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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Alden wrote:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> Any and all awards, be they existing, or made
up on the spot, are</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> completely within the authority of the
Crown to give as they please. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> Of course it is a good idea for the Crown
to consult with Their</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> heralds, but I don't think it's a
requirement. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Nobody denies that. Nobody has suggested that
the Crown didn't have the right to do this. However, actions have
consequences, and it is the responsibility of the heralds to consider the
consequences of heraldic actions. That's what we're doing.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> I don't recall reading anywhere that an
award *has* to be proposed,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> conflict checked, authenticated, approved
by the CoA, etc., before it is used. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I think Corpora is unclear on this point, but some
people think that, yes, an award cannot be used until it has been passed.
If so, Ansteorra has ignored this rule for years.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> In my mind (and feel free to correct me if I'm
wrong), the creation of</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> an award isn't that different from the
Crown elevating someone to a</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> peerage order. Yes, there is
generally the whole discussion by the</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> specific circle of the candidate to be
elevated, and a poll may be</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> taken, but ultimately it is the authority
of the Crown to elevate</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> someone, not the order. The order
can't veto the Crown's decision</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> if they go against the order's
poll. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>None of which anybody has denied, and none of which
is relevant to the issues being discussed.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> Granted, it doesn't do wonders for the Crown's
image to go against the wishes of Their people, but they do have that
right. It's not a democracy.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Yes, the Crown makes the final decision.
That does *not* relieve heralds of the responsibility to understand
what happens, form policy, and work to improve Ansteorran heraldic
decisions. Using the peerage example, the Crown makes the final decision
about who receives a peerage. I still have the responsibility to watch
potential Laurels and Pelicans, to evaluate them, to advise the Crown, and do
try to make things better when the Crown makes one who is believed to be
unsuitable.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> Yes, there is a minimalist trend towards
awards in Ansteorra, but it is a trend, not a rule.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Not quite. It's a system, not a trend.
Grant level kingdom orders and baronial AoA-level orders are groups of
people. AoA level awards are rewards with no specific continuing
duties. This isn't a mere trend, but a fixed policy that goes back to the
creation of Grant level orders in Ansteorra in early 1980. (Note that
the Iris and Star were created in late 1979, and the White Scarf precursor
was created in the Prinicpality in March 1979, but they were advance to Grant
level orders by King Lloyd and Queen Joselyn in 1980.) The system has been
kept to ever since. When the Comet was created, it was an award, not a
order, because the members aren't a group bound together like a baronial order,
but people from all over, awarded for work in different shires.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>[And for the record, it's not minimalist. We
have more awards and orders than most SCA kingdoms, and significantly more than
the British Empire. Many heralds in the Known World considered
Ansteorra to be excessively award-happy.)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> Something I'm more confused/surprised about
goes back one<BR>> reign to Miguel and Conal, who created the Award of
the Sable</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> Shield. This award is given for a
MUNDANE reason, and has</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> nothing to do with anything done in the
Society. I don't recall</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> anyone saying anything about this
award. Maybe because it</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> was created at a time we were all feeling
rather patriotic towards</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> our country (that being the UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA), but</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> there it is.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>A. Star is exactly correct here. No they
didn't create an award. They stated, every time they gave it out, that
this was *not* an Ansteorran award, just a thank you. Its name is not
registered; it is not intended to be (and will not be) carried on the OP.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>B. If it had been an award, it would have been
reasonably consistent with the system, which includes the occasional ad hoc
non-armigerous award, like the Rising Star. But there have never
been AoA kingdom-level orders before. The Glove, Gauntlet, Crane,
Thistle, Compass Rose and Comet have no duties, and are not defined
groups.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>So, yes, it's important to remember that the Crown
makes the final decision. We will nonetheless continue to discuss heraldic
actions and their consequences.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Robin of Gilwell / Jay
Rudin</FONT></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>