Re: Peerage

[hopkins@dg-rtp.dg.com (Edward Hopkins)]

Anarra Karlsdottir gave an excellent explanation of Peerage, to
which I'd like to add a few minor points of clarification.

> A person who has been honored for their expemplerary service to the Kingdom (
> even, in some kingdoms, their service in archery or fencing) can be admitted
> to the Order of the Pelican.  Such persons wear a medallion with a 'Pelican
> in it's Piety' on it (Greek Orthodox churches use this symbol, too).  Some
> wear Pelicans on cloaks.  No one who is not a member of the order of the
> Pelican should be displaying a Pelican in it's Piety.

"A Pelican in its Piety" is a somewhat landscape-like picture of a mother
pelican with a bunch of hungry chicks gathered around.  The mother has her
wings raised up a little, and she's poking her breast with her beak so
the chicks can drink her blood.  Ypu can see it on the State Seal of
Louisiana.  A similar heraldic picture is "a Pelican Vulning Itself" in
which the chicks are gone and the pelican is just masochistic.

> Persons who have served one term as King or Queen are entitled to be made
> Count (or Earl) or Countess.  They are the only ones who can wear an
> embattled coronet.
> 
>    __    __    __    __
> __|  |__|  |__|  |__|  |__  <--embattled

This kind of coronet is also called a mural coronet (although not by
people in the SCA).  It was awarded to the first man to scale the
castle walls in a battle.  I think that non-SCA Counts and Earls
wear a coronet with alternating pearls and strawberry leaves.

Notice that only Kings and Queens are said to wear crowns.  The
other "tin hats" are all called coronets.  Besides the two Peer
coronets that Anarra mentioned, there are princely coronets for
Royal Highnesses (heirs to the throne and their consorts) and
Serene Highnesses (princes and princesses of principalities),
which vary in appearance from place to place, and baronial
coronets, which have pearls on them.

-- Alfredo
hopkins@dg-rtp.dg.com
______________________________________
CONJUGATION FOR A HULKING ENTOMOLOGIST
     I big.  I bag.  I have bug.