[MR] Golden Rose Tournament

[Padraigin O'hEachach]

Good afternoon.  I humbly request that this message be sent to any
Atlantian email list to which you may be subscribed.

The Tournament of the Golden Rose will be held this year on April 20th in
Lanexa, VA. As Ladies of the Rose are now making invitations to join their
teams, it's a good time to explain the history and purpose of the event,
which seem to be clouded in some mystery.  I write today on behalf of the
Atlantian Order of the Rose, but I expect you will find that each of us
have our own slightly different version of what the event is all about.  I
therefore encourage you to speak to any Lady of the Rose if you have
questions about this event.

"Rose tournaments" have been commonplace in the SCA for a long time, and
there are many different ways of conducting them, as well as a variety of
purposes for holding them.  The Atlantian Tournament of the Golden Rose
began five years ago and was largely shaped by the input of Duchess Arielle
the Golden.  There is a team each year called the Heavenly Roses.  This
team is managed by one of the Ladies of the Rose in memory of Duchess
Aislinn Schattenwald, Countes Muirgen of Caer Ddu, and Duchess Arielle the
Golden.  However, it is important to say that this event is not a tribute
to any one Rose, or even to the Order of the Rose itself.  Rather, it is
sponsored by the Order of the Rose.  The Order prefers that the focus not
be on the Roses, but on the team members we select to participate.

The format of the tournament has changed little over the last five years,
although we have made some minor tweaks here and there.  The primary
characteristic has been that participants must be invited.  The intent was
that the Roses would be able to highlight fighters they felt were worthy of
attention.  The Order has presented banners at each tournament to people
the Order felt exemplified certain characteristics such as charity, joie de
vivre, grace, etc.  Last year's team format included the following:

1 Archer
2 Armoured Combatants (heavy, non-Chivalry)
1 Order of the Chivalry
2 Duellists (rapier, non-White Scarf)
1 Herald
1 Order of the White Scarf

The Order of the Rose will be meeting at Twelfth Night to discuss this
year's format, and will soon be posting more information about the event.
I invite anyone who would like to offer polite and constructive commentary
to send me an email so that I may share it with the Order.  There is a
website for the event, and we are working to add the information from
previous years' events so there will be a permanent record.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about this event.

Kind Regards,
Duchess Padraigin O'hEachach, OP, OR
Principal of the Order of the Rose, Atlantia
2013 Rose Liaison for the Tournament of the Golden Rose