[MR] A question of Protocol

[Derrick Solomon]

very interesting.  see for me it shows the people of the barony that
next to the king and queen, prince and princess, the baron and/or
baroness are on top of the food chain to have them toasted as honored
guests and not as hosts at the table.  i see it as my responsibility as
a servant of my king to offer the toast (wherever i come in be it k&q,
p&p, b&b).

i can see it both ways though and i think it is certainly acceptable
either way.  this weekend it just felt odd to see their excellencies
toasting the crown when it felt that service was the job of others.  it
came off well and it was a very nice toast.  but it just felt wrong.
and, like i said, i had never seen it done that way before.  ultimately
the choice is that of the crowns and i cant think of ever sitting in a
feast as king and not being asked how we wanted to see the toasting
being done.  so i think we are covered in that respect.

regards
logan

-----Original Message-----
From: atlantia-bounces at atlantia.sca.org
[mailto:atlantia-bounces at atlantia.sca.org] On Behalf Of Arthur Donadio
Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 1:31 PM
To: ladyro at comcast.net; atlantia at atlantia.sca.org
Subject: Re: [MR] A question of Protocol

Hello All:

In my experience, no sovereign, consort, royal peer, or person of
baronial 
rank who is comfortable in his or her own skin will bristle at an
unintended 
failure to observe the customary courtesies.  Most of us remember all
too 
well what it was like to be new and to have difficulty remembering the
forms 
and meaning of the various hats and heraldry.  As has been commented, 
Atlantians are known around the world for being particularly respectful
to 
the Crown, to each other, and to dignitaries of other realms.

My take on the toasts differs from that of His Grace, Logan.  Under the 
theory that in their own lands the baron and baroness outrank everyone
but 
the king and queen, during my reigns, I have always instructed that (at 
events hosted by a barony) the landed baron and baroness have the honor
of 
toasting the king and queen.  Then the highest ranking peer toasts the
crown 
prince and princess and the next highest ranking toasts the sitting
baron 
and baroness.  This has always made the most sense to me as it helps 
reinforce to the people of the barony that next to the king and queen,
their 
baron and baroness are at the top of the food chain in their lands.

On the topic of carrying SCA observances into the modern world, I can
tell 
you that I have done that too.  At the end of a long and particularly 
contentious trial in district court, I rose to give my closing argument.

When I concluded, the judge said,"thank you, Mr. Donadio".  Without 
thinking, I bowed to the judge before sitting down.

Cuan


========================================================================
                   The Merry Rose Tavern at Cheapside
    List Info: http://merryrose.atlantia.sca.org/
  Submissions: Atlantia at atlantia.sca.org
Subscriptions:
http://seahorse.atlantia.sca.org/mailman/listinfo/atlantia