Sub-Groups Vision
Consuls vision for the future of the Sub-Groups of The Augustan Society, Inc., is:
Sub-Groups of the Society are of three types:
- Senior Sub-Groups
- Lineage Groups
- Unrelated groups
If the third items seems odd, it is because several organizations with related goals have been given to the Society, and others are widely associated with the Society due to having had common management during the time of our Founder. This page also mentions groups that have been renamed, merged, or abolished as a permanent record of former activities.
Contents
Senior Sub-Groups
The senior sub-groups are distinguished by having a variety of requirements for entry, which in all cases now includes membership in the Society in Good Standing, Arms Registration with the Society, an entry fee, insignia, and annual dues.
What they do not have in common are parallel job titles or any sort of job descriptions. This causes confusion about who should do what, and has permitted some to think their roles are purely ceremonial.
Proposal: The Society should oblige the Order of the Augustan Eagle and Noble Company of the Rose to align their offices and define job descriptions for them. (This work is in progress.)
Order of the Augustan Eagle
This serves as the Society's court of honor, and is one of the highest honors granted. It is limited to 24 members, plus the President in his capacity as the Chief of the Order of the Augustan Eagle. It is governed by the Eagle Council, to whom has been assigned the responsibility to set Member Benefits, the Warrant of Precedence, the Five-Year Plan, and to have the right of first consideration of any amendments to the Mission Statement and Vision Statement. While it is called to meet not less than annually, the addition of the Five-Year Plan responsibility has caused some to advocate for quarterly meetings.
Proposal: The Eagle Council should be called to meet not less than quarterly until the Five-Year Plan stabilizes.
In recent years, most participation by Eagle Council members has been via proxy, despite the meetings being held via teleconference, largely negating the value of their offices.
Proposal: The Order of the Augustan Eagle should repeal the provision of the Rule of the Order that permits proxies at meetings.
The Order has, at times, been unable to appoint enough Council members to muster a quorum. It has been suggested that standards be lowered at such times to permit contniued operation.
Proposal: The Order of the Augustan Eagle should maintain its standards for membership, even if that might mean periods of dormancy result.
At present, there are not enough members of the Eagle Council to attain a quorum, and the Order is operating under the Eagle Administrator until such time as a quorum is again possible.
Proposal: The Society should document the process for imposing Administrative governance, the process of that governance, and the process for returning to normal operation.
Noble Company of the Rose
Meetings in Chapter were at one time called annually to elect the Magister Rosae for each year, and to conduct other business. This has not happened in some time.
Proposal: The Noble Company of the Rose should return to their former practice of Meeting in Chapter each year during the Annual Convention.
That said, there is no written documentation and only some oral history about the nature of such Meetings in Chapter. This ambiguity is likely one of the reasons that such meetings have been rare.
Proposal: The Noble Company of the Rose should establish the nature of Meetings in Chapter such that they form a legitimate forum for the election of the Magister Rosae and such other activities as may be found appropriate.
The Noble Company is governed by the Rose Council. It is called to meet not less than annually.
In recent years, most participation by Rose Council members has been via proxy, despite the meetings being held via teleconference, largely negating the value of their offices.
Proposal: The Noble Company of the Rose should repeal the provision of their Rule that permits proxies at meetings.
Lineage Groups
The lineage groups are distinguished by the requirements for entry, which do not include Augustan membership, and which do include lifetime membership, insignia, and in most cases a proven descent.
These groups presently comprise:
- Society of Descendants of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem
- Society of Descendants of Ireland
- Society of Descendants of Scotland
- Society of Descendants of the Conquest
Proposal: The Society should name Deans for each of the Lineage Groups, and to encourage them to organize sufficiently that they may contribute to Society programs with more than their entry fees.
Proposal: The Society should consider the creation of additional Lineage Groups in areas not presently served by another organization, and where there is sufficient member interest to suggest that the new group would be a productive part of the Society's programs.
International Chivalric Institute
This was organized by our Founder to encourage discussion of chivalric issues. It's primary manifestation was the monthly ICI Members' Newsletter. The relaunch of this newsletter, perhaps under the Chivalry Committee may be worth considering.
Heraldry Society of the USA
This was organized by our Founder for purposes not entirely clear. Two issues of a newsletter are held. It has been inactive for quite some time.
If enough records are available, it may be worth organizing a "final report" of this group's activities and then formally merging it into the Society.
Octavian Society
This was organized by our Founder as an emergency backup for the Society, and was a sole proprietorship. This was in (over)reaction to a movement by some dissident members to take over the Society and take it in a direction our Founder felt unacceptable.
There is a non-zero possibility that this may be needed again, perhaps as an umbrella organization who would purchase the Society and operate it, perhaps on a for-profit basis, with more stable management than the Society can muster.
The primary activity of the Octavian Society was to publish the Journal of Ancient & Medieval Studies (JAMS) annually for a couple of decades. A few issues of their newsletter have been located, but a decision on reprinting them should wait until the bulk of the issues are available for review.
JAMS may be worth reviving once The Augustan Omnibus is on a solid footing and diverting appropriate articles will not harm it.
