The Right Noble
COMPANY
OF
SAINT GEORGE
Last updated April 10, 1997
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The Company of Saint George, inspired by the tournament societies and secular knightly orders of the14th and 15th centuries, attempts to foster attitudes of chivalry through the tournament experience.Striving to bring our message chiefly using "chivalry by example," we pioneered and have sponsoredthe pas d'armes tournament format; helped other groups to organize themselves into similar companies;and have tried to encourage and guide the new "chivalric renaissance" in and out of the SCA.
Mindful that there is a danger of appearing to be a "super-chivalry" group, we have made the commitment to seek out new members who may not be formally knighted within the Society forCreative Anachronism, although we do participate chiefly in that umbrella organization. We aretrying to bind our individual examples together into a single, fluid voice to communicate the chivalric ideal with greater volume. By seeking out candidates who are not members of the orderof chivalry, we can reinforce the point that our ideals are a specialized subgroup, emphasizing elements of appearance, attitude, and prowess in a slightly different way. We seek to make a positive impact on the SCA by contributing our own researches. At the same time, we would liketo build our own group to a higher standard of authenticity and foster the ideals as found in both the romances and in history.
The philosophy which identifies our companions share certain elements. I have attempted to identifymany of these attitudes in my Book of the Tournament. In short, our binding points are that the tournament, and indeed the fight, is more than a martial arena; it is a testing ground in whichvirtues are chosen or abandoned and upon which the most important coin of the tourneyer is earned--the coin of renown. By accumulating renown, we can build an example which speaks to many people, by defining victory not by who was left standing but by the success of both combatants inconducting themselves in a knightly and chivalrous manner (including both prowess and courtesy).In doing so every tourneyer can emerge victorious from a given fight.
These points and many others are debated endlessly amongst our membership, and similar discussions are fostered by St. George membersat other SCA events, so that people will think more about the virtues to which we aspire, and to seehow very far short of them we are.
In addition, the Company considers it crucial that companions uphold a high level of authenticity.It is important to our successful communciation with everyone involved with the fight and indicatessincerity in the effort. We deplore the "sport mentality." Without this form of integrity, our statementsof chivalry would be out of context, and would become detached from the powerful cultural symbols to which they are attached. To this end, we encourage and promote field appearance as an integral part of the tournament of chivalry.
The Companions have bound themselves into a corporate company that these things can be brought to a wider audience. We believe that there is something magical in the chivalric ideal; we would beas much Lancelot as the Black Prince. We strive to strike a delicate balance between the two, knowing in our hearts that serving knightly franchise is an impossible task, that we are far, far from the ideals. They are never met. We believe there is nobility and value in the effort, however, and have pledged ourselves to the task. We invite others to join us in this quest, others who think as we do, and we openly offer our assistance and our counsel to others who would like to make the attempt.
Included in this thread, you'll find a variety of sources. Currently, the Tournament Companies page is not yet complete, so the pointers to it have been adjusted to the St. George page. Within you will find copies of our charter, ordinances, invocations for pas d'armes, ceremonies, roster,and statements from companions and errants telling what they think the company is.There are far more sources than can be placed on this www site, stupendous though it is. We strongly encourage interested combatants and students to subscribe to Chronique, Journal of Chivalry, which publishes quarterly. It contains a huge variety of chivalric questions, articles, photographs, essays, book reviews, and backgrounders on many other tournament companies and tournament formats. It's a MUST for anyone interested in the tourney! And, while we've got you here as a semi-captive audience, take a look at the FIRST HARDCOVER BOOK ON TOURNAMENTS & CHIVALRY!!!
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