Master Aleksandr Ruslanovich and Lady Morwenna Westerne :
Having an impressive court -- one with an honor guard, attendants,
heralds, pages distributing largesse, and more -- allows those who see
it to believe that the people at the center of it truly are a baron and
baroness. Further, that they are a baron and baroness of an important
and wonderful barony. It's our hope that by having elaborate court
processions, we can make the populace proud to be Carolingian.
Having an impressive court -- one with an honor guard, attendants,
heralds, pages distributing largesse, and more -- allows more people to
participate. More people participating, more people enjoying themselves
at SCA events, is good for the barony and for the SCA at large.
Absolutely. In fact, we hope even to increase it. Having an
entourage allows a baron and baroness to do two things: create a
spectacle, and involve the populace.
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Mistress Caitlin Davies :
Master Justin du Coeur :
The issue is partly one of expectations. Aquel and Johanna have been
developing a tradition of Baronial Champions, very much cognates to the
Royal Champions. And I think everyone sort of expects that parallel to
continue -- just as the Royal Champs always attend Their Majesties in
court, so everyone sort of expects the Baronial ones to do the same. And
to be fair, we don't really provide the Baronial Champions with anything
*else* to do as the duties of the post.
I suspect that Caitlin and I would try to move away from this sort of
business-as-usual mode of retinue, although rather gradually. We're very
interested in finding other ways of doing things -- I generally find the
SCA cooler and more interesting when it's being imaginative. I do think
it's important that Champions and such have some sort of duties, so it's
more than just a hollow award, but there may be other avenues to
explore.
That aside, the only *necessary* member of the Baronial retinue is the
herald. I suspect having one or two others available is generally
useful, but like I said, I'd prefer that it not turn into a mob...
Lord Diego Mundoz :
Lady Godith Anyon :
Lady Emmanuelle de Chenonceaux :
Master Seamus Donn :
Mistress Gwendolyn of Middlemarch :
Lord Kali Harlansson of Gotland :
But not that we want to increase the level of pageantry, processional, and
precedence. On the contrary, there would definitely be times as well when we
want to be informal and approachable, and a good way to signal that would be
to release the entourage.
Seigneur Jehan du Lac :
Master John McGuire :
In a seperate set of questions, I stated that I wanted to encourage the
martial
activities a bit more and to add a bit of pomp for them as the CRC did for
the
fencers. A small number of people from the various martial activites,
chosen
acording to event and inclination to for a small entourage would encourage
pomp, without burning anyone out.
Shi Hua Fu and Lady Yelizaveta Medvedeva :
I think I would like to "do entourage" at some level. But the level of
entourage appropriate to the situation varies wildly. It is highly
appropriate to have lots of Carolingians marching off to the Field
Battle at Pennsic together, for example, or for making an entrance to
other kinds of public - especially large - events. It isn't so
appropriate, or useful, to crowd a dais at an event with all of the
champions, heralds, ladies' maids, household, jesters, and whatnot. To
me, the crowded stage look detracts from the presence of the baron and
baroness. Much better at such a time to have just a small handful of
people - one herald, one attendant, maybe a guard/champion or two.
These positions should rotate, either within the event or between
events, to give those who would like to serve the opportunity to do so,
and those whom the baron/ess wishes to honor a venue for that.
To some degree, probably, although I certainly wouldn't want to see
Baronial court turn into the mob scene that Royal court has become.
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Yes, though I think I would prefer a smaller average
size.
Entourage is essential. I'd like to have something that
looks as spiff as the CRC did.
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Oh yes- entourage can be fun, and is a great informal way to recognise activities and individuals. I think it could be really interesting, for example to have
the Hurley players as an honor guard for an event, especially an out-barony event. ...Could do wonders for our image...
I am very much in favour of doing things with a dramatic flair. Processionals are nice, but having a lot of people stand up around you in court just makes more
people tired. I like the appointment of many retainers. As with awards, it doesn't cost anything, and makes people happy. But I would seek to expand their role from more
than just court decoration to active involvement. There are plenty of opportunites for quests, tasks and missions of social importance to be conducted as part of an ongoing
drama from event to event. Encouraging this sort of action gives groups a chance to mix, people to act and develop in persona, and to draw the Barony much closer together.
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Yes, on some occasions. I don't think I can answer
this more exactly until I have actually had the
experience.
In some fashion, yes. We're by no means certain of the final form it would
take, but we are thinking of something along the lines of a Baronial Guard
which might include, or complement, or supplement the current Champions of
the various arts martial, and/or possibly a Baronial Household to recognize
accomplishment in other, less martial, areas. (This would not be a household
in the standard SCA sense, such as the previous question was asking about, so
we might have to think of a different name for it.) A certain amount of
entourage definitely helps both in pageantry and in practical matters as well.
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oh yes.
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A small varying entourage is a reasonable thing. I do not believe that we
need to continually press the Baronial champions to continually guard the
Baron/Baroness. I also tend to be fairly independant. :)
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Yes, but not a big one. There's no point to having more people behind
the thrones than in front of it! It's appropriate to have some few
retainers and protectors, and we certainly wouldn't want to do without
our herald. The idea of a small baronial guard is a good one, with
perhaps one representative of each martial art asked to participate
and accompany the champions, and the whole group could rotate so no
one was obliged to spend every event in court. We would also strive
for more pageantry, since it serves to enhance the moment. But we
want courts to remain inclusive and welcoming, and we would avoid
doing or presenting anything anything that would be forbidding or
off-putting or cause people to not feel comfortable. Outside of
court, having a few retainers will help us stay sane. We like to do
things ourselves, but one needs to be able to delegate in a reasonable
fashion - we can't do it without help, but we're not the types to want
to feel catered to or pampered. At Pennsic, things would need to be
scaled up as appropriate for the situation(s).
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