[Northkeep] Moot on 30 June notes

[Marc Carlson]

Notes of the baronial moot held June 30, 2001.

As transcribed by M. Dunstana Talana the Violet

Lord Ian dun Gillan, Seneschal of Northkeep, moderated the
meeting. Fifty-seven members of the barony were present at the
beginning of the moot, with others arriving later.

Lord Ian called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.  He thanked
everyone for attending, and Charles and Betsy for hosting the
moot and revel at their home, and explained that the purpose of
the moot is to discuss the options the barony has with regards
to its immediate and long term future. He wanted to make sure
everyone has the opportunity to have a chance to speak.

Lord Robert Fitzmorgan, Vicar of Northkeep, shared information
from his talks with her Highness, Princess Larissa:

     The incoming Crown will not reinstate Thorgrim and Sigen. On
July 21, Larissa and Duncan will come up to Oklahoma
     for a Northern Regional meeting, at which they will explain
their reasons at length. Her Highness has assured the Vicar
     that she and his Highness are concerned with what is going
on in Northkeep. They understand our situation, have
     received communication from members here. Their concern is
to make decisions based on what is best for the region,
     and for the kingdom. Their Highnesses will accept e-mail and
phone calls, if anyone wishes to speak with them directly
     before the Northern Regional meeting. At that time, they
will explain what they want to do and see being done in the
     North, and then will have an open session with Larissa while
Duncan holds a fighter practice. There will be a revel
     afterwards.
     The Northern Regional meeting on July 21, will be held in
Moore, OK. This site was selected so that as many people as
     possible will be able to attend, as there will be regional
issues to address as well as the ones specific to Northkeep. The
     Vicar has maps to the site in Moore. (If anyone needs one,
contact him.) - or click here
     Her Highness understands that there is a sending-off party
for Baulsac scheduled for that same day. They are not able to
     come North at another time, but during the open session, her
Highness will give first priority to those from Northkeep so
     that they may leave in time to get back to Tulsa for the
party.
     There is only one date on the kingdom calendar on which
Duncan and Larissa will be able to invest a new Baron and
     Baroness here in Northkeep: Saturday, November 24. They
understand that this is short notice, and not the best date for
     the event, but it is the only one available, and they are
determined to place a new Baron and Baroness during their reign.
     They ask that any who wish to be considered as candidates to
become Baron and/or Baroness send a letter of intent to
     the Crown Prince and Princess, or bring it to the meeting on
July 21. No deadline for candidates has been set – that is
     one of the topics to be discussed at that meeting.
     November 24 is the weekend of the Toy Tourney. The Tourney
will be held in conjunction with our investiture. The
     Seneschal will be taking applications for autocrats for the
investiture, as well as WinterKingdom and Castellan, until next
     Officers’ Meeting.
     In August, Northkeep will have a moot for the purpose of
polling the populace to determine our preferences in
     candidates. This polling will be limited to paid members
only (this is per corpora), as was done back in 1997 when we
     went through the process of becoming a barony. The Crown
will then interview the potential candidates (as Michael and
     Mikaela did), ad Weisenfeuer Baronial Championship at the
end of September.
     The rules we play by in the SCA are that the Crown will make
the final decision as to who becomes the next Baron
     and/or Baroness. They will give credence to our preferences,
but it is not guaranteed that the most popular will be the
     one(s) selected. Please remember that baronials are the
representatives of the Crown, and so a candidate’s fitness to
     represent the Crown of Ansteorra must also be taken into
consideration. Some here have expressed discontent because
     other people are making the decisions, but we have to
remember that this is the Crown’s prerogative.
     The Crown, however, does what to know what we want. They are
making as much accommodation for us as their
     schedule will allow. They are travelling up here because
they want to know what we think. Their decision will have to
     consider what is best for the kingdom and the region and
Northkeep. It is not possible to satisfy everyone, but they will
     do the best they can. Duncan and Larissa did not create this
situation, but they do have the responsibility of cleaning it up.
     Their Highnesses wish to have the investiture during their
reign, rather than leave it to the next Crown. There is always
the
     possibility that the next Crown will not be able to make it
up here early during their reign, further delaying an
investiture.

There was an open discussion of the possibility of pursuing
changing our status to Province:

     Becoming a province would avoid the issue of having to put
in a Baron and Baroness quickly. A province has all the
     rights and status of a barony, without the local nobility.
In effect, a province is a shire with an extra date on the
calendar.
     To become one would require the approval of an overwhelming
majority of the populace – probably on the order of
     70-80%, as well as the assent of the crown and the Board of
Directors. The Vicar does not think we have the support of
     the Crown for such a move. Also, becoming a province will
negate any chance of Thorgrim and Sigen being reinstated.

Discussion of Thorgrim and Sigen’s appeal to the Board of
Directors:

     Thorgrim and Sigen have asked we not invest anyone until
after their appeal goes through Board of Directors. The
     Society Seneschal is inquiring to see if the BoD needs to
look into the situation. If BoD decides to do so, they will have
     an inquiry, which could take a year or more. If you have
concerns in this matter, write the Society Seneschal right away.
     Letters need to be posted individually, not sent in batches.
It was suggested that letter be kept to one page for maximum
     effectiveness.
     Should we invest a new Baron and Baroness and the BoD
decides to reinstate Thorgrim and Sigen, it is not clear what
     would happen then. The BoD might decide that Jason acted
improperly; but even if they do, it is extremely unlikely they
     would remove the new baronials to reinstate the old ones, as
it is the prerogative of the Crown to install and remove
     Barons and Baronesses.
     If the BoD should decide quickly (before October) to
reinstate, then our process of picking new baronials would come
     to a halt. If we if the BoD decides quickly to reinstate
then our process of picking new ones would come to a halt. If we
     have no ruling by October, the investiture will proceed.
     If Northkeep refuses to proceed with the investiture, we
would become a Crown Barony – the Crown becomes our
     rulers. This would leave us completely at the mercy of
whoever is the next crown. The Crown could then appoint new
     baronials without consulting us, or with concern whether we
like their choices.
     Turning into a Crown Barony also does not appear to be an
option, inasmuch as their Highnesses want to install
     someone, and they have already received letters of intent,
and there does not appear to be an overwhelming majority in
     favor of becoming a Crown Barony. The Vicar as spoken with
several people in the barony, and has gotten the
     impression the populace feels we need to move on and proceed
with selecting a new Baron and Baroness.

It was resolved that at the July or August populace meeting;
those who wish to be candidates will stand up. If the populace is
going to reach an acclamation, we need to get to know who the
candidates are so we can make considered decisions. The
Seneschal asked if anyone who has strong opinions against
proceeding toward an investiture to speak up.

     The question was asked that inasmuch as being a Province is
a unique thing, and Northkeep is a unique personality in the
     kingdom, should we consider the possibility? Several spoke
up with the opinion that in many ways, this would be a step
     backward: we would not have voice with the Crown, we would
have to have other nobles give our awards, etc. If we
     were to become a province and then want to be a barony
again, we would have to go through the entire application and
     selection procedure again. Some members shared experiences
with other groups that had taken this route, most notably
     Tregirt Sea, and the problems those groups encountered.
Mistress Caitrin also pointed out the BoD could use the
     suggestion of our considering provincial status as an excuse
not to deal with the appeal. Plus, the Crown would not
     support such a course.
     Lord Damon pointed out that, if we were a province, the
Crown could demand we have leadership selected by a
     semi-annual Warlord tournament, which would mean a change in
politics every six months. Such a situation could kill a
     group.
     It was clarified that, should the Northern Region become a
principality, the Prince and Princess would have no say in the
     selection of a Baron or Baroness. It was also noted that
pageantry is also part of our game, and we would lose this
     without a Baron and Baroness. Also discussed the possibility
of changing kingdoms. All of Northkeep would have to
     want it, and it would have to have the support of the Crowns
of both realms and the BoD. Discussed the concerns about
     the heavy politics that are going on and how we might be
vulnerable if we lost our power base in having a Baron and
     Baroness. The Crown wants to put an end to strife – they
won’t put in someone we hate. Moving forward means getting
     a new Baron and Baroness. We are on a timetable now. We have
two populace meetings and a moot in August to get
     the polling process done. The first polling will be of
everyone in the barony, but we will use colored ballots to
distinguish
     paid from non-paid members. Family memberships count as paid
memberships. If you need to pay up your membership,
     you need to fax a credit card number in as quickly as
possible. The Crown will send someone from outside Northkeep
     here to oversee the polling, and they will bring with him or
her a current list of paid members.

General agreement to go ahead and decide tonight, officially,
whether we are going to go ahead with the investiture or consider
becoming a province.

Lord Ian called for a show of hands on province issue. The vote
was:

     For – 9

     Against – 48

     Abstaining – 7

The following members have sent in letters of intent:

          Lord Yoshi Hokomori

          Sir Balvin Thorfinson and Lady Francesca

          Lord Ainar and Lady Mercedes

          Lord Thorvald and Lady Jessamy

          Lord Magnus and Lady Nicky

          Lord Ian and Lady Kelandra

The Vicar did point out, just so everyone considering becoming a
candidate understands, that there is a down side to being
Baron and/or Baroness; it is impossible to get through this
process without upsetting people to some extent.

By law, when presented with the list of candidates voted upon,
the Crown cannot select the bottom person/couple. Larissa has
said we can put forth as many candidates as possible. We had
three couples last time, but we are not limited to that number.
Candidacy is not limited to couples, or to couples who are
married. Individuals and mixed couples are acceptable to their
Highnesses. Nor is the Vicar barred from running, though he does
not wish to. We can also put "None of the above" on the
ballot, to give a voting opportunity for those who feel that way.
Write-in votes will also be allowed.

All candidates will need to consider the possibility that
Thorgrim and Sigen might be reinstated by the BoD, and that it is
possible they might hold the position for only a short time.
Thorgrim and Sigen had stated they were planning to step down
within the year. They realize they probably will not be
reinstated, but if they were, they would still like to be able to
step down
on their own.

The BoD may choose to do nothing, to reinstate, or to let the
resignation stand and censure Jason for his handling of the
situation. Whatever happens, it is in our best interest to have
the investiture in the pipeline come October.

Lord Ian asked for a vote of whether to proceed with choosing a
Baron and Baroness for the investiture.

     Yes – 74

     No - 1

     Against – 0

Lady Gretchen asked everyone to keep in mind that this is a hobby
and we are supposed to have fun.

Ian pointed out this solidarity in our voting shows how together
the barony is in reaching its goals.

Next item on the agenda was the baronial achievement. At this
time, we have only one submission. The Vicar passed out copies
of the proposed design and explained the components of a baronial
achievement. The goal is to have an achievement registered
and a banner made up in time for Northern Regional Tribute.

The supporters are a brown bear, drawn as teddy bear for
Northkeep’s support of the toy tourney, holding the children’s
banner; and a black fox in memory of Master William. The crest is
a gold lion’s paw, in memory of Lady Kendra. The fox hold
the king’s battle ribbon, which Northkeep has held for three
years.

Lord Ian called for a vote to approve the proposed achievement:

     Yes – 74

     Opposed – 0

     Abstention - 1

This design will go to kingdom heralds office for registration.

Discussion of whether to put a teddy bear or an heraldic bear on
the achievement banner. The only people officially able to
display this will be the Baron and Baroness. Suggestion to use a
gold bear instead of a brown bear, both to commemorate
Thorgrim, our first baron, and to make the supporters gold and
black, the kingdom colors.

Lord Ian asked for a vote to change the bear from brown to gold:

     No – 2

     Yes – 72

     No abstentions

The subject of the motto was tabled until next month, as some
people still want to submit ideas. The next moot will be the
first
weekend in August, at the same location.

The meeting ended 8:20 p.m.