The Knighting Ceremony of Sir Robert Downey

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This is the outline of the Knighting ceremony my Gracious King allowed to be performed before him. I put it here in the event that it may be helpful for others. This was written February of 2014

If it is still Their Majesties’ pleasure, They will Call Sir Bardolph into Their Presence.

If it is still Sir Bardolph’s wish, he will beg a boon as he sees fit.

The Court Herald will call forth the Candidate.

Mistress Alzbeta will proceed, wearing My Heraldic coat and White wand of Office. She will boast as she sees fit. When she is done,  She will stand to the side, and reference the Display of Banners under which I have fought. (they will process as they are being heralded) 

“Behold, the Banner of the Company of St. Jude, under which Robert has striven to honor those who have died learning the Mastery of the sword” (something along those lines, Alzbeta’s discretion here)”

The Company’s colors will be presented by the Company, in full Warlike Ragalia. (not sure how many will be there.. There may only be one.. Which, of course, is more than fine) 

Next comes The banner of the Company of the Black Swan, affixed upon It’s Lance: 

“Behold, the Banner of the Company of the Black Swan, under which Great Knights have striven with all manner of Cavaliers from all the Kingdoms of Christendom and beyond..” etc etc… Something like that… Alzbeta will do something appropriate.. 

 Next comes My Personal Standard.

“Behold the standard of the good Squire Robert Downey, which has flown upon the Stricken fields of Poland, the Battlements of French castles and countless other wars and skirmishings of your Illustrious House. This will be the last time It will be Displayed…” etc etc.. Again. Nod to Alzbeta.

Next comes Fuyu, as part of my House, throwing Largesse from my Estate.

(small bags with dice, so that the populace too, may be reminded that one must Gamble Their Mortal bodies to Gain Renown. 

Then comes Constance, Leading me with a golden chain about my neck. She will then pause, and remove it from my neck, Delivering me forth to the King’s mercy.

Then, I shall kneel before the King. I will be clothed in a simple White tunic that ends low on my legs. Painted upon the Hem will be images of a Macabre Dance. I will be barefoot, with a freshly shaven head.

(if it his pleasure, the King will then speak)

King: Your Grace, You bring before me a vigilant who is not a young man. He appears scarred from many Campaigns. My Kingdom must be served by Strong Knights. I am not convinced. Would that the Ghosts of My Venerable forefathers, or the Spectre of some Great foreign King  give me advice upon this man.”

Bardolph: Your Majesty, I Agree, he is scarred from much Chivalric Labor.  I must admit, I am not an easy Master. But because of that, I have arranged for the Noble council you seek.

Then, Duke Palymar and Duke Andre will come, Side by side, before the King. And speak as they see fit. (Andre’s physical presence may not happen, but I hope for his council nonetheless in some fashion)

When they have said their peace, they will Retire.

The King will then look upon Me, and Utter: (If it is his pleasure to do so)

“These Noble and Venerable Spectres speak much wisdom. But I am still unconvinced. I know that Long Campaign can also damage a Man’s heart, And my Kingdom is too precious to be protected by a broken man. Would that I could search his heart, so that I may see what is inside him.”

Then Alzbeta will Speak:

Alzbeta: “Your Magesty, Heralds Record the Renown of Men of Coat Armor, but we also have Powers which few posses. I shall now reveal to you the four corners of This Squire’s heart.” (this last sentence will be spoken with commanding authority. Perhaps even a commanding stamp of the foot.

Than Four Men will come forward in full Warlike Harness. (as befitting their tastes) Each will carry an item.

They shall array themselves before the King, standing glorious in arms.

The First will Speak:

Felix: “I am Nobility, and I bring this Chain.” Felix will then speak words as he sees fit, and introduce himself as he sees fit. Those words are up to him. They do not have to be focused on Nobility.” 

When He is done, He will Hand the Chain to Bardolph

The Second will Speak:

Logos: “I am Prowess, and I bring this Belt.” Logos will then speak words as he sees fit, and introduce himself as he sees fit. Those words are up to him. They do not have to be focused on Prowess”

When He is done, He will hand the Belt to Bardolph

The Third will Speak:

Rocky: “I am Wisdom, and I bring these Spurs:”  Gunther will then speak words as he sees fit, and introduce himself as he sees fit. Those words are up to him. They do not have to be focused on Wisdom”

When He is done, He will hand the Spurs to Bardolph

The Fourth will Speak:

Brad: “I am Spirit, and I bring this Sword.” Brad will then speak words as he sees fit, and Introduce himself as he sees fit. Those words are up to him. They do not have to be focused on the Spirit.”

When he is done, He will hand the Sword to Bardolph

When All this is accomplished, then Alzbeta will speak:

“Great King! I shall banish this vision, and Retire, My office thus fulfilled.”

Alzbeta and then the Four will Retire. 

The King will then decide if He wishes to Proceed.  (if he does) 

Good Duke, This man is in your Service. If you would have me Bind him by oath to My Crown, Release him.

Then Bardolph will release me as he sees fit, removing the Belt and Chain of his service.

King: Summon the Members of Our Most Noble Order of the Chivalry.

Herald: Their Majesties call the Knights and Masters-at-Arms of the Society.

King: Noble Sirs, is it your judgment that ___ is worthy to be numbered among our Chivalry in prowess, loyalty, and courtesy?

The Assembled Chivalry shall answer: (assuming they say yes)

King: Right mindful of your prowess on the field, and responsive to the wishes of your peers, we are minded to make you knight. 

Know that to wear the belt and chain of a knight is to hold a sacred trust; that the obligations of knighthood will demand your efforts every moment of your life. 

A knight of the Society must be respectful of all religions, never offending the faith of another. 

A knight must respect all those who are weak or defenseless, whether because of age, infirmity, poverty, or vow, and be steadfast in defending them. 

A knight must love his Kingdom and his province, and fulfill most faithfully his feudal duties to his baron and his King. 

His word must be dependable beyond doubt or question. He must never flee from the face of his foes. He must be generous to all. And, always and everywhere, he must be the champion of the right and the good. 

The Laws of the Society and the customs of the Kingdom require that a knight be prow, as you have demonstrated you are upon the field; that a knight be courteous, as you have shown yourself to be and as these noble gentleman (and ladies) attest; and that a knight be loyal to his Kingdom and the Society. 

Do you then desire to accept the burden of knighthood and swear fealty to the Crown? 

Candidate: I do.

Than Swear fealty and Pay homage to the Crown of the Middle Kingdom.

I shall swear the oath upon Oathbinder

Constance shall then Receive the Belt from Bardolph, and buckle it upon me, saying 

“Wear this belt in token of your Prowess.”

The King shall Receive the Chain from Bardolph, and place it upon me, saying.

“Wear this chain in Token of your Fealty.

The King Shall then Receive the spurs from Bardolph, and buckle them through the belt, saying:

“Wear These spurs in outward token of your new station.

The King shall then Receive the Sword from Bardolph, and I shall receive it as he says:

Bear you this sword with strength, so disposing your heart to goodness that you never use it to injure unjustly, but always in the defense of the  Just and Right.

Then shall the King receive Oathbinder and shall strike the candidate upon the shoulders with the flat, and the forehead with the flat  saying:

For Those that Were

For Those that Are

For those that Will be, Be you a good Knight.

 Rise, Sir _______

Then will the King say:

May this be the last blow you allow unanswered:

The King than shall  then deliver the Buffet. 

He shall then say, “Go now, attend to your Duties.”

Begging the boon for Alzbeta

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I wrote this speech August 2013 to “Beg the boon” for one of my dearest friends. It was a beautiful point in the story arch of our historical reenactment lives, and will always be cherished in my heart.

Majestic Sovereigns, Would  It please you to hear my words? 

My name is Robert Downey, and I am a servant of the Crown which presses upon your Worthy Heads.

I have not always been this.

There was a time when I was a peasant with a burning, violent heart beating in my chest, gazing distantly at the fevered dreams of Knights and Ladies, of Blood and steel and Franchise.

There was a time I wore 9 yards of polyester bunched about my waist, and dreamed. Always dreamed.

And then I met a Slip of a girl on an emerald hill, surrounded the strangest of people. 

She bade me to join this merry band of creatures, and we danced and sang.

And when we could dance no more, 

We spoke of many things. Of colored stones, and Chivalry. Of music and magic. Of Nobility and baseness. Of life and death. Of secret struggles and public Defiance. We ruminated endlessly upon the fevered dreams of Knights and Ladies, of Blood and steel and Franchise.

Then one evening, around the campfire upon the Emerald hill, She posed  a question to me: “Why can’t we be Great?”

Her question changed the course of my life.

Years passed on that Emerald hill. We changed, as did the world. I have been blessed beyond measure, and have had Many bloody adventures. 

For ever and always, I seek to answer her question.

And for Ever, and always in my adventures, that Slip of a Girl has been there.

I came to understand the wisdom, beauty, and unfailing Nobility which she possesses.  I delighted in her own adventures, and have been restrained by her wisdom. There have been times where I would have Burned the world, were it not for her counsel. And I still would, should she wish it. With a single word, I would frolic in the blood of her enemies, and dance upon their desecrated corpses, lustfully drunk on indignant violence. But ever she refrains giving that word. In this way, she embodies Chivalry, as a Noble Lady should, for what is Chivalry if not the restraint of violent men.

I have seen her bend her will to so many tasks. Seen so many facets. She has been Archer, Man at arms, Confidant to Kings, Defender of the weak, Campaigner, embroiderer, Kitchen hand, Mule, Musician, Performer, Illustrator, Storyteller, comforter, Noble Lady, Delighted reveler, Messenger of Generals, Spy, Family.

I have seen her push brooms at midnight, and outdazzle the sun at mid day.

I have seen her joyfully laugh as she dances Toss a Wench, and heard her spit her defiance as she charged tuchuks holding Castle gates.

I have seen her exercise Nobility through trials that shall never be spoken of, and Joys that can never be described.

I have seen her swear the Oath of your Populace countless times.

Quite simply, as I have the great honor of speaking for the Populace, I have seen her revel in being one of us, and I have seen that she is one of the greatest among us.

As a, humble, Student of the Laws of Chivalry, I have studied the oaths of Your Great Kingdom,  and In doing so, have observed an interesting thing.

The oaths you have taken, Great Sovereigns, are what they are, and you are discharging them with wisdom  by elevating this Most Noble Lady. I suspect more perfectly and more effectively than even your greatness realizes, if I may be so bold.

The oaths of your Knights are what they are.

As are the Laurels.

Soon, we shall hear Azlbeta swear the oath of the Pelican, We shall see her weave her thread around the tapestry that is Oathbinder.

But the oath of the Populace is an entirely different thing.

For as you know, it is open ended.

The great oaths of state specify what you are promising. The Knight enjoys his station and in return is Foremost in battle, etc etc. etc.

For oaths of fealty, are, by definition, Contracts.

But to swear the oath of the populace……….

It is an open ended contract. 

A contract that clerks who make themselves powerful by the terrible engine of the law would NEVER counsel anyone take! 

“To serve where serve I might”

Simple. Unlimited, Trusting. 

Alzbeta has served our oath, in ways unexpected and unheralded. Ever and always with Nobility and Greatness.

And through her service she has created the fevered dreams of Knights and Ladies, of Blood and steel and Franchise.

She has touched all of you, even if you do not know it. Especially because you do not know it.

With her simple question, posed upon an Emerald Hill, She created me.

In my simple mind, Your Majesties, your Crown is a Symbol of the Nobility of the Populace. One which you are sworn to Protect. You discharge your duties skillfully by doing this thing.

But I beg you understand one thing, Great Sovereigns.

If the Populace is, indeed, reflected by the Majesty of your Crowns, Alzbeta is the greatest jewel upon your brows.

Unto the Descendants of Logos

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I wrote this challenge in October 2019. It was an open challenge to the squires of my shared lineage in the SCA to step forward and excel.

“Unto the Squires and dependents who serve the Descendants of Logos, He who is Fons Honorum of a Great and Noble Lineage, do I, Robert Downey, Knight and Vassal to the Dragon throne send greetings.

I have been overlong in the attendance of the affairs of my estate, and have grown fat and weak with the pleasures of the table and of soft flesh. 

Though my hand still knows the lover’s embrace of good steel, I can feel the weakness in me, and I am angry.

The Fryers mewl incessantly that for every thing there is a season. What do they know of Nobility? Nothing but the defilement of noble daughters in the Cloysters, is what I say. 

The tilling of fields, and the prattlings of clerks and money changers have lulled me into a stupor. I have been distracted by Peasants and Merchants… feeding upon comfort and greed… for that is their magic.. These creatures wield cunning engines of gold and ledgers of lies that promise wealth. I have not paid attention, and have allowed my lust for Knightly adventure to be shackled.  But I will not yet allow my standard to be furled for the final time. 

I awake, as if from some drug addled torpor. I have sinned against Chivalry by allowing my harness to tarnish, my manhood to grow limp and flaccid, like some Flemish cloth merchant with soft hands and throw pillows.

I admit that I have drank deeply in the past from the cup of worshipful honor, seeking renown and Knightly adventure. But past renown is like a fine pair of Brais.

Certainly they are wonderful to wear, for a time, but if not renewed they begin to stink and chafe.

And so I challenge you, you men of coat armor who serve the scions of Logos. I have worn the legacy chain of our ancestor for too long. 

Awake from your slumber, as I am, and seek out worshipful honor. Earn your spurs with your deeds, not your words. Put aside your vapid politics, your complaints and excuses, your finely crafted whining about how things “should be” and give me the pleasure to pass this relic on. 

For once more, I ride in search of stricken fields, and I would not have this Hoary and Honorable chain of Fealty rot with my worthless corpse should I gamble once too often with my Body.

Tell me, Mia Familia, What will you do to win worshipful honor when the snow thaws, and the Destriers strengthen upon new grass for the summer campaigns? 

What Chivalric enterprise will you put forth and have heralds cry before the Culture of Chivalry?

Strive above your station! Throw yourself to the hazard and win Renown, or Die trying…

I grow weary of wearing this Chain, and wish to pass it on. Don’t make me die with it around my neck….. 

I have many other relics to pass on, but you are not worthy of them yet. If I have to bury them in a cold tomb rather than pass them on, I will haunt you and your sons to seven generations…. This I swear. “

Heraldic Introduction for Ambrose St. John

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I wrote this in late 2019 to act as herald for my Brother Brad/Ambrose.

“Great sovereigns

I bring before you Isabella Margaret, peerless lady and Ambrose St. John, constrained by the chains of chivalry.

 stripped of shining harness, clothed only in knightly truth.

exercised of reverence and generosity in  high halls and base hovels.

shield of the weak in all the realms of God’s earth. 

Ever at the vanguard, always possessed of Knightly joy, obedient ever to the sacred laws of Chivalry.

You would expect nothing less of your Heirs, and your People should expect nothing less from their Sovereigns.

Noble combatants, today, God has brought before you a test. For that is what this man has been bred and trained to do. 

Will you be Noble? Will you be courteous? Will you be worthy of the love of our Great King’s people? 

If you face this man today, the truth of the matter will be layed bare.

This man’s Knightly defiance willl lay bare the truth of you for all to see. Look you well to your honor, and serve your consorts Nobly, for my brother will test it this day. 

Such a thing is right and such a thing is good.”

I used to have a blog that had around 12,000 subscribers.

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I suppose this was an accomplishment. I have been told from some folks that it was a really useful and meaningful resource to them.

It started innocently enough. I just wanted to communicate with my friends. But it grew to something larger over time, at least for me. It turned into an ongoing public journal of a young man striving for proficiency in the art-form of swordplay, and the harder discipline of creating some form of meaning out of a chaotic, and sometimes very painful life. 

I tried very hard to keep the pain out of my writings. Sometimes I was successful… mostly I communicated my own journey regarding my martial practice, and the changes and challenges that wrought  in me. Certainly there were some profound changes, I learned who I was, how much pain I was capable of handling and moving forward in a metaphorical sense, and that gave me the courage or at least the stubbornness to move through the real pain in my life that wasn’t written about. 

After my heart was broken with the corruption and disillusionment associated with the ACL, I was unable to continue writing and sharing. 

That, coupled with the fact that aspects of my personal struggles had bled into my SCA life created an atmosphere inside my heart that I didn’t want to share anymore because sharing meant exposing very painful and personal struggles and heartaches. 

Then, my Brothers Brad and Mark facilitated the opportunity to work on the oil pipeline. It was a fantastic, super difficult, lucrative, and rewarding experience that isolated me from my personal struggles. It was something to latch onto.

Then Monica opened the door for my current employment opportunity. This unique place created a way for me to almost literally disappear into an existence where I could isolate myself almost completely. It felt good.. 

But the painful things that I had and have to deal with simply waited. In the dark at the end of the day, they came back and ate at me.

I stopped caring for myself some ways. But I also found immense joy and fulfillment in the people I work with, and the ones I have come to love that were not a part of past personal nightmares. 

These things are easy to focus on to the exclusion of dealing with past wounds. 

I feel like the past two years has been exactly that… yes, my Brothers helped me stay alive by caring for me when I didn’t answer them, for continuing to want my companionship even when it was frustrating, and profound love did effuse my life.

But these problems remain, and they continue to isolate me from those things that I love in an unconscious way.

As in Battle, the only way to win through is to be painfully  honest with one’s self regarding past mistakes, current landscapes, and what tools you actually have rather than what you think you have, or what you used to have.

I suppose that is what this is for me. No, I’m not going to share a litany or pity party crap from the past, but I cannot move forward without acknowledging them, and I cannot re-e communities that mean so much to me without the probability of old ghosts and embarrassments poking their ugly head out of the swamp,

But that’s what a Knight does. I have trained the majority of my life to be one of those people, and that is the battlefield upon which I find myself. 

I’m not sure if any of this makes sense from an external perspective, but perhaps it doesn’t have to. Opening a dialog requires communication and honesty, and perhaps this is what I am trying to convey. I need to be honest with the world to be able to say the things I need to say; to be able to make the impact that I am supposed to make. Life is so very precious, and I have learned so many things; been given so many opportunities and been invested in by so many amazing people that it is cowardly to not share the voice I have been given because I am afraid of having to deal with past pain. 

Living an artful life is, ultimately,  all about vulnerability and honesty. We are put on this plane of existance to add our thread to the eternal tapestry of the universe, and if we are so afraid of the color our our thread that we stop weaving it with others, we are unworthy of the opportunity. 

I want to honor those who love and invest in me, and so to do that I have to be vulnerable and honest.

I am sorry that I have been missing. I think I have been mourning things that I cannot verbalize and I have not shared. That’s ok. It’s ok to mourn. But I’m not dead yet, and I have things to say. 

So it is time for another kind of courage. It is time to open my heart and splatter my paint on the canvas again regardless of what the critics say, or if I spill paint on the walls while I’m doing it. 

If I don’t, the inevitable outcome is that the Divine will cut off my thread, and I will fade in the memories of those who mean the most to me. 

I can’t go quietly into the dark because I’m afraid. 

Writing: The memory of Trees

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Old man Quakey slowly allowed the wind to turn his head. He looked down at the strange creature at his feet.

Time is different for trees folk; and even though Aspens live relatively short lives, it had been many times of springing since something has disturbed Old man Quakey’s thoughts of roots and leaves and seeds.

Now, he tasted something… different. He sipped at the bright red water. There was something in it; a memory from this creature.

He had tasted memories before. He had tasted the long slow memory of this mountain; had enjoyed the bouquet of lives upon lives building up the rich soil his feet were buried in.

So many lives… lives filled with mating and dying and eating and howling. Lives of the small things that ate death and lives of bigger things that sometimes feasted upon his sprigs in the summer; lives of things that scored his sides with antlers in their rutting lust and died shaking at his feet in the sleeping time.

But this memory, the memory he sipped now from the strange two legged creature, the memory brought to him from the red water that was soaking into his feet…. These were more….. complicated.

A rush of images that made Quakey’s leaves shake in the breeze crashed into his heart… This was of color…. He was looking at himself through this memory… There was something about the color…

He felt his leaves.. they were dying. It was the time of changing; The time of drawing in; the time before the sleeping. Old man Quakey was confused… why would the color of dying be so strong a flavor in this creatures life water?

He sipped a bit more. There seemed to be a lot of it. It was hot and heady and tasted of joy and life and death.

There was that color again… that rush…. This time, the Tree, in it’s Tree like eyes, saw a girl. Her hair was the color of the changing; the color of His own crowned Majesty. Some of the hair curled around an eye the color of the most beautiful sapling. That color was contrasted by her skin and made Old Quakey think of moonlight and starlight.

Love….. aching love…. What is love?

Quakey did not understand… perhaps love was like the life the mountain gave him. Perhaps it was the sweet rain that soothed his new leaves at the time of springing.

Perhaps……

The life blood was cooling now… There was less of it. it was coming from a rend in the creatures side. A shaft with flying thing feathers on the end protruded from the creature’s trunk.

Old man Quakey drank again…. This time he tasted……. Sorrow? Regret?

He did not understand these things..

The last of the red life pulsed from the creature’s wound…. in respect, Old man Quakey drank the last of it; tasted the last memory. the old Tree saw hair the color of his leaves again…. surrounding the face with the green eyes… arrayed around like his very own halo of Changing; lying on the sweet grass of the springing.

And now, it was gone. Old man Quakey remembers now, remembers the red hair. He will remember it until He rots and feeds his children with his bones… They will taste him and remember. They will remember the red hair when they also feel the changing, and their color, in their time, will match this precious memory.