ASC-01-14-20

Ansteorran Story Corps: January 14, 2020: Share a story about a Lion of Ansteorra, or about what being named a Lion meant to you, or what makes the Lions important to Ansteorra.

Don Stephen Paul Blakeley

(Written April 15, 2019, submitted to the wiki on 03/04/2020)

The Lions of Ansteorra are the Keepers/Defenders of the Dream. They have the right/duty to enter into court un-announced and address the populace. The award carries no rank, but is one of the most respected awards in the kingdom.

But what is a Lion? Lions do what must be done for the greater good of the SCA. Sometimes it is big and boastful being loud in court and proclaiming for all the populace. Sometimes it is doing the quiet things, that rarely people notice but that need to be done. A few years back I posted about Iago passing down a pin he had been given 20 years before to a youth bard who went toe to toe with 3 former kingdom bards at Candlemas. Saturday I witnessed another one of those acts of selflessness that make the Lions so loved. I chose not to photograph this due to the expression on his face, but I will give wordfame even so.

When it was announced that there was no Lion Medallion to be given to Avery, Robin of Gilwell looked down at his own medallion and even though it was personalized for him with his badge on the back, Robin pulled the medallion from around his neck, quietly and without any words I could hear handed it to Her Majesty Conal to place around Avery's neck. The look on his face told how much that medallion meant to Robin, but it was what was needed, so it was done, quietly and in the background. My hat is off to you, Robin. Very very well done. That, my friends, is the Soul of Lion to me.