We are Lord Nero Camulus and Baroness Aneleda Falconbridge. We’re candidates for the first Territorial Baron and Baroness of Endewearde.
Some people have had really good questions about the candidates, and
we decided to make this FAQ to help express our thoughts on matters Baronial and expand upon our words posted in The Northern Watch.
First, a little about us:
Lord Nero has been in the SCA in Endewearde for four years, and played for a year outside the Barony prior to that. He represents the “youngest” generation of SCAdians on the ballot. He is a perennial helper and can usually be found assisting others, working in the kitchen, participating in archery, and helping quietly, or not so quietly entertaining children of the Barony. He recieved his AoA at the Endewearde Hunt this past October. Friendly and well-liked, Nero is at that special stage of the SCA hobby when one is no longer new and is beginning an earnest search for a productive and useful role. He thinks that Baron might be that role, sharing a lot of experiences with newer folks in the shire, as well as the transitional experience in his own game which in some way mirrors the group’s transformation of shire to barony.
(Mundanely, Nero is a student at the University of Maine. He has experience volunteering with the nonprofit Maine Pagan Pride organization in event work. Originally he is “from away.” He works seasonally as a stagehand.)
Baroness Aneleda has been active the group for roughly a decade, from her first event (GNE by the sea) and second event (Pennsic 32). She attended the demo as a volunteer and the following day attended fighter practice at the Veys where she was hooked. She has served Endewearde as Minister of Arts & Sciences and Chatelaine, and many times as event autocrat. She is a member of the Orders of the Silver Crescent and Maunche, and Troubadour, served as King’s Bardic Champion, for which she was made a Baroness of the Court by King Gregor and Queen Kiena, and is a recipient of the Queen’s Honor of Distinction from Queen Avelina Keyes. Her East Kingdom Wiki page is here.
She is an authorized heavy list fighter and fights spear with the Northern Army, and is authorized in Combat Archery as well. She is a cordial maker in the brewers’ guild, and has an interest in period cookery (especially over fire), as well as period theatre, particularly commedia d’ell arte shows at Pennsic. She is wife of Lord Andew Qui Boit du Lait, mother to Jesse (age 5) and an apprentice of Mistress Mira of Thanet.
(Monique works at John Bapst as Director of Communications and is a freelance graphic designer and marketing professional.)
Ok, the questions!
What do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of the Barony?
A “weakness” is that we have a vast geography and we have had some people in far-flung areas who have consistently travelled far to attend events in our “hub” area of the Bangor region. We’d see that as a potential strength, however, if we can find ways to encourage the group to support efforts outside of the “hub” when they choose to have demos to recruit, and eventually become supported cantons and colleges and even shires.
For strengths, we have a great number of people who are contributing visibly to the Kingdom, and a number of people who are beginning to take more local responsibility as officers, autocrats, hosts, teachers, and so on. Blessed with both, we have the wonderful opportunity to encourage established SCAdians working at Kingdom level to be mentors as well as represent the group outside of our borders.
One of our best strengths is also one of our worst weaknesses, ironically, and that is that we have excellent volunteers who have filled positions of service to Endewearde, sometimes for a very long duration of service. This is great in one way, but we also need to be reminded on occasion that others desire an opportunity to serve, and if asked would gladly contribute in this way. Appreciation for service should be given those who are hard workers and they should feel comfortable taking some time off and letting others have the chance to volunteer.
Once we reach investiture, what are the additional work items required to run the barony and who do you see doing them?
A “Chief of Staff” would be important, as would a “Baronial Secretary” – one to organize people to assist in necessary tasks and the other to ensure that the contributions by the populace are recorded and people are properly thanked. We envision a system where folks are welcome to be “baronial retainers” (maybe a good task for newer folks) to draw them into the fold easily. We see Baronial Heralds and Bards being tasked to deliver missives to our neighbors and the Crown. Of course, when the Crown has requests of the Barony, we would work with the Chief of Staff to make sure those requests are met to the best of our ability.
Of course, we also see work in recognizing of the “necessary tasks” – the “chop wood/carry water” day-to-day things without which we cannot accomplish much.
There are a lot of traditions which other Baronies have established – in customs, in awards, in camping as a group, in ceremonies…we have a whole lifetime before the group as a whole and these traditions should grow into themselves rather than being forced by the first people to bear the Coronets.
When working with others, such as with baronial officers, are you a micromanager or do you stay hands off?
Our officers do a great job; why on earth would we want to do their jobs for them? We’re both interested in being kept in the loop (more to see that people are content with how things are going) than because we feel the need to do someone else’s job. Our officers do a great job; why on earth would we want to do their jobs for them? There’s no reason to fix what’s not broken.
In terms of things like Court – there would be some micromanaging at least at first – for everyone with a role, we expect! But as we all became familiar and things become traditional, of course there’s room to relax. This is one reason that it’s good to have a Chief of Staff and a Secretary – more brains in the mix to ensure nothing is forgotten.
What do you see as your role in promoting good will and cooperation with adjacent SCA groups?
This is “business as usual” as we see it. We’re lucky that our Senschals and and Autocrats work so hard to ensure our event have minimal impact on other regional events and never conflict with events our neighbors are hosting.
We have wonderful relationships with our neighbors. We view Malagentia, Smithwick, Hadchester, and Lyndhaven as allies and friends. We would make an effort, as usual, to attend as many events hosted by our noble cousins as possible, and when unable to attend, we would certainly send “official” missives by proxy.
We would be careful as diplomats to work with our neighbors to continue this this “big family” attitude that we are so fortunate to have in our region. (Which is a true and rare gift.)
What do you see as your role in promoting the SCA to the public eye?
The Chatelain has that job, and it’s not the job of the Coronet to supplant that, but to augment it. The Chatelaine (currently Finnon) and the Seneschal (Otto) are the people through whom the media must go initially and who are tasked with organizing demos and the like. That would not change.
However, everyone in the SCA is an unofficial deputy chatelaine, in our view! Who else would be better to talk about how great this thing is better than those who live and love it? (For example, forr many years now, Aneleda has provided business cards for local members to hand off to folks who have shown an interest in the SCA.)
However, as fascinating as we are as a whole, for some reason coronets do seem to get a lot of attention when worn “out and about” while in garb. The shining visibility of the coronet tends to provide an opportunity for “SCAvangelization.” (“Are you the Queen?” “No. But I have met her!”) Cornets seem to be a shining arrow that reads, “This Person Must Know What Is Going On!” Therefore, we see it as pretty important to be ever at the ready with the “Endewearde Elevator Speech” and a business card at bare minimum.
What do you perceive as your role in promoting and fostering new people within your group?
We feel we have a unique advantage in Nero, who has been in the SCA for four years, making him a “newcomer” by many SCAdian standards. Aneleda has been in the Society for more than a dozen years.
We feel that if there’s a place we lose ‘newcomers,’ it’s during the transitional period when people are not the responsibility of the Chatelaine any more and are not “new”, but are still not really certain of what their place is in the Society. They are still investigating as they work on establishing their direction. Encouraging basic workshops in a variety of areas – from service to art to fighting to leadership is important in helping people find that direction.
Nero understands intimately what people in this transitional period are seeking, because he’s experiencing it himself in many ways, looking for a role where he would find his own niche. One of the reasons for his decision to be a baronial candidate is because he feels ready for a role of greater service in the Barony. Aneleda joined him as a candidate in support of that goal.
Aneleda, having really only recently found her own “niche” in the bardic community agrees that the “transitional” time can be varied in length. It will be different for everyone, and we have to allow people to take the time they need and also encourage gently when ready.
That may mean asking folks in regular roles to take on an assistant or “apprentice” as deputy, and to enjoy a well-deserved rest at times to open an opportunity for another, and suggesting to folks in that transition or searching period to take those opportunities and experience different activities in the Barony.
What do you see as your role in promoting a more engaged populace?
We would encourage continued participation by the populace at events, volunteering for gate or to autocrat or cook, marshal, teach – or anything that we like to do by virtue of our involvement in this hobby. Experiences for group bonding are important especially – casual potlucks, revels that are super-low in cost, encouraging autocrats to have low gate fees, and especially making our events welcoming and friendly for families are part of what we see continues to engage the people of Endewearde.
We also would wish to recognize people for their work and participation, though that would, of course, be greatly dependent on the situation. Sometimes we would see that encouragement as public and sometimes as a private moment.
What do you see as your role in facilitating the role of the Crown?
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
What do you see your role in presenting the barony as an entity within the kingdom?
We see Endewearde as an organizational hub. Looking at the sheer amount of activity that our folks bring to the Kingdom is staggering. We have people serving in kingdom roles of many kinds – the list is pretty extensive and shows no signs of changing (though those roles themselves and the people in them may change!) Endewearde is a strong part of the East Kingdom.
We would see those kinds of opportunities encouraged, as they bring glory to both the individual and our Barony. We like to consider Endewearde like a wellspring of excellent talent from which the kingdom can draw. However, to get that experience, one must first have the chance to excel locally and and all local excellence helps the Kingdom.
We envision being great cheerleaders for our local talent – from bringing A&S exhibits to events when an individual cannot make it to encouraging our Baronial showing at Pennsic court to attend en masse, it’s a pretty easy cause to champion.
A number of candidates are involved with either local offices, kingdom offices, or kingdom projects. How will becoming baron/ess effect your role in these positions?
As mentioned above, it’s a great reality that we are so “ burdened by service” in Endewearde.
Both Nero and Aneleda have a depth of service in different directions.
Aneleda attends several Royal Progress events during an average year and travels widely throughout the kingdom. Nero is more of a homebody. While he attends some Kingdom-level events (where he is usually found helping the royals or lugging stuff around) he largely attends regional events in Endewearde and Malagentia, and again, is often tapped to help in some fashion.
Aneleda has been active assisting the last sets of Royals with their online presences, and is involved in the East Kingdom College of Performers (where she is Chair of Music of the Modern Middle Ages in the Department of Music), and is an active member of the Eastern and SCAdian bardic community. (She is sort of a sucker for a good project, which is unlikely to change.)
Keeping the home-fires burning is really important to both of us. We find that our particular union in this endeavor may allow us to enjoy the benefits of Aneleda’s wanderlust (extending the “baronial bragging rights” wide and far) and yet enjoy the benefits of Nero’s constant home here in Endewearde.
Will you camp at war with your barony?
The desire to keep members feeling a sense of baronial identity and the need to foster newcomers sometimes results in a baronial camping dynamic at large events such as GNEW and Pennsic. What would be the input of the baronial heads on this dynamic? Would they take the lead in establishing baronial encampments or would they camp in their traditional arrangements?
The members of the Barony need to take point on this particular matter. It’s not the role of the Baron and Baroness to establish an encampment – it is, simply stated, a gigantic job. However, it IS the job of the Baron and Baroness to create a space in which all members of the Barony may be comfortable, and establish and attend Baronial gatherings as part of a larger event.
We’d expect the Baronial arms to be displayed when the Baron and Baroness are “in state” and at all “official” gatherings at an event (such as a Baronial breakfast at Pennsic, or a Baronial BBQ at GNE.) We envision the “Baronial Encampment” as where-ever the Baron and Baroness are camped until such time as the Barony chooses to have a dedicated local encampment at events. We do not imagine that we would be prepared to be the founders of the Baronial encampment, though we would certainly play host to gatherings at events.
We would also ask groups who camp together to consider playing host for Baronial events too – perhaps a Baronial Breakfast at one camp, and the BBQ at another, but of course, both of those would be open to all of the Barony. We are ALL a part of the Barony so it’s not like it lives only on the ground the Baron and Baroness are sleeping on at the moment (thankfully!)
Will you continue to play and support the Barony if you don’t win?
This question was posed to us by a current territorial head. When we considered it, we just looked at each other blankly, astonished that it would need be asked at all.
If we’re going to trust in the wisdom of the populace and Crown to possibly appoint us, then we also have to trust in the wisdom of the populace to appoint someone else. We operate under the assumption that everyone would share this feeling.
Other questions TBA…
Endewearde is blessed with good neighbors (Smithwick, Malagentia, Hadchester, Lyndhaven, etc.) all around. What do you see as your role as baronial seat in building bridges with those neighbors and including them in our activities and vice versa so that there is no “them” and “us” culture? Are there cooperative ventures we might undertake with those groups to prevent the possible perception that we are becoming exclusive?
Two of the Northern Watch survey points revolved around our local group:
Rallying point for Eneweardians and Encouragement of local activities.
What is ‘Endewearde’ to you? How do you see our local future? What do we do
well? What do we do poorly? How might our Baron/ess serve our local identity?