[MR] Queen's Corner

[Jen Thies]

Thank you Your Majesty for honoring Atlantia with Your grace and wisdom in
bringing these questions to light.

As regards the kneeling pillows, I think sometimes we do tend to place them
just at the feet of the thrones during set-up, but that is too close to the
Crowns when court is in progress. There should be space enough so that when
kneeling, the person You are honoring would not be able to nibble on your
knees. This is a detail historically often not considered in the rush to
set-up for court, but a member of Your retinue might wish to test kneel when
placing the cushions before the thrones to ensure enough space is given.
This will also prevent You from having to either lean over to reposition
them or indelicately kick the cushion further out.

And good people, if you are called before Their Majesties, please make use
of the kneeling pillows, unless you are either unable or unwilling to kneel,
or covered head to toe in mud. The pillows are there for your comfort as you
are being honored, and we would not dare refuse the hospitality of our fair
Crown by refusing the cushion.

As regards the generous water bearers, if room in the budget cannot be made,
or if fighters would wish to donate to the water bearing supplies, perhaps
one might request to set a donation jar at the MOL table. Fighters often
have their wallets there with them for displaying their cards for sign-in,
and those wishing to make a donation could easily do so. Please make sure to
ask the MOL in charge before taking such action, and pray monitor the well
labeled donation jar after sign-in to not overburden the list officers, but
it is a possible solution.

And finally, young and old can all use a reminder to treat the lesser of us
as equally as the greatest of us. While you will likely not bow to the new
person, you should treat them with the same courtesy you would treat the
Crown or Baronage. If Her Excellency's skirt were accidentally tucked in her
drawers, I would try to mention it quietly and discretely to her or her
ladies for correction. Likewise, if a newcomer is wearing something
incorrectly due to a lack of familiarity with the clothing, we should
attempt to help them discretely as well, instead of critically. Those of us
who have been in for a while should recall what we wore when we first joined
the SCA and let that memory hold our tongue if we feel the need to be
critical to someone new.

It is also important to keep in mind what can be corrected when attempting
to help anyone. If you do not have an easy solution, or the ship has sailed,
there is no point in bringing to light errors. If Her Excellency's dress is
on backwards before court, you might suggest she turn it around, but once
court has started, nothing can be gained from her embarrassment. Likewise
with the Order of Precedence of seating. Corrections can be made during
set-up, but once folks have already sat, let them enjoy their comfort and
company as it stands.

I hope my responses are not found presumptuous, and  pray that I live up to
them myself.

In Service,
Mistress Genevieve d'Aquitaine

On Thu, Apr 24, 2008 at 8:17 AM, trey and janine sutter <
scahound at bellsouth.net> wrote:

> Greetings Atlantia,
>
>
>
> There are many questions people ask me about the Kingdom, courtesy, etc
> that
> I believe would make good discussion items. There are also things that I
> have noticed.  So, it is my intention to periodically send an e-mail
> addressing these questions/ideas/observations.  I really did not intend for
> it to be this long, but I didn't want to put any of these off until later
> and I am sure I will have more for next time.
>
>
>
>
>
> Children's Feasts- THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to the groups who are
> hosting children's feasts at events.  This is a good idea on many
> levels---the children actually get something they will eat at dinner, Court
> is not interrupted by bored children and it shows the children of Atlantia
> that they are wanted and appreciated.  Not only that, in several cases, it
> has been older children and teens who have cooked the children's feast,
> thereby providing them with an A&S and service opportunity.  THANK YOU!!
>
>
>
>
>
> Household ladies in period---what were they called?
>
> I realize that some ladies were wards of the Lord/Kings/etc, but that does
> not often work in the SCA.  We can say, "I am a lady of the XYZ household,"
> but is there any other title that you have heard?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Travel funds- Baron & Baroness
>
>            It has come to my attention that some Baronies have a Baron and
> Baroness travel fund and some do not.  I believe that it is an extremely
> nice gesture to add this into the Baronial budget.  With gas prices
> soaring,
> it is a way to thank them for the work they are doing and help them in
> their
> tasks.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Why don't people kneel on the kneeling pillows in front of the throne?  Are
> they too close?
>
> (This is just my own observation and question)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Please remember the Waterbearers in your event budget—I realize that this
> is
> an additional expense for the event, but when the Chirurgeon' are spending
> money to provide you with water, Gatorade, band-aids, etc, it can get
> pricey.  Just an additional $20 to the budget would help a lot.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Talk to people before criticizing, it may be their first event-  I have
> heard two stories lately of people who were at their first or second event
> and were criticized for wearing their garb wrong or doing something
> incorrectly.  While we want people to learn, please be aware that they are
> trying to make an attempt at garb and you need to be gentle with your
> words.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Who sits where based on OP - Why is everyone sitting where they are?   I
> will let Mistress Alisoun address this one…she is an expert.  That said,
> there is a proper place for everyone to sit based on the OP, but it can be
> superseded by where the Royals/Baronage wants people to sit at Their table.
> So, if you see someone sitting in the wrong order, it may not be a mistake,
> but a preference.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> I have a gift for the Royals, is it appropriate to give it to them in
> court?
> Generally not unless you are representing a group (Canton, Spinner's Guild,
> Coursing College, etc) although there are times when exceptions are made.
> There is often a period of the event when Their Majesties will walk around
> the event site or sit in royal accepting populace visits. These would be a
> much more appropriate time to give a gift.
>
>
>
>
>
> Thank you for your support and for making Atlantia the best Kingdom in the
> Knowne World.
>
> HRM Kari
>
>
>
>