Yer Lordship

[gc429@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (John Strauss)]

Triton brings up a strong point about our use of titles in the
SCA, specifically, our out-of-period distinction between award,
grant, & patent of arms. These distinctions are, at best, post-
period and, more likely, simply vestigal from early SCA usage,
having no basis in reality.
 
>It is therefore meaningless, in the context of medieval
>recreation, to distinguish between bearers of arms by Award vs.
>Grant in the way we style and address them. 
 
Even the most rudimentary research into the topic of address, as
Triton is aware, reveals that SCA customs are so fundamentally
flawed from the standpoint of recreation, as to boggle the mind.
 
Some examples (ex cathedra from my bellybutton, 75% accuracy):
 
Baronies are subsets of Shires. And shires are run by sheriffs.
 
Knights were a dime a dozen, and Lord Fillintheblank was often a
much higher rank, depending on the blank.
 
Master is an address used for, among other things, guild leaders
and university lecturers. It is not, so far as I know, something
one might call the nobility.
 
The correct title for an ex-king is not "Count" or "Duke". It is
"The Late ____, may God have mercy on his soul".
 
 
 
So, the system is broken, irretrievably smashed. Is there any
chance of repair? Nope. Can anything positive be done with the
shattered crumbs? Yep.
 
I enjoy calling Gyrth "Your Grace". It's fun. It beats pretending
he's dead or an exiled criminal. I bet he likes it better, too,
most of the time.
 
And if one of my friends happens to have a grant vice an award of
arms, calling them "Your Lordship" is an easy way to compliment
them and make them feel special. Try it. Casually toss an
"honorable" or a "lordship" at a grant bearer and watch him smile
with pleasure. 
 
In context, I think the pleasure is harmless.
 
-Henry Best