This week is the final week for individuals considering entering their names into the polling for the next Baronials (Friday April 3rd, 2026).
What’s required to enter my name if I want to sit the Minotaur Thrones?
– Email Their Majesties and the Kingdom Seneschal with your name(s), a brief introduction, and an SCA resume for consideration. A photo of yourself in garb is also appreciated.
How do I get to know the candidates?
– Lots of ways
- Candidates resumes and letters of introduction will be posted on the montengarde.org website
- Candidates will have an email address set up via montengarde.org
- There will be a Meet the Candidates question session at April Tavern (14 April)
- The Candidates are looking to meet you at practices and other gatherings
What’s a polling?
– Polling is providing feedback to the Crown to indicate if you support the Candidates, concerns that you have, and other general remarks on your thoughts about the suitability of the Candidate.
– An in person polling will be happening at Fight Practice (16 April) between 7 pm – 9 pm.
– The in person polling will be overseen by representatives of the Crown and Kingdom Seneschal.
– Online polling will be hosted from April 14th – 24th via the montengarde.org website via a form that is sent directly to Their Majesties mailbox.
– You can email Their Majesties directly via crown@avacal.org
Do I need to be a member to poll?
– No, but the commitment of having a membership adds weight to your input.
– The polling is open to the populace of Montengarde, Ayresgarde, Windwyrm, and Sandesend. These shires and incipient shire are important parts of the Montengarde community.
– Others may contribute their thoughts, but priority is given to those of the Montengarde populace members.
What happens if there isn’t enough candidates or people polling?
– Short Answer: It puts the Barony at risk of becoming a Shire
– Long Answer: The Kingdom Seneschal works with the Barony to either come up with a plan to fix this in a reasonable time frame or failing that, there’s Society Policy spells it ut pretty clearly.
As per the Society Seneschal Handbook (Section 24.G.5 specifically), The Kingdom Seneschal has some leeway as to how long a branch can continue without demotion / dissolution if unable to maintain population or required officers (such as Baronials) but if a solution cannot be found in a reasonable time, then things get presented to the Board to be resolved.
Just like a principality would not be a kingdom without a healthy pool of officers, peers, and candidates eligible for Crown, so does a barony unable to field multiple candidate choices for Baronials fail to meet the expectations of a healthy Barony. Thus we would be at risk at becoming a shire after multiple failed pollings.
Got more questions?
– Contact your friendly Castelain, Bjar the Blue via castelain@montengarde.org
– Seriously, helping to set up a successful polling is literally 90% of his job description.
Also see the previously posted Polling Timeline