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fealty/and homeland




Poster: jsrechts@imap.unc.edu

Well, home is where the heart is.  Part of it is geography, the other is
identifying one's self with the place one likes the best.
I have a roommate from Michigan but she identifies herself with Texas.
I'm from NY, started SCA in Mass. but moved down here. However, I still
consider myself a New Yorker and will proudly cast my vote against
D'Amato and Pataki this fall.

In fact, in Corpora the only peers required to give fealty are knights.
In Atlantia, I've noticed it's that all the peerages give fealty either
once
upon being made a peer because it's considered a nice thing to do.  Of
course, there is also a considerable amount of "peer" pressure for the
candidate to swear fealty as well -
a custom that I really don't think is a great idea because people
shouldn't be pressured into giving oaths and this is a game.  Now, if I
was a knight and was a die-hard Atlantian and moved to the Midrealm, I
think it would be perfectly reasonable and medieval to swear fealty to
both monarchs.  Then go and fight on both sides.
In the Middle Ages.  When a vassals lords went into conflict, the vassal
either supported the lord who he swore to first, or send his vassals to
fight for one and himself fight for the other or to be machiavellian,
fight for the one with the most land or most likely to win.
In the SCA it can be resolved by the knight fighting on different sides
for different battles.

Of course, fealty came in many different stripes.  In period, it ran the
gambit of "I promise to serve you unconditionally" to what some
historians refer to as a Border Fealty which is generally a peace treaty
- not to make war upon each other.
A good monarch will recognize that and realize too that people have
friends and families in other places.  Incidently, the notion of
swearing to the crown and not to the monarchs has some of it's roots in
Edward II's reign in England.  He was a lousy and cruel king and when he
wanted to try some of his opponents for breaking their oath's of fealty,
they used the legalism of "swearing to the crown - not the man".

Lyanna, OL

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