🚀 go-pugleaf

Greetings from Arval!  Hal Raeburn and Taliesin asked interesting
questions.

> what is it that you believe to be the important factor in
> becoming/choosing an apprentice/squire/protege?

> And for those who are on the other end of the belt..why did you accept
> your Peer's offer, and what do you hope to accomplish in the end?

For brevity, we might adopt the word "associate" as a general term for
these relationships.  I was never the minor player in any such
relationship, though I was once on the verge of accepting a squirehood, but
mundane circumstance interfered.  At the time, I want to enter the
relationship because I admired the knight enormously and felt that there
was a great deal I could have learned from him, on the field but more
importantly off the field in his other endeavors.  He was also a Pelican
and an artisan of some note, and I expected our relationship to draw on all
his skills.

When I consider an associate of my own, I look for an active, well-trained
mind, interest in my own arts, and potential for contribution to the
Society at large.  I can't tell you how I measure potential, but I usually
sum it up this way: I hope that each of my apprentices will someday be able
to win at least half the debates we have.

Taliesin wrote:

> I have heard it said that in practice that it is the squire's knight or
> master who nominates said squire for consideration for the Chivalry.  That
> would seem to make squire-hood a prerequisite for knighthood.

I think (and hope) this is a mis-interpretation.  If a gentle is an
associate, then his master's opinion will be highly valued in any
discussion of elevating him to the peerage.  Many peers will defer to his
master in deciding when he is ready, and may well not mention his name
until his master has opened the discussion.  However, if someone is _not_
an associate, it should certainly not disqualify a candidate from
consideration, and members of the order should consider it their duty to
consider candidates who have no one to speak for them.  I have not observed
in the East that lack of an association is a bar to advancement.  I have
heard that it is often so in other kingdoms but I have no direct
knowledge.

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Arval Benicoeur                                       mittle@watson.ibm.com