SCA History Triva

From MiddleWiki

Jump to: navigation, search

On October 8th 2013, Duchess Elina posted to the midrealm unbelts Facebook page a series of questions regarding SCA history.
The topic took off and migrated over the the SCA Kingdom of the Middle Facebook page in order to let more people in on the fun.
This page is a quick collection of the questions and answers as provided by her Grace, and in some cases details of the situations from people involved.
Formatting and organizing by original posting are still needed.

Contents

This week's trivia is more potpourri: Round 7:

  1. Group's borders are determined by zip code. What one shire never had a zip code?
  2. Although the Midrealm recognizes four, what five peerages are recognized in the Society? (hint: it has nothing to do with fencing)
  3. How old was the youngest sitting Crown? (Hint: it was the cause of the age limit)
  4. What is the name of the Midrealm Sword of State? What is the name of the Prince's Sword? Why was the Prince's sword made?
  5. Crown List is held twice a year. What Kingdom does not?

Round 6: So you want to be Crown: Part 3

Today's Trivia: So you want to be Crown: Part 3 What happens when it goes wrong.....

No Crown is above the law. There are laws and traditions that must be followed. When they are not, it becomes problematic for the Crown, the Kingdom, and the Society as a whole. The Society becomes involved because disputes that must be resolved by the Board of Directors create precedence for the entire Society. Because we have different core values (think East, West and Aten rite) sometimes a solution does not fit well on all Kingdoms. Here are some classics:

  1. In most Kingdoms, the Crown's word is law, and as such he cannot break Kingdom law.....but what happens when he violates tradition or Copora?
  2. Traditionally, in many places, knights have been accorded permanent fighter authorization, but what happens when a knight wins Crown but has an expired fighter authorization card?
  3. Duke Radnor of Gildamar was the first to abdicate his Crown Prince title. Why? What option was he given and what precedent (two actually) did he set by choosing the way he did? (Hint: It has happened more than a dozen times since, and the Middle has been the only exception to one of them.)
  4. Until about ten years ago, a Duke/Duchess were made the moment of their decent, but a Count/Countess were not. Why and why did it change?
  5. Awards can only be given for work done within the Kingdom of the Crown that grants the Award. That is, a King from kingdom A cannot reach in and elevate/recognize a citizen of Kingdom B even if they have the permission of kingdom B's Crown, unless it is for work that they did in kingdom A. What case made *that* rule?



  1. "The Crown's word is law" is often Article 1, Section 1 for most Western and Aten rite kingdoms. Where a Crown gets in trouble is when they violate Tradition, while sticking to the letter of the law. Disputes with the Crown are settled by the BoD, and they often rely on a blend of law and kingdom specific tradition to guide them. When a Crown does violate tradition, the decision can be overturned, a Crown can by reprimanded, or barred from entering Crown List for a span of time, and in the most extreme cases, have the reign invalidated. Usually, however, if the Crown can show that they are attempting to act in the best interest of the Kingdom the penalties are not so harsh.
  2. This very issue came up only a few years ago. The victor of Crown did not have a valid authorization card. The end result was that the victory was nullified.
  3. Duke Radnor abdicated his position as Crown Prince, because, while packing his armor after the list, he found the envelope with his wife's membership, unmailed, on the floorboard of the car. He was given a choice to abdicate or name another. He responded "*She* was my only inspiration." He chose to abdicate setting the precedent that a couple stays or goes together. In the refight of that Crown the second precedent was set that the ones that caused the refight did not enter it.
  4. Dukes were made the moment they stepped down, Counts were not. The County was used as leverage to help make sure that a first time Crown followed tradition and law. The incoming King could refuse to give it. In fact, in Trimaris, one did refuse to grant it because he felt his predecessor had not done well by the kingdom. It was disputed, and the BoD was involved. While they realized that the incoming King was correct in his interpretation, they changed the law to prevent it from happening again. The former King without a County title promptly opened a tavern called......I kid you not......"The No aCount Inn".
  5. Once upon a time......all good stories start that way, don't they? Circa AS 24 There was a man in Trimaris who was a very "hot stick" but not long in the Society, or well received among the Peers. At Pennsic the Crown of Atenvelt asked to elevate him to knighthood and received permission from the Trimarin King. There is some dispute as to the attendance of the Trimarin King, but there were several Kings in attendance. He was elevated within the hour and there were objections. The BoD heard the case immediately and ruled that he was not elevated, because he was not a resident of the kingdom that elevated him. The man flew out to Atenvelt and established a PO Box and changed his membership to the PO box and was re-elevated at the Aten king stepping down two weeks later. This, while following the letter of the law, did not follow the spirit......so now there are additional rules: 1: Must have the permission of the home Kingdom, 2: Must be done for work within the Elevating Kingdom.

From Joseph Radding: Regarding 5. I have a few more details, as I was on the Board at that time.

At the time of the first "elevation" the law already existed in Corpora that to give an award to a subject of another kingdom, a monarch must get prior written consent from the Crown (i.e. both the king and queen) of the other kingdom. The King of Atenvelt got verbal permission from only the King of Trimaris. The Queen of Trimaris refused to give her consent. Therefore the "elevation" was ruled null and void by the Board.

The person from Trimaris did indeed purchase a P.O. Box somewhere in Atenvelt purely for the purpose of being elevated, which the King of Atenvelt did immediately thereafter.

The Board ruled that since "residency" was not at that time yet defined in Corpora, the elevation would stand. However, the newly made "knight," as an Aten subject, would not be able thereafter to receive any awards from, or fight for the Crown of, Trimaris.

The King of Atenvelt, who had reigned several times before, was found to have knowingly acted contrary to Corpora, and was ruled ineligible to fight or be fought for, in Crown Tournament for one year.

Round 5: So you want to be King? Part 2

(Midrealm specific rules — not all kingdoms do it our way)

  1. What MUST you have in order to hold court, in the Midrealm?
  2. How many times must you meet with Curia in the Midrealm?
  3. When does a law become effective in the Midrealm?
  4. Why are award recommendations closed weeks before an event in the Midrealm?
  5. Previously we reviewed the "Western Rite , "Eastern Rite" and the "Aten Rite" kingdoms and how they differ in problem resolution and tradition.......which one is the Midrealm?



  1. Provided you represent the Crown, you need a Herald and Seneschal to hold a Court or other public Kingdom business. The Crown is also responsible to submit the paperwork associated to the court, but this is usually delegated to the Court Herald.
  2. Two per reign. They must have a quorum and the quorum consists of Crown, Kingdom Seneschal and three other Great Officers of State. The Great Officers are The Seneschal, Dragon Herald, Earl Marshal, Kingdom Minister of A & S, Kingdom Chronicler, Kingdom Exchequer and Kingdom Chirugeon.
  3. A law must be reviewed (but not necessarily agreed upon) by the Curia, Proclaimed in Court and Published in the Pale in order to be in effect. If it is deemed to be a substantive change, it much be published and the populous have the opportunity to comment on it as well.
  4. To give our hard working scribes a chance to make original works of art for the recipients. This is not done in all Kingdoms, and is truly a treasure in ours.
  5. We are an Eastern rite Kingdom. The Eastern rite Kingdoms tend to go through Discussion, Proclamation and Publication, Western and Aten rite kingdoms tend to start with "The Crown's word is law" the moment it is spoken, and the paperwork will catch up in the Court report.

OK, so this round was WAY TO EASY......let's see if we know why some of the laws are the way they are.......Round 6: So you want to be King Part III (What happens when it goes wrong)

Round 4: Today's Trivia: So you want to be King? Part I (Society Rules)

Being Crown is not all peaches and cream, there are rules to follow and severe consequences for failure. Every single one of these has tripped up someone in the past.....and usually causes great heartache to the people involved, the kingdom and those watching when they do. Some tangle between "Tradition" and "Law" and from our example of Michael, they must be balanced, traditions change laws, and sometimes tradition must bend to law. While all of these answers can be found in Copora, how many do you know without looking them up?

  1. What three things MUST you have to enter crown in any kingdom what fourth thing does the fighter need?
  2. A Crown must "consult" with an Order before elevating a candidate to peerage.....what does "consult" mean?
  3. What is the division of responsibility between the BoD and the Crown?
  4. What 3 events MUST a Crown go to in order to successfully meet its obligations(and receive their royal title)? What is the one addition for the Midrealm?
  5. Can a Crown grant awards or elevations to anyone?



  1. This difficulty stems because the answer comes from both Copora and the rules of the list, every person must have:
    • A Consort (though it no longer specifies opposite gender)
    • Acceptance by the Crown (it does not matter if there is a letter of intent two weeks before the list, or signing up that day, each combatant must be acceptable.)
    • A valid membership for both Combatant and Consort (30 days past the date of the list) Any membership type will do.
    • A valid fighter authorization (for the fighter)
  2. Once upon a time, "consult" with an order meant that the Crown had to ask at least one person of that Order what they thought about a candidate. This is no longer the case. Today (due to a case brought before the Bod from Atenvelt) "consult" means to gather information in the traditional manner used in the Kingdom. If a Kingdom uses face to face meetings, then a candidate must have been brought up in at least one face to face meeting. If they use polls, then they must have had a poll. If, traditionally, a Crown only asks a couple of members, then that too is sufficient. Regardless of how the consultation is done the Crown is under no obligation to follow the recommendation of the of the Order, but the forms must be followed.
  3. The division of responsibility is "Game Side" and "Modern Side". That is to say the Crown is responsible for things that are uniquely the SCA, treaties, costumes, event themes, awards, A&S and so on. The BoD is responsible for things that require modern legal issues such as bank accounts, contracts, laws and so on. Sometimes when there is a dispute on the interpretation of Society law, the BoD will make a ruling, but this almost always upsets one group of kingdoms or another, because we have different heritage and values (think West, East and Aten rite). In addition, when a person breaks modern law, the BoD will determine if the transgression substantially endangers the Society, and if so, "uninvite" them to play — The Crown can do this as an immediate, but temporary action, the BoD can make it permanent. (This is one of the most sever types of banishment.)
  4. A Crown must go to their Coronation, hold and attend their successor's Crown List, and attend their Stepping Down. In the Midrealm, the Summer Crown must also attend Pennsic.
  5. A Crown can grant awards and elevations to any subject within their realm (provided they consult as needed for a Peerage.) A Crown may also grant awards or elevations to citizens of OTHER kingdoms, provided they have the permission of the Crown of the other Kingdom, and the award or elevation is for work done within their own Kingdom.

Next: So, you want to be King? Part 2 (Midrealm specific rules)

Round 3: Crowns

Crowns have a certain magic to them. They are the symbol of the Kingdom, and a lasting focal point. The person who wears one takes on the embodiment of the Kingdom for a short time, and forever becomes part of it. This is true for all Kingdoms and Crowns. Crowns also tend to collect legend and lore and are sometimes used to remind Crowns of valuable lessons.

  1. What Crown has the inscription cast in it "You Rule, because They believe."?
  2. What Crown is made from coin silver collected from the populace?
  3. What Crown is made from aircraft aluminum?
  4. Why does the Midrealm Crown have a missing jewel?
  5. What Princess of a Kingdom was never Crowned Queen, but reigned for nearly 30 years?

Because Crowns have so much history, this set of answers come with links, as there is no way to give all of the background in a single post for some of these.

  1. His Majesty CAID's Crown. Her Majesties Crown says "For Love and Beauty."
  2. The West. Although now only used for high ceremony, this set of Crowns was the only Kingdom Crown for over 30 years. They weigh in at 3.5 pounds for His Majesties, and 2.25 for Hers. Talk about "Burden of the Crown!" They each also contain a small sliver of copper from the original crown. His is cast into an oak leaf I front and hers is in the point on one of the roses. An odd factoid.....the maker was subsequently in a car accident, the only lasting injury was the loss of the memory of making them.
  3. Trimaris. The Aluminum Crowns are made from T6, commonly used for aircraft and high speed boats, AND the plaques on the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft because it takes and keeps a high polish, (thought the space reference might give it away). The Heir's crowns are made of a more common grade of aluminum, and do not keep the same polish.
  4. Michael of Boarshaven — The King and Queen both abdicated from that reign - separately. While there is much dispute about what happened with Michael firsthand accounts differ greatly: favorable ( http://brusten.livejournal.com/1515.html ) and: unfavorable all agree that a reign such as his is what happens when one follows the letter of the law, without regard for tradition. It is important to note that while he was Crown Prince, shortly before Coronation Michael was beaten near to death while at his job as a security guard and spend 6 days in a coma, there was probably brain damage — he was not the same man after. The Kingdom Crowns, may have had a jewel pried out to pawn, damaged in a car accident, sued for recovery or had football played with it.....at any rate, they were damaged, and all Middle King's crowns have a jewel missing in remembrance of how bad a reign can be — but still have the Middle survive and recover.
  5. The Dowager Princess Janeltis (Jen-ALL-tis) was so beloved by the people of An Tir, she was named the only permanent royalty of the SCA at the request of the Crown of the West to the BoD on behalf of their principality of AnTir. The story can be found here.

Round 2

Continuing on our theme of trivia, today's topic is: Heraldry (I'm going to have to disqualify long time Heralds here)

  1. What does a laurel wreath mean on a device? A Crown with a Laurel wreath? A crown without a laurel wreath?
  2. What kingdom bears the Celestial crown, and why? Who bears the voided Crown, and who bears the Ancient and Honorable Crown?
  3. Trimaris, Ansteorra and Midrealm have name and device closely linked with geographic location........what is the connection for each? Bonus if you know the meaning of the dragon for the Midrealm. (Hint: it's all the same kind of humor)
  4. What is the meaning of the name and meaning of the heraldry for: Pentamere? Constellation? Midlands? And North and South OAKen? (HINT: It is still the same brand of humor)
  5. How did CAID get its name? (HINT: the name is "CAID" not Caid)

The last three are used to illustrate the rampant humor used by heralds throughout the Society. Most kingdoms have this brand of humor in names and devise, if you have the heraldic knowledge to know what you are looking at. This really is one of the cases where the more you know, the funnier it gets!



And the answers are:

    • A laurel wreath on a device indicates land, or the person that administers that land in the name of the Crown. They are found on the devices of groups, and individuals.
    • A Crown with a Laurel is the device of a Kingdom, or when seen on a person, the Crown itself.
    • A Crown without a laurel is an old practice used to indicate a former ruler. Usually they use the crown as it is depicted on the Kingdom's arms that they reigned over, Voided crown, Celestial crown and so on. Now here is the tricky part......a laurel is allowed to wear and display a laurel wreath, a former monarch a crown......but if a former monarch is also a laurel then they will not wear the combination that resembles a kingdom device, out of tradition......and generally avoiding bad taste.
    • Trimaris bears the Celestial Crown because it is the home of Cape Canaveral. Later, Trimaris claimed many celestial bodies (satellites, mars, ect. )by putting triskiel stickers on Titan launches, but that is another story.
    • The West bares the Voided Crown . The West device is a green laurel wreath and crown on a yellow field and was registered before the Society device, and apparently, the Society needed permission to conflict.
    • The Ancient and Honorable Crown is the Crown on the Midrealm device. See, we really are including Midrealm trivia here too.
    • Trimaris — Tri = 3, Maris = Seas, and are the Gulf, the Atlantic and the Caribbean. The Triskiel is the three waves coming together, and also happens to be the badge of the US Transportation service. ...... Imagine finding a large blue Triskiel on the tail fin of a 747!
    • Ansteorra — An = 1, Steorra = Star, Lone star, as is appropriate for the Lone Star State.
    • Midrealm — The Pale is the middle between the East and West, and the Dragon, from the concept that when the Mid was formed as the third Kingdom it covered most of the "unknown" lands and in a Medievel map unknown areas were often marked with "There be dragons". To compound this, the original group (Barony/Shire Under the Mountain) had a Dragon on its device, and they were Tolkien fans, so there was probably no avoiding getting a dragon on these arms.
    • Pentamere = Michigan - (in a smash of latin and Italian) Penta = 5, Mere = Lakes (the Great Lakes), and have a hand on a blue field because everyone from Michigan holds up their hand as a geographical representation of the state when providing directions.
    • Constellation = Indiana - The Indiana state flag has a spray of stars. Nearly all groups in Constellation have included a star in their arms. It is said that any group that does not has a tendency to befall trouble. Whether it is because they don't know the kingdom traditions well enough, or just bad luck, we don't know.......
    • Midlands = Illinois — roughly both the middle of the country and the middle of the Kingdom at the time it was named. It bears the Midguard serpent, and Midguard was in Norse legend the middle of the Universe.
    • Oaken = Ohio And KENtucky, the oakleaf is a play on the name and the back ground of Ohio in Blue and Kentucky in Gray is a play on the sides during the Civil War.
  5. CAID is the only reasonable name they could come up with using the four first letters of the 4 baronies when CAID was formed.....Calafia, Angels, Isles and Darachshire. Writing it with capitals will show you know the story.

Whew! Let's move on to something easy......how about Crowns?.....

Things I would like unbelts to know, and be able to tell the stories of to others:

5 Trivia questions on our Origin

  1. What, Where and who was the first Party for?
  2. When is the SCA New Year, and why?
  3. Who are the People of the Word, and who are the People of the Book?
  4. What is the Atenvelt Heresy, and who settled it?
  5. There are "West rite", "East rite" and "Aten rite" kingdoms. What is common in the coronation of all Aten rite kingdoms?

Can you answer these without looking them up?

Later, 5 trivia questions on SCA Heraldry, traditions, Kingdom history, Peerages, etc.



  1. Diana Paxton's Birthday party...(OK, it was not her birthday, but she said she came up with the idea on her birthday).yes, the author, in Berkly CA, May 1, 1966. Princes of the Mist (Where Berkly is) sometimes make a Pilgrimage to that house to ask for dirt from the yard where the first party was held (SCAers don't live there, so this can be awkward). This is sometimes given as a 'true relic' of the SCA. They decided to do it again the following year and then the SCA took off as they continued more often.....the event started two hours late (thus establishing "SCA time" and had a tourney to name the Queen of May, food and a bardic, sorry, no parade was involved.
  2. May 1st.....because it is Beltain......the Mideval first day of the year in many cultures, before Pope Gregory (as in Gregorian) mucked with the calendar, and the date of the first party.
  3. The West Kingdom are People of the word, as laws were handed down by word and tradition. The East 'learned' the SCA through documents, and wrote down the rules. It fundamentally changes how each kingdom deals with issues. Western rite kingdoms tend to be very Royalistic, where the Crowns word is law the moment it is uttered. Eastern rite Kingdoms tend to run more on a parliament.
  4. The Aten Heresy comes from Atenvelt declaring themselves a kingdom, without the permission of the three existing kingdoms......they just deemed it so......Because they had no progenitor they filled in the blanks as they went, not taking from existing practice. This has the effect of making many small differences in how they do things. For instance most peerage oaths incorporate "till death take me, the Crown departs the throne or the world end." And they usually make good on the "Crown departs the throne." With the "death" of an outgoing Monarch. The newly formed BoD decided on the issue.......which led to.....
  5. All Aten rite kingdoms crown themselves, because Atenvelt was the first kingdom where the king of the West did not come to make the new king......so he crowned himself.
Retrieved from "http://middlewiki.midrealm.org/index.php/SCA_History_Triva"
Personal tools