[Artemisia] Arrows Flight status, and other answers

Mon Nov 24 11:15:33 CST 2003

  ----- Original Me
  ps we went to college stats to keep arrows flight group running  because of problems of area was going on at the time. and the time has cume to move up are stats and move on i did not wont to make you think that i was trying to split up the group and im sorry for that. 
  ssage ----- 
  From: tangl 
  To: artemisia at lists.gallowglass.org 
  Sent: Sunday, November 23, 2003 10:50 PM
  Subject: [Artemisia] Arrows Flight status, and other answers


        Hey all!

        I saw this post and thought I'd throw out my own bits of knowledge on this one. Mistress Kathlyn, the Kingdom Senechale, is the best person to tag for this, but I've also had personal experience here so I wanted to toss this out to y'all. There's been several people ask me about this lately, so it's on folk's minds. Please forgive me if I overstep my bounds, and correct me if I give out any wrong or out-of-date info.

        Well, I found that the reason a group chooses to be a "college" rather than a shire or anything else is simply this: In a college town, populations fluctuate. The status of a College in the SCA has no minimum membership requirements outside of having a Senechal. Do I know this because the Cloak of the Golden Wing Herald grants me this vast knowledge?! NO! This question was asked of a very similar population in the College of Lyonsmarche, where I used to live. We, too, had enough people to go Barony and we asked why we weren't. Thus, the knowledge was imparted by EXPERIENCE (yuck!) and by asking questions (yeah!) 

        Now for the rest of your questions.

        Why aren't you a shire or barony instead? It will sound TOTALLY lame, but it's because you haven't asked to be. See, in order to become a shire, you have to write a petition, signed by every member in the group you can get, plus anyone else who wants to sign, and submit the request to the Crown. You show, through the signatures, complete with membership card numbers, that you have the staff and the desire to become a shire. The proper authorities can guide you, or you can look it up online off the SCA.org website as to what the office and membership reqs are, but in a nutshell, the only thing to do is ask everyone there if that's what they want to be. Kedron Vale had been Incipient for 7 years when J-R and I joined up in 1986. The local officers thought there was some elaborate process but I looked up the reqs in the Kingdom of Atenveldt Laws and saw we just needed to write a letter saying we wanted the status change. So we did, and Brion and Anna granted it to us at the Estrella War in '87 or so. It's simple, or at least it was back then, so don't fear it if you guys really want to go for it!

        As for the Barony thingie, well, get more memberships, then maintain them for a while, say 3 years. *After* you decide to become a Barony. Not from three years ago. People regularly have attacks of Real Life (Chiurgeon! Antidote? Vaccine? Can somebody get on that?) and those dang things hit ya at the most inopportune times. Make sure, when you decide to go for Barony, that you have three *very* important things:

        1) Consistant membership. According to Corpora, currently on the website (Senechal's Handbook, page 110), you must have 25 subscribing members to be a Barony.

        2) A full slate of Officers who are in the job AND REPORTING REGULARLY. As a shire, there are offices that the kingdom does not need to hear from every month, such as Herald. However, the instant those papers are signed that say Arrow's Flight is now the Barony of Arrow's Flight, you have to have everybody on the Officers' Roster reporting EVERY MONTH. Otherwise, you'll lose that Baronial Status before your first Domesday is due. You get one month of a grace period, but if you miss the second consecutive month, your Senechal gets told to fix it or fire you. By the third month, your kingdom officer can fire you and demand a new officer is in your place by the next reporting deadline. So, make sure you guys practice reporting at all levels and get into the habit long before those crowns are commissioned.

        3) A consensus saying that folks in your area WANT to advance and what they want to advance TO. Do they want to become a Barony? How many of them want to become a barony? Also, when you petition to become a barony, you also need to offer up to the Crown some candidates for the title of Founding Baron and/or Baroness. S o get that sussed out before you get too far in the process. Now, this is crucial to handle properly, and with attention to people's feelings. I've seen a group in another kingdom go barony, and it brought out the WORST in people. The problem wasn't from the people who were going for the title, but from the wars waged by their supporters. It's a badge of shame that scars that place even to this day, and you see it if you visit, even if you're not from that kingdom. Be ready to withdraw your petition if your group starts eating itself over that appointment. If they are that vicious before it even gains the status, how the populace possibly be expected to be supportive during that very fragile first year?

        According to the SH, you also need to have a name and device registered with the College of Arms, which you do, and a "strong record" of doing events and stuff in the SCA. You guys have those sewn up. I see you everywhere. You represent yourselves, your area and this kingdom very well. Keep it up and you're already on your way.

        Shedding the mantle of "college" in favor of "shire" or more is a very important step. You really need to assess who is living there and whether they have the staying power to stick with this. You guys have to be ready to put in the overtime to keep the group afloat. You'll learn a lot about each other, but remember you guys are freinds, and you'll be fine. 

        Please, please, make sure you ask for help any and every time you need it, like you did this time. It's important to get help from folks who have been there. They usually can detect the warning signs of a problem and can help avert them. Keep me posted! Going for a bigger status is a sign of growth!

        TanglWing


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