NR - Principality

[Burke McCrory]

>At 09:13 PM 9/6/2000 -0500, you wrote:
><snip>
>
>I'm wondering, is there anyone on this list who went through the
>transformation from the Principality of Ansteorra to the Kingdom of
>Ansteorra that could shed some light on the changes, good and bad?  Yes I
>know that we aren't talking about Kingdom, but there have to be some
>similarities.
>
>Ld. Llygoden Llwyd
>Barony of Wiesenfeuer
>Squire to Earl Barn Silveraxe
>Mka Phillip Stallcup
>Pstallcup at mmcable.com

Yes, there are a few of us old timers still around :)

First, remember that the situation existing when Ansteorra was moved from a 
region to a Principality and ultimately a Kingdom was different.  We were a 
part of a Kingdom that spanned over 1000 miles from the Oklahoma-Arkansas 
border to the Arizona-California border and all the way up to the Canadian 
border.  What is today the Kingdoms of Atenveldt, Outlands, Artemisia, and 
Ansteorra.  The Crowns were almost always out of the Phoenix area and 
rarely came even as far east as New Mexico.  Plus strong forces in 
Atenveldt wanted Ansteorra gone as they saw us a threat to move the seat of 
power out of the western side of the Kingdom after John and Willow ruled 
their first crown.  So there was never a question as to whether we would 
become a Kingdom but how long would it take.

That having been said it was by no means a unanimous decision by the 
populace to become a Kingdom.  Many people held fierce loyalties to mother 
Atenveldt and were quite upset that some wanted to break off and find our 
own way.  There was a core group that did much of the paperwork and 
brainstorming.  When we became a Kingdom we had to choose what traditions 
we would keep and what traditions we would change.  Jonathan and Willow as 
our first Crown did much of that and the Crowns that followed added and 
embellished the work they had started.  As to the good and bad points it is 
hard to compare today with then.  The SCA was still very young, there were 
only about 300 people in all of Ansteorra that played on an active basis 
Kingdom wide.  There were fewer than 20 groups in all of Ansteorra with 
most of them being less than two years old.  In the North you had the 
established Shire of Namron and new groups (less than 18 months old) in 
what is now Northkeep, Mooneschadow, Wiesenfeuer, and Eldern Hills.

Similarities would be I guess developing a new identity with all of the 
pomp, flourish, and pride that we have today.  I think that we (all of 
those who were active back then as well as now) did a pretty good job.

Burke


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