Customs of the West

What is different in the West Kingdom?

This page is for bits of "Inter-Kingdom Anthropology" -- things that we may do differently in the West, compared to the way they are done in some other kingdoms.

This might be useful reading for those new to the West.

The West, in general, is pretty laid-back about most things. There are a few things other kingdoms do that we don't, but generally anyone who does them in the West gets, at most, an eyeroll ;) But there are also exceptions.

Titles

The West is more informal than some kingdoms -- you will run into quite a few "stealth peers" who are Viscounts, Laurels, or whatever but don't wear any insignia of their rank. And there is probably less bowing here than elsewhere, although, of course, it's always appreciated.

People who aren't peers (and many that are) don't always introduce themselves by their titles: They are more likely to say "Hi, I'm Katherine," not "I'm Lady Katherine." No one will blink if you include your title, it's just that most people don't.

"The Honorable Lady/Lord" is not a title that is used in the West. One is either a lady/lord or a peer, there's nothing in between. It's not that a Grant of Arms isn't valued (it is); it's simply that the different title isn't used. Referring to yourself in that way in the West immediately marks you as from out of kingdom -- which could be good or bad, depending on whether you want to advertise that you're new!

Vocabulary

The list field is sometimes referred to as "the Eric." This is a very old, dead joke. (The original list field was marked by red flags, hence Eric the Red.) "List field" however is understood by everyone and is becoming a more common description.

The place where you sign in to the site and pay your fee is called "Gate" (not "Troll" as in some other kingdoms).

The West doesn't generally talk about farspeakers or dragons; they are called telephones and cars (occasionally carts or wagons) respectively. Children are usually called children or pages, not "smalls."

Sumptuary Customs

The West has very few sumptuary laws (compared to some other kingdoms), but it does have customs.

The West can be very, very picky about white belts and chains being only for Knights. Squires here may or may not have red belts, but do NOT have the right to a silver chain. All unadorned neck chains are knights-only here. Not everyone in the kingdom cares that much, but there are enough people who do that anyone wearing a neck chain or a white belt WILL get a comment on it sooner or later.

A red belt may get a question "Who are you squired to?" but other people occasionally wear belts that happen to be red and don't seem to get a lot of flak about it. Green and yellow belts are not reserved to apprentices or proteges here, although some do wear them. Many apprentices/proteges wear no sign at all.

There is no requirement in the West that people have an Award of Arms before they can wear a metal circlet. It's generally only a problem if it is very large, or has laurel leaves (and you're not a laurel), or pearls or points on the top.

Points of Etiquette

(These are, of course, broad generalizations, YMMV. ;)

The West is one of the kingdoms where criticizing sitting or past royalty is something you Just Don't Do in public. (Of course here, as everywhere, people gripe in private, but not on the kingdom mailing lists or in public places.)

Boasting openly in public about what a great kingdom the West is, especially in front of people from other kingdoms, is another thing that's Just Not Done here (by those with good manners, at least). Because the West was the first kingdom, we may be accused of being snobbish whether we are or not, so we try not to provoke such accusations. (For example, I remember an event in An Tir where among the routine dinner toasts was "To An Tir, the greatest kingdom in the world!" -- you won't hear anything like that in the West.)

"Other kingdoms do thus-and-so" is an argument that often does not work here if you are trying to get the West to do something differently. The West is pretty adamant about doing things its own way, and in fact the argument that "other kingdoms do X" may actually hurt your case if you're trying to change something.

Ringing cell phones and flash photography in Court or other public places are frowned upon.

Ceremonies

The West is very attached to its ceremonial scripts. The wording of ceremonies, fealty, and other official court things is heavily standardized and formal, and if someone wants to use a different script for something like their knighting or elevation to the Order of the Pelican, they will meet with some resistance. (Although it's certainly been done.)

While the "core rituals" are resistant to change, there are bits and pieces of the ceremonies that are variable. (For example, the bestowing of an actual laurel wreath, which isn't part of the usual script, is sometimes added to the Laurel ceremony.)

History

There is an excellent West Kingdom History site at http://history.westkingdom.org/