Chivalry Vision
The Chivalry Department of The Augustan Society, Inc., would engage in the following activities:
Contents
Chivalry Committee
The Chivalry Committee is composed of the Chivalry Chairman, the chairmen of any committees assigned to the Chivalry Department, such additional members as the Chairman sees fit, and the President and Consuls as ex officio members.
The Chairman is named by the President and serves at his pleasure. The members are named by the Chairman, and serve at his pleasure.
All activities of the Chivalry Department fall under the control of this Chivalry Committee unless the Board or Chairman has created another Committee and charged them with responsibility.
Recognition of Orders of Chivalry
Presently, the Chivalry Committee will consider recognition of Orders (and organizations of a chivalric nature) only when presented with a petition and payment. Delistings (and occasionally listings) are done motu propicio.
While it seems that the Chivalry Committee has a very clear idea of what constitutes or disqualifies an Order from respectability, this needs to be documented for the guidance of those who follow. These standards should also be published, so as to offer perspective on our list of recognitions.
Proposal: The Society should work toward the goal of maintaining and publishing the criteria by which the Society will judge Orders of Chivalry (and organizations of a chivalric nature) worthy of Society recognition or not.
Proposal: The Society should work toward the goal of having a fully comprehensive and public listing of Orders of Chivalry (and organizations of a chivalric nature) which the Society has judged worthy of recognition.
Proposal: The Society should work toward the goal of maintaining and keeping private a list of those Orders of Chivalry (and organizations of a chivalric nature) that we have examined and found unworthy, along with the disqualifying conditions, so as to speed reconsideration should those change, and so staff can answer either "yes", "no", or "we haven't yet considered them" as appropriate.
Recognition of Membership in Orders of Chivalry
Presently, the Chivalry Committee will consider recognition of rank and membership in recognized Orders only when presented with a petition and payment. Delistings are done only under exceptional circumstances, usually involving deliberate fraud by the individual.
While it seems that the Chivalry Committee have a very clear idea of what constitutes adequate evidence of membership and rank, this needs to be documented for the guidance of those who follow. It is recognized that Orders vary from very public notice to secretive about their memberships, so it won't be a "one size fits all" approach.
Proposal: The Society should work to maintain and publish the standards by which they judge membership and rank in recognized Orders of Chivalry (and organizations of a chivalric nature) worthy of recognition or not.
Proposal: The Society should work to maintain and publish a listing of those chivalric memberships recognized, both for present Augustans and for others.
Maintenance of a List of Orders Qualifying for Crusader Membership in the SDKLJ
Membership in the Society of Descendants of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem in the Crusader Class requires a recognized membership in an Order of Chivalry which fought in the Holy Lands during the Crusades. To administer this condition, staff need a clear list of which Orders qualify.
Proposal: The Society should work to maintain and publish a list of those Orders of Chivalry which the Society recognizes, and which the Society accepts as having fought in the Holy Lands during the Crusades.
Maintenance of a List of Postnominals
There is presently a list of postnominals (and their definitions) on the web site. It is inadequate in scope, undocumented in source, and comes without the full support of the Chivalry Department (it being a webmaster project).
This list needs to be expanded to include all postnominals:
- Recognized by the Society, now or in the past
- Used in Society publications past and present
- Used by Recognized Orders of Chivalry, etc.
The list should indicate which are currently valid and which are currently recognized by the Society. Obsolete and currently unrecognized postnominals need to be included for this list to have optimal utility.
The list must, as a result of the above, include a substantial and unavoidable disclaimer disavowing recognition of those postnominals not so marked.
Proposal: The Society should work to maintain and publish a list of those postnominals used in Society publications, recognized by the Society at any time, granted by the Society, or likely to be of value to members. This list should include postnominals not recognized by the Society for historical purposes, and these should be so flagged.
Library Support
The Department, either through the main Committee, a sub-committee, or a designated officer, will advise the Library Department in matters of accession, classification, and deaccession of materials on this subject.
Article Solicitation
The Department, either through the main Committee, a sub-committee, or a designated officer, will solicit articles on this subject for the Omnibus, in cooperation with the Omnibus Editor.
