Bylaws Amendments

Amendment I

(This Amendment defines the original Rules of the List. Wonderfully simple, and still mostly true. Anyone looking to derive the essence of our combat style could do worse than start here.)

Amendment I: Attached Exhibit A shall read as amended February 22, 1971, in attached "Exhibit B."

Exhibit B -- The Rules of the List:

1. Each fighter, recognizing, the possibilities of physical injury to himself in such combat, shall assume unto himself all risk and liability for harm suffered by means of such combat.

2. No fighter shall participate in combat unless and until he shall have executed a written waiver of liability and presented same to the King or his representative.

3. Every combatant who has not yet attained the age of 21 years shall present to the King or his representative a written waiver-of-liability form signed by his parent or guardian prior to commencement of combat by such combatant.

4. All combatants must be presented to, and must be acceptable to, the King or his representative.

5. Combatants shall behave in a knightly and chivalrous manner.

6. Fighters are expected to behave as though the weapons used in combat are real and "injuries" sustained will be judged accordingly. In judging "injuries", all fighters are presumed to be fully armoured unless otherwise stated.

7. Each combatant fighting in the lists for the Crown shall have a lady to receive the Queen's Crown should he be successful in combat, though her name need not be revealed until her crown is secure.

8. The head, face, and neck shall be protected from injury.

9. The King or his representative may bar any weapon from use upon the combat field.

10. Any weapons mutually acceptable to the combatants in a fight may be used on the field of battle subject to the provisions of Rule #9.

11. Where the combatants mututally desire to use any weapon previsouly (sic) barred by the King's representative, they may present their cause to the King. The King shall, after receiving the advice of his representative, pass judgement upon the use of the barred weapon for a particular fight. prior to the use of the barred weapon at a subsequent event, it shall be presented to a Court of Chivalry for determination of its safety and use.

12. Any combatant may without dishonor or penalty reject any challenge, or the use of a particular weapon by his opponent, should he deem the weapon unusually dangerous.

13. No tournament weapons shall be made of metal and no metal shall be drawn in an offensive manner on the field at any Society event.

14. If a shield is to be used as a weapon, the shield becomes subject to weapons restrictions and must be approved by the King or the King's representative.

15. There shall be no thrusting except with weapons specifically designed for thrusting, subject to the provisions of Rule #9.

16. A bladed weapon may not be grasped as a means of stopping a blow. If a weapon in broken or dropped on the field, the combat shall stop while the fighter is rearmed. If the fighter slips the combat shall stop while he recovers.

17. No projectile weapons shall be allowed, and No weapons shall be thrown, within the lists of a Tourney. All other uses of such weapons are subject to the provisions of Rule #9.

Amendment II

(This Amendment sets up the concepts behind Membership As We Know It. The categories established here lated for many years after.)

Amendment II: As of January 1st, 1972, Article II, Section 1, Subsection "Class G", shall read as follows:

Class G: Class G Members shall be of five (5) kinds:

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Further, as of January 1st, 1972, Article II, Section 4, Subsection (g), shall read as follows:

(g) (A) Class G Members shall be of five (5) kinds:

(The italics in the names here are from the original.)

(B) Class G members shall be elected to Membership in accordance with a schedule of donations to be determined by the Board of Directors of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.

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Further, as of January 1st, 1972, Article II, Section 4, Subsection (h), shall read as follows:

(h) Any other classes which may be designated by the Board of Directors shall also have means for election of members to such classes designated by the Board.

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Further, as of January 1st, 1972, Article II, Section 4, Subsection (i), shall read as follows:

(i) Any person may have membership in more than one of the above classes, but all Members *must* maintain Membership in Class G.

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Further, as of January 1st, 1972, Article II, Section 1, Subsection "Class H", shall cease to be designated.

(A key moment in the Society. This is the point at which simple participation stopped making one a "member". The friction caused by these two definitions of "members" -- paying money or simply particpating -- was responsible for much of the early 1994 mess.)

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Further, as of January 1st, 1972, Article II, Section 1, Subsection (j), shall cease to be designated.

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Further, as of January 1st, 1972, Article II, Section 5, Subsection (g), shall read as follows:

(g) Class G Membership may be terminated by resignation, or by said Class G Member allowing his or her Class G Membership to lapse.

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Further, as of January 1st, 1972, Article II, Section 5, Subsection (h), shall read as follows:

(h) Any other classes which may be designated by the Board of Directors shall also have means for termination of membership in such cases designated by the Board of Directors.

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Further, as of January 1st, 1972, Article II, Section 5, Subsection (i), shall cease to be designated.

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Further, as of January 1st, 1972, Article III, Section 5, shall read as follows:

5. Notice of Meetings: Notice consists of informing all Subscribers, Subscribing Members, Contributing Members, and Patrons, i.e., all Members who are entered on the Mailing List, who may reside within a given Kingdom, of all society-sponsored events which may occur in that Kingdom, such notice to include time, place, and the nature of the event. Notice shall be given by mail, and shall be deemed delivered when deposited in the US Mail, addressed to the member at his or her address as it appears on the records of the corporation, with postage prepaid.

Amendment III

(This Amendment basically just adjusts the officers list a little.)

Amendment III: As of November 20, 1971, Article V, Section 1, shall read as follows:

1. Officers: The officers of the corporation shall be a Steward (which is equivalent to President), a Deputy Steward (which is equivalent to Vice-President), a Clerk (which is equivalent to Secretary), a Master or Mistress of Arts, a Chancellor of the Exchequer (which is equivalent to Treasurer), a Chronicler, a King of Arms, a Master or Mistress of Sciences, and such other officers as the Board of Directors may from time to time designate. Any two or more offices may be held be the same person, except the offices of Steward and Clerk.

Further, as of November 20, 1971, Article V shall include a Section 4a, which shall read as follows:

4a. Deputy Steward: The Deputy Steward shall, in the absence of the Steward, or in the event of his refusal or inability to act, perform the duties of the Steward, and, when so performing, shall have all the duties, powers, and restrictions of the Steward. When the Steward is not absent, or otherwise inactive under the above conditions, the Deputy Steward shall be the chief assistant to the Steward, and carry out such duties as are assigned to him.

Further, as of November 20, 1971, Article V shall include a Section 4b, which shall read as follows:

4b. Clerk: The Clerk shall be responsible for carrying on correspondence for the corporation, and for any related duties which the Steward may assign him or her. The Clerk shall also be responsible for keeping the minutes of the meetings of the Officers of the Corporation.

Further, as of November 20, 1971, Article V, Section 5, shall read as follows:

5. Master or Mistress of Arts: The Master or Mistress of Arts shall be responsible for the artistic well being of the Kingdoms, and shall act to coordinate the efforts of artists of all kinds, in all arts, so that the total environment may remain well-balanced; and shall be responsible for encouraging especially those artistic pursuits in keeping with the overall aims of the Society.

Amendment V

(This amendment adjusts the membership classes to just about what we have today.)

Amendment V to the By-Laws

A) Amendment II to the By-Laws is hereby repealed.

B) Article II, Section 1, Subsection 'Class G' shall read as follows:

Class G: Class G Members shall be of five (5) kinds:

C) Article II, Section 4, Subsection (g) shall read as follows:

Class G Members shall be of five (5) kinds:

1. Sustaining Members, who shall be issued a membership card and entered on the Mailing List.

2. Contributing Members, who shall be issued a membership card, entered on the Mailing List, and listed in the Annual List of Contributors (unless they wish to remain anonymous).

3. Patrons, who shall be issued a membership card, entered on the Mailing List, listed on the Annual List of Patrons (unless they wish to remain anonymous), and be entitled to special privileges as the Board shall define.

4. Associate Members, who shall be issued a membership card. Associate Membership is reserved to persons who have the same mailing address as a Sustaining Member, Contributing Member, or Patron.

5. Family Members, who shall be issued a membership card. Family Membership is reserved to persons who are legal dependents (as defined by the Internal Revenue Service of the United States of America) of Sustaining Members, Contributing Members, or Patrons.

Class G Members shall be elected to membership in accordance with a schedule of donations to be determined by the Board of Directors.

D) Article II, Section 4, subsection (h) shall read as follows:

Any other classes which may be designated by the Board of Directors shall also have means for election of members to such classes designated by the Board of Directors.

E) Article II, Section 4, subsection (i) shall read as follows:

Any person may have membership in more than one of the above classes, but all Members must maintain Membership in Class G.

F) Article II, Section 1, 'Class H' shall cease to be designated.

G) Article II, Section 4, subsection (j) is hereby repealed.

H) Article II, Section 5, subsection (g) shall read as follows:

Class G Membership may be terminated by resignation or by said Class G Member allowing his or her Class G Membership to lapse.

I) Article II, Section 5, subsection (h) shall read as follows:

Any other classes which may be designated by the Board of Directors shall also have means for the termination of membership to be designated by the Board of Directors.

J) Article II, Section 5, subsection (i) is hereby repealed.

K) Article III, Section 5, shall read as follows:

Notice consists of informing all Sustaining Members, Contributing Members, and Patrons (i.e. all Members who are entered on the Mailing List) who may reside within a given Kingdom of all Society sponsored events which may occur in that Kingdom, such notice to include time, place, and the nature of the event. Notice shall be given my (sic) mail, and shall be deemed delivered when deposited in the U.S. Mail, addressed to the Member at his or her address as it appears in the records of the corporation, with postage prepaid.

L) This amendment shall become operative as of 1 January, 1975.

Action passed at meeting of 24 September, 1974.

Amendment IV

(This Amendment adds the Order of the Pelican.)

Amendment IV

As of August 13, 1974, Article II, Section 4, paragraph (e) is amended by the insertion after sentence (3) of a sentence to be numbered (4) and to read as follows:

Having been awarded the Order of the Pelican, and thereby attained the rank of Master or Mistress of the Pelican.

Further, the sentences now numbered (4), (5), and (6) shall be renumbered (5), (6), and (7), respectively.

Amendment to the Bylaws:

1. Article V, Section 7, sentence 2 shall henceforth read: He shall be responsible for seeing to it that the Chronicler of each Kingdom is provided with a mailing list with which to notify members of that Kingdom of events, in accordance with the above rules of notification of events.

Passed unanimously by the Board of Directors at their meeting of 10 December, 1974.

(Yes, Amendment V appears to have been passed before Amendment IV. No, I don't understand it. Possibly this is a typo in the source I'm working from.)

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