[MR] Crown,etc.

[Nancy-Ellen Gatlin]

Vels,
I have sat by and watched this quietly, and I cannot
sit by any longer.
No one is saying that you do not have a right to your
opinion, but it is REALLY unnecessary to attack people
in the rude manner that you have consistently done
throughout this conversation. So,please read what you
write and think very carefully about your tone before
you blast it to the list. If you don't care that you
are rude, then I guess it does not matter, but I hope
that it is merely a case of a passionate opinion on
the matter that has over come your judgment in how you
have chosen to word things. For instance, stating
something that Sir Christian said was a "falsity".
This implies that this MOST honorable of men
purposely, for some underhanded reason chosen to
perpetuate a lie. If he stated a fact that HE BELIEVED
to be true, I can guarantee you that whether or not
you agree with it, or whether or not it is true, he
would never intentionally perpetuate a falsehood for
his gain.
As to this question of the format of Crown. I think
what most folks  who do not disagree with the BoD's
decision are trying to say is that we don't have some
huge fear that if the BoD did not stop this now, that
a Crown War would an eventuality in Atlantian. What we
are saying is that we think that the BoD did the right
thing because of how WE FEEL a Crown should be run
(again...OPINION HERE). I think that anyone has fought
in a Crown or been a Consort has a hard time wrapping
their mind around the Crown War concept. I
(again...OPINION) think that a Crown War warps the
spirit of the tourney. You may think me a romantic,
(and I am okay with that) but when a combatant goes
out in single combat to fight for the honor of their
consort, that says something. Be they friends or
romantically involved, you cannot understand the shear
power of that moment unless you have been there. That
might sound elitist to those of you who have not, or
might not ever be in that situation. All I can tell
you is, that the moment that the man I love most in
the world struck that final blow, and he became
Prince, the emotions were overwhelming. I was so proud
of him and so deeply honored that he loved me enough
to make me his Princess.
I truly don't know if he had lead a pack of other
folks in armor on a field, and won the day if it would
have been the same. Not because there might have been
questions about his abilities, but because I think
that Crown is where each combatant should display
their honor and chivalry as proudly as their physical
prowess, and while this can be cone in a melee format,
it is just not the same as on combatant being
responsible for their own actions in a one-on-one
format.
Maybe it is boring tourney to watch if you are not
involved first hand. I have always found Crown
tournaments to be the most enjoyable and wondrous of
all SCA events even when I did not know a soul in the
tournament. While the format might not be medieval,
the spirit and pageantry of the day certainly is
(CREATIVE Anachronism). 
It is always interesting when people choose to play
the "it's not period" card when it suits them and
ignore it when it does not.
I am a believer that Kingdoms should have a LOT of
freedom to decide what works best for them and that on
a lot of issues, the BoD should not be involved. BUT,
in this case, this is not like say, sumptuary laws or
the creation of awards. This is how one becomes King,
which is something that should not be decided lightly,
and there should be a standard of how this will be
done in our Society. My opinion is (there is that word
again) that the BoD did the right thing.

Countess Mary-Grace of Gatland


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