 
of Merit or Crane, but as I said, this is about experience, not logic.) 
It's perhaps worth pointing out that the custom pre-dates any non-baronial 
Ansteorran orders or awards, since we were not yet even a region, much less 
a principality or kingdom.

But the original founding barons/esses were not given the Order in court; it 
was assumed.  In the Steppes, Allemanius, Aureliane, Exiter, Anne-Louise, 
Thorkell, Kalida, Caitrin, Mahdi and Valeria all received the Oak this way, 
and are all Oaks today.  (I tried to give Oaks to Thorkell and Kalida right 
before they stepped up, and the Crown told me no, precisely because they 
would have it a few minutes later anyway.)

So the Ansteorran custom is that making somebody a Baron or Baroness in fief 
makes them members of the Order, even though it isn't spoken in court 
explicitly, just as an Iris, Star, Scarf, or later Grant Order gives a 
Grant, even though the Grant of Arms is not explicitly mentioned.

Robin of Gilwell / Jay Rudin