On greatness

The greatest SCA fighter in my book is Radnor. Not only is he still the most beautiful and amazing fighter to watch but his 20 year unbeaten streak will probably never be equaled (for a twenty year period Radnor won every tournament he entered, from small local champion ship tourneys to big open tourneys at war, to Silver Dollar, to crowns). Radnor is also the only person to have won crowns in four different decades.

Others insist it's Jade, who has won crown sixteen times. When celebrating Titus ducal at twelfth night, the three dukes in his line, Uther (Titus' knight), Jade (Uther's knight) and Greyhelm (Jade's knight), performed a little ceremony. Greyhelm, who won crown eight times, presented himself as the past presented himself as the past, Uther (who was about to be crowned for the eighth time) was the present, and Jade presented himself as the future--which I guess means he's going to win March Crown. Jade doesn't always do well in other tourneys because frankly he doesn't get up mentally for them--he just doesn't care. But he does great in Crown.

Or it could be Paul, who is the Grand Master of our art, who won western crown with four different weapon styles, and who once took on twenty fighters at once and beat them in a demonstration of how good he really was.

Or it could be Brion, who only has ten crown victories, but that is fighting in kingdoms with six month reigns and so has fewer opportunities.

Or it could be Stephan Von Dresden, who wins everything he enters but has never entered crown.

And once upon a time there was Torgul...

After that you get into expanded list of dukes, the Lucans and Baldars and Daks and Darius' and Edmunds and all the others.

But maybe it's time to talk about Rolf in this discussion. Rolf didn't win lots and lots of crowns, but that was in part because in his prime, in the 80s, he was content with the two. But he has won eight royal tourneys, four Western Crowns and four Cynagua coronets, including this last one. This was the 30th anniversary of the first Cynaguan coronet, in which he finaled, and he won the second. That means that he will be Prince for the 30th anniversary of the first royal tourney he won. That is an accomplishment nobody has yet matched (though give Jade a chance and he probably will).

And one more thing: at one time or another I've killed every fighter on this list--except Rolf. Not even in practice, and I've been practicing with him for thirty years, from the very first day I put on armor.