Re: Response to Proposed IAC Banishment Change

[Lisa Steele <lsteele@mhc.mtholyoke.edu>]

On Mon, 25 Mar 1996, Stephanie Malone Thorson wrote:

> On Fri, 22 Mar 1996, Lisa Steele wrote:
> 
> >   As for democracy, it is certainly period for say the Northern Italian 
> > city-states. And was not the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire elected?
> 
> Yes, but democracy in what form?  Surely not democracy in exactly the way
> we know it.  And yes, the Holy Roman Emperor was elected, but by the
> *princes* of Germany, and candidates came from only one or two elite
> families (Hohenstaufens, Welfs, Hapsburgs).  Any adaption of that sort of
> system for SCA use seems to me as mistaken as the king-by-right-of-arms
> system.  There is as much room for abuse (if not more) of that sort of
 
  To Alianora and the good gentles of this list does Esclarmonde de 
Colloure send greetings.
  I write merely to correct the popular notion that democracy was foreign 
to medieval Europe. Yes, the various systems had limits on who could vote 
and many of those limits could prove problematic if adopted without 
thought.
  On the other hand, I hale from fair Carolingia in the East Kingdom. We 
recently elected our new barionial couple after Baron Patri's nearly 20 
year reign. The candidates were chosen by Carolingia's Great Council 
(composed of about 20 heads of orders, baronial officers, and heads of 
major households). The candidates were then sent to the populace for 
ratification.
  There was considerable politicing over the method of taking the vote 
(regular ballot, approval ballot, AUstralian ballot, cumulative voting, 
etc.), but the campaign itself was remarkably free of politics.

> not perfect, does at least have certain built-in safeguards - even a bad
> king is gone in 6 months time, and there is an administration that runs
> the kingdom reasonably well despite the quality of the royalty. 

  I confess I am not satisfied with this. One with the title of monarch 
should be more than a figurehead the administration works around. If we 
want a figurehead, let us clearly say so.
 --Esclarmonde