The Shire of Barren Sands
Charter, Laws and Traditions

Table of Contents

I. Charter
II. Laws
III. Officers
IV. Financial Policies
V. Events

I. Charter (written May 1992)

The Shire of Barren Sands is hereby established for the purpose of having fun in the current Middle Ages.

II. Laws

A. The Shire of Barren Sands shall consist of the zip codes designated by the East Kingdom, generally conforming to the counties of

1. Atlantic County
2. Cape May County
3. Cumberland County
4. Salem County and
5. Zip codes: (see attached document)

B. All Officers of the Shire must reside within the territorial limits of the Shire and be paid members of the Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA).

 

C. The following Offices must be filled at all times. If at any time, one of these offices becomes vacant, then the office must be filled at the next commons meeting.

1. Seneschal
2. Herald
3. Knight Marshal or Minister of Arts and Sciences
4. Chancellor of the Exchequer

 

D. If the Shire does not have a separate Chatelaine, an Officer must be designated to assume all Chatelaine duties.

 

E. Elections

1. For an election to take place, an announcement will be placed in the Shire newsletter and on-line list group that a position is open. Letters of intent must be received by the Shire Seneschal within a month time frame so an election can be held. The announcement shall also state when and where the voting will take place.

2. The Shire Seneschal, unless it is the Shire Seneschal’s position, will govern the vote. When it is the Shire Seneschal position, another Shire officer will govern the vote.

3. The vote can be a simple show of hands while the persons who have submitted a letter of intent are not present within the meeting area. Only members (members defined in Law, Section F) of the Shire present at the monthly meeting will be allowed to vote. There will be no voting by proxy. Absentee votes may be submitted to the Seneschal at least 3 days prior to the vote.

4. All officers are elected to a two-year term. At the completion of the second year, if the officer wishes to remain in office, and there being no other individuals wishing to run for the position, a vote of confidence will take place at the monthly commons meeting, with the following considerations:

a. One month prior to the vote of confidence an announcement shall be placed in the Shire newsletter and on-line list group making it known when and where the vote will take place.

b. The Shire Seneschal, unless it is the Shire Seneschal’s position, will govern the vote. When it is the Shire Seneschal position, another Shire officer will govern the vote. The vote can be a simple show of hands while the officer is out of the meeting area. Only members of the Shire present at the monthly meeting will be allowed to vote. There will be no voting by proxy. Absentee votes may be submitted to the Seneschal at least 3 days prior to the vote.

c. If the officer passes the vote of confidence, the officer is elected
to another two year term.

d. If the officer fails the vote of confidence, a replacement will have to be found. The officer may stay in the office until a replacement is elected.

5. An announcement shall be placed in the following month’s Shire newsletter and on-line list group announcing the change of any Shire officer with the new officer’s contact information.

6. Election Schedule

a. Seneschal

i. Position to be elected in December; New Seneschal assumes duty at the February Commons Meeting
ii. The Seneschal may only hold the position for 2 two year terms. They must then step down for a period of two years before they may hold the position again

b. Herald and Exchequer

i. Position to be elected in March. New officer assumes duty at the May Commons Meeting
ii. Herald and Exchequer may hold their offices as long as they will and there is no other candidate willing to assume their duties

c. Knights Marshall and/or Arts and Science Minister/Mistress

i. Position to be elected in July. New officer assumes duty at the September Commons Meeting.
ii. Knights Marshall and Arts and Science Minister or Mistress may hold their offices as long as they will and there is no other candidate willing to assume their duties

d. All other offices shall be elected upon as they arise. All may hold their positions until such a time as one would like to be considered for the position or a vacancy arises.

F. Definition of a Member

1. Must reside in and if needed provide proof of residency within the Shire’s territorial limits
2. Must be a paid member of the SCA
3. Must be at least 16 years of age
4. Members must provide proof of both residency and SCA membership during election meetings

G. Commons Meetings

1. Commons meetings will be held at least 10 times per year.
2. There will be no meeting during the month of August
3. Commons Meetings will be run by the Seneschal. If the Seneschal is unavailable, the Deputy Seneschal will run the meeting.

III. Officers

A. Seneschal

1. The Seneschal shall be elected in December and take office in February.
2. The Seneschal will hold the position for two years. If after two years the individual wishes to continue in the position a vote of confidence will take place according to the Shire Laws.
3. The Seneschal shall not hold the position longer than 4 years. They must step down for a two year period. However, they may serve in a drop-dead capacity for the current Seneschal.
4. The Seneschal shall run all monthly Commons meetings.
5. The Seneschal shall not autocrat an event, but is considered to be the drop-dead for any event should the need arise.
6. The Seneschal shall choose from among the current officers a Drop- dead Seneschal. It is preferred that the drop-dead be a prior Seneschal.
7. The Seneschal must review and approve all event announcements.
8. The Seneschal and the Exchequer must approve the budgets for any event.

B. Herald

1. The Herald shall be elected in March and take office in May.
2. The Herald will hold the position for two years. If after two years the individual wishes to continue in the position a vote of confidence will take place according to the Shire Laws.
3. There is no time-limit to the Herald’s term
4. The Herald shall maintain all Shire banners
5. The Herald shall maintain the Shire Doomsday Book
6. The Herald shall help all shire members with submissions of names and devices as needed

C. Exchequer

1. The Exchequer shall be elected in March and take office in May.
2. The Exchequer will hold the position for two years. If after two years the individual wishes to continue in the position a vote of confidence will take place according to the Shire Laws.
3. There is no time-limit to the Exchequer’s term
4. The Exchequer shall maintain the Shire’s bank account
5. The Exchequer shall accept all pre-registration money for events
6. The Exchequer shall delegate or man troll for all events
7. The Exchequer shall maintain a site-review list for the Shire
8. The Exchequer and the Seneschal shall have the final approval for all event budgets
9. The Exchequer and the Seneschal, together, can approve emergency expensed up to and including $200 for non-budgeted expenses. Expenses over $200 must be approved by the populace at the next Commons meeting.
10. The Exchequer and the Seneschal can approve event item expenses that are within 10% of the budgeted item expense. For items between 10 and 20%, they may still give approval, but are not obligated. For any expense greater than 20%, it must go before the populace for a vote.
11. Financial Committee.

a. The purpose of the financial committee is to have a second recourse on event budgets only if the autocrat and the seneschal/exchequer can not come to an agreement.
b. The Exchequer is the Head of the Financial Committee.
c. The Seneschal is on the Committee
d. The Exchequer shall appoint the members of the financial committee. The total members shall not exceed 5.
e. All financial committee meetings are open to the populace, but the populace is not allowed to vote. Only the designated committee members may vote during a financial committee meeting.

D. Knights Marshall

1. The Knights Marshall shall be elected in July and take office in September.
2. The Knight Marshal will hold the position for two years. If after two years the individual wishes to continue in the position a vote of confidence will take place according to the Shire Laws.
3. This is the contact person for those interested in any type of fighting: Rattan, Fencing, Combat Archery and Youth Fighting

E. Arts and Science Minister/ Mistress

1. The A&S Minister or Mistress shall be elected in July and take office in September.
2. The A&S Minister or Mistress will hold the position for two years. If after two years the individual wishes to continue in the position a vote of confidence will take place according to the Shire Laws.
3. This is the contact person for those interested in any type of arts (I.e. Calligraphy, illumination, sewing, embroidery) or sciences (i.e. herbalism, alchemy, astrology). All heads of guilds in these areas should report to the A&S Minister or Mistress

F. Chatelaine

1. In the event that there is no individual willing to hold the office of Chatelaine, another officer will be appointed to hold the dual office until such a time as a new Chatelaine can be found.
2. The Chatelaine shall be elected as needed. At any time, an individual may inquire for the position. He or she would then work with the current Chatelaine, and eventually move into the position should the current Chatelaine wish to resign. The election of the new Chatelaine shall follow Shire law.
3. The Chatelaine will work to introduce new members into our Shire
4. The Chatelaine will maintain our Gold Key loaner garb

G. Chronicler

1. The Chronicler shall be elected as needed. At any time, an individual may inquire for the position. He or she would then work with the current Chronicler, and eventually move into the position should the current Chronicler wish to resign. The election of the new Chronicler shall follow Shire law.
2. The Chronicler will work to produce our monthly newsletter, the Sandpaper.

H. Web Minister/Mistress

1. The Web Minister/Mistress shall be elected as needed. At any time, an individual may inquire for the position. He or she would then work with the current Web Minister/Mistress, and eventually move into the position should the current Web Minister/Mistress wish to resign. The election of the new Web Minister/Mistress shall follow Shire law.
2. The Web Minister/Mistress will work to produce and maintain our Shire’s website
3. If no one is available within the Shire to hold this office in a volunteer capacity, then the officers may choose to outsource this position due to the necessity in our mundane society of being able to disseminate information in a timely manner.

I. Archery Marshall
J. Fencing Marshall
K. Heavy Weapons Marshall
L. Thrown Weapons Marshall
M. Mistress of the Lists
N. Historian
O. Conflict of Interest

1. No officer shall allow any personal affiliations within (i.e. household or prior Barony/Shire) the SCA to conflict with his or her duties to the Shire, which at all times shall have priority.
2. An officer may however put forth ideas of their interest that may be beneficial to the Shire.

P. Responsibilities of All Officers

1. Each officer will perform the duties of his/her office as outlined in Corpora, East Kingdom Law, the appropriate officer�s handbook and the Shire of Barren Sands’ Laws.
2. Each officer will submit their quarterly or bi-annual reports to their corresponding East Kingdom Officer. A copy of all reports should be submitted to the Shire Seneschal.
3. All officers should attempt to attend a minimum of 5 commons meetings per year. In the event that an officer cannot make the meeting, they shall submit a report to the Seneschal 48 hours prior to the meeting date.
4. Any officer not-reporting for a period of 3 months, will be notified of a vote of no-confidence. The officer than has 30 days to report and to decide they wish to continue in their current office.

IV. Financial Policies

– to be written by the Financial Committee and voted upon by the populace-

V. Events

A. Barren Sands War – to be held the first or second weekend in June. This is a camping event. All marshal activities should take place whenever possible.
B. Mistletoe Revel – to be held the first or second Saturday in December. This is our annual holiday event. A feast is traditionally served.
C. Autocrat

1. Autocrats must submit a budget that includes:

a. Complete cost of site and schedule of payments
b. List of activities and associated costs
c. Number of on-board and feast cost per person
d. Miscellaneous expenses and
e. Event fee.

2. Authorization of Seneschal and Exchequer is required before autocrats may expend Shire funds.
3. EK Law states an autocrat must be a paid member and reside within the group.
4. Shire Policy states:

a) The Seneschal may not act as autocrat for a Shire event unless it is as a drop dead autocrat; and
b) Support of an event proposal must be put to a vote at commons.

5. Event reports must be filled out, signed by the autocrat and exchequer, and mailed to the Kingdom Exchequer in 30 days according to EK Law.
6. It is strongly recommended that no one should be autocrat or head cook for two events in succession, and it is preferred that no one person be autocrat or head cook for more than one Shire event in a 12 month period.