A Brief History of the White Scarf

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By Tivar Moondragon

The Order of the White Scarf was originally created as an award in the Principality of Ansteorra in March of A.S. XIII (1979) by their Highnesses Simonn and Tessa. It was intended to provide recognition for excellence in the growing population of rapier fighters in the principality. When Ansteorra became a kingdom in May of A.S. XIV, the order was released from the parent kingdom of Atenveldt to Ansteorra for its continued use. At that time there were some 40 or 50 rapier fighters in Ansteorra, and a few handfuls scattered throughout the rest of the Known World.

Act IV of Cyrano de Bergerac--which mentions Henry of Navarre wearing a white scarf--was the source of the original idea. In the Renaissance a white scarf was worn as a badge of military rank, usually as a baldric, shoulder to hip.

(Original page contains an image of Henri IV of Navarre)

Obviously this style would be unacceptable in an SCA context, so a much smaller version, worn only about the left shoulder, was designed.

There is also a picture of Sir Walter Raleigh wearing a white scarf tied just above his left elbow (see below). I’m not sure if this was also a military badge, or if it is a lady’s favor, but the style of wearing White Scarves in this fashion has become common.

(Original page contains an image of Sir Walter Raleigh)

The Order continued to add new members as the rapier community in Ansteorra grew. It became traditional for the Crown to hold meetings with the Order to discuss potential new members, as well as issues of general interest to the rapier community, such as rules changes or inter-kingdom events. In AS XXIX, the Crown granted the Order of the White Scarf the Right of Consultation, which requires the Crown to consult with the order (although it is not obligated to take any action based on that consultation.) It is also traditional for Ansteorran White Scarves in particular, and the rapier community as a whole, to look to the Queen much more than to the King. This is based primarily on the fact that several prominent members of the White Scarves have Elizabethan personas and we deliberately decided to re-create the "Cult of Gloriana." The Queen's Champion in Ansteorra is traditionally decided by a rapier list; most of the other kingdoms that have rapier combat also have a Queen's Rapier Champion, or something similar.

In October of A.S. XXI (1987), the Kingdom of the Outlands signed a treaty with Ansteorra to create their own Order of the White Scarf.

In June of A.S. XXVII (1992), the Kingdom of Trimaris signed a treaty with Ansteorra and the Outlands to become the third kingdom in the Known World to have an Order of the White Scarf. At about the same time, the Kingdom of the East debated creating their own White Scarf, but decided against it.

In the Spring of A.S. XXVII (1994), Atenveldt and An Tir also joined the White Scarf treaty. Their addition to the treaty was done entirely by mail; previously, the groundwork had been done by mail, but the actual signing was done at an interkingdom event. In this case, there wasn't an interkingdom event conveniently available (Estrella War having just passed, and Pennsic being several months away) so it was decided not to wait.

In January of AS XXX (1996), Atlantia joined the White Scarf Treaty, followed by Caid in November AS XXXI (1996). In October of AS XXXII (1997) The new kingdom of Æthelmearc joined the White Scarf Treaty and in January of AS XXXII (1998) the new kingdom of Artemisia joined. In July of AS XXXVII (2002) The new kingdom of Lochac joined the White Scarf Treaty and in October of AS XXXIX (2004) The new kingdom of Northshield joined the White Scarf Treaty.

The East Kingdom has the Order of the Golden Rapier, which was briefly allied with the White Scarves, but the treaty was abrogated by their Crown in October of AS XXX (1996.)

In May of AS XLII (2007) The order of the Western White Scarf was opened in the Kingdom of the West. While functionally the same as the White Scarf in other kingdoms, internal political considerations prevented the West from signing the White Scarf Treaty. Instead, they received separate “permission to conflict” letters from the other White Scarf kingdoms.

In March of AS XLIII (2009) Ansteorra celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of the Order of the White Scarf.

(Original page contains an image of HRM Elizabeth with some of the White Scarves, and a separate image of a birthday cake )

In June of AS L (2015)the new kingdom of Avacal joined the White Scarf Treaty.

With the creation of the Order of Defense peerage, several kingdoms have decided to close their Order of the White Scarf. Artemisia closed theirs on March 7th, AS 49 (2015), An Tir, Northshield, the West Kingdom, Caid, Lochac and Avacal have closed theirs as well.


All of the Orders carry a Grant of Arms, and it is customary in most kingdoms that holders of the White Scarf are addressed by the title "Don" or "Dona." There was a major discussion in the Heralds' Office in A.S. XXVI (1991) about the use of that title. In AS XV (1980) a decision had been made at the Laurel level that the title "Don" was reserved for knights. This decision was never disseminated to the general populace and, as far as I know, only two knights ever used it. The result of the AS XXVI discussion was that "Don" could be used by anyone with an AoA or above, which is more in keeping with historical practice. (Just to complicate matters, at one time a guild of rapier fighters in the East Kingdom, the League of Rapier Academies--or "Gold Cords"--was using the title "Don" or "Don of Fence" as part of their ranking structure, although they are now using the title "Captain" instead. This group is based upon the London Masters of Defence, but has no "official" status within the East Kingdom.)

White Scarves will sometimes take "cadets," who are special students of that particular Don (somewhat like squires). Cadets traditionally wear a red scarf either tied about their upper left arm or worn about the left shoulder. Cadets are occasionally guilty of pranks or conspiracies for good-natured teasing of the White Scarves.


Kingdoms which have (or have had) the White Scarf, as of February 16 AS L (2016):

Ansteorra

The Outlands

Trimaris

An Tir

Atenveldt

Atlantia

Caid

Æthelmearc

Artemisia The Artemisian Order of the White Scarf was closed on March 7th, AS 49 (2015) in anticipation of the Order of Defense peerage. That may be why there is no longer a viable link on the kingdom webpage.

Lochac

Northshield

The West Kingdom

Avacal

(NOTE: This page from moondragon.info/wiki replicated with the authorization of Aethelyn Moondragon, 05/11/21. It is taken from a Wayback Machine imaging of Tivar's website dated August 15, 2020.)