Awards of the East Kingdom
by Mistress Jessa d'Avondale
There are many different awards given out by the King and Queen of the East. For a good number of these, the royalty use the recommendations of their subjects when deciding who is deserving of an award. Anyone in the SCA (regardless of which awards they hold themselves) may write to the royalty to recommend another person for any award. An article on writing letters of recommendation is available online.
An Award of Arms is the first award that most members receive. An AoA can be given for different reasons; usually it is for helping out in some area, or for participation or achievement on the field or in the arts and sciences. There is no requirement for how long recipients must have been active in the SCA ; in general AoA's are given to members after they've shown that they're serious about taking part in the SCA, and that they are giving back as much or more to the group as they are getting from it.
There are five East Kingdom "Orders of High Merit." They are accompanied by an Award of Arms, if the recipient does not already have one. These are "polling orders" - the royalty sends a list of all the candidates under consideration to the companions of each order, so that they may reply to the royalty with their opinions and advice.
Order of the Silver Crescent: given for service to the Kingdom: either long service within an area of the Kingdom from which the entire Kingdom benefits, or by continuing service in ways which directly benefit a large portion of the Kingdom.
Order of the Maunche: given for arts and sciences, either for excellence in one specific area or for surpassing competence in several.
Order of the Tygers Combattant: given for prowess at SCA combat, either for excellence in one weapons form or for surpassing competence in several.
Order of the Sagittarius: given to those who distinguish themselves in archery, whether by teaching, making archery equipment, demonstrating superior prowess at the butts or on the combat field, or helping to arrange archery events and/or sites.
Order of the Golden Rapier: given for excellence in the art of fence, including superior prowess in the lists, teaching, and promoting and expanding the knowledge of the art.
Other East Kingdom awards you can recommend people for include:
Order of the Tyger's Cub: given to children who display admirable virtue and decorum at events. Members act as pages to the royalty until they reach the age of 18.
Order of the Troubadors: given for vocal entertainment, especially for encouraging others to join in or respond in kind.
Order of the Terpsichore: given to recognize the recipient's consistent and unselfish devotion of their talent to helping a great many others acquire a knowledge and understanding of dance and polite court movement.
King's Order of Excellence: given by the King to those who maintain a high standard of authenticity in their dress, behavior, persona, and goods, in the feast hall, in their encampments, and on the field.
A full list of awards can be found in Kingdom Law. An article on all kingdom awards, honors, and recognitions, with pictures of the Orders' badges, is also online.