Golden Dolphin and Pearl

[David KUIJT <kuijt@umiacs.umd.edu>]

Poster: David KUIJT <kuijt@umiacs.umd.edu>


Dafydd ap Gwystl greets Cheapside!

In response to a request for better definition of the requirements for a
Dolphin, Falcone wrote:

> >Ack!  No guidelines, please.  I like the way that the orders are
> >described now.  Many people fit into those categoiries.  If we start
> >"hammering out guidelines", we begin to exclude a portion of the
> >populace that just doesn't quite fit into the pigeon holes we then
> >create.

I agree completely.  "Hammering out guidelines" is roughly equivalent to
"defining award checklists" -- when you have done X, Y, and Z, you get the
award.  It ain't like that, and it shouldn't be like that.

Everything factors in.  Local service is good, but broader service is much
more good.  Courteous people gain my approval faster than more brusque
ones.  And so on.

 
Miri writes:

>  Is teaching a service, or is it Pearl stuff?  And so on...is travel
> important, or just local work?  Or both?

Teaching what?  

Teaching the arts and sciences is under the Pearl umbrella.

> I'm not saying stringent guidelines here...I'm saying a general clue would
> be helpful, and no one seems to have it.

If you want someone to say something authoritative, here I am!  :^)

> I'd like to be a conscientious
> goldfish, but there is no general guide as far as I can tell, having asked
> several other fish, as to what would be more of a Pearl thing and what
> would be more of a Fish thing.

I look at it this way: making garb for newbies and clothing a dozen people
is Dolphin work.  Teaching newbies how to make garb is Pearl work.

Sometimes it is complicated: making high-quality medieval garb for newbies
is both Dolphin (helping others) and Pearl (making high-quality medieval
stuff).  But that's not a big deal -- mention it in a letter to both
orders, or to the Monarchs (making clear both aspects of the activity).
 
The Pearl has a very strong emphasis on teaching the arts.  Anything
having to do with teaching arts and sciences is almost always going to be
under the Pearl umbrella.  The other main thing under the Pearl umbrella
is excellence in the arts.

The Gold Dolphin (as everyone knows) is for service to the Kingdom.  That
can be running events, being an officer, or lots of other types of
service.  In my evaluation, broader (impacting more people) service is
more what the Dolphin is about than smaller (local) service.  But that
isn't a hard and fast rule -- it is possible to have a large impact on the
Kingdom by serving in a large number of smaller roles, in a lot of places,
without being Kingdom Seneschal (for example).  Still, local service is
what gets you an Award of Arms, or local recognition.  It has to be
exceptional, long-term, and have other aggravating factors before I am
inclined to respond positively to a Dolphin polling for someone whose
service is mostly local.

For any Kingdom order, and even more so for Peerages, I value travel
highly.  


Dafydd ap Gwystl, getting grey-haired by the moment.

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