Gulf War!

Since last we met our heroes...Gulf War happened!  A few highlights:

The War Company performed magnificently in the Town, Ravine, Bridge, Field and Castle battles.  Many pictures are available on Facebook and in Ursus Gallery.   What I do not have is a picture of King Aaron awarding the Kingdom War Banner to the Bryn Gwlad War Company, which was the culmination of a fun-filled week.    

Other highlights include being chosen for one of the Unbelted Champions fights:

 

No, my opponent was not named Goliath...he is Danial von Hessen from Trimaris.

And fighting in the 14th century Deed of Arms:

My 14th century armour includes a sugarloaf helm with mail coif, blackened mail shirt, hardened leather curie breast and back plates, hardened leather arms and shynbalds and gamboised cuises.  The green linen surcoat is unadorned like most of the contemporary ones in the Codex Manessa or the Romance of Alexander.

Why would anyone want to be a knight?

I wrote this for the Armour Archive a few months ago, but I want to share it with another audience here.  The question was, Why would anyone want to be a knight?

I want to be the guy who, when he shows up for a battle, makes his King smile with confidence and his opponent start worrying. I know those worries.

I want to be the guy in the tournament fight who shares a moment sheer poetry with his opponent, who shows such grace and polished skill that the crowd gasps and the young men weep tears of frustration because they haven't learned to fight like that yet, and they WANT it. I know those tears.

I want to be the guy who everyone refers the new fighters to, because they know I'll help them see how to pursue excellence while having fun in our game. I've been having more than my share of that fun for nearly 30 years now, and I love to share it.

I want to be the guy that is so immersed in the literature and the culture of Chivalry that I can find the right way to share the ideas and ideals with others while sitting around the campfire or doing chores or hiking back from the res. point, and get to see the light in their eyes when they GET it. I have been dazzled by that light.

And if, someday, the Body of Honor in my chosen game and my chosen Kingdom should find me worthy to be their brother, and my King should ask me to serve as one of his personal warband, his comitatus, his hetairoi, his knights, then I would gladly accept. Not because I want the belt, but because I want to be a part of that company, and because the accolade is a significant milestone along the path towards being that guy who I want to be.

But beyond all of that, outside of all reason and logic, the heart wants what it wants. I have wanted to be a knight for as long as I can remember, and I will go on wanting it and studying it and striving towards it while I have breath.

Maelgwyn Dda

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

Is it wrong to seek Renown?

re-posted from the Armour Archive:

The question was posed: Is it wrong to seek Renown?

and I have answered:

Renown is a good thing. It is a deterrent to my enemies, and thus allows me to serve my liege lord better and to protect my people. But like Wealth (another good thing that allows me to serve my liege lord better and to protect my people) it is possible to both seek and acquire it in a bad way and thus bring dishonor upon myself and my liege.

Doing praiseworthy deeds is an essential prerequisite for achieving renown. It is also the simplest and best way to seek renown, and in a perfect world it would be all that is needed.

However, in this imperfect world it is quite possible to do praiseworthy deeds and remain unknown. Thus one who would seek renown must seek out venues where the Body of Honor will observe his deeds, must seek to become known to the Body of Honor so that his diverse deeds will be united into a single accumulated reputation, and must bear distinctive markings upon the field so that his deeds can be correctly attributed to the right person. Seeking renown in these ways seems good and right to me.

Sir Vitus wrote eloquently on this last matter in The Anvil of Virtue and I have taken his words to heart. Where before I often carried symbols of Ansteorra on my shield even while pursuing individual deeds of arms, now I save such gear for the battlefield and carry my own distinct arms in personal deeds and tournaments.

I make some effort to meet and cross swords with the knights and other serious students of chivalry in my kingdom both so that I can learn from them and in the hope that they may remember my name. Of course I could always do more...and he who does more is more worthy. As my prowess improves I hope to become more diligent in attending those tournaments and deeds of arms where individual prowess can be more readily displayed.

When I posted the name and arms of the Bryn Gwlad War Company on this forum I was seeking to improve our recognition so that our actions on the field could bring us renown. Even when I post my thoughts on topics of chivalry I am aware that here, as everywhere and always, my words will be weighed and judged and my reputation will be increased or diminished.

Grandstanding, boastfulness and criticism of others are common ways to seek renown badly. In war, the man who pursues personal glory rather than pursuing victory for the King's army may gain renown for a time, but he does not truly serve his liege and in time may come to ruin. Duke Cariadoc has offered us a helpful guide to avoid boastfulness in this poem:
"Don't boast of your might
Till you learn how to fight
Or after--or ever at all."

And as for criticizing others, I'm sure that no one in pursuit of chivalry would ever do that so I feel no need to critique them for it. *rolls his eyes* In all seriousness there are times when a private word of concern to an individual (or in the case of a squire, their knight) can be helpful. But public criticism of others rarely helps anyone and tends to identify the speaker as a gossip at best and at worst a self-serving, back-biting toady.

The temptation towards each of these false paths to renown is very great, much like the temptation toward false paths to wealth. Being human, each of us is likely to fall short in one way or another from time to time. May the Good Lord preserve me from such errors and forgive me when I fail.

Maelgwyn

The Quest

Ok, with too much on my plate already, why start a blog?

I wanted a place to collect some online essays, to report progress on several projects, to solicit feedback and suggestions about project designs and techniques, and to share tips and suggestions for others who may find themselves on a similar quest.

So what is the Dragon? In The Right Stuff Chuck Yaeger speaks about a dragon that lives in the air. To him the dragon was the sound barrier. For me the Dragon represents several things, all related to my study of medieval history. It is Prowess and Craftsmanship and Authenticity and Knowledge and Franchise. It is Largesse and Loyalty and Comradery. It the sum of all good things that I seek to achieve within the context of a game that is also both a hobby and a lifestyle.

But on a deeper level, the Dragon is my own weakness, a set of virtues in which I often fall painfully short. It is Dilligence and Patience, Consideration and Empathy. The Quest is a quest for self-improvement that reaches into every part of my life, my relationships, and my work.

I am not questing against the Dragon. I do not seek to defeat him. I seek to come to grips with him, to tame him, and to ride him off into the future.

(There, is that broad and grandiose enough for a first post?)