[MR] Wouldn't it be grand

[Jennifer Thies]

Lady Rivkah and the gentles of this tavern,

There does exist, within the Royal coffers, a container full of baronial
banners and officer banners.  There is a single banner for each office,
three of the orders of merit, and then, upon one long gold cord,
individual painted arms of the 15 baronies.  These banners have been put
on display at a few events, Coronation of Galmr and Aryanna and Twelfth
Night come to mind.  They have also been brought to a few other events
and the staff (whether event or royal retinue) never got around to
displaying them.  To my knowledge there are not painted devices for the
34 shires, cantons and colleges in the royal coffers at this time.  If
the staff at an event where the royalty plan to attend would like the
royalty to bring these banners for display, all they must do is simply
ask the King, Queen, or retainers.

Now to the logistics of using them to decorate an eric or list field
boundaries.  To mark off two small list field sections, you need
approximately 100 linear feet of list fence or ropes to clearly
delineate the boundaries of the field.  (This is just a nice round
number.)  To make enough painted banners to cover that surround in your
vision would include much more than one each of the simple devices of
the 49 groups of this kingdom (counting incipient groups.)  Also, list
fences are often run into during the course of fights, leaned on, and
otherwise unkindly treated during the course of their use.  This is not
to say that fighters are intentionally unkind, but these things do
happen.  Marshals understandably need to be more concerned with the
safety of the fighters and the populace in attendance than the finely
painted banners surrounding the eric.  Therefore, these banners would
likely have to be replaced periodically.  

What I would suggest is that each barony and shire focus on making their
presence more decorated.  When folks go to an event as a barony or
shire, have a baronial dayshade decorated with the arms of the group and
the sub groups within it.  Decorations off the list field, but
surrounding it, are not only in more direct control of the groups
attending, but safer as those under that dayshade will likely take great
care of the works of their populace.  The Royalty attempt to decorate
the royal presence so that all may know that the King and Queen are in
attendance and this is where they can be found.  Other groups,
households even, are certainly welcome and encouraged to do so as well
to increase the overall ambiance of the event.  In the past, the
autocrats of an event have made unpainted, stamped or block printed
pennons to hang upon list field boundaries in the theme of the event,
and this does look splendid indeed.  I would encourage this to be done
more often at events.  

I apologize for my tediousness, but I merely wanted to convey that
something along these lines does already exist.  I would encourage
anyone who wishes to make such a gift to the royalty to check with the
royalty that such an item does not already exist, and would be useful
and often displayed.

In service,
Genevieve d'Aquitaine
Baroness of the Court of Atlantia

Leanna Pettitt wrote:
> 
> Greetings my dear friends in the tavern,
> 
> For the last many weeks or maybe even months I have
> been pondering an idea in my head that I think would
> be grand.  Can you imagine, arriving at a crown
> tournament and seeing the list field blocked off by a
> dagged rope, and on each of these dags (penants or
> whatever the word is) would be the device of a
> different Atlantian group (i.e. Cantons, Shires,
> Baronies, households, guilds, etc).  This project
> would be a massive undertaking for any single
> individual or even a committee, but could be easily
> and inexpensively done if each group did their own dag
> and submitted it for the project.
> 
> Now, I don't know that much about kingdom politics but
> I think this would be a grand way to show off
> Atlantia's people at our events and at major wars like
> Gulf Wars and Pennsic.  Just some food for thought, if
> anyone else likes the idea and would like to help
> promote it, I would love to get this idea fly.  It
> would be a great thing to present to their majesties
> to be passed down with the royal equipment and
> shouldn't take up too much space.
> 
> Blessings be unto you till we meet again,
> 
> Rivkah bat Zakkai
>