Prowess is but one of the virtues of Chivalry--one of eight overarching virtues in my personal code. Yet, Prowess seems to get disproportionate emphasis over the other virtues. There are some clear reasons for this, I think.
Prowess tends to be obvious. This is especially so in the SCA, where competitions yield obvious victors. Sufficient victories and you get a reputation for being "good," of having Prowess. Often, a reputation for Prowess is seen as end in itself; it is enough to be good at one or two things. Further, it is not always so easy to recognize manifestations of other virtues, or to realize the advantage of demonstrating them, especially in competitions.
Modern Western culture is competitive. And victory is often the only acceptable indicator of success. Though we say, "It doesn't matter who wins or loses..," we mostly celebrate who wins. In this way today's SCA is more of a reflection of modern society than a protest against it. There seem to be few things society, and the Society, cannot turn into a competition these days.
Prowess is the foot in the door to recognition. We all love a winner. And, though there are few awards or orders in the SCA for simply doing one thing well, most martial orders understandably have a minimum level of Prowess required before a candidate is considered. Most such orders, especially the Peerages, have other requirements that get much less emphasis than the Prowess component.
So how, in such an environment, do we provide obvious and similar levels of attention and encouragement to the other virtues of Chivalry? How do we ensure what we do is more than a deeply significant tailgate party surrounding a most unique sporting event?
First, we can celebrate, or at least talk openly about, other virtues. King *** has openly encouraged stories of old Meridies, and in such stories, perhaps more than anywhere else, are found seeds of the marvelous, the magical, and the heroic. We can strive to make all Chivalric virtues as familiar to the tongue as winning.
We can recognize manifestations of other Chivalric virtues to the same degree we recognize Prowess. In fact, I would argue that we could de-emphasize Prowess in favor of over-emphasizing the other virtues in selecting champions and tournament/competition victors, and the place of Prowess would not suffer for our efforts.
Judged tournaments were common in our period. Certainly a jury or audience educated to look for evidence of Generosity, Courage, Mercy, and Nobility could readily help identify those combatants who most completely or situationally embody it, and the very process reinforces awareness and importance of those other virtues.
It is a projection of Nobility, in the form of Largesse, to share our own treasures with those who impress us. How better or more personally to celebrate Virtues? Whether from our physical treasury, with the gifting of items, or by the sharing of our Honor, by the granting of word fame in public acknowledgment of virtuous accomplishments, each of us, regardless of station, has Largesse to bestow.
A&S competitions, already contrivances, could be augmented to require demonstration of virtues beyond Prowess. Similarly, in less martial competitions, weight in grading could be added for those who display their own heraldry or couch their activities in persona.
Finally, we can certainly be the change we want to see, personally manifesting the other Chivalric Virtues we would see emphasized, if for no other reason than to demonstrate the possibility and fun of doing so. We can fight, or otherwise compete, with the joy of the art or engagement as enough (as it will have to be for one or more of the competitors, anyway). We can remember that we compete not only (or even primarily) to bring Glory to ourselves, but to bring Glory to those who inspire us. We can manifest Nobility in the style and state of our fighting kit and our comportment within and beyond the competition, and bear ourselves with Humility at all times.
Each small commitment to espouse the "other" chivalric virtues accumulates to something so much better than over-concentration on Prowess.
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