Although I had heard from various people that ‘Court is Boring’, I was mildly interested, being a newbie and all. My host Gabrielle agreed. "We’re going to Court," she announced, "and we have to sit in the back (since we have low/no rank) but we’ll get you on the edge, so you can hear." Good thing, too, since the current king is funny, and some nifty awards were given out.
Here’s a couple of worthies getting recognized. No, I don’t know who they are. From the left is King Gunther, Queen Kora, Prince Boru, and Princess Deirdre. For the mundanes: Kings change every six months. Princes/Princesses are their heirs.
The awards they’re giving out are service-based, and are called various things based on the amount of value they have, and the type of service involved. They give out a fancy illuminated announcement, which apparently you can help paint, and then you’re on your own if you have to upgrade your headgear to accommodate a circlet, or a baron’s crown, or get a knight’s gold chain. The very biggest award that can be given in Meridies, is apparently the Order of the Chalice, which is for ‘living the SCA life.’ Some tiny elder woman got that, and got a standing ovation from the populace. All these rules are apparently in the Corpora, which someday I’ll get around to reading.
Other colorful things happened: orders of fighting men (and token women) got added to, people got named to be barons/baronesses, etc. – I hope somebody wrote it up somewhere, though I can’t find it on the Kingdom website.
I actually got my picture taken – though of course I hate it, and my cap is pushed too far back on my head. But here it is. That’s the Fort in the background, and I needed every stitch of wool I’m wearing – it got cold!
Ummmm…..were you actually told you HAVE to sit in the back because you have low rank? Seating in court is first come first serve. If you want to be able to hear (although the past several crowns we have had spoke loudly enough for the populace to hear), you sit near the front. If you get there late or want to be able to escape at some point (useful if big crowds or stuffy rooms bother you), you sit near the back.
Don’t worry too much about what award means what. If you are curious about what a particular award is for, as the person next to you. But you’ll catch on pretty quick. There are some that I still don’t know what they are for. In fact, I’ve never seen a Chalice awarded. Very cool!
The back of court is usually my favorite place to be. The majority of awards are enumerated in Kingdom Law. Lists of who got what at recent events can usually be found in the kingdom newsletter. You can also find out who has received what awards by checking the Order of Precedence. I tried to link to things, but I guess I can’t put links in comments. Kingdom Law and the OoP can be found in the Seneschal and Herald sections of the kingdom website.