NR - Part 2 - Peers and More

[Decker, Terry D.]

I would say the North has enough artisans, craftsmen, chiurgeons, heralds
and the like to stand as a principality.  Pelicans are always in short
supply, as are good book heralds, but that is the nature of the beast, not a
reason for backing off, if one truly wants a principality.  

What you need to look at are the Irises, Thistles, Cranes and Comets still
active in the North.  These are a better representation of the skills of
your active membership, than the peerages are.  They may not be well known
outside of their group.  They may never have held office.  But this is the
pool which produces the field heralds, cooks, chiurgeons, und so weiter,
that keep the organization running.  I'd wager that for every person who has
fame at a skill, there are a dozen who can do the job almost as well.

I would not worry about the lack of formal structures (as the heraldic
commentaries in Northkeep).  The North has a 22 year history of sparse
population and informal networking to get the job done.  When the North
started with the Incipient Shire of Namron, followed shortly by the
Incipient Shire of Northkeep, no one had much in the way of SCA skills.  The
North has developed its groups and it skills.  It is at least as capable as
Ansteorra was when it became a Kingdom.

There are reasons for not forming a Principality, many aired on these lists,
but a lack of skills and capabilities among the people of the North is not a
valid reason.

Bear  


> Do we have enough people skilled in the making of regalia to start
> our Principality off?  (I know that this will grow over time but do
> we have enough skill sets to get us through the first years?)
> 
> 
> Sincerely,
> Etienne de St. Amaranth
> 
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