Valor

Oct. 15th, 2009 10:24 pm
learnteach: (Fall Helm)
[personal profile] learnteach
Valor: heroism: the qualities of a hero or heroine; exceptional or heroic courage when facing danger (especially in battle);


A different view: While I agree we have a bloody mess of rumors, accusations, explanations, over many iterations, It's not valor we need, it's honesty, integrity, and admission. We're not in battle; we're in school, and it feels like a bad day at High School. Being an occasional High School teacher (this last Monday, for example) I find many similarities. But we're not trying to be in High School, we're trying to be in the High Middle Ages, a place of values, of Shining Armor, of Dreams (tm). Of striving to improve ourselves, and to be peers. Not just peers, but Peers of The Realm.

And people are upset; it's natural. Friends of mine and yours, or at least acquaintances, have been called names, and the name calling has been increasing, it feels like. People aren't talking to people, and sometimes when they are, it's in outrage: "GWW was bullshit, the King didn't fight because Ermine would have revolted." "So and So started it!" "So and so is dangerous to our game!"

Are we high schoolers, or are we striving to be Peers?

Doesn't the peerage ceremony say:

King: Will you now give Us your word that you will henceforth comport yourself as befits a Peer of Our Realm, as you most surely have until now, and that you will attempt in all your endeavors to be a noble example to Our people?

Candidate: I will. (or equivalent speech)

King/Queen: Will you promise further to treat all with Courtesy, and to uphold the Laws and traditions of Our Kingdom?

Candidate: I will. (or equivalent speech)

******

Well, at least the traditional 3 peerage ceremonies do. The royal peers don't swear to that standard.


Knights get to go one better, with a Buffet:

King: Know, now that you are made a Knight,
that you must succor the defenseless,
seek justice for those of every station,
and maintain the honor of Knighthood.
Let this blow remind you that Knighthood
shall bring you pain as well as honor.


*********

Seek justice for those of every station. The current poisonous atmosphere, where rumors are spread and actions taken, and explanations heard, is not just, nor honorable. The rumor that the Ermine Company would leave the field if the King took it may have been an honest mistake, but if so, why has whoever has started that rumor not come forth to say so? In Leon's blog discussion, http://red6count.livejournal.com/7512.html specific names were named in some of the recent confusion, regarding an event I wasn't at, but actions that I heard about. I give a shoutout to back40joules, who short circuited the rumors, although it didn't seem to stop everything.

I'll say that online blogs are not the place to have these discussions. Where is the place to have these discussions? In the public eye, at events, at practices, in person. But who should be having it? The people who need to have the conversation, who repeat confused things rather than going to the source and verifying them. Was Radnor in revolt? Ask him. Was Titus Rex not on the field? Ask him why. Was a rumor spread by someone? I wasn't there to know, but I would go ask a few people, and try to trace it down--Leon was doing this.

I will endeavor to treat all with Courtesy, and ask them directly what I wish to know, if I should wish to know it. But to use some modern parlance, I have some skin in this game, and as my duty as a Peer of the West, will be looking to treat all with courtesy, uphold the traditions of the West as I understand them, and have fun. And if I hear a rumor, I'm going to try to go to the source and find out what's actually going on.

(I note there is an interesting discussion of Fealty, etc. by Duke Frederick and Mistress Eilis on the page I pulled the ceremonies from, which also contains:

The foundation oath of our system is the one sworn by
each Sovereign at his Coronation. In it, he swears to
protect the Kingdom, and all who dwell in it, to the best of
his ability. This is the Society version of the mythos
which binds a King to his land. It is the fulfillment of this
oath which differences the true King from the tyrant and
keeps the power of the Crown from being abused. Further,
the King is bound to obey this oath by custom and
tradition, which are, in the West, far more binding than the
limits set down either by the oath or in Law. The practical
limit on the abuse of Royal Power is peer pressure, for in
this Kingdom there is a large, active, and vocal group of
Peers, drawn from all the Peerage Orders, who have strong
opinions and are not shy about expressing them. If these
people feel that a King is choosing an unwise course,
they will not hesitate to inform him of this fact -- although
they will generally do so in private and avoid making a
scene in Court.

So, my friends, Westies, Mistymen, take it to the Courts and BackRows of the tents. Come cook with me, dance with me, soon fight with me, but please show yourself to be the shining exemplars you can be, not running around gossiping and being upset by what he said/she said. And if you're presented with a rumor, track it down, slay it like a dragon.

Valor? The men who fought in WWII had to show valor. The members of the Guinea Pig club, whose suffering and being practice patients has had a positive effect on my recent life, with the advancement in healing fostered by them, showed real valor.

Date: 2009-10-16 07:12 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cathyn.livejournal.com
Though I am no longer in the Midrealm, these words are in my mind every day, and I strive to live up to them:

"I here swear fealty and do homage
to the Crown of the Middle Kingdom:
To ever be a good knight and true,
Reverent and generous,
Shield of the weak,
Obedient to my liege-lord,
Foremost in battle,
Courteous at all times,
Champion of the right and the good.
Thus swear I, Sir Cathyn Fitzgerald"

Date: 2009-10-16 07:29 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sarahbellem.livejournal.com
I'll say that online blogs are not the place to have these discussions. Where is the place to have these discussions? In the public eye, at events, at practices, in person. But who should be having it? The people who need to have the conversation, who repeat confused things rather than going to the source and verifying them.

Yes. This. A million times.

I've been trying to keep a lid on my inner critic, but this is EXACTLY what's been going through my head over and over since this whole thing started. It's all well and good to talk about talking your problems out with the people you have issues with, but so far, that's all it seems to be: talk. And I'm not just saying this in terms of the big banishment drama... It's every drama, everywhere, that needs this kind of treatment. We shouldn't be copy and pasting these words like they actually are going to address the actual issues. The people who should address these issues should do so in person with one another because otherwise, there's no valor or honor or grace at work here. Just more sidestepping.

And that's just my entirely humble opinion. :)

Date: 2009-10-16 05:52 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mad-duchess.livejournal.com
Perfectly stated, thank you!

Date: 2009-10-16 12:07 pm (UTC)

Date: 2009-10-16 01:34 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] gurdymonkey.livejournal.com
Ei. Wa. Chi. The only words and deeds I have control over are mine. That's not valor, that's duty, plain and simple.

Date: 2009-10-16 02:50 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thelbk.livejournal.com
Well said, and thank you

Date: 2009-10-16 02:53 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ladiesbane.livejournal.com
Excellent post! I hope your discernment is contagious. I think it’s important not to confuse "I don't like it" with "it's evil" (or assume “I like it, therefore it’s Good.) Manners and morals are not the same, not everyone who misbehaves is breaking a vow, and good folk may disagree on the definitions of courtesy. Discussing these differences helps people reason and is not just nitpicking. (Fuzzy versus fussy? Did H. Beam Piper live in vain?)

[While it is not my intention to turn the flow of conversation, I would like to talk with you about the distinctions between chivalry, gallantry, politesse, and knightliness. I need enlightenment and would appreciate your views.]

And though I fully agree with you that direct questions in public forums are the best way to clear the air, there are a few reasons why the written word has some value.

1. A person can take time to think before he writes, without feeling pressured by time or by the crowd.

2. The written word can be shared, unaltered, where spoken words can be misheard (and retold with omissions and errors and no source of correction.)

3. The writer may be held to what he has written. Publishing words prevents mealy-mouthed changes of story depending on the crowd and the climate.

4. When a person types his heart onto the page, he has the chance to express himself completely. Conversations are two-headed beasts that can run in new directions before a person has a chance to make his points and support them clearly.

The answer to "he said, she said" is confrontation: "Oh, he did? Let's go ask him." But "Who me? I said nothing of the sort!" hangs the person who heard it the first time. That can't happen if you have it in writing.

Date: 2009-10-16 04:25 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] red6count.livejournal.com
Thank you John. You have nicely said what I was thinking. While singing Kumbyah is a nice sentiment, sometime one has to praise the Lord and pass the ammunition. I have also noticed that many are saying, "please forgive my errors" and not "I made this mistake and for that I am sorry" a very different standard I think.

Date: 2009-10-16 06:42 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mad-duchess.livejournal.com
Leon! Get out of my head! ;-)

You really did sum up my sentiments to a tee.

Re: Excellent points on communication

Date: 2009-10-16 08:09 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ladiesbane.livejournal.com
Sadly, no -- work has me sidelined for the foreseeable future. I'm just reading the Painter book on William Marshal and sifting through Heinlein, the SCA, and so-called real life.

Date: 2009-10-16 07:15 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] katerit.livejournal.com
The written word, when used well, can be quite effective. The rant on a blog can be detrimental - and as I told my students today in a lesson on rumors - it can come back to hurt the writer. In a way the permanence of the written word is an asset to those trying to stop someone from saying malicious things. Ya gotta love good documentation, as some of my students have found out. (Not to their liking.)

Date: 2009-10-16 08:28 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ladiesbane.livejournal.com
A valuable lesson! Blogging does encourage indiscreet disclosure, but should malicious writing be stopped? (I mean rude opinion rather than libel.) If there is a scorpion in the room, I'd rather know where it is.

Date: 2009-10-16 04:14 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] harpydisplayed.livejournal.com
The reasons to adore you are countless and this is one of them. It has been a bad day in High School. I think we are all due for a time out and apple juice all around. ( Oooo or is that pre-school?)
(deleted comment)

Date: 2009-10-16 05:58 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] syele.livejournal.com
Well, there are two different types of fealty. There is the Tolkien oath - that's the one I swore before Roric crowned me Princess, and the one you swear sort of at the initial outset of your office so to speak. This one seems to be used when we are stepping up originally to whatever higher calling we are suckered into...er... taking on. ;) I swore that oath to Sig and Kamille, the then Prince and Princess.

The 'mindful that the harmony of your Principality/Kingdom' bit comes when you're offering your fealty to the Crown, specifically - that was the oath I swore every time the crowns changed hands as Bard of the West, and also as Princess when we swore to the King and Queen (and now as a peer).

Date: 2009-10-16 06:47 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mamapduck.livejournal.com
However as Veronica points out, peers and royal peers, when swearing to the Crown, do *not* have the "mindful that the harmony" line... and perhaps they should. It might do everyone some good to have that reminder. It's not an order- it doesn't change anyone's duties, it simply says, "hey, you're supposed to be a good example."

Date: 2009-10-16 11:45 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] syele.livejournal.com
Actually -

'Do you now swear fealty to and , your undoubted King and
Queen, and do you swear that you will uphold the Crown and Kingdom of the
West, [faithfully perform the duties of your Noble Order,] obey Their lawful
commands in all matters that concern the Kingdom, and that you will treat
courteously with those of every degree and station, until the King depart from
His Throne, or death take you, or the world end?'

I think the part about 'treating courteously with those of every degree and station' covers what you are pointing out.

Date: 2009-10-17 12:03 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mamapduck.livejournal.com
I don't think it's working. I think the reminder about the harmony of the Kingdom couldn't hurt and might help.

Date: 2009-10-16 05:25 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] channel6.livejournal.com
Well written John. Thanks

See you at Coronet.
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