[SCA-AE] Fwd: [EndlessHills] A New subject - virtues, a thought provoking exercise for the Barony

[Karen Finnemore]

This subject has been on my mind lately, which is admittedly odd, given that
I am not a fighter.  (Though I very much want to be!!)

In conversation this weekend with one of our Kingdom's most legendary
knights, I explained that what matters most to me in a chivalry peer is the
heart behind the sword.  Obviously, a knight must have skill; that is true
for any peer, even a royal peer since serving as a royal takes beaurocratic
finesse.  However, all skill aside, I hold the most respect for a knight who
embodies how much he loves his sport in deed and action.

I came into the SCA as an atlatlist.  For three of the last four years, I
have scored in the top ten for the women's division in the world.  I have
ranked first in New York State in women's for the last five or so years, as
well.  For those of you who know me, you know that I have been going through
some tough health issues, and yet atlatl has remained a stable in my life.
I have thrown in the snow, in the rain, in 100 degree weather, in the woods,
on a beach, and in the water (which was an interesting shoot!)  I have
thrown at midnight, with the range lit by floodlights and even in the wee
hours of the morning when the rest of the world was sleeping.  When I have
my atlatl in my hand, and I step up to the target, its just me and that
target...everything else fades into the background.  The feeling that I get
when I throw is amazing.  I know when I am "in the zone," when the dart is
hitting exactly where I want it.  It makes me feel alive.

That same feeling is what I respect most about our current day knights.
Call it the "fire" or dedication, I call it a true love for the sport.  Any
knight who is willing to go out in the rain, in the sun, fight after fight,
and keeps going because they truly, truly *love* it, has my utmost respect.

My two cents worth, which isn't a whole lot in this economy : )
Renata the posh rot

On 1/28/07, Rob Baldassano <odlahorde at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> I posted this on our Baronial list.
>   I would also like to offer to the rest of the Kingdom an opportunity to
> think of and discuss the virtues of knighthood.
>
>   A clarification, as per a question posted back to me.
>   "Are you looking for what the virtues WERE, or what we feel are now the
> important virtues."
>
>   Since we are modern people looking back to a non-modern time, I would
> suggest that our views of the virtues of old guide in the right direction
> for this exercise. Therefore I am looking for the virtues as they were
> listed, but if you find that there are modern replacements, or modifications
> of said virtues, list them as well.
>
>   Don't forget to list your choice of the most important, and the least.
>
>   In Service,
>   --Eirik
>
>
-- 
True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to
surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others, at
whatever cost.  Arthur Ashe