[Scriptoris] Questions Regarding Charters . . .

[lizdenpeters at juno.com]

Good Gentles,

I have a few questions regarding charters.  Please understand that I am
not trying to upset anyone~I  just have not been able to locate these
answers to these questions on the scribal web site.  Admittedly, I am
still relatively new (and ignorant) in these matters but I am curious and
would appreciate some enlightenment.

1.  How is the determination made to "retire" charters?  What criteria
determine the necessity of retiring one charter against another;  i.e.,
if there are two (2) AoAs, designed at approximately the same time, of
similar quality, why would one be chosen for retirement as opposed to the
other?

2. Once "retired," are charters ever "reactivated?"  If not, why not?  It
could be fun to "reactivate" some of the older designs for limited time
periods as a nod to our history.

3. I have heard from the people who paint charters (as opposed to doing
originals, designing, etc.) that they would like more variety available
for the various awards.  We currently have a total of 49 active charters
and, of those, only eight (8) are for an Award of Arms.  Shouldn't there
be more active charters than 49?  And, if, say 50, is the optimum active
number, shouldn't  more than eight (8) be for AoAs?  (I am asking this as
it is my understanding that the Kingdom gives out more AoAs than any
other award.)  Would it be feasible to reactivate some older AoA charters
so that the people who only want to paint charters have a bit more
variety for the award(s) Kingdom gives out most often?

4.  Would it be feasible to have a rotation of charters with, for
example, a base of 100 designs but only 70 active at any one time and
rotating one set of 30 into circulation and another 30 out on an annual
basis?  This could give more variety for the good people who paint these.
 The changes could be made at a Red Tape where there is a scribal
meeting.

5.  Could someone explain to me why we have charters for White Scarfs and
Centurions but not Knighthood.  I thought all of these were peerages.  If
 Knighthood needs an original only, why don't White Scarves and
Centurions? Or any of the other peerages? I don't understand.  From my
research, it would seem that any of these peers could then commission an
Achievement, if they desire one.  What am I missing here?

6.  Does anyone have an approximate  breakdown by reign of how many of
each award is given per reign?  An average over the last three to five
years would be helpful for figuring out what the demand for each type of
charter is and, therefore, calculating how many of each design would be
ideal to have active at any given time.  It seems (to me, anyway) that
the awards given most often need the greatest variance in available
designs with, perhaps, descending numbers of available designs for those
awards given less frequently.  Does this make sense to anyone?

7.  It is my understanding that certain awards (King's Archer, King's
Gauntlet, Queen's Rapier, etc.) are given once per reign.  Could the new
Crown select from the designs available and have these done specifically
for their reign between Crown Tourney and when they are actually awarded?

As I study these things, I seem to have many more questions than answers
so I will appreciate any information you can provide.  Thank you for your
time and consideration.

Nuala