courts-msg – 9/9/06
How to manage courts, royal presence. period courts.
NOTE: See also the files: jesters-msg, Baronial-Lead-art, largess-ideas-msg, SCAguests-msg, coronets-msg, crown-cost-msg, Guid-f-Barons-art, SCA-royalty-msg.
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NOTICE -
This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.
This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org
I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter.
The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors.
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Thank you,
Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous
Stefan at florilegium.org
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From: gendy at panix.com (E. F. Morrill)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Better Courts ARE Possible : GENDY OFFERS HELP
Date: 25 May 1994 11:14:18 -0400
Organization: Fast Eddy's Bar at the end of the Street.
I have followed this thread for a while and agree with most of the advice
that has been given thus far. As a professional actor (tv, film & legit),
and a long time Society member (20 some odd years), I have often given my
services and skill to the reigning Royalty in "coaching" them in the Art
of Public Speaking.
That offer still holds. I would be more than happy to aid anyone learn
the way to captivate an audience.
The major stumbling block to a "good" court is PRESENCE. The royals
must command the NEED for people to watch and listen to the goings on.
Because most of our Royalty does not come from a theatrical background,
this is often difficult. But with the help of a good court herald, this
can become easier. The secrets for Our Royalty in overcoming the barrier
of "interesting or boring" are:
1).- Remember that at all times, you are King/Queen. You hold the
power of life and death over your subjects.
2).- Stand up straight.
3).- Don't fidget in the throne.
4).- Look at the audience. Don't stare at your feet.
5).- Speak dis-tint-ly. don't hem and haw or mumble.
6).- Create a feeling of urgency about your presense. this gives
the populus a sense importance.
7).- Always travel with an escort. Don't walk the the road with a
towel on your head. (remember, the President of the US
travels in a motorcade - if he traveled in a Chevy Impalla,
where is the Pomp?)
I know that these hints might be a little "Norman" in attitude, but what
can you expect?
My offer of help is open to any set of sitting or soon-to-be-sitting
Royalty. As my new Lady-Wife (Mistress Elizabeth Talbot) likes to say,
"It's my husband - He who can read by his own Aura", comes my new motto:
HAVE AURA, WILL TRAVEL.
(ah...plus travel and expenses, of course)
(we do make a very nice set of house guests)
Yours,
EDWARD ZIFRAN
--
E. F. Morrill Icon God of the Theatre World
aka Viscount Edward Zifran of Gendy, KSCA, OL, OP, ETC
gendy at panix.com
From: ansteorra at eden.com (8/2/95)
To: ansteorra at eden.com
RE>Royalty (& Courts)
>Hmm, the Ideal Crown. Pageantry is very important. Pomp & circumstance
>as well, but don't over do it. (I heard rumors that once someone was
>wanting to ride into their coronation on the back of an elephant. Too
>Hollywood, IMHO). Then again, I've never seen a March of Precedence in
>my 15 years of playing SCA (maybe I've just never been to the right
>events). But the Ideal Crown must not be pompous in their pageantry.
>Somehow they must still remain approachable.
This gives me an idea for a court. What if everyone at the event was
called before the Crown in order of precedence. ( It would have to be a
court event, like Coronation or Twelfth Night, or Candlemas.) The Crown
gives awards to the people that they had planned to when the people
show up in front of them. The People can conduct any business they need
to(Fealty oaths, banns of marriage, gifts, introductions, whatever)
with the Crown while they are there. Don't have people line up, have
them sit down and feast. Have the Herald call them like they do
fighters.("Master Soandso and her Ladyship Whatsername will be next to
speak with their Majesties.") It would take a lot of work from the
Heralds. But it might be fun. (Probably have to be a time limit on
business before the Court.)
>I believe that most events probably follow their schedule better when
>the Crown is not in attendance. The Ideal Crown would be able to
>negotiate with the steward of the event on time schedules for court,
>etc. The Ideal Crown would be able to finish their business with
>whomever, attend the feast when it was ready, and conduct court in a
>timely manner (not necessarily in that order). [If court is not going to
>start until after feast (say 10/11 pm), how about some official down
>time for everyone in the middle of the afternoon, oh ye stewards of
>future events?] (Of course, this presupposes that the fighters actually
>got started & finished when they were scheduled to. Just once I'd like
>to see someone come out on the list field & say, "Sorry, the fighting's
>scheduled to be finished now, so you have to stop so we can get x
>started on time" but that's another thread entirely :)
At my Coronation the fighting was over by noon. Peerage circles were
held in the heat of the afternoon, with little other activity planned.
The feast was served during the stepping down Court. Stepping up Court
began precisely at dusk (when scheduled). If the horses had cooperated
it would have been perfect.
It can be done, if you have the right support crew.
>Estrill Swet
>Mooneschadoweshire
>
Kein MacEwan
(Whose brass hat gives him a headache.)
From: ansteorra at eden.com (8/3/95)
To: ansteorra at eden.com
RE>Royalty (& Courts)
Greetings all.
Kein wrote:
>> This gives me an idea for a court. What if everyone at the event was
>> called before the Crown in order of precedence. ( It would have to be a
>> court event, like Coronation or Twelfth Night, or Candlemas.) The Crown
>> gives awards to the people that they had planned to when the people
>> show up in front of them. The People can conduct any business they need
>> to(Fealty oaths, banns of marriage, gifts, introductions, whatever)
>> with the Crown while they are there. Don't have people line up, have
>> them sit down and feast. Have the Herald call them like they do
>> fighters.("Master Soandso and her Ladyship Whatsername will be next to
>> speak with their Majesties.") It would take a lot of work from the
>> Heralds. But it might be fun. (Probably have to be a time limit on
>> business before the Court.)
During our reign, we talked about doing something similar. Eastern courts
are famed for being *loooong* and we were looking for ways to get all the
required business done without requiring everyone to suffer through hours
(yes, hours) of court. Ruslan's squire, Edmund (now Prince of AEthelmearc)
had the idea of "sitting in state" for an entire morning or afternoon (or
even all day) to let people approach our Heralds and request to do whatever
business they wanted to do. In between, we would send our Heralds out to
summon gentles whom we wished to award for their efforts/expertise. The
Heralds would cry the entire site, and anyone who was curious about what was
being given to a particular person would also answer the summons. If a
Kindom level award was being given, the Order would be summoned and then a
couple of them sent out to find the candidate. During all this, food would
be served, casual conversations carried on, tourneys fought, arts & sciences
displays/competitions continue, etc. We figured that with enough advance
notice and cooperation from Autocrat, Heralds, and populace, it could work.
We never did get to try it unfortunately. I'll have to E-Mail Edmund to see
if he and Rosalind have given it a try during their reign in AEthelmearc.
Margaret
From: michael at diatel.dk (Michael Bradford)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: A neat idea for a court
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 1995 08:20:45 GMT
Organization: News Server at UNI-C, Danish Computing Centre for Research and Education.
msaroff at erie.net (Matthew Saroff) wrote:
> It seems to me that one of the purposes of court in period was the
>ejudication of disputes. I think that it would be neat of this happened
>occasionally, particularly in cases where the litigants (supplicants?) are
>_NOT_ to attached to the consequences.
Many years ago, our shire (Grimwood) had a Sheriff's court based on
this idea. This was partly because we were fed up with the typical
peerage courts and wanted something more at our level.
We started with some more or less pre-planned disputes. However one of
our guests (a fighter from Insula Draconis) took something amiss and,
after a few careful words from me and another fighter, almost declared
war on our then barony. It was all the funnier because his collegues
were trying to shut him up and then came over and apologised. We
explained our side of the joke and the evening ended in laughter and
not a few drinks.
The morale of the story is: enjoy yourselves and remember we do this
for fun.
Michael Bradford (once known as Knut Varulf)
[Contributed by Donna Hrynkiw <donna at Kwantlen.BC.CA>]
From leslie at fltdyn.com Fri Feb 28 11:33:09 1997
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 1997 09:23:21 +0000
From: Leslie Schweitzer <leslie at fltdyn.com>
Cc: steps at antir.sca.org
Subject: re:audible courts
In reference to the dialogue between Fionnruadhachain and Elizabeth
Blencowe, I definitely do hope that Fionnruadhachain becomes active in
An Tir Voice heraldry. Perhaps even court heraldry.
But please remember, Vocal Projection Techniques are only part of a
Court Heraldry class. Court Heraldry is complex. The Court Herald
is the Voice of the Crown. This entails much responsibility. You
have to know the correct Ceremonials (well enough, in some cases, to
help out a newly Crowned individual who may not know them that well
him- or herself without making it look obvious. And to know when, if the
Crown proposes a change to the Ceremonial, to advise them of any
unforseen ramifications that might ensue from the change that might make
some people upset.)
You need the social and political acumen to know exactly how to
act as the invisible-except-when-called-upon-to-be-entertaining PA
system. (Their Majesties might not want Their Voice doing animal
impressions or long strings of puns to fill out the slow bits -- or they might
love it. But if their Majesties don't want it, the audience shouldn't get it,
no matter how bored the audience is. And the Crown definitely doesn't
want herald sctick to either slow down, or outshine, the actual Court
business!)
You also need to think quickly on your feet to help defuse any volatile
situations (like when the branch said they were going to present 'a tourney
chest' to His Majesty, and it turns out that the tourney chest has an exotic
dancer in it who is about to go into a routine.)
I suggest that Court Heraldry be taught mostly by people with some
Court Heraldry experience, ideally Royal or Principality Court
experience. Vocal projection is a larger proportion of the field
heraldry classes (there is some, but not much, social and political
acumen needed by a field herald). Perhaps Fionnruadhachain might
start teaching in that area. In any case he should hook up with Vox.
Unfortunately I do not believe she is on email. But she is in the
Crier under 'Black Lion Staff.'
Zenobia Naphtali
[Contributed by Donna Hrynkiw <donna at Kwantlen.BC.CA>]
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 97 13:14:49 -0800
From: willi at co.intel.com
Cc: steps at antir.sca.org
Subject: Re: Better Courts and Ceremonies
Greetings from Gisla,
> Greetings to one and all.
> One of the telling remarks that appears in the notebooks is an admonishment
> that "Above all else, Court must be entertaining in order to show the
> strength of the Crown." (So, make it worth watching to pull people into the
> ceremony and rituals that build the cultural society.)
What a concept -- it would be wonderful to observe....
> With this in mind, I wanted to observe that it appears that An Tir Courts
> (Royal and Baronial) seem to be less well attended than they were some years
> ago. Some open questions to all those gathered here:
>
> Why do you chose to attend court? Or not attend court?
I don't enjoy court. I find that there are lots of "in" jokes and
as a newcomer am not privy to the details. I find that sometimes
people don't speak loudly enough and as I lurk towards the back
(usually with a project to keep me entertained) I don't hear what
is going on.
My least favorite (recently observed) tactic is sending out people
to "bring people to court" so that court is well-attended. I don't
like being "drug" into court to watch what's going on.
I find that court tends to be long and drawn out. I've attended
only a few "different" (as in different areas) courts so I can't
compare.
I think that my favorite "court" was the mini-court at 3Y when
(I think it was) the King of Atlantia (he was here by himself)
gave a 3-5 minute -- very entertaining court towards the end.
In effect, since his "court" wasn't present, he invested us with
the "responsibility" of being his court. He taught us what we
should do and then we did it. It was *FUN*. I felt like *part*
of something rather than a bystander.
I realize that court is there to do business but feel at times
that if it were better organized (or at least broken up into
manageable chunks of business/pleasure) that they would go
faster and be more enjoyable.... But that's just my 2 baraks.
(btw, what is the sign for a barak? Is there one? :) )
> What do you personally get out of court? Is there something more that you'd
> like to see in a typical court that is not there? Anything you'd personally
> like to see go away?
I like to see the outfits. That's where I get ideas from.
I'd love to see more "entertainment" -- whether that's background
music, a jester who "interrupts" (planned mostly) to entertain,
I'd love to see the "in-jokes" go away... It's hard to follow if
you haven't been around. It'd be nice to have a better explanation
of the award being given for those who are new *AND* to remind
the recipient of what they did to receive the award.
> Don Maestro Artimis
Gisla
willi at ibeam.intel.com
[Contributed by Donna Hrynkiw <donna at Kwantlen.BC.CA>]
From Jennifer_Berry at stream.com Fri Feb 28 11:36:54 1997
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 1997 14:43:41 -0500
From: Jennifer_Berry at stream.com
To: steps at antir.sca.org
Subject: Re: Better Courts and Ceremonies
Personally, I enjoy court. I enjoy heralding court, watching the excitement on
the faces of the award recipients, and also watching the knowing smiles of the
people who recommended the recipient. I think that if more people wrote
recommendation letters for people they thought worthy of award, more people
might attend court to watch those gentles receive their award. That's not to
say there are any guarantees that every person you recommend will receive an
award this reign, or any reign, but I can guarantee it will take longer if
you don't write the letter.
We used to have more entertainment before, during, and after court. However,
now that court is soooo full of ver important business, the entertainment has
been pushed aside. There was entertainment in period, so we should re-instate
it. (This is a blatant plug for jugglers and fooles! It's been AGES since I've
been asked to be foole to a reign! Or any foole being asked for a reign for
that matter!) I like the idea of Court Bard. Brianna is an excellent
choice, and I know she will do much to further the Bardic Arts in AnTir.
One other thing I have noticed: If you are sitting far back, you can't hear
what's going on. So, you miss the jokes. Why is everyone chuckling? I don't
know how to move everyone closer to the action, but maybe we could have fooles
and jesters passing along what's happening to the populace in the back of
the court?
I don't see how you could remove anything, but courts are REALLY too long. All
the business I have seen at court has been important to someone. The Crown has
taken to having Presentation Courts after Main Court, but many people want their
presentations to be known by the populace. Maybe the Crown could publish the
presentations They receive in The Crier? Then everyone would be happy and
courts might not run so long. Also, maybe we should have the friends of the
recipient make sure the recipient is at court to receive his/her award.
That would save some time, too...
Sgt. Courtier Arwen McDougall Lioncourt OGS, JdL
[Contributed by Donna Hrynkiw <donna at Kwantlen.BC.CA>]
Date: Thu, 27 Feb 97 9:26:09 PST
From: "Terry L. Neill" <Neilltl at ptsc.slg.eds.com>
To: An Tir <steps at antir.sca.org>
Subject: Courts
> What do you personally get out of court? Is there something more that you'd
> like to see in a typical court that is not there? Anything you'd personally
> like to see go away?
I haven't attended an An Tirian court since the knighting at 3YC. (And boy,
was that looooooooooong and inaudible! Boooooooring.)
The courts I enjoy the most are those where the business is brisk and LOUD.
Loud enough to be heard in the back.
Short personal comments to the populace about WHY that person is getting an
award are wonderful. Our current King and Queen jot down reasons for the
awards on 3x5 cards, split them up between them and surreptitiously cue off
of them LOUDLY. Occationally they make personal quiet comments to the
awardees, but those are short.
At the last court I attended a man was called up twice to do business of the
event and divested himself of edged weapons both times. BAD. Time consuming
and needless. Silly and pointless. As if the King has something to fear from
his people. They gave him an AoA and the Prince got up and retreived the man's
weapons and gave them to the King to give back. Pointedly, but nicely, done
Showing off illuminated scrolls one receives in court on one's way back to
one's seat is a neat thing to do.
At one court, where the hall was large and the acoustics were terrible, the
herald loudly called out what was occuring in court. "Lady Mary Inducted into
the Order of the Golden Dolphin!" "The King Banters with the Outgoing
Clerk of Precedence!" "The Shire of Good Folk Present The King and Queen
with Potable Taxes!" It was great. Business moved quickly and those in
back knew what was going on.
At another court, there were two marriage proposals. One was long, and
inaudible and between the Queen and the man mostly.