The Kingdom Laws of Ansteorra Regarding Laurels

Kingdom law can and does change over time - if in doubt, always refer to the most current published version. These sections are from the Kingdom Laws Of Ansteorra on the Ansteorran kingdom website. Below are excerpted the sections of Kingdom Law dealing with peerage and specifically with the members of the Order of the Laurel.

ARTICLE III: RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF THE NOBILITY AND PEERS

1. The counselors of the Crown are: the Territorial Barons/esses, the Great Officers of State, the Peers, and the Nobility of Ansteorra. The Crown should consult with the appropriate councils regarding issues and matters of State.
   
   

Section 2: Peers

1. The Peerage of Ansteorra shall consist of the Orders of The Chivalry, the Laurel, and the Pelican. The Kingdom of Ansteorra shall recognize foreign Patents of Arms as equal to its own.
   
   
2. Any Peer of the Realm shall have the right and duty to petition the Crown on their own behalf and at the request of the people.
   
   
3. The members of any or all Orders of Peerage may be called into counsel at the pleasure of the Crown.
   
   

ARTICLE VII: COURTS

Section 3: Courts of the Realm

1. There shall exist two levels of formal investigative courts within the realm of Ansteorra. They shall be the Court of Inquiry and the Court of Chivalry. Such courts are to investigate matters pertaining to the operation of the Kingdom and matters of Kingdom Law in the medieval context. At no time shall these courts consider matters of mundane law.
   
   

1. The Court of Inquiry shall be called at the Crown's discretion to consider such topics as the Crown may deem appropriate.
   
   
2. The makeup of the Court of Inquiry is solely at the Crown's discretion.
   
   
3. The Court of Inquiry shall make any recommendations to the Crown in writing no more than 15 days following the close of the inquiry.
   
   
4. The Court of Inquiry shall send copies of all documentation and any final report to the Kingdom Seneschal to be placed in the permanent Kingdom record.
   
   

2. The Court of Chivalry shall be the highest level of formal investigative court in the Kingdom of Ansteorra. It shall consider matters judged to be of significant interest to the Kingdom and the Society. The Court of Chivalry shall be called at the Crown's discretion.
   
   

1. Any member of the populace can petition the Crown to call a Court of Chivalry.
   
   
2. The Court shall consist of an odd number of justices numbering no less than three, to be appointed by the Crown.
   
   
3. The Kingdom Seneschal shall preside as chief administrator over the Court unless the charges disqualify him. In such cases the Crown will appoint another Kingdom Officer to act in his place.
   
   
4. The Court of Chivalry shall be empowered, if the matters before it are sufficiently grave, to request the intervention of the Board of Directors of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. concerning these matters.
   
   
5. The Court of Chivalry shall be the only court that can recommend the degradation of any award or title.
   
   
6. Those members of the Peerage who are not involved in the proceedings shall act as the advisors to the Court.
   
   
7. All persons involved in a Court of Chivalry shall be given a chance to present their case, with witnesses and supporting documentation.
   
   
8. The Court of Chivalry shall be held only at Kingdom or Regional Calendar SCA events. It shall be conducted in an open public forum.
   
   
9. The Court of Chivalry shall make any recommendations to the Crown in writing no more than 15 days following the close of the inquiry.
   
   
10. Any recommendations of the Court of Chivalry shall be published in the next available Black Star.
    
    
11. The Court of Chivalry shall send copies of all documentation and any final report to the Kingdom Seneschal to be placed in the permanent Kingdom record.
    
    

ARTICLE X: CORONET SUMPTUARY LAWS

Section 9: Laurel Wreaths

1. Masters and Mistresses of the Laurel may wear any non-metallic laurel wreath on their heads. Metallic laurel wreaths may be worn only if:
   
   

1. The top does not follow any specific form listed above for coronets (i.e., triple lobes, embattlements, semi-circles, engrailments, flat tops.
   
   
2. Only the wreath itself is metallic (no metal background or framework).
   
   
3. It is open at least two inches in the front.
   
   
4. The leaves are green, or decorated with significant amounts of green detail.