Laurel Letter of Pends and Discussion: August 31, 2002

Society for Creative Anachronism
College of Arms
15910 Val Verde Drive
Houston TX, 77083-4921
713-918-2947
herald@sca.org
For the June 2002 meetings, printed August 31, 2002
To all the College of Arms and to all others to whom this missive comes, from François Laurel, Zenobia Wreath, and Mari Pelican, health and good friendship.
This letter contains the issues raised in the June 2002 LoAR for CoA discussion. The text in this letter is copied verbatim from that LoAR; it is provided here for convenience. As with an August LoI, these matters are currently scheduled for the Laurel meetings in December 2002. Original commentary must be in the College's hands no later than October 31, 2002. Responses and rebuttals to commentary must be in the College's hands no later than November 30, 2002.
1. Brown Humans. Issue.
This month's submission for Jaine the Embroiderer used brown human arms, which the submitting kingdom blazoned as a Moor's arms proper. The SCA has not yet registered a Moor proper. The College did not present any evidence that a Moor proper in period would have been brown. Those commenters who addressed this issue were not comfortable with declaring brown to be the correct proper coloration for a Moor. Since the Wreath meeting, we have been able to find a small amount of evidence for brown people in period heraldry, but it is not sufficient evidence to draw any conclusions.
The College is thus requested to provide research and opinions on the following questions. Jaine's submission has been pended until the conclusion of this discussion.
(1) There are a number of distinct types of standard real-world heraldic charges which represent non-Caucasian people. Standard real-world human charges include the Saracen, the Blackamoor, the Turk, and the Moor. There is some confusion in the definition of the real-world non-Caucasian human charges. For example, Brooke-Little's An Heraldic Alphabet distinguishes between the Negroid Blackamoor and the Semitic Moor, but Woodward's A Treatise on Heraldry, British and Foreign indicates that the Moor is Negroid, and only draws the Saracen with Semitic features. What types of humans should the SCA consider to be distinct types of humans?
(2) For each of the distinct types of human, please consider whether the SCA should define a proper tincture, and if so, what the proper tincture should be.
(3) Some of the standard non-Caucasian human charges are distinguished by identifying characteristics other than tincture. These identifying characteristics are often found around the human's head. For example, the Saracen and Moor are both often drawn with cloth torses or wreaths around their temples, and the Turk is often drawn with a distinctive hair style consisting of one long lock of hair. A human arm or leg would not include these identifying characteristics. Would a decision that brown is the correct proper tincture for a type of human charge always justify registering brown arms and legs? Or is it necessary to independently document the use of brown arms and legs in period heraldry in order to register them?
Here follows some period evidence for the use of brown in tincturing human charges:
Fox-Davies' Heraldic Badges, p. 157, gives the badge of Lord Willoughby de Broke (d. 1522) as a Moor's head. A painting of his standard, executed c. 1532, is found in the catalogue of the Heralds' Commemorative Exhibition, 1484-1934, plate XXXIV. The Moor's head badge is displayed as the primary badge on the standard. It has dark brown skin, long black hair and beard, blue eyes, roughly Semitic features, and the identifying torse.
Godinho's 16th C Portuguese Libro da Nobreza gives the crest of the family of Barbalonga as a Moor's head proper on Folio XXVI verso. It has light brown skin (approaching, but not reaching, an Or tincture), long darker brown hair and beard, brown eyes, roughly Semitic features, and a turban. On the same page, Godinho gives the arms and crest of the family of Minas as Argent, three Negro's heads and necks couped proper, each with necklace, earrings and nose ring all Or. The same charge functions as a crest. The Negro's heads have very dark brown skin (verging on black), short black curly hair, no facial hair, black eyes and Negroid features. The blazon terms Moor and Negro for the two coats of arms in Godinho are taken from the modern blazons provided by the editors: the period book just provides emblazons. Both the Moor and the Negro are on the same page, so it appears likely that Godinho was attempting to draw two distinct different types of people.
The dark browns that are used to tincture the Moor in the Willoughby de Broke badge and the Negros in Godinho would unquestionably be considered a "color" rather than a "metal." The brown used to tincture the Moor in Godinho is very light, and does not clearly class as a "color".
Please present your research and opinions for the December 2002 decision meetings.
2. Crowned Animal's Heads and Crowned Animals. Issue.
In this month's submission for Ástrídr Brandsdóttir, some discussion was presented in commentary suggesting that the addition or deletion of a crown from an animal's head, or from an animal, would be an artist's detail rather than a heraldic difference. Insufficient evidence was presented to allow a ruling on this matter in this LoAR. However, there are a lot of crowned animals and animal's heads in period armory, so perhaps we can use this period evidence to form some good policies for the SCA to follow. Please present your research, and your proposed policies for difference (both for crowned animal's heads and for crowned animals), in time for the December 2002 decision meetings.
3. Geraint Morys. Device. Vert, on a pile between two arrows in pile Or a fox's mask sable. 
While the mini-emblazon showed a problematic triangular field division issuant from the corners of the shield, the submission form showed a correctly drawn pile. The Letter of Intent stated that the form sent to Laurel was different from that on the mini-emblazon and that it showed a correctly drawn pile. However, the tenor of the commentary implied that the commenters commented only on the provided emblazon on the LoI, advocated return for the stylistic problems with the pile, and did not check for conflict. This must therefore be pended for further research.
(This submission was originally item 24 on Æthelmearc's LoI of Febrary 15, 2002.)
4. Jaine the Embroiderer. Device. Per chevron argent and azure, two Moor's cubit arms in chevron issuant from the flanks proper and a phoenix argent and on a chief azure three annulets argent. 
The Moor's arms proper in this submission are colored brown. This submission is being pended for consideration of whether to allow these brown arms to be registered and, if so, under what blazon. Please see the cover letter (the text of item 1 above) for further details on this issue.
Please comment on the general issue of brown humans under item 1 above. Comments on that issue need not be repeated under this numbered item.
(This submission was originally item 10 on Atlantia's LoI for February 20, 2002.)
For the sake of completeness, we will note that a name from Ealdormere (Þorfinna Grafeldr) is also being pended. However, it is being pended only until the October meetings. The final ruling will depend solely on the issue of capitalization of Norse bynames. A call for comments on that issue has already been put out in the April 2002 Cover Letter, so the name pend information is not being provided here. To comment on capitalization of Norse bynames, please see and comment on item 2 on the LoPaD of July 20, 2002 (original comments were due by August 31, responses and rebuttals are due by September 25, and it will be ruled on in October). If you comment on Norse bynames in commentary for this LoPaD, your comments will likely be left unread until December, well after the issue is ruled on.

Pray know that I remain
In service

François la Flamme
Laurel Principal King of Arms