[Northkeep] Linen, wool, and thrones

[willowdewisp at juno.com]

On bowing to the thrones:  I was taught to do this in my early days, as a respect for the 
presence of the Crown at at event.  Just as Diarmaid collated it with saluting officers, 
I assumed it was rather like bowing to the altar whether or not service was going on, 
because the Divine was present even when the altar was bare.  I was also taught that, for 
some esoteric reason, it was gauche to bow to the back of the throne.
willow's reply

 My comment was based on the fact the custom is a SCA custom and it wasn't started out of respect for the crown it started with the need of a Kings to escape from his duties. Early Ansteorras were very sensitive to this because of the Aten custom of the Kings taken off his crown and feeling he no longer had to live to the duties of the Crown. 
Kings that did that often had people talking to them as plaid old folk but the king remembered the conversation and they got in  trouble. After being suckered in by that ploy we decided to not promote any custom that let people off the hook. We took a page out of the Henry VII courtier book. The King might be playing at being Robin Hood but you should remember that he is the King. Another strong reminder was James IV of Scotland. He like to play at being a regular man and travel the roads. According to the story he go too forward with a Gypsy girl and the men beat him up. When he came home he issued a Law stated that if you saw three Gypsies together you could take one and hang him. Shortly after that there were no official Gypsies in Scotland but a lot more tinkers. 
The early founders looked into a lots of SCA customs and discarded them as having side effects or purposed we worried about. 
I have checked out the church concept and discoverer that you are not bowing to an empty altar. There is a light on the altar that shows the host is there and if the host is there God is there. There are a few times during the year the host is not there and at that time the light is out. If the light is out you do not bow.
The other thing is bowing to the officer. Yes, you salute the man but if the uniform was laid out on a chair with no one in it you wouldn't salute it.
Which customs you used are up to you. I know some stuff neck viking and Masters of Arms who nod their head but don't bend a knee. I have seen people from the Middle and Near East laid on their stomachs. I have seen old Celtic chiefs raise a knee (the were sitting cross legs) as a sign of high respect. 
Customs are just as much of studying history as costumes. Generic costumes in the SCA which we all accept sometimes put things together which should never go together and have no historical bases. As long as we know that they are not really right and can point out our mistakes we are not misleading people about our historical research. 
Customs are the same way. We created the Court to teach people about history.People in the Middle Ages used ceremony to communicate relationships. Every custom had a lot of symbolic meaning. 
I have personally thought of the meaning of bowing to an empty throne. When you bow to someone or something then you are stating that they are above you in rank. I refused to admit a piece of wood out ranks me. This is how my 1209 Duchess thinks. My 2009 self is an American citizen and knows no one out ranks me we all are equal. 
Some people think about this a lot., others don't The Quest of the SCA is a personal one and while we can share our viewpoints it would be discourteous to force them on someone else.
I just think it is interesting. i collect period customs and if you know of one please share them with me. 
willow
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