The Charter of the Company
The Carolingian Company of Bowmen was chartered in November of 1976.
The name of the Company was registered with the S.C.A. College of Heralds in July of 1990.
The Company badge was registered by Marian of Edwinstowe in July of 1980, and transferred to the Barony in July of 1990. It is blazoned (described heraldically) as:
Azure, a pall wavy between three pairs of arrows inverted in saltire Or.
The Document:
The Charter document was calligraphed and illuminated by (???).
In 2004, Lord Duncan Stewart had the venerable document professionally framed with archival materials as his generous gift to the Company. The framed document was presented at a meeting of the Company on January 2, 2005.
Click on either thumbnail to see a larger image.
The Text:
I, Lady Gillian of the Green Woods, Gonfaloniere & Vicar of the Barony of
Carolingia in the Eastern Kingdom, Society for Creative Anachronism, on
behalf of the Great Council of Carolingia, do recognize the
Carolingian Company of Bowmen
as the First Company of the Barony, with all the duties & privileges
enjoyed by Guilds of the Barony, particularly including the right to a
seat on the Great Council.
The aims of the Company are: to promote the enjoyment & practice of
archery in the Barony; to study the practice, equipment , & standards of
archery during the Middle Ages; and to train archers, that they may assist
in the defense of the Barony should that necessity ever arise.
Membership in the Company shall be open to any Carolingians who attend
three practice sessions within a three-month period; show knowledge of
the rules of archery safety; make a pledge of honor, courtesy, & safety in
the practice of archery; and buy their positions into the Company.
Advancement to the ranks of Bowman, Companion Bowman, and Master Bowman
may be achieved by meeting standards set by the Company.
Any archer may be forbidden to shoot for the day by the Officer in charge,
at that Officer's discretion. A member of the Company who violates the
Pledge of Honor may be removed permanently from the Company by the Captain
with the concurrence of two-thirds of the other members.
The Company shall be commanded by a Captain chosen by the members of the
Company. Other officers will be named by the Company as the need occurs.
The Company shall have full charge of its own finances, which shall remain
independent of the Baronial exchequer. The Company itself shall be
independent & not part of any other archer's guild, company, or corps.
In return for these privileges, the Carolingian Company of Bowmen shall
come to the aid & defense of Carolingia in times of war or other peril;
shall make available to any member of the Barony the results of the
Company's investigations into the art of mediaeval archery; shall hold its
tourneys open to all who will abide by its rules & safety standards; and
shall hold these tourneys publicly for the enjoyment of the Barony.
In recognition whereof, I this day set my hand & seal, granting to the
Carolingian Company of Bowmen this Charter, to be kept by them from this
day forward. 13 November A.S. IX (C.E. 1976)
(signed) Lady Gillian of the Green Woods
(Note by Ruadh 11/15/04: The A.S. date is incorrect -- it should be A.S. XI.)