Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: 2 On Fealty
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 21:44:02

2 Fealty
        The third is "SERVICE FEALTY," being an oath of -service- to the 
Lord, with no -personal- obligations attached. This is the oath that Officers 
of an SCA branch can take with (usually) no legal complications with any 
other fealties they might have. This is the only thing I expect of my 
Apprentices and Proteges, and I consider it to specifically exempt any liege-
fealty that might be required of them by any Crown or Coronet (though if they 
wish to swear liege-fealty to me, I will accept it .... after trying to talk 
them out of it!) This type of fealty will be shown to be very significant 
later in this article. 
        When someone swears "service," they are simply promising to do a job 
that is required of them. They are -not- swearing absolute loyalty, nor liege 
fealty. They are simply taking an "oath of office," if you will. 
        Note that these are -basic- types of fealty. It is quite possible to 
have some pretty fine shadings between the three, depending on the 
individuals concerned, and the fact that you do not have to be a Knight, or 
even a Peer, to swear liege-fealty. 
        A Peer, or a Landed Baron/ess, or a Prince/ess, is a "tenant-in-
chief" with a "fief ligium;" they hold their title -directly from the Crown.-  
These titles (and all titles in the SCA, for that matter) fall under the 
concept of "mainmorte," i.e. they are -not- inheritable, but revert to the 
Crown (or the SCA) on the holder's death. 
        I must here remind my readers that when we in the SCA say "the 
Crown," we mean that abstract entity that is symbolized by the Crowns (both 
the King's and Queen's) of the Kingdom. We do -not- mean the person(s) 
sitting underneath them. They are most emphatically -not- "the Crown" to 
which one swears fealty.
        For the origins of this concept, let us look at the first Knightings 
in the SCA, back in AS 2 in the Kingdom of the West: 

 ----------from the Western 12th Night AS 2---------------------------

     "... And that the Crown may endure, and our Kingdom prosper, 
     these Gentlemen will be asked to give fealty , in matters 
     concerning this Society, and -only- this Society; not to the 
     King, who shall, in his time, pass from the throne; but to the 
     Crown of this, the Society of (sic) Creative Anachronism. And 
     if these Gentlemen will give that fealty, then they shall be 
     created Knights...." 
     
 ----------------------------end of quote-----------------------------


        In period, the vassal owed certain things to his Lord, and the Lord
promised certain things to the vassal. In general, there are certain items 
that can be considered "universal" for the fealty contract:

        The military service ("auxilium") owed fell into five types:

            1) the defense of the Lord's castle
            2) the ransom of the Lord, if he was taken captive
            3) the costs of the knighthood of his eldest son
            4) the costs of the marriage of his eldest daughter
            5) participation with the Lord in a Crusade

        Two thru four can be pretty much ignored in an SCA context, though 
some will provide gifts when a Lord reaches a Peerage .... and sometimes the 
Lord will provide these to the vassal, in the context of the "fief de bursa." 
Number one can be expressed in an SCA context by defending the Lord against 
his enemies, both on -and off- the field, and number five is simply showing 
up at Wars and such like, to fulfill the obligation of "expeditio," or 
service in warfare for 40 days at the vassal's expense. These are the basic 
obligations of a "fief militum" or "fief loricae;" a Knighthood, or Prince, 
or Landed Baron. 
        The vassals also have the rights (and obligations) of "consilium," to 
advise their Lord of their opinions, and of "fidelitas," or faithfulness 
to their Lord. 
                        (more)



... Last night I had the strangest Dream ........
___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.10

 * Origin: Herald's Point * Steppes/Ansteorra * 214-699-0057 (1:124/4229)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca