====== Order of the Laurel ======
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The **Order of the Laurel** is bestowed on those people who have “attained the standard of excellence in skill and/or knowledge equal to that of his or her prospective peers in some area of the Arts or Sciences. The candidate must have applied this skill and/or knowledge for the  instruction  of  members  and  service  to  the  kingdom to  an  extent  above  and beyond that normally expected of members of the Society." (Corpora, Article VIII.A.4.b)

The Order of the Laurel is one of the four SCA Peerages, along with the [[Order of the Chivalry]], the [[Order of the Pelican]], and the [[Order of Defense]]. It is a Society wide Award that is recognized in every Kingdom in the [[scaism:Knowne World]] and conveys to the member a [[Patent of Arms]], no matter which [[activities:service:offices:Crown]] of which Kingdom bestowed the Award.

===== Symbols and Titles =====

The symbol of the order is a laurel wreath. 
 
Masters of the Order of the Laurel are addressed as "Master" or "Mistress".

===== Responsibilities =====
In addition to the [[awards:patent_of_arms|Peerage Qualities]] expected of all peers, members of the Order of the Laurel are "to: 
  * set an example of courtesy and chivalrous conduct
  * respect the Crown of the kingdom; support and uphold the laws of the kingdom and Corpora 
  * support and uphold the Crown of his or her kingdom, if in fealty 
  * enrich the kingdom by sharing his or her knowledge and skills
  * advise  the  Crown  on  the  advancement  of  candidates  for  the Laurel" (Corpora, Article VIII.A.4.b)

===== Elevation to the Order =====
Each Crown may chose to elevate Subjects of Their Kingdom to the Order, but the Crown must ensure the Subject meets the criteria as described in [[scaism:Corpora]] for Peerage Awards, and The Crown has consulted with the current members of the Order in Their Kingdom.

Members of the Order of the Laurel may choose to swear fealty to the [[activities:service:offices:Crown]], but are not required to do so.

Although many scholars were elevated by the Midrealm before Ealdormere was itself a kingdom, [[people:Ragnheithr Thorbjarnardottir]] visakona was the premier of the Order of Laurel elevated in Ealdormere. She was also the first peer of any type to be elevated in the Kingdom of Ealdormere.  

The current moderator for the Order of the Laurel in Ealdormere is Duchess Adrielle Kerrec. 

===== See Also =====
  * [[people:order_of_the_laurel:start|Members of the Order of the Laurel]]
  * [[history:lineages:laurels:start|Lineages of the Laurels]]

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[{{ awards:laurel.gif|The regalia of the Order of the Laurel: //(Tintureless) A laurel wreath.//}}]

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