[Regia-NA] "what's an Authenticity Officer look like"?

[Steve Etheridge]

Guğrum wrote
>Well, Kim asked for an opinion, and then a lot of what I would have covered 
>was brought up by Tom in a posting on Wednesday.
>

My thanks to my esteemed predecessor (and current group leader) for saving 
me the effort of typing out that answer!

There is one thing I would add, and that is this - you have, ultimately, to 
make the descisions by which the society is judged.  You have to listen to 
evidence and decide wether something is allowed.  It is often not a simple 
matter - for example, there may be an unshakeable piece of provenance for a 
perfectly made article of kit, and yet in the context that it is being used, 
it is wrong.

Often (especially at shows) this can lead to an argument which comes down to 
"because I say so" - not because you have no reasons, but the reasons that 
you need are buried in a book two hundred miles away.

Thus, it makes so much sense to check the kit before it even enters the car 
- which means that the members have to be (in part) responsible for thier 
own kit.  It also means that whenever we do something, we have to explain 
(_I_ have to explain!) the context of what we are doing.  Thus a show on the 
Wirral with a dateline of 902 will be very different from a show in Norfolk 
datelined 1080

One of the things that I would like to set in place (encouraged in part by 
questions that have been raised by this group) is a "book of provenance", 
that is a list of everything that we allow, and why.  All help gratefully 
received!  I suspect that it will take the form of a website, but I will 
sort that stuff out with the techies when my feet are a little further under 
the table.

The other thing which may be in order is a set of regulations.  I helped 
draught the MaA regs, but Authenticity is a different challenge.  What I 
will be looking at is not "what you can have" (for which see the "book of 
provenance"), but the way in which Authenticity is run in the society - 
rules of provenance, context, kit checks and the like.  Is a bog-find from 
iron-age Denmark a good guide to what a late c11th English nobleman would 
wear? (Discuss).  That way, everyone will know where the playing field is, 
as well as how level it is.

Of course, the other thing that i must do is listen.  I don't mind people 
asking me questions, and have a bad habit of occasionally answering them 
:-).  If I give any advice, I will back this up with reason and provenance.  
If I make a ruling (a different animal entirely), then not only the person 
asking the qestion but the whole of the society will know about it.  Rulings 
will only be issued after a process of consultation and proof (to be set out 
in the regs)

Well, that's my take on the job, and you're stuck with it for the next 2 
years 51 weeks <Manical laughter>  I look forward to working with you all.

Steve Etheridge

P.S. In answer to the original question, approx 5'9", long hair and goatee 
beard.  Go on, spot me amongst a crowd of re-enactors!

>
>You do need to know a bit about everything, and you also need to know where 
>to look, or who to ask, for more specific information on fields which may 
>not be your strongest suit.
>
>
>However, there are almost certainly people who know specific crafts better 
>than I do, so I make sure I stay on good terms with them all.
>
>
>Tact is very necessary, as commenting on a piece of 'wrong' kit which
>someone has spent hours, maybe hundreds of hours, on, inevitably means that 
>you come in for a lot of flak. A thick skin helps ;-), though confidence in 
>your own judgement is probably more important. Remember that as a last 
>ditch recourse, the custom and practice of Regia is that the member needs 
>to provenance their kit/new item, not you - "OK, so tell me, where did you 
>find the evidence for Saxons wearing pixie boots?"
>
>
>One of the other main criteria is the ability to attend events. The reason 
>that the last three National AO's have stepped down was their inability to 
>attend as many events as they felt they ought - in all cases brought on by 
>the advent of small bipedal hominids - Seibhyrt be warned, becoming AO is 
>the first step to parenthood ;-).
>
>Guğrum


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