Master Aleksandr Ruslanovich :
Lady Morwenna Westerne :
The Baron and Baroness are highly visible personages, within the
Barony, outside the Barony, and to the non-SCA world, so I feel they
have a responsibility to represent the barony as well as they
can. This may mean speaking to reporters or appearing at demos, which
I don't consider medieval, but necessary to show the barony in a good
light. One of the functions of the baron and baroness is to help
citizens of Carolingia feel proud of their barony and to give those
outside of it (including those outside the Society) a reason to wish
they were part of the barony. I don't know if we can do that all the
time, but we will try.
Mistress Caitlin Davies and Master Justin du Coeur :
Lord Diego Mundoz and Lady Godith Anyon :
Lady Emmanuelle de Chenonceaux :
Master Seamus Donn :
Mistress Gwendolyn of Middlemarch :
I will only add that I think the baron and baroness
should do what they can to encourage and maintain a
vibrant and active barony. I think that is mostly done
through some participation, encouraging people to do
what they love, and providing an audience and interest
when desired. Carolingia is one of the most fabulous
places in the SCA in my opinion, and I love being
here.
ditto.
Lord Kali Harlansson of Gotland :
I hope these answers help to give you some idea of
who we are and what we'd
be like as baron and baroness. If you have more
questions, or want a
fuller response to one of these, feel free to ask.
Seigneur Jehan du Lac :
Master John McGuire :
On the Mundane side:
The Baron/ess is the voice of those who for
whatever reason do not feel
represented by the council. As a figurehead
some
people will approach
you who will not otherwise approach others. You
act as a lighting rod for
complaints and kudos. It is your duty to speak
up for those people.
It is also your duty to address the Council or
the
Sceneshal if you see
them about to do something that would reflect
badly on the Barony. Once
you have spoken up, it is then your duty to step
aside and let the
Sceneshal and the Council do as they please.
It is your duty to approve events and to make
every effort to attend all
Baronial events/councils and a reasonable
sampling
of guildmeetings so that
all Baronial members have the opportunity to
approach you.
Shi Hua Fu and Lady Yelizaveta Medvedeva :
The Baron & Baroness are the heart and soul of a barony. With any luck,
if they are good, just, people then the barony is happy. If they are
scheming, jealous, disorganized, or mean people, than the barony becomes
an unpleasant place to be -- by varying degrees. So, I think it's
impossible to limit the influence and the impact of the baron and
baroness to "just the medieval bits". I think the important thing is
knowing where to let the existing mechanisms do their job. We have a
seneschal for a reason, just as we have a knight marshall, an exchequer,
a chronicler, autocrats, a head of the cook's guild, etc. It's not the
baron and baroness' job to do everything -- just to try and do the job
they were elected to do as best they can.
I feel that the Baron and Baroness are the spiritual leaders of the
barony, as opposed to the temporal. There are officers to make sure
that all the paperwork is done, the taxes are paid and the insurance
up to date. I'm more than happy to let them do their job.
Back to the top.
I think the Baron/ess should be sort of a "senior statesman" role --
advising when asked, but not trying to take the seneschal's role. Of
course it's the baron/ess's role to hold courts and make presentations
of honors and awards, but that shouldn't be all. They should be a
facilitator, who can get diverse groups working together, too. The
baron/ess should be leaders, not figureheads.
Back to the top.
The Baron and the Baroness are the ceremonial heads of the
Barony. That means they don't have to do the day-to-day
paperwork. However, within the social context of the S.C.A., they have
a great deal of power. Their approval and encouragement can make the
difference between a viable and nonviable activity. For example, when
Patri was Baron, fighting was a marginal activity, but fencing was a
major one. Fencers formed the Baron's guards. That guard dissolved
when Patri stepped down. Aquel fights. Fighting is now much bigger and
more mainstream than it used to be. Fencing hasn't gone away, but it's
a lot smaller. So just the "medieval" bits is a huge job in and of
itself.
Back to the top.
My understanding is that the Baronetcy was designed to "run" or lead
the medieval (or in persona) portion of the barony. That cannot be
done in ignorance of the business side, and as a member of the barony,
I take an interest in the business of the Barony. There seems to be a
clear division between circlet and state, if you will forgive the
phrase.
My Knight, Duke Sir Elffin O'Mona has reigned as Prince of Locac three
times and as King of Drachenwald four times. He has kept sane through
this process by keeping a firm distinction between duties of the
throne and duties of the officers. I follow his opinion on this. If it
has something to do with the "medieval bits" of the society, awards
and such, that is the purview of the nobility. If it has something to
do with the "administrative side", branch status, event organization,
etc, then it is firmly up to the officers. As a voting member of
council the Baron and Baroness do have a say in the business side, but
in that context their views are no more important than, say, the
Chiurgeon.
Back to the top.
I completely agree with Caleb's answer here, which I
will repeat for completeness' sake.
I wouldn't say "just the medieval bits," but not
(depending on what one
means by "involved") in everything. The purely
business aspects - no,
that's the seneschal's sphere; all the various
guilds, practices, orders,
and other activities - in touch with, in contact
with, but not *running*
them; planning for events - consulting on
activities, but again not running
them. The only thing the baron/ess is/are actually
in charge of is court
and ceremony - which can in turn involve and affect
lots of other people
and groups and activities. So there's a lots of
involvement all round, but
limits to the amount of running things. Setting
tone, but not setting
policy.
I hope these answers help to give you some idea of
who we are and what we'd
be like as baron and baroness. If you have more
questions, or want a
fuller response to one of these, feel free to ask.
I wouldn't say "just the medieval bits," but not
(depending on what one
means by "involved") in everything. The purely
business aspects - no,
that's the seneschal's sphere; all the various
guilds, practices, orders,
and other activities - in touch with, in contact
with, but not *running*
them; planning for events - consulting on activities,
but again not running
them. The only thing the baron/ess is/are actually
in charge of is court
and ceremony - which can in turn involve and affect
lots of other people
and groups and activities. So there's a lots of
involvement all round, but
limits to the amount of running things. Setting
tone, but not setting
policy.
Back to the top.
well, corpora makes a sharp distinction between the
two roles. The one
thing a baron isn't allowed to do is be seneschal at
the same time, to
avoid conflict of interest between the ceremonial
role and the business
role. I still have a lot of interests, tho', and
would have to find a
balance between the baron job and all those other
things I like to do
(autocrat events, organize classes, etc.).
Back to the top.
The Medieval bits are a given, you are the
figurehead and have to act
in a manner that brings honor and glory to the
Barony while you are
acting as Baron/ess.
Back to the top.
It's true that the Baronial positions are ceremonial;
the seneschal
actually does the work. Still, we see the role of
the Baron and
Baroness as examples and positive role models; not
explicitly leaders
as such. But the Baron and Baroness should set the
pace in terms of
encouraging and assisting people, either actively or
passively
according to their desire, in order to help them have
the best
experience possible in Carolingia and the Society.
That will largely
be seen on the medieval side of what we do, but could
also show up on
the business side of the barony if it's appropriate.
Back to the top.
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