I. A Marshal must be thoroughly familiar with the Rules of the Lists, Corporate and Kingdom Marshalling standards, traditions and Conventions of Combat. A Marshal should possess a current copy of the Combat Handbook for the Kingdom of Caid (volume one, Heavy Weapons and Marshalling), as well as volume 2 (Light Weapons, Rapier Combat and Combat Archery).
II. A Marshal is an observer with the duty of providing non-judgmental observations to the combatants, but is not (except in extreme cases or by royal decree) to act as final judge of a blow. The fundamental principle here is that the fighters involved can best decide what has fallen with sufficient force on their own bodies.
However, it is part of a Marshal's responsibilities to maintain order on the field and to help prevent a fighter from being at an unfair disadvantage.
III. A Marshal should study anatomy sufficiently to be able to advise fighters on the effects of their blows, and should learn to note the direction, angle force and point of impact of a blow. A Marshal should always be tactful and specific when describing blows to a fighter (see II. above).
If a fighter repeatedly appears to disregard blows or disobey the Rules of the Lists or fight in an unsafe manner, the Marshal should stop the fight, confer with the other Marshals, then talk to the fighter(s)). The Marshal should point out to the combatants the appearance that is given to those watching the fight before allowing the fight to continue in hopes that this may eliminate the problem.
A Marshal should be prepared to stop a fight at any point under the following circumstances:
A) Danger on the field including loss of temper.
B) When one of the fighters signals for a halt.
C) An infraction of the Rules, or a conference with the fighters regarding a disputed
blow or possible infraction.
Fights are stopped by loudly calling "HOLD" until the combatants stop fighting. If a call of "HOLD" does not bring the combat to a halt. the fight should be stopped by whatever means necessary, up to and including physical restraint. Additionally, the Marshal should be prepared to enforce -- by exclusion from the Lists, deciding a fight by canceling a List, or any means necessary - -the Rules of the Lists and Laws of the SCA and the Kingdom of Caid as they apply to combat. A fighter may call a "HOLD" only for safety reasons.
IV. If the Marshal's authority to enforce the Rules of the Lists, Corporate and Kingdom Law is questioned, or if he is unable to stop the activity which is in violation, a Senior Marshal is to be summoned. They, if unable to stop the violation, shall use the guidelines listed in the Volume One Combat Handbook to withdraw the sanction from the event.
V. Because of the nature of SCA combat, injuries, both serious and trivial do occur. Accordingly, it is the duty of the Marshal to be able to cope with a field injury situation both calmly and effectively. The Marshal shall act in a crowd control capacity at such times, allowing only the medic, the fighter's squire, consort or next-of-kin near. The remainder of the populace is to be kept back. Injuries are to be reported to the Earl Marshal in writing with serious injuries to be reported by phone as well as in writing. Injury reports should be sent to the Earl Marshal immediately following the event and summarized in the Marshal's quarterly report. Any injury that causes the fighter to withdraw from the fighting should be reported.
VI. A Senior Marshal or Lights Marshal may authorize novice fighters to compete in Kingdom Lists and a Senior Marshal, Lights Marshal or Marshal can approve armor and weapons for use on the field as per the restrictions of his or her Marshal's rank within the Marshalate. Note: only a Rapier Combat Marshal may authorize Rapier Combat fighters or sponsor a Rapier Combat event. If no Rapier Combat Marshal is present, a Rapier Combat event may not be held.
VII. A Marshal must maintain current SCA membership and keep informed of event and rules changes.
VIII. A Marshal must inspect the armor and weapons of the combatants for conformance to the rules of Caid, as set forth in this Handbook, prior to the beginning of combat. Also, he or she must keep all weapons and armor under careful watch while they are in use on the field, so that any equipment failures may be caught and corrected before safety on the field is compromised.
As in heavy weapons combat, a light weapons marshal does not normally act in a determinate fashion unless so directed by the Crown or the Earl Marshal. It is acceptable for a marshal of a light weapons fight to act in a determinate fashion if requested to do so by both the fighters in a combat. Once the request for determinate marshaling is made, both combatants are bound by the judgment of the marshal.
If there are problems during a combat on the field, the marshal should encourage both fighters to discuss the problem. If both fighters agree that the problem doesn't exist or has been resolved, continue the combat normally. If one or both fighters cannot agree about the problem, issue the offender a warning. If the same infraction occurs three time during an event or the same fighter is issued four warnings for any combination of problems, a Marshal's Court shall be convened to resolve the problem. A report of the Court proceeding shall be sent immediately to the Earl Marshal. More serious infractions will probably fall under a Quarter Court as listed in the Combat Handbook of Caid, volume 1, but under normal circumstances a Marshal's Court should be convened first.
1) The Marshal's Court shall be composed of the Marshal-in-Charge (MiC) of an event, who shall be the head of this Court and therefore be responsible for following through on reporting procedures, one other warranted marshal (as designated by the "defendant"), and a member of the Chivalry (chosen by the Crown, the local Crown representative, the Chivalry present, or the Marshal-in-Charge, in that order)
2) In the event that the MiC or other Court member finds themselves with a conflict of interest, he or she shall select another warranted Marshal to take his or her place. Should there not be any members of the Chivalry present or if all such members should have a conflict of interest, the MiC (or his or her replacement) shall select one of the most experienced, uninvolved non- belted fighters as a replacement.
3) After hearing the accusation and any defense, decisions are reached by a majority vote of the court members.
4) This Court is to be convened during a break in the fighting, at the end of a round of fighting, or immediately following the registration of the complaint/problem, at the discretion of the MiC..
5) The Court is intended as a means of handling such problems as unchivalrous conduct, use of excessive force, violations of the Rules of the List, use of illegal or uninspected equipment, etc. The Court may also be convened to review events leading up to an injury, and to examine who, if anyone, was at fault.
6) The Marshal's Court has the power to:
a] Remove a fighter/participant from the Lists for that event and may conflscate that
person's Authorization Card. If the card is confiscated it should be forwarded to
the Earl
Marshal along with the report on the Court proceedings and the results.
b) Warn a fighter/participant that the above actions may be taken if the problem
continues.
c) Decide that there was no infraction of the Rules or that other actions may be the
cause
of the problem and examine those.
7) Any time a Marshal's Court is convened, a report of the incident and the "Court Proceedings" shall be sent to the Earl Marshal. Any direct action taken by the Marshal's Court (such as removing a fighter/participant from the Lists) shall be reviewed by the Quarter Court. Appeals of any Marshal's Court decisions, either by the complainant or the defendant, shall be reviewed by the Quarter Court. Decisions of a Marshal's Court shall stand until reviewed by the Quarter Court.
8) As a possible outcome of this Court is to determine that no infraction occurred, the Court proceedings should not be a public forum and only those individuals that have a bearing on the Court 's actions should be in attendance.
| Caid Combat Handbook - Volume II | 8/30/95 |
