Old post on Franchise

I can across this old post from the Armour Archive and decided to share it again here.

Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2005

In my understanding, franchise is to rights much as prowess is to weapons. All men of arms have weapons, but worthy men of prowess use their weapons regularly and to great effect. All men of rank and station have rights, but worthy men of franchise exercise their rights regularly and to great effect. The knight who possesses the virtue of franchise metes out justice within his domain, drives out evil-doers, travels to meet with and counsel his Liege, attends his Liege at feast and otherwise gives full exercise to each of his rights.

I believe one of the best measures of franchise is the ability to give one's superiors counsel that they need but do not want to hear. If a person is seeking to improve their practice of the virtue of Franchise, I encourage them to examine their existing rights and their exercise thereof. Do they have the right to petition for entrance into Crown tournament, and do they exercise that right? Do they have the right and duty to counsel some liege (baron, prince, king, household leader) by virtue of any office or title or membership in some order? Have they done so lately? What other rights do they have? Why would anyone ever expect a candidate to exercise the rights of Knightly station if they do not exercise the rights they currently enjoy?

Franchise must be tempered with justice and courtesy and mercy and other chivalric virtues lest it over-reach itself into arrogance or greed. NO virtue stands alone, and a true knight should have each and every chivalric virtue in good measure.

Maelgwyn

Open Shop Sunday

We had a great open shop day on Sunday. Mary and Gracie drove up from St. Edward's University. Aeddan and Grimolfr (Joe) came over as well.

Aeddan put a last coat of gesso on his curved birch plywood shield and made a steel grip for it. I will post instructions for these grips sometime soon, based on the Dura Europos archaeology evidence. He also cleaned some old paint off of his aluminum oval shield to prepare it for re-painting.

Grimólfr had pre-assembled a set of Tandy leather lamellar plates to see how they would fit. He dis-assembled them, soaked them in my bucket of glue solution, and low-temperature baked them in batches of 12, keeping the oven going all afternoon.











Mary sewed up the second gamboised cuise for her leg armour and began dishing some better elbow cops. She also put edging on an old aluminum shield from the loaner gear so it is ready for her to use.









I helped here and there with several projects, ground down some lumpy welds on a loaner helm, drilled out some old rivits on Mary's vambraces, drilled holes in Mary's current aluminum elbows so they are ready to be tied to the vambraces and rerebraces, and added ties (shoestrings) to Mary's gamboised cuises so they are ready to wear.

Aeddan has loaned his old helm to Mary and offered to bring his old aluminum lamellar out to practice on Tuesday. With that Mary should be able to armour up using only a half-gauntlet and a gorget from the loaner gear. Progress!

Maelgwyn

PS Here is an excellent article on covering ugly armour with good period clothing:
http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=97177