[MR] Comments on Proposed revision of Corpora IV.A.1.

[Velsthe1 at aol.com]

I have consistently heard this arguement parroted over the past few days. 

"If we don't make single combat the law, then someone will have a melee and pay off people to win."

What's stopping someone from doing that in single combat? Chivalry? So where does the difference come in, only after it's a melee, not when it's a singles tourney?

Would you answer it as a matter of numbers, as in how many people you have to pay off? It does not even have to be monetary compensation, there are any numbers of ways to buy someone off, favors, promisaries on future endeavors, the list goes on.

So what else keeps someone from "paying" for the crown. Single combat has too many contestants? Buy off the ones you have to worry about, and run over the rest. 

What stops someone from doing this in a melee that does not stop them then in single tourney? 

Does anyone have proof that this kind of thing has happened before? Not hearsay, not supposition, proof that a society member, given the situation, in attempt to ensure they will sit the crown, have done something so unchivilrous? If they have, why haven't they been brought before an inquiry? 

Not only does this bring into question the honor of the person who is paying for the crown, but also the people he is paying off? When you make the supposed allegations about a strong fighter paying off a number of people for their support, you also question the honor of any and every fighter on the field. 

Some call heavy fighting "Chivalrous Combat." That is not to say other forms of fighting are less than honorable, however. The connotation added though, to many, is that becuase we fight with such a form, we have to live up to the ideal honorable accord (and isn't that what we are really looking for in our Royals?).


The change to corpora does two things:

 1- Takes a tradition and makes it law
 2- Removes one facet of our "Creative" anachronism.

Futher, just becuase we have the choice to hold multiple kinds of crown tourneys, doesn't mean a given kingdom will. It is always nice to have the choice availible, if not always required. 


Vels
Shield-Grunt, with little political aspiration