Design & Execution by Tim Bray and Eric Elliott
(Viscount Colin deBray, Knight, Laurel & Pelican;
Sir Eric Foxworthy, Knight and Laurel)

	'm a big fan of Gothic art and architecture. Romanesque is pretty cool, but there's tons of it already in the SCA. There just isn't enough really good Gothic stuff. So we set out to design thrones that would be even more Gothic, and more authentic in detail, than the ones we built twelve years ago.
	he era we are aiming for is early 15th century Northern European, the tail end of Decorated Gothic in England, France, and the Low Countries. Cusped ogee arches replace the simpler pointed arches of the earlier periods, tracery is getting more elaborate, and leaf carving is becoming increasingly stylized.

	he basic shape is straightforward: a simple rectangular structure with a high pointed gable. Dimensions are: a) Seat height of 26 inches, for effect (a normal chair is about 16 inches); b) seat width 22 inches between the legs (ample room); c) seat depth 18 inches; d) Overall height to top of gable 82 inches. The back dimensions are based partly geometry and partly on a desire to frame the Royalty: when seated, the top of an average person's head will be just below the crown and laurel wreath motif.
	he concept for the back panel carving scheme began with the idea of a pair of arches supporting a quatrefoil, within which the Kingdom arms would be displayed. While developing preliminary sketches, I realized there were smaller openings in the basic pattern, within which the symbols of the Peerages might be displayed. Several iterations followed, until Eric developed the final pattern shown here.
	he Kingdom arms are surrounded by elaborate tracery, within which appear the symbols of the Knight, Laurel, and Pelican. The Queen's throne displays a Rose in the triangle at the top of the gable; the King's will have a cluster of oak leaves or acorns, echoing the decorative scheme on the Crowns and the Great Sword of State. The frame pieces surrounding the tracery have an oak-leaf scroll design copied from 15th c. sources.
	ide panels are mainly geometric tracery, but the arms include an oak-leaf motif and another triangle with roses or oak leaves. The tracery below the seat is pierced through, like a window, but that above the seat is "blind." This is to reduce the risk of entangling clothing.
	he lower front panel is a "stretcher" that locks the front legs together (see "Construction"). As in the earlier thrones, it has a pair of foliated quatrefoils.