Re: Crown Tourney

[kuijt@umiacs.UMD.EDU]

About Top Secret Chivalry Meetings (tm), Ellwood asks:

>What about all those aging squires?  BTW, are there _really_
>"Rufus rules" at Chivalry meetings?  Oops, I forgot that the
>meetings are TopSecret...  <Ellwood dives for cover>  8^) 8^)

Ask me what you will, and I will answer truthfully or not at all.

Speaking seriously for a moment, the Chivalry of Atlantia attempt
to speak honestly (if cautiously) about what goes on in our meetings.
The "top secret" part was a joke--no great secrets go on there.


"What about all those aging squires?"  I'm not sure what the question
is.  Age is good for wine, but is much less useful on cabbages.
Age is not a characteristic which defines the line between Knight
and not-Knight.  As for whether age is good for you, ask yourself
if you are wine or a cabbage.  (This triggers a whole string of
interesting nomenclature :^)

I've never heard of a "Rufus rule", and I've been an active Knight
since the dawn of Modern History (in fact, my Knighting is the
current definition of that Era).


>the summer reign is the Pennsic Crown.  As I have been told, the
>Crowns who go to Pennsic have more fun than the Winter Crowns.
>Naturally, more people are going to want to be a Pennsic King....

Do not believe everything you are told.  Pennsic is an awful lot of
work.  I almost totally exhausted myself as Pennsic King.  It is much
more fun to be Prince/Princess at Pennsic than King: nearly as much
attention and glory, and far less duty and work.  You don't have to
go to 5 separate strategy meetings (each lasting several hours), or
all the myriad courts, or long dinners with 10 other pairs of strangers
or anything else unless you want to, when you are Prince.  When you
are King, if you blow off a formal invitation you have insulted or
wounded some potentate from another Kingdom.  And there is some formal
"do" on every single evening, afternoon, morning, and midnight of every
single day at Pennsic.

Winter Reign means Pennsic Prince, plus 12th Night.  I've done Pennsic
King, and I'd do it again, but I'd prefer a Winter Reign.  And my lady,
Countess Elizabeth, feels the same even stronger.

Dafydd