MK Coronation ceremony, al-Islam v. Middle East
david director friedman
"In the Midrealm (if memory serves) the heir challenges the current
Sovereign in court, and once his right is testified to, there is a
very moving transfer of the trappings of sovereignty. It always
struck me as being very Tolkien in flavor, and I don't mean that in a
bad way." (Tim)
As I remember the version in the early years, the Tanist comes up,
the King says something like: "What dost thou desire at my hands, if
tis thy right/by custom of the Kingdom or the laws/of the Society
then it is thine." The Tanist replies "Your Crown and Throne." The
king asks for witnesses that this is the just claimant, victor in the
crown lists--and three people, preferably including the losing
finalist, offer up their witness. Having committed himself to doing
justice to the person in front of him, the King is now obligated to
carry through with it.
Much of the wording of the ceremony was indeed cribbed from
Tolkien--plus a bit from C.S. Lewis ("This is what it means to be a
king ..." from "The Horse and His Boy.")
One idea I had for the ceremony some years later, and never
implemented anywhere, was to get rid of the symbols of sovereignty in
dumb show. Before the Tanist arrives, the great officers, one by one,
march up to the throne. Each is given one of the tokens of
sovereignty (sword of state, etc.), and withdraws with it. Not a word
is said. Finally, when the sovereigns have stripped themselves of
every token except the crowns, the heirs come up to claim those. I
think it would be dramatically effective. After the coronation, the
great officers bring back the tokens and invest the new sovereigns
with them with appropriate words.
"For Middle Easterners:
...in the 40 years 936-976, the Caliphs had been building, five miles
from Cordova," (Elizabeth "E.B." Braidwood)
I would describe Muslim Spain as part of al-Islam but not as part of
the Middle East. These are the real Caliphs, not the pretenders in
Baghdad.
Cariadoc/David
Wilson Heydt
>One idea I had for the ceremony some years later, and never
>implemented anywhere, was to get rid of the symbols of sovereignty in
>dumb show. Before the Tanist arrives, the great officers, one by one,
>march up to the throne. Each is given one of the tokens of
>I
>think it would be dramatically effective. After the coronation, the
>great officers bring back the tokens and invest the new sovereigns
>with them with appropriate words.
Parts of this are done during the Western Coronation ceremony (and
Investiture in the Mists, as well).
The newly crwoned King is presented the Great Sword of State by the
Earl Marshall (it was the Lord Chancellor in the early days), who
returns it to the Earl Marshall's keeping. Similarly, the Vesper
Principal Herald presents the Kingdom Seal, which is returned to the
Herald for keeping " . . .Until We have need of it."
At present, the other Great Officers do not have similar tokens to
present and be returned, but I've got a couple of ideas . . .
--Hal
Hal Ravn, Province of the Mists, West Kingdom
Wilson H. Heydt, Jr., Albany, CA 94706, 510/524-8321 (home)
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Hal Heydt | Vegetarians eat vegetables.
Analyst, Pacific*Bell |
510-823-5447 | I'm a Humanitarian.