At my vigil, it rained and thundered. The Chivalry raised a tarp over me, then crowded in to stay dry. Som, I've been told, remained in the rain to make sure that the thing did not collapse. The words they spoke to me moved me and altered my view of the society, but perhaps my strongest impression remains that of the press of the peers of the chivalry all around, and that it included me. In my mind, that was my acceptance into the order.

According to the Ordene de Chevalerie 1, by way of Maurice Keen, a candidate for knighthood would bathe in the bath of courtesy and bounty, lay upon a bed to remind himself of the paradise he will gain through chivalry, then dons a white robe of cleanliness, a scarlet cloak to signify his duty to shed blood, brown socks which stand for earth to which he will return after death, the white belt of virginity to remind him to restrain his lust, and gold spurs to prod himself to God's commandments as we would prod his steed into battle. Last, a sword is girded on whose double edge signifies that justice and loyalty go together, and that a true knight must defend the weak against the oppressor. The meanings themselves are unimportant, and probably shifted along with the changing view of chivalry--in our own society (ed. the SCA), the few symbols we have retained have drawn to themselves quite their own meaning--but what should be seen is that symbols played an enormous role in the thoughts and actions of these folks. If we want to approach their world, we must acquiesce to the strength of such symbolic thought. At my vigil, the pressing in of the cold and wet members of the chivalry became a very potent symbol.

The chain, belt or baldric, and the spurs, within the Society, are the most important symbols of the Chivalry, and I like to present them at a vigil as objects of contemplation. At my squire's own vigil, I spent considerable time simply arranging these three, finally leaving the belt and spurs neatly arrayed while surrounding them, untidily, with the chain. Once I had it done, I knew that it was correct, but even now I cannot fully explain why. The power of the best symbols is that they cannot be fully fathomed, and that even the attempt to understand them may do them harm.

Other symbolically important objects are swords, helms, shields, and any or all of the candidate's armour. The appropriateness of any of these objects to the candidate's vigil depends upon their value to the candidate. Some candidates don't own a sword, or have a shield that to them is merely plywood, or wear a borrowed helm--it is best to talk to the person before carting the stuff to the vigil site. Often, a candidate will have other objects that to them have a special meaning. On one occassion, a fellow who was in law enforcement included his badge in his vigil.

The site is a powerful factor. I prefer a setting open ot the night sky where the candidate is positioned to look back upon the lights of the distant encampment. While emphasizing the closeness of the Chivalry, such a site reminds the candidate of the vastness of the world--pride and humility in one. However, the focusing power of a closed tent certainly has its own attraction.

Gestures, such as the chivalry crowding in around me, have their own power. One wise, old knight of my acquaintance has come up with a ceremony in which members of the Chivalry take on the guise of various knightly virtues and so offer words to the candidate. Being a simple fellow, I had misgivings, but, having taken part in several of these ceremonies, I cannot deny their power. Most gestures, however, are not so elaborate. They involve how visiting members of the Chivalry are seated, how they comport themselves, how the candidate is brought to the site of the vigil, and how the vigil ends. The usual raucous behavior of the waiting chivalry, if it is too near the site, works negatively to lessen the seriousness of the vigil; if it is at a polite distance, it becomes instead a symbol of the joy of the occasion.

Overuse of symbols can be as serious a problem as their under appreciation. Polonius gave Laertes good advice 2, but its effect was lost through the ponderousness of the words. A site cluttered with props, or an overlong ceremony, will overload a candidate's impressionability, spilling over into his sense that we are taking this all too damn seriously. The threshold differs from candidate to candidate, but all is lost if it is crossed, so I always err on the side of simplicity.

Be guided by your intuition as much as by your brain. Symbolic language is felt more than understood (a big reason that it has fallen to the roadside in our rational age). If it looks right, it probably is; if it feels cluttered, thin it out. A friend of a candidate once asked me if he might bring the fellow a plate of food. It felt wrong, so I said no. My only thought was that the candidate would better remember the vigil on an empty stomach. Was I right? I don't know. But my gut tells me that I made the right call.

A vigil is a right of passage, a ghost of a thing that has fallen our of custom in our (ed. modern) culture. At a good vigil, a candidate is open and willing for impression by both word and image. Folks in the middle ages took good advantage of this susceptibility, and we can too, if we make use of the power of symbols as well as that of language. But don't get too solemn about it; my squire has said that the one thing he liked a lot about his vigil, which was set far out in a cow pasture, was that everyone had to wade through a lot of, ah, well, manure to the to the good stuff. At your next vigil, think with your head, think with your gut, and the good stuff will come.

1 The Ordene de Chevalerie is the influential 13th century treatise on knighthood penned by an anonymous, but powerful author.

2 Hamlet, Act I Scene II:

"Yet here, Laertes? Abroad, abroad for shame!
The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail,
And you are staying for. There--my blessing with thee!
And these few precepts in my memory
Look thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,
Nor any unproportioned thought his act.
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar:
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatched, unfledged comrade. Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel; but being in,
Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee.
Give every man thine ear, but few voice;
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgement.
Costly the habit as the purse can buy,
But expressed in fancy; rich not gaudy;
For the apparel oft proclaims the man,
And they in France of the best rank and station
Are most select and generous chief in that.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For a loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night and day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell. My blessing season this in thee!"

(This article also appears in Chronique, Issue #5 on Knighting Ceremonies.)