Re: Discuss: Heraldry question (LONG)

["H L. Falls" <hlf@holmes.acc.Virginia.EDU>]

Thus sayth The Honorable Lord Giacomo:

> Hi
> 
> I also happen to have been granted that title.  I was once informed by 
> Herald that the title was not proper because it was not period. He 
> stipulated that I must not use it.  I politely informed the fellow that the 
> Crown (Kane and Muirgen) had seen fit to call me that.  When the Crowns told 
> me I could no longer be called that then I would not be.
 
   Indeed.  I do believe that Muirgen once commented on this subject that
she gave the title _expecting_ it to be used...

> We use titles in the SCA to display our awards.  I feel that to be now 
> concerned with THL after all of the other anachronisms that we have borders 
> a little on the need to rethink your position.
> 
>  We give peerages for making our game better, but the titles themselves were 
> not used in period.  We enoble through awarding arms to people who have 
> chose devout peasant personas.  We completely ignore the impact of religion 
> on the time period we are studying.   With all of these Anachronisms how can 
> we then be worried about a simple GOA with the title THL.
 
   [N.B.  Those who know me know that I'm am not in the least  an 
authenticop, but of late I _do_ seem to be doing a very good imitation 
of one!  :-) :-)  ]

   The above arguement is an outstanding example of what Duke Cariadoc 
refers to as "making the best the enemy of the good", or "We do so many 
things wrong now, why bother doing anything right?"  May I rephrase 
this to put a different slant on it?  :-) :-)

   In (at least early) period, were I to please the king, he might gift
me with a silver (or maybe even gold) ring.  Were I to _well_ please my
king, he might grant me a few hides of land and some peasants to work it
for me.  Were I to do something _really_ spiff, say save his life and 
kingdom, he might well give me title to huge tracts of land and a spare 
sister or cousin... 

   Now _obviously_ I would prefer to be authentic about this.  Equally 
obviously, it won't work for a part-time, hobbyist organization bound 
by modern law and custom.  So we make do by giving out titles -- AoA's,
GoA's, and peerages (PoA's).  But if the holder of an AoA is a Lord/Lady,
and the holder of a GoA is a Lord/Lady, and the only difference between
them is one letter of three after their name (when written) and (if 
they're lucky) on a scroll hung on their wall at home... well how _does_
one let it be known that they're ranking rather than "mere" nobility? 

   Of course if you _really_ object to substituting "The Honorable..."
for a few hundred acres of land, I'll be more than happy to go with
the _period_ system...    :-)  :-)  :-)  :-)

> In my humble opinion these are the rules that we have made for our game. 
>  With my simple GOA I will continue to serve Atlantia, I will continue to 
> fight, I will have more fun than you can shake a stick at.  I will not 
> however be worried about upsetting a herald.  If he don't like the rule go 
> to the Crown and get it changed.
> 
> In Service
> 
> The Honorable Lord Giacomo Vincenti di Firenze
> QOC
> Provost AdE
> CSS
> Its a good thing I don't have to spell that stuff all the way out.......

   For me, so many of my friends "grew up", or at least spent considerable
time, in "Western Rite" kingdoms that it's sometimes difficult to keep 
straight which customs "we do here" and which are imported.

   Then again, having been a "nobody" for something like twenty years, I 
really feel a bit awkward signing myself anything more than...

--Landi  :-)
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