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Heart of Oak.
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/m2/f7/10235.mp3
For England, for home and the prize!
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/m2/f7/10235.mp3
For England, for home and the prize!
Sep. 19th, 2008
The Title Wank
Sep. 19th, 2008 06:40 pmI am writing this here so as not to hijack a thread in someone else's journal. It's going to ramble and may not be completely germane to the discussion over there anyway.
"(Pang?) Six out of ten Westerners will call me Jehanne if I'm dressed as Saionji, two will remember to call me Makiwara (and one of them will mispronounce it), and the other two will say, "I'm sorry, what's your Japanese name again?"
(Pang?) I got called by my Japanese name, mostly pronounced correctly and with appropriate honorifics on a regular basis for four and a half days. (You have no idea what a novelty this is....)" (LJ entry of 2/28/08)
Think back into the mists of time, O My Readers of SCA origins. Try to remember how you felt the first time someone addressed you as "My Lady" or "My Lord." Did you come to the SCA because there is some part of you that is a shameless romantic? Did you feel, as this writer did, that you had found a haven? Did you feel special? Did you lose the power of speech the first time you were summoned before your monarchs and given the right to style yourself "Lady/Lord _____________?"
If you are a Westerner, I do hope you enjoyed it because after the herald led the cheer for your AoA, it may be the last time you heard yourself called "Lady/Lord _____________" It is the Way of Things (TM) here, primarily because the West is the first kingdom and you can't swing a peer without hitting a dead cat and the local culture deals with it by crying, "Nonono, just call me __________!"
What of the "Nonono, just call me __________!" people who continue to wear the bling that goes with their earned achievements even as they're insisting on being Just Folks. Does this send a mixed message?
What about the members of the population who stay at AoA level?
What does this do to the culture of the kingdom? Does this diminish the experience of going to an event and being larger than life and romantic for a few hours of one's week? Does this result in less courteous behavior? Does it kill the magic?
Contrast this with the following. Japanese culture is all about the honorifics, so those who choose to portray Japanese personae quickly learn the appropriate ones and use them. All the time. I'm always "Saionji-hime" or "Makiwara-hime" online, and sometimes "-sensei" as well. Last spring I was Saionji-hime whether I was pounding tent stakes in t-shirt and tatsukebakama or pouring sake in my prettiest wafuku or staggering to the privy with uncombed hair first thing in the morning or stirring soba over a camp stove. Some of these people I've known long enough they should be calling me Hanae-hime, but they won't because that's too intimate! And "my" boys are always ___________-dono. Always.
I know which I prefer.
"(Pang?) Six out of ten Westerners will call me Jehanne if I'm dressed as Saionji, two will remember to call me Makiwara (and one of them will mispronounce it), and the other two will say, "I'm sorry, what's your Japanese name again?"
(Pang?) I got called by my Japanese name, mostly pronounced correctly and with appropriate honorifics on a regular basis for four and a half days. (You have no idea what a novelty this is....)" (LJ entry of 2/28/08)
Think back into the mists of time, O My Readers of SCA origins. Try to remember how you felt the first time someone addressed you as "My Lady" or "My Lord." Did you come to the SCA because there is some part of you that is a shameless romantic? Did you feel, as this writer did, that you had found a haven? Did you feel special? Did you lose the power of speech the first time you were summoned before your monarchs and given the right to style yourself "Lady/Lord _____________?"
If you are a Westerner, I do hope you enjoyed it because after the herald led the cheer for your AoA, it may be the last time you heard yourself called "Lady/Lord _____________" It is the Way of Things (TM) here, primarily because the West is the first kingdom and you can't swing a peer without hitting a dead cat and the local culture deals with it by crying, "Nonono, just call me __________!"
What of the "Nonono, just call me __________!" people who continue to wear the bling that goes with their earned achievements even as they're insisting on being Just Folks. Does this send a mixed message?
What about the members of the population who stay at AoA level?
What does this do to the culture of the kingdom? Does this diminish the experience of going to an event and being larger than life and romantic for a few hours of one's week? Does this result in less courteous behavior? Does it kill the magic?
Contrast this with the following. Japanese culture is all about the honorifics, so those who choose to portray Japanese personae quickly learn the appropriate ones and use them. All the time. I'm always "Saionji-hime" or "Makiwara-hime" online, and sometimes "-sensei" as well. Last spring I was Saionji-hime whether I was pounding tent stakes in t-shirt and tatsukebakama or pouring sake in my prettiest wafuku or staggering to the privy with uncombed hair first thing in the morning or stirring soba over a camp stove. Some of these people I've known long enough they should be calling me Hanae-hime, but they won't because that's too intimate! And "my" boys are always ___________-dono. Always.
I know which I prefer.
Geez, rub it in, why don't you?
My Indian name is She-who-lives-alone.
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