The Renaissance Society

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In the Heather/Damsel Chronicles, the Renaissance Society is the clique that rules Lawndale High in the future.

The origin of the organization is explained to Heather, by Cherry, as follows: ". . . the simple version is that some fruit bat English teacher decided to host a field trip to a Renaissance Festival and then have everybody spend a week in class acting renaissancey . . . all the beautiful people decided they really liked the idea of titles and nobility and ordering around serfs so the whole social pecking order mutated into ‘what was Lady Jane Grey like in high school?’ without all the deep thinking needed to pull off the really good social intrigue.”

Members of the Society are given titles, and can be promoted to higher titles over time. They are also given grants of 'land' which amounts to authority over other members of the Society. The authority extends outside the group imperfectly - the 'in crowd' tends to go along with what the Society wants, while other students ignore or mock them.

The Society is divided up into three separate courts, each having its own membership requirements and areas of influence.


The Yellow Court[edit]

Members of the Yellow Court must maintain a GPA of at least 2.5, and must participate in at least one academic activity. Examples include various academic competition teams or clubs, Girl/Boy Scouts, the Beta Club, or participation in the school's extra-curriculars like the newspaper or yearbook. Student aides are also eligible for membership in the Yellow Court, and tend to get promoted rapidly due to the influence they can bring to bear via their ties to the faculty.

Membership[edit]

Amy Darling - Yellow Countess of Records, works in the school office as an administrative assistant a couple of hours every morning. She has access to the records of every member of the student body, making her an important information source for the Society.

Brian - Yellow Lord, member of the Art Club. One of Damsel's flunkies.

Katie Nesliche - Yellow Baroness of Whispers, also referred to as the Gossip Queen of Lawndale. Anything Amy can't find out, Katie can. Her loyalty to the Society is not absolute, and she is open to bribery to share information with non-members. She has a crush on Luke, one of The Flying Monkeys, a fact that Cherry once used to her advantage.

Martha Houston - Yellow Lady, tends to be viewed as one of Damsel's flunkies.

plus other, so far unnamed people


The Blue Court[edit]

Members of the Blue Court must maintain a GPA of at least 2.5, and must participate in at least one athletic activity. It's rumored that members are allowed to slip to a GPA of 2.0 if they're on a winning team. Any of the sports teams, including cheerleading, will qualify a student for induction into the Blue Court.

Membership[edit]

Jessica Feldman - Blue Baroness, and a cheerleader. Jessica actively dislikes the Morgendorffer twins for a variety of reasons, and occasionally attempts to socially undercut one or the other.

Mike Leon - Blue Count of Offense, a title referring to both the offensive side of the football team and his personality. He seems to have designs on Damsel Morgendorffer, despite being the boyfriend of Jessica Feldman.

Rod - Blue Lord, member of the track and field team. Another of Damsel's flunkies.

plus other, so far unnamed people


The White Court[edit]

Members of the White Court must maintain a GPA of at least 3.0, and must participate in at least two academic activities and at least two athletic activities. The White Court maintains authority over both of the lesser courts, and the titles of duke/duchess, prince/princess, and king/queen are only held by members of the White Court.

Membership[edit]

Courtney Phelps - White Duchess of Yellow, controls the members of the Yellow Court. She is overly concerned with proper procedure, and has a fairly tender ego.

Damsel Morgendorffer - White Baroness, currently with no specific area of control. Despite this, her membership in the White Court gives her more status than anyone in either of the lesser courts, even if they should technically out-rank her.

Laura Midhaven - White Queen of Lawndale, she acts as less of a ruler than an administrator. She calls, organizes, and runs the meetings of the White Court that set policy for the Society as a whole, grant or change titles, or make grants of 'land.'

Matthew Walker - White King of Lawndale, he tends to take a hands-off approach to the Society and allows Laura to run the organization. He is very much above all of it.

Steven MacKenzie - White Duke of Blue, controls the members of the Blue Court.


Trivia[edit]

NightGoblyn loosely based the Society on a social club he was once a member of, including the personalities of several members. It was not a friendly club, and he is amused to be able to poke fun at them from here.