[MR] A Question of Protocol

[Anthony Bryant]

Irmgart wrote:

> My personal preference is for women to curtsy when they are dressed as
> women. There are several women who dress as men for various reasons
> (Rosalind Delamere springs to mind), and in my opinion it looks odd, if not
> silly, to curtsy wearing pants.
> 
> I also tend to bow to my partner instead of curtsying when I am dancing as a
> "Lord equivalent"  (which happens with such frequency that there are some
> dances I have a hard time dancing the female part).
> 
> I tend not to reverance unoccupied furniture.
> 
> I haven't had the opportunity to decide whether to reverance a piece of
> jewelry on a pillow.

Something just occurred to me.

I'm Russian Orthodox, (cousin of Roman Catholic <G>), and it 
occurs to me that the concept of "I tend not to reverance 
unoccupied furniture" screams protestant to me.

I rather think that those from background where symbolism 
and reverence of abstracts (like Orthodoxy and Catholicism) 
has little problem grasping the idea of symbol as prototype 
(we venerate icons for a reason). It's a very modern, very 
protestant, mindset that views a throne (albeit empty) as 
"just furniture", while it is more particularly Catholic or 
Orthodox to see the throne as a representative symbol of 
something that deserves respect and reverence.


Effingham
-- 

Anthony J. Bryant
Website: http://www.sengokudaimyo.com

Effingham's Heraldic Avatars (...and stuff):
http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/avatarbiz.html

All sorts of cool things Japanese and SCA:
http://www.cafepress.com/sengokudaimyo