Society for Creative Anachronism
College of Arms
2212 S. 64th Plaza, #418
Omaha, NE, 68106
+1 952 412 4112
laurel@heraldry.sca.org
For the May 2013 meetings, printed July 9, 2013
To all the College of Arms and all others who may read this missive, from Gabriel Laurel, Juliana Pelican, and Emma Wreath, greetings.
Items listed below in square brackets have not been scheduled yet. For information about future scheduling, please review the status table located on the Web at http://oscar.sca.org/index.php?action=137.
The May Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held on 2013-05-05 and the Wreath meeting held on 2013-05-11. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: Ealdormere  (31 Jan, 2013) (pushed due to lack of no scan) , Northshield  (03 Feb, 2013), An Tir  (05 Feb, 2013), Gleann Abhann  (06 Feb, 2013), Laurel  LoPaD  (09 Feb, 2013), Middle  (11 Feb, 2013), Æthelmearc  (20 Feb, 2013), East  (21 Feb, 2013), Calontir  (24 Feb, 2013), Atenveldt  (25 Feb, 2013), Ealdormere  (25 Feb, 2013), Lochac  (25 Feb, 2013), Atenveldt  (26 Feb, 2013), An Tir  (28 Feb, 2013), An Tir  (28 Feb, 2013), Ansteorra  (28 Feb, 2013), Artemisia  (28 Feb, 2013), Atlantia  (28 Feb, 2013), Meridies  (28 Feb, 2013), Outlands  (28 Feb, 2013), Palimpsest  Rules Letter  (28 Feb, 2013), Trimaris  (28 Feb, 2013).  All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Tuesday, April 30, 2013.
The June Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held on 2013-06-09 and the Wreath meeting held on 2013-06-22, and at the Laurel Roadshow held on Sunday, June 30, 2013. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: West  (28 Feb, 2013) (pushed due to lack of no scan, packet) , West  (28 Feb, 2013) (pushed due to lack of no scan, packet) , Laurel  LoPaD  (03 Mar, 2013), Northshield  (04 Mar, 2013), Middle  (11 Mar, 2013), Drachenwald  (21 Mar, 2013), Ealdormere  (22 Mar, 2013), Calontir  (25 Mar, 2013), Gleann Abhann  (25 Mar, 2013), Atenveldt  (26 Mar, 2013), Outlands  (26 Mar, 2013), Atlantia  (30 Mar, 2013), Caid  (30 Mar, 2013), Caid  Other Letter  (30 Mar, 2013), East  (30 Mar, 2013), An Tir  (31 Mar, 2013), Ansteorra  (31 Mar, 2013), Lochac  (31 Mar, 2013), Meridies  (31 Mar, 2013).  All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Friday, May 31, 2013.
The July Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held on 2013-07-07 and the Wreath meeting held on 2013-07-06. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: Laurel  LoPaD  (03 Apr, 2013), Northshield  (04 Apr, 2013), Æthelmearc  (10 Apr, 2013), Calontir  (14 Apr, 2013), Trimaris  (14 Apr, 2013), Ealdormere  (18 Apr, 2013), Atenveldt  (20 Apr, 2013), Outlands  (21 Apr, 2013), Drachenwald  (22 Apr, 2013), East  (26 Apr, 2013), An Tir  (28 Apr, 2013), Lochac  (29 Apr, 2013), Middle  (29 Apr, 2013), Atlantia  (30 Apr, 2013), Caid  (30 Apr, 2013), Gleann Abhann  (30 Apr, 2013), Meridies  (30 Apr, 2013), West  (30 Apr, 2013), West  (30 Apr, 2013).  All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Sunday, June 30, 2013.
The August Laurel decisions will be made at the Pelican meeting held on 2013-08-18 and the Wreath meeting held on 2013-08-17. These meetings will consider the following letters of intent: Northshield  (10 May, 2013), Calontir  (13 May, 2013), [Ansteorra  (16 May, 2013)], Drachenwald  (21 May, 2013), [Caid  (22 May, 2013)], Ealdormere  (23 May, 2013), East  (23 May, 2013), Atenveldt  (25 May, 2013), [Caid  (27 May, 2013)], Outlands  (28 May, 2013), Gleann Abhann  (29 May, 2013), Middle  (29 May, 2013), Æthelmearc  (31 May, 2013), An Tir  (31 May, 2013), Atlantia  (31 May, 2013), Lochac  (31 May, 2013), [Meridies  (31 May, 2013)].  All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should be entered into OSCAR by Wednesday, July 31, 2013.
The September Laurel decisions will be made at the Pelican meeting held on 2013-09-15 and the Wreath meeting held on 2013-09-14. These meetings will consider the following letters of intent: Laurel  LoPaD  (05 Jun, 2013), [Drachenwald  LoItUP  (06 Jun, 2013)], [Atlantia  (08 Jun, 2013)], [Middle  (11 Jun, 2013)], [Northshield  (12 Jun, 2013)], [Artemisia  (13 Jun, 2013)], [Outlands  (20 Jun, 2013)], [Drachenwald  (23 Jun, 2013)], [Atenveldt  (25 Jun, 2013)], [Ealdormere  (25 Jun, 2013)], [East  (26 Jun, 2013)], [An Tir  (27 Jun, 2013)], [Gleann Abhann  (27 Jun, 2013)], [Calontir  (29 Jun, 2013)], [Æthelmearc  (30 Jun, 2013)], [Ansteorra  (30 Jun, 2013)], [Caid  (30 Jun, 2013)], [Lochac  (30 Jun, 2013)], [Meridies  (30 Jun, 2013)], [Trimaris  (30 Jun, 2013)], [West  (30 Jun, 2013)].  All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should be entered into OSCAR by Saturday, August 31, 2013.
Not all letters of intent may be considered when they are originally scheduled on this cover letter. The date of posting of the LoI, date of receipt of the Laurel packet, or other factors may delay consideration of certain letters of intent. Additionally, some letters of intent received may not have been scheduled because the administrative requirements (receipt of the forms packet, receipt of the necessary fees, et cetera) have not yet been met.
REMINDER: Until all administrative requirements are met, the letter may not be scheduled.
From Laurel: News from KWHSS
On June 29 and 30, the Known World Heralds and Scribes Symposium was held in the Barony of Bjornsborg in the Kingdom of Ansteorra. It was an excellent event with approximately 170 people in attendance. I thank the autocrats and staff for a fantastic event. The event was well organized, ran well and it was good to see that many people.
The 2014 KWHSS will be held on June 13 through 15, 2014 in the Barony of Starkhafn, Kingdom of Caid (Las Vegas, NV). That will be my last KWHSS as Laurel, and I hope to see you all there.
From Laurel: New Errata Clerk
The office of errata clerk has been filled by Istvan Non Scripta for the past several years. As he's been divesting himself of some SCA responsibilities before he takes on new real-world ones, the errata clerk office has been passed to Jeanne Marie LaCrox, Noir Licorne Herald Extraordinary and Dolphin Herald of Caid.
As always, issues with mis-filed items that are correct on the LoAR should be addressed to Morsulus, while issues with the LoAR itself (apparent typing/spelling/name not changed when the write-up says it was style errors) should be addressed to the errata clerk at errata@heraldry.sca.org.
From Pelican: New Lingual Mix for Appendix C
When Appendix C of SENA was put in place, we tried to allow for the mixing of Old Norse (here enacted as "Scandinavian languages before 1100") with the various locations that had substantial permanent Viking settlement. This month, we have added another area that had that level of contact with Old Norse speakers: Russia. Vikings were important settlers in Russia; even the name Russia is derived from Rus, the name for early Scandinavian settlers. Orle observes that dozens of Viking (here identified using another cultural term, Varangian) graves, including large numbers of women's graves, are found in Russia. As such, we are adding the mix of Russian/East Slavic with Scandinavian for 550-1100.
From Pelican: SENA PN3C2: Substantial Change to One Syllable
On the February 2013 Letter of Pends and Discussion, commenters were asked if two names could be clear of aural conflict under PN3C2 if the change to a single syllable affected the consonant(s) (or lack thereof) on both sides of a vowel but not the vowel.
Commenters agreed that at least in some cases, such changes are enough to make two names clear of conflict. When the sound of both consonant clusters is completely changed (so that neither the first cluster nor the second cluster share sounds between the two names), they should be clear. Examples of this would include Godric/Godwin, Catford/Radford, and Dulford/Muttford. Situations in which one of the two consonant cluster shares a sound with another will generally conflict, but might be clear of conflict on a case by case basis. We are therefore directing Palimpsest to develop wording to allow PN3C3 to apply to differences between names that only affect the consonants of a syllable.
From Pelican: Company as Order Name Designator
In period, company and its cognates was used to refer to a variety of kinds of groups of people, including military groups, guilds, and knightly orders.
Under the Rules for Submissions and SENA, company was limited to household names and not allowed as a designator for order names. However, commenters agreed that we should follow period practice and allow company and other similar words to be used as a designator for any suitable non-personal name.
This of course does not remove the requirement that a designator be documented as appropriate to the type of non-personal name submitted. It simply allows designators to be used for multiple types of non-personal names.
We are therefore directing Palimpsest to develop new wording for the relevant sections of SENA.
From Pelican: Some Name Resources (an ongoing series)
This month, I'm taking a break from discussing household names to carry on about the amazing resource that the IGI (International Genealogical Index) and related resources has become for those in the know. This database includes a very large number of (mostly) late period and later references to people from different parts of Europe (and even settlers in the New World).
In the ever-changing world of FamilySearch's online access, the IGI search (at https://familysearch.org/search/collection/igi) is no longer being updated. Updated information is in the general FamilySearch database. Luckily, the search on FamilySearch (at https://familysearch.org/search) defaults to historical documents, including the IGI. The URL for the main search is https://familysearch.org/search. Make sure that Records is selected (it's the default). Be sure to limit the date; choosing "any" life event does nicely. We're going to start calling this database FamilySearch Historical Records to reflect the broader database from which our citations are now coming.
Of course, the limitations on batches continue to be in force, and user submitted data is never acceptable. In general batches beginning with C, J, K, M (except M17 and M18), or P are acceptable. Batches beginning with I are acceptable only on a case-by-case basis and depend on whether or not the individual microfilm extracted is a period record or not. Batches that are all digits, begin with M17 or M18, D, F, H, L, or T are not acceptable. Batch numbers not listed here will be evaluated on a case by case basis. The question that must be answered to determine whether a batch will be allowed is simple: are these the names of period people recorded in period? Indexes of period names created between 1650 and recent years are often normalized and are not generally acceptable evidence of a particular spelling of a name in period.
We've been finding all kinds of names that I would have sworn we'd never find. Alys Mackyntoich has put together a list of given names that she's found in the IGI in an article called "Something Rich and Strange: 'Undocumentable' Names From The IGI Parish Records" (http://heraldry.sca.org/names/SomethingRichandStrange.html). I encourage you to check it out. Among the ones I was startled to find are Erin (1584 England), Heather (1612 England), and most amusingly, Wendy (this has always been the classic example of a modern name, supposedly coined by J. M. Barrie for Peter Pan; it is, however, a masculine name in 1615 England). We're constantly finding new names there, so we encourage heralds to make use of it to document new names and to share them with all of us.
From Wreath: Crescents and Things Revisited
Two submissions this month had the motif of within and conjoined to a crescent a tree, where the crescent was very thin and circular, and the tree quite substantial. Under current precedent, the tree is maintained, which seems fundamentally flawed.
In April 2012, precedent was set regarding how we treat charges within or between the horns of a crescent. At that time, the ruling was:
	-	the crescent is the main charge, as it is typically the larger charge
	-	if the other charge is entirely within the crescent, it is a maintained charge...
	-	if the other charge is placed between the horns of the crescent but extends beyond the bounds of the crescent, it is either a co-primary charge or a secondary charge, depending on the relative sizes of the two charges...
As shown by the first point, this ruling entirely assumed that crescents would be the typical fat crescent with a small "interior" space between its horns, a more substantial charge than any charge placed within it. However, crescents did in fact vary quite a bit in shape in period, and from round and thick to fairly shallow and thin. The thinner crescents seen in period armorials typically do not extend beyond a semi-circle, looking rather more like bananas in fact, but a more circular thin crescent should not be disallowed in SCA heraldry. It is in fact possible to have a substantial central charge surrounded by a less-substantial thin crescent. Given the variety of crescent shapes, the April 2012 precedent is hereby overturned.
We will therefore treat charges entirely within or between the horns of a crescent, conjoined or not, in a similar manner as to how we treat other paired charges as set forth in the February 2012 precedent on sustained and maintained charges: the more substantial charge is the primary or co-primary charge, and the other charge if smaller is a secondary charge or, if conjoined and less than half the visual weight of the other charge, a maintained charge.
For example, a tree within a crescent is a primary tree and a secondary crescent, but between the horns of a crescent a tree is a primary crescent and a secondary tree. Reblazons to clarify whether a charge within a crescent is a secondary charge or a maintained charge will occur as needed, with the April 2012 reblazons taking priority.
From Palimpsest: Updating Requirements Regarding Submissions Forms
Over the last several years, there have been a number of Cover Letter items clarifying requirements regarding submissions forms, such as crayons (banned) and color printer inks (must be recognizable at the meeting); however, the Administrative Handbook has not kept up with these. Additionally, the Administrative Handbook has not been clear that some form of written request is needful for all actions, including administrative ones, nor has it codified the long-standing policy of having black-and-white (aka "coloring book style") forms. This change brings the Administrative Handbook up to date on those requirements and policies.
The current relevant portion of AH IV.C.1 reads:
All submissions must be on the forms currently approved by Laurel. Appropriate forms must be included for all submissions, including appeals, resubmissions, name changes, etc. Forms are not required for administrative actions, such as transfers, releases, and heraldic wills.
A minimum of two sets of name forms is required for all name submissions, one for the Laurel Office and the other to be maintained in kingdom files. A minimum of three sets of colored armory forms is required for all armory: two for the Laurel Office and the other to be maintained in kingdom files. The preferred medium for colored armory sets is watercolor markers in primary colors such as Crayola Classic Markers. Pastel or neon colors are inappropriate for colored armory forms. However the forms are colored, the submission may be returned if the tinctures are not recognizably heraldic tinctures.
We are changing this portion of AH IV.C.1., effective immediately, to read:
All submissions must be on the forms currently approved by Laurel. Appropriate forms must be included for all non-administrative submissions, including appeals, resubmissions, name changes, etc. Specific forms are not required for administrative actions, such as transfers, releases, and heraldic wills; however, written indication of the submitter's intent must be provided.  Suggested form letters for these items can be found in Appendix D of this Handbook.
A minimum of two sets of name forms is required for all name submissions, one for the Laurel Office and the other to be maintained in kingdom files. A minimum of three sets of colored armory forms is required for all armory: two for the Laurel Office and the other to be maintained in kingdom files. A minimum of one set of black-and-white armory forms is required for all armory: the one to be maintained in kingdom files. Black-and-white generally means "coloring book style" or "line drawing", though black portions may be colored in. The preferred medium for colored armory sets is watercolor markers in primary colors such as Crayola Classic Markers; submissions colored with wax-based media such as crayons or wax pencils will be returned.  Pastel, neon, and metallic colors are inappropriate for colored armory forms. However the forms are colored, the submission may be returned if the tinctures are not recognizable heraldic tinctures at the time of the decision meeting.
The remainder of AH IV.C.1. remains unchanged.
On a related note, Clarion would like to remind everyone that there are also copies of the suggested form letters, in a convenient form for printing, on the Laurel website under the FAQs link.
From Palimpsest: Retaining the Requirement for an Annual Financial Report
Currently, kingdom Principal Heralds are required to send an annual financial report to Laurel at the beginning of the year. The February 28 Palimpsest Rules Letter included a proposal to remove this requirement; however, commenters brought up a number of reasons for retaining this requirement. We are not implementing this change and thus are retaining the requirement for the annual financial report.
Laurel encourages all Principal Heralds to be aware of the financial status of their office on an ongoing basis. If the Principal Herald and the Kingdom Exchequer or their kingdom's heraldic exchequer cannot resolve any issues directly, Laurel is available to discuss those issues with them.
Society Pages
On May 11, two Atlantian heralds, mother and daughter, received public recognition of their good works and value. Their Majesties Amos and Ysabella inducted Nuala ingen Magnusa into Their Order of the Golden Dolphin, the kingdom's grant-level service order, for her diverse works including heraldic support.
Nuala's daughter, Murienne l'aloiere, was awarded the Queen's Order of Courtesy by Her Majesty Ysabella. Murienne has been, until recently, Kraken Herald on Triton staff in charge of tracking reports and warrants. She is now Sharks Tooth Herald, in charge of tracking court reports.
On June 9, Wynne ferch Rhodri ap Hywell, Nereid Herald of Atlantia, (drop-dead deputy to Triton) was made a member of the Order of the Golden Dolphin by Their Majesties Amos and Ysabella, for her varied works including many years at Pennsic Herald's Point and baronial heraldic office.
And finally, some news of note from the Known World Heraldic & Scribal Symposium held in Ansteorra on June 29. Their Majesties Lochlan and Gwen inducted Eirik Halfdanarson, Bordure Herald, into Their Order of the Star of Merit of Ansteorra. The Star of Merit is a grant-level service award. Their Majesties also inducted Emma de Fetherstan, Wreath Sovereign of Arms, into Their Order of the Iris of Merit of Ansteorra, for her work in not only heraldry but music and other arts. The Iris of Merit is a grant-level award for arts & sciences.
In addition, Their Majesties Ansteorra also granted Augmentations of Arms to Mari ingen Briain meic Donnchada and Gwenllian ferch Maredudd, both former Sovereigns of Arms, for their valuable contributions in heraldry.
Send What to Whom
Letters of Intent, Comment, Response, Correction, et cetera are to be posted to the OSCAR online system. No paper copies need be sent.
Submission packets (one copy of each name form plus documentation, including petitions; two colored copies of each armory form plus two copies of any associated documentation, including petitions) to the SCA College of Arms, 3101 Lee Hwy Ste 18/19 #178, Bristol VA 24202.
Cheques or money orders for submissions, payable to "SCA Inc.-College of Arms" are to be sent to John C. Sandstrom, New Mexico State University, PO Box 30006/MSC 3475, Las Cruces, NM 88003.
Send roster changes and corrections to Laurel. College of Arms members may also request a copy of the current roster from Laurel.
For a paper copy of a LoAR, please contact Laurel, at the address above. The cost for one LoAR is $3. Please make all checks or money orders payable to "SCA Inc.-College of Arms". The electronic copy of the LoAR is available free of charge. To subscribe to the mailings of the electronic copy, please see the bottom of http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/lists.html#lists for more instructions.
For all administrative matters, please contact Laurel.
Pray know that I remain,
In service,
Gabriel Kjotvason
Laurel Principal King of Arms