From: vader@meryl.csd.uu.se ("]ke Eldberg")
Subject: Drachenwald Kingdom ideas
Organization: The Internet
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1993 18:29:39 GMT

Greetings from William de Corbie!

I wrote:

>> that it becomes a real "ennoblement". Put it on the same level as
>> today's kingdom "orders of high merit". Make AoA required for the
>> display (not the registration) of arms. Fill out the holes (left by

Gwenllian Cwmystwyth ferch Morfudd replied:

>In this, you've recreated a stratification that the SCA has specificly 
>avoided. When I joined, I was told that all SCA folks are assumed to be
>noble. All nobles may have and display armoury. As a herald, I'd 
>rather see a restriction that only registered armory be displayed.

The SCA tradition is that all members are assumed to be 'of gentle birth'
which is not quite the same as 'noble'. While I cannot define exactly
what the difference between "gentle" and "noble" is, I think that the
intention of the afrementioned tradition is to say that nobody in the
SCA is forced to depict a lower-class person. There are no serfs here.

I do not think that reserving the right to display heraldry for those
with AoAs would create a bad social stratification, any more than re-
serving the right to wear coronets or white belts or spurs does today.
But if you are saying that you would not want heraldic privileges to
become exclusive for a small elite group, I quite agree. It should be
a not-too-difficult goal to attain for anyone who is active in the SCA.
Perhaps "kingdom order level" is too high. But the AoA should certainly
be given a greater importance than it has today.


Gwenllian:

>I know I should wait for Tibor before I open my mouth, but I was 95% 
>certain that Corpora specifies 2 reigns per year.

If I am not misinformed, the West has always had 3 reigns per year.
I have not found anything in the Organizational Handbook about the
length of reigns.


Gwenllian:

>In rereading your missive for the quoter, I came up with a question that
>might help define some of this. Why do you want to be in the SCA? 
>Seriously, I'm interested in your answer. So far as I can see, you 
>want to toss virtually the entire structure. What is the benefit to you
>of conducting your medieval re-creations under the auspices of the SCA? 

I don't see it quite that way. Imagine going to an event in a Drachenwald
where most of my suggestions have been implemented. Do you really think
that you would not feel at home there? That you would not recognize this
as SCA? I believe that you *would* feel at home. The fighters would still
be going at each other with rattan. Lords and ladies from 600-1600 would
still stroll around and talk courteously to each other. The King and
Queen would still be on the thrones holding court. And so on. I think
that the difference would be that it all felt a tad more medieval.

I don't think that there are many people who join the SCA *because* it
has 2 reigns per year, or because in SCA you can belong to 15 different
"orders", or because of any of the other things I suggested that
Drachenwald should change. They are not the essence of what the SCA is.
The way I see it, my proposals retain the spirit and essence of the
Society, while altering some non-essential structures in a direction
better suited to the European mindset and also in the direction of
authenticity.

William