What makes a Peer a Peer?

[zsof]

There are a few great blogs/essays about Peerage and what being a Peer in the SCA means. Mistress Gianetta has a great series she's written about what she looks for in a Laurel candidate. I think it's a wonderful reference. I've seen a few others but of course don't have the links handy (please share ones you've come across in the comments!)

But

Comments

[stitchwhich]

Scadians tend to not read Copora (note: I require my apprentices/protogees to do so) so they are not familiar with the requirements for Peerage. Showing it to them usually shortcircuits a whining session. There is, in a way, a checkbox list of qualities that make a Peer. Not simple "do they dance? Can they name all the parts of armor?" but something more vague and more full-bodied than a simple skill set.

My criteria is "Does this candidate affect the whole SCA (have an impact outside of their kingdom) and if they ended up the only member of the SCA sent to Mars and then stuck without communication, is there a good chance that when we got back in touch with them there would be a hobby group pretty much the same as the SCA once we got there? (Are they familiar with our rules, are they proficient in the skills that are defined as Peerage ones, do they inspire others to emulate them? Could they 'autocrat' a new event based on their knowledge of what we do?)

[zsof]

I had a discussion about just that with an "old" knight. We talked about the requirements - to be able to play chess, to be able to blazon your device, etc. and how many newer peers cannot do that. I think that's sad, it's something everyone should be able to do (peer or not).

I haven't really talked about that with my dependents. Thanks for the nudge, I'm going to discuss that with them today. :)

[gwacie]

Word.