[Artemisia] On the subject of Arts and Sciences

[morgan wolf]

----- Original Message ----
From: Charles Demery <fire_n_earth at hotmail.com>
To: artemisia at lists.gallowglass.org
Sent: Sunday, May 3, 2009 11:04:06 PM
Subject: [Artemisia] On the subject of Arts and Sciences


Greetings unto the Kingdom of Artemisia,


It is not my intention to step upon anyones toes, but I have been following the recent Arts and Sciences discussions closely closley and had noticed that something had been said about those of us wearing red belts and the arts and sciences ( I know it was not meant in a bad way and I hope I read it right) and the lack of us entering or something to that effect. I myself have had the honor of being squired to Syr Kian and as such have really stepped up my research into the arts and sciences (something about him being a Laurel) and while I would have loved to have entered into this years A&S I did not, the reasons all ring hollow in my head so I will spare you those, I did however see that the word challenge has been used, I know it was not in reference to the red belt thing, but it did give me an idea! 


Actually Lord Kormak, i am the one that issued that challenge, and yes it was "in reference to the red belt thing".

Obviously my view on this has offended some people, and at this point my only option is to say that if one wishes to be offended by my words, one has that right, regardless of my original intent.  Also obviously, my original points got lost in the discussion, so allow me to summarize them-
1]  6 People entered for Kingdom A&S Champion this year, admittedly more than we've seen in years past, but not nearly the numbers we have for other Championships.
2]  Only 30% of us, at most, are fighters; the rest of us are either doing some sort of Arts and/or Sciences, or we are doing nothing at all-  the point being anything we do is A&S when you stop and think about it.
3]  His Highness Sean feels that my point regarding only 6 entering for A&S Champion, when an average of 20 enter for Queen's Champion, many of whom are squires/men-at-arms required to do so by their Knights, is not a fair comparison.
4]  I feel that it should be a fair comparison, and that just like many Knights require their squires to enter Queen's Champion, since a Knight is theoretically also required to be versed in the Arts, Knights should sometimes require their Squires to enter A&S Champion, and Laurels should definitely be requiring their Apprentices to do so.
5]  I finished my points by issuing a challenge, as a Protege, to all other Proteges, Apprentices, and Squires, to enter their five best efforts for Kingdom A&S Champion next year.  Those who entered this year are exempt from the challenge if they so choose, having met it this year, and of course absolutely NO ONE is required to accept my challenge.
6]  Some Laurels made points regarding the quality of work one must enter in Kingdom A&S, saying that one must enter 5 masterpieces minimum if one expects to win.  I maintain that A} all one is REQUIRED to enter is 5 pieces that are original work, that are one's best effort, not necessarily re-done over and over to achieve maximum score, and more importantly B} expectation of winning is NOT the only reason to enter Kingdom A&S, just as it is not the only reason to enter Crown Tournament.

So, my challenge stands- if you wear a yellow, green, or red belt, enter next year's Kingdom A&S Championship, with five entries that are your best effort, with no expectation of winning, just for the experience and joy of entering.

Morgan Blaidd Du
 preparing for the second round of hate mail