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Wherein do you call a King a King?
Jan. 28th, 2011 07:13 amBear with me for some musings that have come out of a recent "group study" of the history of Region and Kingdom and discussions of same.
The West Kingdom (and, to a lesser degree, its descendants) are People of the Book. Corpora is all. Rules lawyering aside, the final weight and power lies within the written codification. The East Kingdom (and, to a lesser degree, its descendants) are People of the Word. The Word of the King (or at least council of Dukes) is all. Law is relatively mutable and can be changed. The King is what must be obeyed (Possibly the Law will be changed once he's gone, but for the nonce).
The Middle Kingdom... are People who Bow to Furniture. We venerate not Law, nor King, but the institution of the Crown. We respect the Crown - even when we don't respect he who wears it - knowing that the King is temporary but the Crown goes on.
This is an attitude that has developed. Firstly, because, while we've all had the occasional Bad King - I think few can compete with Michael of Boarshaven (who constitutes something of a genetic memory for the Mid at this point). Secondly, because we've been lead to it by sheer size and weighiness, as well as the Midwestern respect for tradition and custom. (The Cariadoc's lightbulb effect).
One symptom of this development was a groundshift in the way we did things about 15-20 years ago. I have no idea if this happened elsewhere. But the Mid, at first, had Barons who were acclaimed, appointed, or (in one case) won their Baronies on a more-or-less perpetual basis. This was back when the SCA was young (late 70's), and I'm not sure anyone really expected things to go as far as they did. But, by the early to mid 90's, new groups were creating Baronies that had a periodic change in the Baronial Coronet. And those that remained under the rule of powerful, popular, but divisive Barons gradually began to chafe. One by one, each of these perpetual Barons stepped down (some more willingly than others), and a 5 year term was instituted. None of them were Power-mad. But a realization was made that the institution would go on longer than the ability of any one person to meet its needs.
We are standing on the bring of another paradigm shift, I think. The Middle is once again too large to be governed effectively (if it isn't, then it's been a while since we've had an effective Crown. Pick your poison). The calendar is bloated and overwrought. Over 100 local groups vie for attention. And that much attention isn't (and can't be) forthcoming.
Yet, no one wants to "leave." None of the remaining regions have a close enough relationship with each other to stand together as a new Kingdom. (North and South Oaken might, but as the current political center of gravity, don't have any reason to). Yet none of us are large enough to individually stand alone, even if we could do so by Corpora's details. We're too used to large events, too used to being a "Great" Kingdom. No one wants to give that up for "minor Kingdom" status.
And yet, some restructuring needs to happen that will allow the Kingdom to continue to function, while resolving some of the current dilemnas. It's something I'm worried about, as recent Crowns have acknowledged the issues - and then declined to do anything about it. Allowing the matter to fester is not a solution. Nor is telling people they need to travel more. Ditto to having two large Kingdom events set up in opposition to each other.
Where lies the road onward for the People Who Bow to Furntiure?
The West Kingdom (and, to a lesser degree, its descendants) are People of the Book. Corpora is all. Rules lawyering aside, the final weight and power lies within the written codification. The East Kingdom (and, to a lesser degree, its descendants) are People of the Word. The Word of the King (or at least council of Dukes) is all. Law is relatively mutable and can be changed. The King is what must be obeyed (Possibly the Law will be changed once he's gone, but for the nonce).
The Middle Kingdom... are People who Bow to Furniture. We venerate not Law, nor King, but the institution of the Crown. We respect the Crown - even when we don't respect he who wears it - knowing that the King is temporary but the Crown goes on.
This is an attitude that has developed. Firstly, because, while we've all had the occasional Bad King - I think few can compete with Michael of Boarshaven (who constitutes something of a genetic memory for the Mid at this point). Secondly, because we've been lead to it by sheer size and weighiness, as well as the Midwestern respect for tradition and custom. (The Cariadoc's lightbulb effect).
One symptom of this development was a groundshift in the way we did things about 15-20 years ago. I have no idea if this happened elsewhere. But the Mid, at first, had Barons who were acclaimed, appointed, or (in one case) won their Baronies on a more-or-less perpetual basis. This was back when the SCA was young (late 70's), and I'm not sure anyone really expected things to go as far as they did. But, by the early to mid 90's, new groups were creating Baronies that had a periodic change in the Baronial Coronet. And those that remained under the rule of powerful, popular, but divisive Barons gradually began to chafe. One by one, each of these perpetual Barons stepped down (some more willingly than others), and a 5 year term was instituted. None of them were Power-mad. But a realization was made that the institution would go on longer than the ability of any one person to meet its needs.
We are standing on the bring of another paradigm shift, I think. The Middle is once again too large to be governed effectively (if it isn't, then it's been a while since we've had an effective Crown. Pick your poison). The calendar is bloated and overwrought. Over 100 local groups vie for attention. And that much attention isn't (and can't be) forthcoming.
Yet, no one wants to "leave." None of the remaining regions have a close enough relationship with each other to stand together as a new Kingdom. (North and South Oaken might, but as the current political center of gravity, don't have any reason to). Yet none of us are large enough to individually stand alone, even if we could do so by Corpora's details. We're too used to large events, too used to being a "Great" Kingdom. No one wants to give that up for "minor Kingdom" status.
And yet, some restructuring needs to happen that will allow the Kingdom to continue to function, while resolving some of the current dilemnas. It's something I'm worried about, as recent Crowns have acknowledged the issues - and then declined to do anything about it. Allowing the matter to fester is not a solution. Nor is telling people they need to travel more. Ditto to having two large Kingdom events set up in opposition to each other.
Where lies the road onward for the People Who Bow to Furntiure?