Date: Tue, 8 Feb 1994 19:03:06 -0500
From: cent@tower.lcs.mit.edu (Pandora Berman)
Message-Id: <199402090003.TAA04021@tower>
To: levey@netcom.com
Cc: carolingia@bloom-beacon.mit.edu
Subject: Accidental humor from the Rialto

    From: Don Levey <levey@netcom.com>
    Subject: Re: Accidental humor from the Rialto
    To: Mike Yoder <mfy@sli.com>
    Date: Thu, 3 Feb 1994 12:49:37 -0800 (PST)
    Cc: Carolingian Mailing List <carolingia@bloom-beacon.mit.edu>

    King Patri?

    I recall a quote from a number of years ago that went something like this:
    "Who would ever want to be King of the East
     When he can be Baron Carolingia?"

    I hope I got the phrasing right...
     -Don

Pretty close.  At the first "Good Old Days" event, otherwise known as the
barony's 15th anniversary celebration, as the last act of Patri and
Barbara's court, the populace -- in the persons of Master Kobayashi as
seneschal and Lady Caryl as event autocrat -- presented Patri with tokens
of our esteem.  These were, as I recall, a silver spoon, cup, and bowl.  I
believe one of the two larger items had Patri's name and the date engraved
thereon, and the other had Latin phrasing which translated fairly closely
to: "Who would be King, when he could be Baron of Carolingia?"  My Latin is
ever rusty at best and my references are not here; mayhap some Latin
scholar out there (Kale?) can supply the exact words.  In any case, when
these items were presented to Patri and the words thereon read in the
original and in translation, Earl AElfwine and Duke Vissevald both came
forward to protest, as they had never had the -chance- to try being Baron
Carolingia....

Eowyn