Seneschal Corner

Greetings from Wynfrið:

First, I would like to update everyone on the recent Baronial Curia meeting that was held at BIA last month. The minutes from the meeting will be posted on the Ruantallan website in the near future.

A bid was presented to Curia for the upcoming Baronial Twelfth Night event. The event was approved in principal but a final decision was tabled for further discussion on the Curia mailing list as soon as the autocrats (Lady Cornelia and Lady Isa) were able to secure an event site. Everything is now in hand and the bid was formally approved. The event announcement will be made available on the Ruantallan website shortly and will be included in the November issue of Quid Nunc.

The bid for an EKU to take place on March 22, 2008 was originally approved at the July 22 Baronial Curia meeting. However, due to a significant change to the event to include a Royal Progress (RP), further discussion and approval by Curia was required. This had to be delayed until the October 20 Curia meeting. The revised event bid for an EKU/RP was discussed in detail and given final approval. Some concerns were raised with respect to the potential for unpredictable weather in late March, especially for anyone traveling from away. It was agreed however that with careful planning and an eye on the impending weather conditions that this shouldn't be a problem. The date for the event is one of only a couple of weekends available for His Majesty, King Andreas, to visit Ruantallan. The autocrats for the event are Lady Zelina and Mistress Elena, and they will be providing additional information and details about the event in the coming weeks.

Approval was also given to a bid for next year's Baronial War Camp which is to take place in Ynys Y Gwaed at the end of June. The event will be held at the Handibear Horse Sanctuary which is the same site where YYG has been holding their annual Summers End events. Lady Allesandra is the autocrat for the event and further details will be forthcoming as well.

One of the recent issues that was discussed at the meeting is the ongoing question concerning official fight practices being held at the MRFC in Halifax. We are still waiting on a final decision from the Kingdom Earl Marshal as to whether we will be able to hold official practices at the site with other groups such as the Medieval Military Club. Hopefully this will be resolved in the near future.

The review and update of the Baronial Constitution and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) is continuing and the first draft of the revisions will be made available on the Ruantallan website in December or early January. Changes to the Constitution are fairly extensive and will reflect significant changes with respect to the role of the Coronet, Baronial awards, and other minor details that currently conflict with EKL&P. Changes to the SOPs will be much less extensive but will include changes in procedures for event bid proposals, standardizing fee structures for events, advertising policies, and so forth.

Lady Elise has been given approval to publish a special, print only, Winter Edition of Quid Nunc. The special issue will be similar in format to the Arts and Sciences issue that has been published by the East Kingdom. Lady Elise will be soliciting for contributions and I would encourage anyone with a bent to seeing their name in print to submit an article. There will be a nominal charge to cover printing costs with further details to follow.

Of particular note, Their Excellencies formally announced at the meeting that it is Their intention to resume inducting new members into the Order of the Iceberg beginning with the Twelfth Night event in January. To this end, Their Excellencies have appointed Lady Eadwynn as the new Principal of the Order. Lady Eadwynn has been compiling details regarding previous recipients and will be posting an updated list of previous inductees on the Ruantallan list in the near future. Although specific details will be forthcoming from Eadwynn with respect to the polling process for the Order, I would like to advise that any member in the Barony may put in a recommendation for potential candidates.

As many of you are aware, Baron Seumas and Viscountess Esperanza were in the process of establishing three new non-precedence bearing awards in addition to the Order of the Iceberg during their tenure as Baronial Coronet. Unfortunately, both the order names and proposed devices for all three of the awards did not pass Eastern Crown. It is my understanding however that Baron Lachlan and Baroness Janet are planning to continue efforts to ensure that the new awards will be established and They will be soliciting ideas for alternative names and device designs from the populace in the near future.

With reference to the update that I posted to the Ruantallan mailing list on September 6, the first step in revising our Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) is the implementation of several revisions that have been identified by the Kingdom Seneschal (Viscount Edward). The required revisions are now available on the Ruantallan website (link to Official Documents under Resources). The specific points are as follows:

a) Section 1.3.4 - when an officer resigns, their deputies are not appointed by the local Seneschal as originally defined; this is done by either by the applicable Kingdom officer or the Crown.

b) Section 2.5 Children - the 'permission slip' is out of date (for the record, we haven't been using this form in some time); the "Childrens Waiver" and Medical Consent Waiver" are currently used by the East Kingdom.

c) Appendix A - Electoral Process
- all references to the election of the Coronet have been removed.

d) Appendix A (Procedure, Part 4) - money orders, charge card receipts and cancelled cheques are no longer excepted as proof of membership; in addition to a membership card or a copy of the Pikestaff mailing label, an original letter from Corporate Headquarters stating that the person in question is a member in good standing can be used as proof of membership.

e) Appendix C (see Section 2.5 above) - this section has been removed.

f) All references to "Citizens" have been changed to "Subjects".

On a personal note, I would like to comment on the recent event put on by the Canton of Seashire (Sven the Gardner). In spite of the approaching tropical storm, numerous brave souls turned out for the Arts and Sciences group A&S competition and revelry. Overall, this was one of the most enjoyable events that I have attended in some time. The spirit and camaraderie was a definite focal point and a welcome respite in light of the roller coaster the group has been on in recent months. Special thanks has to be given to Lady Elise, Lady Isa, and Lord Algernon for the medieval puppet show - adults and children alike were riveted throughout the performance. We can only hope that there will be more to follow! And many thanks to Lady Juliana for an exceptional feast!

And finally, I would like to formally announce that Mistress Elizabeth (Bess) Darnley has agreed to take on the responsibility as Deputy Baronial Seneschal during my term of office.

As always, please contact me if you have any questions.

Regards,
Wynfrið
Baronial Seneschal
seneschal@ruantallan.org