[MR] Fwd: [serapier] Marshallate restructuring proposal for the BoD- long

[Aedan Aylwyn]

Forwarded from another (actually, more than one *G*) list...

Aedan

>Greetings to all who read this, and apologies if you get copies from multiple
>forums.
>This proposal was written by my husband, Master William de Montegilt and sent
>to the Board of Directors of the SCA last week. As he does not read many e-
>lists he asked that I post it that those who are interested might provide
>input to the Board of Directors.
>
>If you have questions, please feel free to email me and I will pass the
>questions on to William and then post answers. Since I may not be subscribed
>to every list where this gets posted, you may email me directly at:
>wendyc <at> vivid.net.
>
>This may be cross posted if there is interest but please post the text in its
>entirety.
>In Service to the Society,
>
>Mistress Irene von Schmetterling
>
>--
>Marshallate Reformation Proposal
>
>Introduction
>
>My name is Bill Colbert.  In the SCA, I am William de Montegilt.  My first 
>SCA
>activity  was a small tourney in Towson, Maryland, in March of 1975.  I was a
>spectator.  My second SCA activity was a fighter practice.  I have been a
>rattan combat fighter for more than 28 years, and a warranted marshal in two
>kingdoms.  I am not a knight, nor have I ever picked up a rapier.  I do not
>participate in period combat studies.  I do enjoy fighting, very much.  This
>information is included so that any biases are evident.
>
>Safety in all forms of SCA combat is a particular interest of mine.  It may
>have something to do with my first two fighting seasons both ending early 
>with
>a broken arm.   I don’t like to be hurt, and I don’t like to see my friends
>hurt.  Also, I believe that a really serious fighting-related injury, or a
>death on the field (any field) might very well spell the end of combat in the
>SCA.  The financial circumstances of the Society are such that a large
>judgment exceeding our liability insurance would cripple the organization.
>
>The present structure of the Marshallate within the Society is, I believe,
>conducive to such a disastrous event.  The reason for this is that decision
>authority for safety, standards, and practices, within the kingdoms and at 
>the
>Society level, are made almost entirely by people very experienced in rattan
>combat.  That is just fine for rattan combat, but it is not fine for rapier
>combat, nor equestrian activities, nor siege weapons, nor period combat
>studies.  The Board of Directors agrees, at least in the case of equestrian
>activities.  As of the April 2003 board meeting, the equestrians were made
>independent of the Marshallate.
>
>Now, I recognize that there are exceptions to the above assertion.  But for
>the most part, the situation is as stated.  All, or nearly all, of the 
>kingdom
>earls marshal and the Society Marshal, presently, and historically, have been
>experienced rattan fighters.  Precious few of them have had any other sort of
>fighting experience.  Look within your own kingdoms, and see if this is not
>the case.
>
>The main thrust of this proposal is to decentralize decision authority for
>safety, practical techniques, and equipment standards, for each 
>combat-related
>activity to the deputy for that activity.  The Society Marshal and the 
>kingdom
>earls marshal would have different responsibilities than at present.  They
>would continue to be responsible for coordinating reporting to their
>respective crowns and corporate superiors.  They would have the added
>responsibility of  encouraging all forms of fighting, and fighting-related
>activities in their kingdoms, or in the case of the Society Marshal, in the
>Society as a whole.
>
>What comes next is a synopsis of the evolution of  Society combat.  This is
>intended to illustrate how we got to the current situation.  The elements of
>the Proposal will follow that.
>
>History
>
>On May 1, 1966, the Last Tourney was held.  It was a backyard party.  A total
>of ten fighters competed that day.  I have spoken to three of The Ten (Flieg
>Hollander, Henrik Olsgaard, and Dave Thewlis), and they confirm that the
>weapons used in what became the first tourney of the SCA were modern fencing
>equipment, broomsticks, and trash can lids.  Within two years, rattan combat
>had become the standard (only) form of combat used in the Society.  I mention
>this to illustrate that the evolution of combat within the SCA has occurred,
>literally, from the beginning.
>
>In A.S. 6, the Society Marshal published a statement to the effect that all
>fighters should expect to give and receive full force blows at all times, in
>order to simulate the reality of medieval combat.  This idiocy engendered a
>variety of amusing ballads, and intervention by the Board of Directors, who
>appointed a new Society Marshal.  I mention this to show that, even very
>early, the Board was willing to intervene in combat-related situations they
>found patently unsafe.
>
>When I began fighting in A.S. 9, there were only four kingdoms.  Combat
>archery did not exist.  Light weapons were not used.  Face thrusts were not
>used.  In the East Kingdom, ladies were allowed to train as fighters, but
>could not participate in any tournament competition, much less a Crown
>Tourney.   There were a few siege weapons, but they were for demonstration
>purposes only, and were not used in combat.
>
>There was no organized study of historical fighting techniques from any 
>era of
>the period, and the development of rattan combat fighting was evolutionary
>rather than historical.  By that I mean that many techniques were tried, and
>the ones that tended to work were kept.
>
>Today, all these things are part of  Society combat activities.  We have Lady
>knights, and even one Lady who was queen, in her own right.  Many battles are
>enhanced by the presence of combat archers, and at Gulf Wars, the sky darkens
>during the castle battle with the missiles of the siege engines.  Rapier
>combat was introduced in 1979, and has thousands of adherents 
>today.  Finally,
>the translation and study of actual period combat manuals is perhaps the
>fastest growing combat-related activity.  It certainly is the most dynamic.
>
>Fighting and the Society
>
>The first event was a tourney.  As we all know, the Society attempts to
>recreate “the Middle Ages, as they should have been”.  I have heard this
>referred to as the “Romantic Arthurian” model.
>
> From the beginning, the tourney has been the centerpoint of most Society
>events.  Throughout its early history, this meant, exclusively, rattan
>combat.  Rattan combat tournaments are held even today at the vast 
>majority of
>Society events.  It tends to capture the imagination of the viewing public
>more than any of our other activities.
>
>The assignment of responsibility for all combat-related activities to a
>Marshallate organization composed of rattan fighters made perfect sense
.as
>long as there were only rattan fighters.
>
>There is now a much wider menu of combat-related activities than was imagined
>when the present structure was set up.  The Marshallate has evolved somewhat
>in response.  As presently (September 2003) constituted, each of the combat-
>related activities has a deputy to oversee it.  This deputy has the 
>obligation
>to make policy recommendations to the kingdom earl marshal or the Society
>Marshal, as appropriate.  However decision authority remains with the kingdom
>earl marshal or the Society Marshal, regardless of  the level of his or her
>qualifications, actual experience, and interest in the particular activity.
>
>The Problems
>
>Safety - It simply does not make sense for someone with no direct 
>knowledge or
>expertise in an activity to be regulating it.  In this case we are talking
>about regulating it at the level of actual fighting techniques, equipment
>standards, and safety practices.  You wouldn’t want a fire safety specialist
>making decisions about airplane safety.  Yet that is exactly the situation
>that non-rattan fighters are faced with.  It represents an obvious danger to
>the participants.
>Liability - We do not have a Society with a large financial endowment.  It is
>well known that the Society operates on very narrow fiscal margins, with no
>major reserve funding.  The loss of an injury-related lawsuit 
>significantly in
>excess of our liability insurance would cripple or liquidate the Society.  If
>I were the attorney arguing such a case from the other side, I would be
>overjoyed to find that at three separate levels (Society Marshal, Crown, and
>kingdom earl marshal), oversight responsibility was being performed by 
>persons
>with no direct knowledge of the activity.
>Membership dissatisfaction - It should come as no surprise to anyone that
>members participating in combat forms other than rattan combat have been
>subjected to arbitrary rule changes, arbitrary equipment changes, arbitrary
>technique rulings, and arbitrary activity elimination.  These have 
>occurred at
>the Society Marshal level and the kingdom level, often changing from reign to
>reign, and demonstrably by people acting on erroneous or inadequate
>information.  They have been done by officers without direct expertise in
>these other combat forms.  The members have also had to endure, on many
>occasions, these types of actions by officers with active dislike or overt
>hostility to their activities, even, in some cases, to pursuing an agenda to
>eliminate them.
>
>Concerning the last point, I wish to make it clear that I am not talking
>exclusively about rapier combat.  Similar problems, although fewer in number,
>have occurred with combat archery (on again, off again, hit ‘em, don’t
>hit ‘em), siege weapons (ever had anyone firing onions at you during a
>battle?  It’s happened.), and equestrian activities.  It is occurring right
>now with period combat studies.  Notice I said “studies”, not fighting.  In
>the past few weeks we had the absurd situation of a kingdom earl marshal
>initially forbidding the showing, at an event, of a videotape illustrating
>historical combat techniques taken from period fighting manuals.  The
>justification presented was that this might confuse fighters as to what was
>legal on the field.  This decision was even upheld by the Society Marshal.  I
>believe, however, that the earl marshal in question has rethought his
>position.  Still, the incident illustrates that the Marshallate as presently
>organized is not equipped to deal fairly and appropriately with alternative
>combat-related activities.
>
>There are, literally, thousands of members who use siege engines, fight with
>rapiers, and study historical combat techniques.  They also hold events, cook
>feasts, serve their Crowns, and in short, behave like all others members.
>They deserve better treatment and more respect than they have gotten up to
>this point.  They deserve to be as safe in their activities as we can make
>them, just like we rattan fighters.
>
>The elements of the Proposal that follows will address each of these issues.
>
>Reorganization of the Marshallate
>
>Society Level:
>Discussion and justification for this have been argued above.  In summary, 
>the
>present organizational structure places people with little or no expertise,
>and occasionally outright hostility, in decision authority over 
>combat-related
>activities other than rattan combat.  This compromises the safety of the
>participants, our membership.  It also significantly increases the legal
>liability of the Society in case of an injury lawsuit.  It also exposes
>participants to the whimsy of officers not particularly interested in their
>activities.
>
>Arguments in favor of such a reorganization include:
>All three of the major problems discussed above are solved or at least 
>heavily
>mitigated.
>People not interested in a particular activity are no longer required to 
>be in
>the loop.  They can confine their attentions to activities that do interest
>them.
>If done correctly, cross-activity technique sharing is enhanced.  I refer 
>here
>particularly to the efforts of those studying historical combat techniques on
>both rattan combat and rapier combat.
>The positions of Society Marshal and king earl marshal will have a larger 
>pool
>of candidates as they will no longer be tied to just rattan combat expertise.
>
>Arguments against might include:
>It isn’t traditional.  It dilutes the influence of rattan combat as the
>primary form of fighting within the Society.
>The present Society Marshal and kingdom earls marshal won’t like it.  It
>removes much of their authority.
>
>As a strong believer in both tradition and rattan combat, I will address the
>first argument below, later in the Proposal.  As to the second argument, 
>well,
>yes.  That’s the idea.
>
>Proposed:  The office of Marshal of the Society, as described in Corpora, VI
>D., will become a reporting office for activities related to combat and
>archery.  Information coordination activities, working with the Chirurgeon
>General to promote safety, and working with the Minister of Arts and Sciences
>will continue as present.  Supervision of combat and related activities,
>supervision of subordinate marshals, and making policy decisions,
>interpretations and clarifications regarding the Rules of the Lists as they
>apply to a particular type of combat are now assigned to the deputy society
>marshals for each activity.  In particular, deputies will be appointed for
>rattan combat, rapier combat, siege weapons, historical combat studies, youth
>combat, and archery/thrown weapons.  Other deputies may be appointed as
>needed, however these deputies will have decision authority over their
>particular activities.  Warrants for the Marshal of the Society and the
>Deputies defined below are signed by the Board of Directors.
>
>Note:  New text is underscored.
>
>Enabling legislation -  Corpora is changed as follows:  the text of VI
>(Society Officers) D (Marshal of the Society) is deleted in its entirety and
>replaced with:
>   “The Marshal of the Society is responsible for reporting on activities
>related to combat and archery to the Board of Directors.  This includes
>coordinating the reporting from the Deputy Society Marshals for each 
>activity,
>and from the Earls Marshal of the kingdoms.  The Marshal of the Society will
>also work with the Chirurgeon General to promote safety in the Society’s
>martial arts, and with the Minister of Arts and Sciences to encourage 
>research
>in armor and weapons.  Further, the Marshal of the Society will have the
>responsibility to encourage and promote participation in combat and archery
>activities by the membership.  The Marshal of the Society may appoint such
>Assistant Marshals as are necessary to fulfill these responsibilities.
>     Deputy Society Marshals are created for the following 
> activities:  Armored
>Combat, Rapier Combat, Siege Engines, Archery, Youth Combat, and Period 
>Combat
>Studies. The Deputy Society Marshals are responsible for activities in their
>respective areas.  This includes directing the appropriate Deputy Earls
>Marshal of the kingdoms in matters concerning the supervision of combat and
>related activities at Society events and the manner and conduct of duties of
>all marshals of their activities throughout the Society.
>    The Board specifically authorizes these Deputy Society Marshals to make
>policy decisions, interpretations, and clarification regarding the Rules of
>the Lists, for their respective activities only, and with the proviso that
>such rulings must be reported to the Board at the following meeting.  These
>rulings will stand until and unless overruled by the Board.”
>
>Before I discuss the effect on the kingdoms, I want to explain some of the
>reasoning here.
>
>First, additional deputy Society marshals can easily be created should
>circumstances dictate.  Second, I have included a deputy, rather than an
>assistant for siege engines.  The reason for this is that some of these use
>sufficient force to be quite dangerous in uneducated hands.  They need to be
>regulated by someone who really understands them.
>
>Third, I feel that having the Archery deputy have responsibility for target
>activities and combat archery is a Good Thing.  The reason is the necessity
>of  having some sort of Society-wide standards, particularly when it comes to
>arrow construction, so that we can all play safely together.
>
>Fourth, most kingdoms now have some form of youth combat, and others are
>considering it.  This activity is still in its early stages, and there is a
>real opportunity here for the kingdoms to share best practices, if there is
>someone to do the coordination.  A Society-wide set of minimum standards is
>probably an important outcome.  I believe this level of official attention is
>appropriate, as I don’t think we have any assets more precious than our
>children.
>
>Finally, although there has always been some level of interest, it is only
>recently that there has been dramatic growth in the interest level in the
>translation and study of historical combat techniques.  The important word
>here is “study”.  This is not a competitive activity.  There are no
>tournaments.  There are practices and demonstrations.  As some of these use
>weapons or other physical activity, there is risk to the participants.  It
>isn’t purely theoretical.  Consequently, it is necessary to have regulations
>and equipment standards overseen by someone with expertise in the activity.
>Placing the sidesword experiment here instead of under the Deputy Society
>Marshal for Rapier Combat might be worth considering.
>
>I was recently asked why the study of historical combat techniques should 
>be a
>Society activity.  The justification is simple, and comes from the 
>Articles of
>Incorporation, section II, which says: “
The purposes for which this
>corporation is formed include: (a) Research and education in the field of pre-
>17th Century Western Culture. (b) Generally, to engage in research; publish
>material of relevance and interest to the field of pre-17th Century Western
>Culture; to present activities and events which re-create the environment of
>said era, such as, but not limited to, tournaments, jousts, fairs, dances,
>classes, et cetera
”
>
>Now that is exactly what the period combat studies folks are doing, and
>certainly more so than those of us who fight with rattan and rapier.  Some of
>these techniques can probably be transferred to the armored and rapier combat
>fields, as they were used in period.
>
>Kingdom Level:
>Proposed:  The earls marshal of the kingdoms become reporting officers with
>the responsibility to coordinate information flow from the deputy earls
>marshal in their kingdoms and to report to the Society Marshal.  They also
>have the duties to promote safety by working with their kingdom Chirurgeon 
>and
>to promote general equipment standards improvement by working with their
>kingdom Minister of Arts and Sciences.
>
>For a kingdom to participate in a particular activity, it must appoint the
>appropriate deputy earl marshal for that activity.  Warrants for a kingdom
>earl marshal are signed by the Crown and the Society Marshal.  Warrants for a
>deputy earl marshal are signed by the Crown and the appropriate Deputy 
>Society
>Marshal.  The reasoning here is to make certain that persons with appropriate
>interest and expertise are overseeing each activity.
>
>Enabling legislation -  Corpora is changed as follows:  the text of VII
>(Kingdom, Principality, and Local Officers) D (The Earl Marshal) is 
>deleted in
>its entirety and replaced with:
>   “The Earl Marshal is responsible for reporting on activities related to
>combat and archery to the Crown and the Marshal of the Society.  This 
>includes
>coordinating the reporting from the Deputy Earls Marshal for each activity
>within the kingdom.  The Earl Marshal will also work with the Chirurgeon to
>promote safety in the kingdom’s martial arts, and with the Minister of Arts
>and Sciences to encourage research in armor and weapons.  Further, the Earl
>Marshal will have the responsibility to encourage and promote 
>participation in
>combat and archery activities by the membership.
>     Deputy Earls Marshal may be appointed for any of the following
>activities:  Armored Combat, Rapier Combat, Siege Engines, Archery, Youth
>Combat, and Period Combat Studies.  However, none of these activities may be
>performed in the kingdom without an appropriate Deputy Earl Marshal being
>appointed.  The Deputy Earls Marshal are responsible for all combat-related
>activities in their respective areas.  This includes overseeing the conduct
>and safety of all martial arts in their respective areas, including but not
>limited to tournament lists, wars, practices, and combat demonstrations.  The
>Deputy Earls Marshal are also responsible for appointing and warranting
>subordinate marshals for their respective areas.”
>
>Corpora VII I. (Duties of Other Officers) is changed to read: “Specific 
>duties
>of Kingdom Lesser Officers, deputies, Principality Officers, and Local
>Officers are defined by Royalty and the appropriate superior officer unless
>otherwise defined in Corpora.
>
>Corpora VII J. (Appointment to office) 1, add after the first
>sentence: “Kingdom Deputy Earls Marshal are appointed by the Crown after due
>consultation with the outgoing officer, the Earl Marshal, and any other
>appropriate Great Officer.”
>
>Corpora VII K (Warranting / Rosters) 1, first sentence is changed
>from “Kingdom Great Officer’s appointments are confirmed by a signature from
>the Corporate Level and the Crown, on the standard warrant form.”
>to  “Appointments of Kingdom Great Officers and Deputy Earls Marshal are
>confirmed by a signature from the appropriate Deputy Society Marshal, and the
>Crown, on the standard warrant form.”
>
>Again, the purpose here is simply to ensure that people with appropriate
>interest and expertise are in charge of each activity.
>
>The Crown:
>I expect this will actually be the most controversial part of this Proposal.
>First let me say that I have been a member for more than 28 years and a peer
>for nearly 25.  I have always endeavored to support my Crown and my Kingdom,
>no matter where I have lived.
>
>When there was only rattan combat, it made sense to have the Sovereign 
>oversee
>the fighting.  One could safely assume that he (it was always a he then) was
>pretty good at it.  Unfortunately, few Sovereigns, are expert in other forms
>of combat activity, and probably none are in all of them.  It makes sense,
>therefore, to reduce the responsibility of the Crown for these areas.  The
>justification is exactly the same as for the Marshallate.
>
>On the other hand, I’m a firm believer in traditions, and am not trying here
>to change the way we select our Crowns.
>
>Therefore, what I am proposing is a compromise between the traditional
>privileges of the Crown and the safety and enjoyment of the membership.
>
>Specifically, Proposed:
>The Sovereign retains final oversight responsibility for rattan combat within
>the kingdom.  Oversight responsibilities for other activities devolve to the
>appropriate deputy earl marshal.
>Access to the fighting field, any fighting field, is granted at the pleasure
>of the Sovereign.  The Sovereign retains the right to remove any fighter, at
>any time, from any field.
>Rattan combat remains the only formal tournament lists for royal ranks and
>titles, unless a specific exemption is granted by the Board.
>
>Enabling legislation -  Corpora is changed as follows: IV (Royalty) A.
>(Selection) 1. “Royal Lists must be conducted at a tournament announced in 
>the
>kingdom newsletter as being for that purpose.  Crowns or Coronets who wish to
>conduct a royal list in a manner other than individual armored combat must
>obtain the prior approval of the Board of Directors.”
>
>Corpora IV C (Duties)  9 is changed to read: “The Sovereign supervises 
>armored
>combat on the field of honor.
>
>Corpora IV C 10 is renumbered as IV C 11.
>
>Corpora IV C (new) 10 is added, as follows:  “The privilege of access to the
>combat fields, regardless of the type of combat activity being performed, is
>granted at the pleasure of the Sovereign. The Sovereign may remove any
>fighter, at any time, from any tourney or melee combat field, for any period
>of time, up to the duration of the Reign.  Such action shall not be construed
>to indicate a safety violation has occurred; no Marshallate action may be
>taken as the result of this exercise of Royal prerogative.  Safety violations
>shall be addressed through reports to, and appropriate actions by, the
>Marshallate.”
>
>Other Changes
>These are required, mostly for consistency, to complete the proposed
>implementation.
>Proposed:
>
>Corpora IX (Society Combat) A. (Society Combat-Related Activities) 1, first
>sentence is replaced with: “Society combat-related activities are defined as
>armored combat, rapier combat, combat archery, marshalling, scouting, banner
>bearing in combat, youth combat, and period combat studies.”
>
>Corpora IX A. 2, first paragraph is replaced with: “A participant in any of
>the Society combat-related activities as defined above must be authorized 
>by a
>marshal warranted and designated by the Deputy Earl Marshal of a kingdom for
>that activity, or his representative, as able to authorize individuals in the
>appropriate activity.”
>
>Corpora IX A. 6, is deleted in its entirety and replaced with: “Prior to the
>authorization of a minor in any Society combat-related activity, the 
>parent or
>guardian of the minor must witness the activity, discuss it with a witnessing
>marshal, and execute a Waiver, indemnity, or other required document for the
>minor.  The witnessing marshal must be explicitly authorized to perform this
>function by the Deputy Earl Marshal for Youth Combat of that kingdom.  The
>marshal who authorizes a minor person for any form of Society combat-related
>activity must the Kingdom or Principality Deputy Earl Marshal for Youth
>Combat, or the Kingdom or Principality Deputy Earl Marshal for that 
>activity.
>This need not be the same person as the witnessing marshal.”
>
>Corpora IX B (The Rules of the Lists) 2, is deleted in its entirety and
>replaced with:
>  “No person shall participate in Combat-Related activities (including 
> armored
>combat, rapier combat, combat archery, marshalling, scouting, banner bearing
>in combat, youth combat, and period combat studies) outside of formal 
>training
>sessions unless and until he or she shall have been properly authorized under
>Society and kingdom procedures.”
>
>Corpora IX C (Rapier Fighting in the Society) is now superfluous and 
>therefore
>deleted.
>
>Other Documents
>
>As near as I can determine, no changes to the Articles of Incorporation, By-
>Laws, or Corporate Policies of the SCA, Inc. are required to implement this
>proposal.
>
>Other Considerations
>
>Should the Board of Directors act favorably on this Proposal, presumably 
>after
>consultation with the membership, a reasonable amount of time should be given
>for implementation so that the kingdoms have a chance to adjust their
>organizations.  Six months seems about right, a year is probably too long.
>
>In Conclusion
>
>My motivation for this Proposal is simple.  I am worried about the Society.
>We do not seem to be growing.  We do seem to be aging, and a significant
>number of the kids drop out on reaching adulthood.  The membership is well
>aware that the organization has financial difficulties.
>
>We also have too much friction.  When I joined, I was given to believe that
>the Society was inclusive.  There were many, many different activities, and
>people were encouraged and rewarded for excelling in any field of 
>interest.  I
>continue to believe that should be one our ideals; it may be our very 
>greatest
>strength.
>
>Alas, for reasons that completely elude me, I have witnessed, time and again,
>one group trying to restrict the activities of another group.  And they
>weren’t even interested in participating themselves, they just didn’t want
>anyone else to do it.
>
>But I also believe that we are a Society that puts a high premium on courtesy
>and on honor.  The reason that people stay in the Society for decades is that
>generally the organization brings out the very best in its members.
>
>This proposal is designed to make fighting in the Society safer and more fun
>for everybody.  The conclusion is simple.  If more people are having more 
>fun,
>then the Society is stronger, interest is up, and everybody gains.
>
>Certainly the Field of Honor is big enough for all of us.
>
>And please believe that I remain in Service to the Society, this XXV
>Septembris, A.S. XXXVII.
>
>Bill Colbert  (William de Montegilt)

----------
Baron Aedan Aylwyn, Provost                     Caer Mear, Atlantia
Email: aedan (at) mindspring.com                Royal Bad Influence - Retired
Academie d'Espee: http://www.mindspring.com/~aedan
  * * Si tacuisses, philosophus manisses * *