Society for Creative Anachronism
College of Arms
15910 Val Verde Drive
Houston TX, 77083-4921
713-918-2947
herald@sca.org
For the March 2003 meetings, printed June 3, 2003
To all the College of Arms and all others who may read this missive, from François Laurel, Zenobia Wreath, and Mari Pelican, greetings.
The following is a table showing the status of Letters of Intent, Laurel Letters of Pend and Discussion, and Letters of Intent to Protect. The header rows are the dates of the meetings that will consider them, the dates when primary commentary is due, and the dates when responses to primary commentary are due. The key follows.
Wreath meeting	Mar 22 & 30	Apr 19 & 13	May 17	Jun 14 & 08	Jul 12	Aug 16?	
Pelican meeting	Mar 22 & 12	Apr 26	May 17	Jun 21 & 08	Jul 19	Aug 23?&Pens.	
 	
Comment by	 	 	 	too late	May 31	Jun 30	
Respond by	 	 	 	May 31	Jun 30	Jul 31	
Letters of Intent being considered:	
AEthelmearc	Nov 23	Dec 19	-	Feb 24	(Mar 24)	Apr 26	
An Tir	Nov 29	Dec 27	Jan 27	Feb 25	(Mar 28)	(Apr 29)	
Ansteorra	-	Dec 18	Jan 19
[P Jan 27]	Feb 20	Mar 20	(Apr 21)	
Artemisia	Nov 30	-	Jan 31	-	Mar 30	(Apr 30)	
Atenveldt	-	Dec 20	Jan 20	Feb 15
[P Feb 26]	Mar 15	Apr 25	
Atlantia	-	Nov 24 &
Dec 20	Jan 26	-	Mar 25	(Apr 26)	
Caid	-	Nov 10
[P Dec 03]	-	Feb 21	(Mar 01)	(Apr 20) &
(Apr 30)	
Calontir	Nov 13	-	-	-	Mar 19	Apr 24	
Drachenwald	Nov 23	Dec 23	Jan 23	Feb 24	(Mar 25)	(Apr 25)	
Ealdormere	Nov 22	-	Jan 31	Feb 19	-	(Apr 20
[P Apr 28])	
East	-	Nov 24 &
Dec 15	Jan 07 &
Jan 23	Feb 23	-	Apr 06	
Lochac	-	-	-	-	(Mar 25)	(Apr 15
[P Apr 28])	
Meridies	Nov 30	Dec 31	Jan 31	Feb 28	Mar 31	Apr 30	
Middle	Nov 11	Dec 14	Jan 15	Feb 17	Mar 24	Apr 07	
Outlands	Nov 23	Dec 23	Jan 23	-	Feb 23 &
Mar 23	(Apr 28)	
Trimaris	Nov 15	Dec 14	-	Feb 15	-	-	
West	Nov 27	-	Jan 21	Feb 26	Mar 26	(Apr 22)	
Laurel LoPaD
[LoAR date]	Nov 14
[Aug LoAR]	Dec 18
[Sep LoAR]	Jan 31
[Nov LoAR]	Feb 27
[Dec LoAR]	-	Apr 21
[Jan LoAR]	

Month day: the date on the Letter of Intent, Letter of Pend and Discussion, or Letter of Intent to Protect.
(Month day): for administrative reasons, this LoI has not yet been scheduled.
[P Month day]: postmarked on that bracketed date, so the LoI is redated or postponed.
"-": no LoI is scheduled for that meeting from that kingdom.
?: tentative.
March: Wreath's meeting occurred March 22, with a road-show meeting on March 30 at the Outlands' Heraldic Symposium. Pelican's meeting occurred March 22, with a road-show meeting at March 12 at Gulf War.
April: Wreath's meeting occurred April 19, with a road-show meeting on April 13 at An Tir's Heraldic Symposium.
June: On June 8, there will be the usual Sunday-morning road-show meeting at Known World Heraldic Symposium, Saint Louis, Missouri, with all the sovereigns of arms. Pelican's regular meeting is scheduled for June 21.
August: Wreath's meeting is tentatively scheduled for August 16. Pelican's regular meeting is tentatively scheduled for August 23, and she will have a road-show meeting at Pennsic War.
September: Wreath's meeting is tentatively scheduled for September 13. Pelican's meeting is tentatively scheduled for September 26.
October: Wreath's meeting is tentatively scheduled for October 18. Pelican's meeting is tentatively scheduled for October 11.
Not all letters of intent may be considered when they are originally scheduled on this cover letter. The date of mailing 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: Change to Applications for the Next Laurel and Staff
There are currently two bids under consideration (from Baron Modar Neznanich and Duke Artan macAílin). Copies of these bids were in the February 2003 LoAR. The third bid included with that LoAR, from Mistress Elena de Vexin, has been withdrawn by the bidder.
From Wreath: Period Rolls of Arms and Armorials
One of the best ways to learn about heraldry and heraldic art is to look at rolls of arms and armorials. These documents were compiled by heralds, who drew the heraldry that they saw around them. Thus, period rolls of arms and armorials are excellent sources for "getting a feeling for" period heraldry and heraldic art, either by visual immersion or by logical analysis.
It is important to realize the limitations of most heraldic books and Web sites when trying to learn about period heraldic style. Many heraldry sources discuss individual heraldic elements (such as tinctures or charges) but do not provide any guidelines about how to combine these elements so that the heraldry is appropriate for a particular time and place. A look at a roll of arms or armorial from that time and place will help answer these questions.
In addition, one cannot truly understand period heraldry without seeing period heraldic art. Any person who would like his shield, scroll, or encampment to be decorated in the style of a particular place and time needs to see appropriate heraldic art. A good facsimile of an appropriate roll of arms or armorial will provide that artwork. It is important to be careful to look for a "good" facsimile, particularly when doing research on the Internet. A growing number of Web sites claim to represent a period roll of arms or armorial but use modern heraldic clip art. These sites are poor substitutes for the original artwork.
It is not always easy to find good facsimiles of period armorials and rolls of arms. So, in order to help with the search, the next two sections of this article describe some selected sources that are available, and some places where you might be able to find these (and other) sources.
What are some good books or Web sites about period rolls of arms?
The sources in this list are only a small subset of the sources available in libraries or bookstores. Each of the sources on this list has the following characteristics (except as noted below):
	-	It includes a good reproduction of the original heraldic art for an entire roll of arms.
	-	It contains explanatory text including at a minimum blazons, an armorial (or other name index) and scholarly description.
	-	It is in print, or is frequently available as a used book.
Because this article includes a focus on period heraldic artwork, it does not discuss the many valuable books that describe the contents of one or more period rolls of arms only through blazon.
Some of the books mentioned below are not in English, which is no surprise considering that French may be the premier language for heraldic studies today. Luckily, the grammar / word order of blazon is fairly standard across European languages, so it is not difficult to translate a blazon in an unfamiliar language. A good guide to translating blazon between various European languages (English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Dutch) may be found at http://www.heraldica.org/topics/glossary/.
This article intentionally does not include Joseph Foster's The Dictionary of Heraldry in the list below, because this book does not reliably provide a good reproduction of the original artwork. Foster would often read a blazon-only roll of arms and create his own illustrations.
	-	Armorial Gelre is a personal favorite, because it includes armory from all over Europe and has excellent heraldic art. This armorial was compiled between 1370 and 1414. It contains some 1700 coats of arms (and some crests) from almost the entirety of Europe.  The following edition has black and white photographs and explanatory text in French: P. Adam-Even, annotator, Gelre (Jan von Helmont, Leuven, 1992, ISBN 90-74318-03-7).
	-	Zuricher Wappenrolle is a 14th C Swiss/German roll of arms known from later copies, with about 450 coats of arms and some additional armory depicted on standards. A color facsimile with explanatory text in English or in German is available on a Web site: http://ladyivanor.knownworldweb.com/zroaen0.htm. Print editions have also been published, one (with black and white redrawings and explanatory text in French) from Leopard d'Or.
	-	Scots Roll is a Scottish roll from the 15th C with 114 coats of arms. The following edition is available from the publisher at a bargain price, and it includes color photographs and explanatory text in English: Colin Campbell, The Scots Roll (The Heraldry Society of Scotland, Scotland, 1995, ISBN 0 9525258 0 1).
	-	Siebmacher's Wappenbuch is an armorial from 1605 covering Germany and neighboring areas. It has 3400 coats of arms with associated crests. The edition described here does not have blazons but it does have a name index. It has been going in and out of print about every five years, with the most recent edition in 1999, and is often available at a very low price. The 1994 and 1989 editions are effectively identical to the 1999 edition: Johann Siebmachers Wappenbuch von 1605 (Harenburg Komm., Dortmund, 1999, ISBN: 357210050X).
	-	Anglo-Norman Armory and Anglo-Norman Armory Two discuss 13th C Anglo-Norman armory. They are written in English. The first book contains a discussion of 13th C armory. It also contains a black and white photograph of the entire Herald's Roll (Fitzwilliam version), along with explanatory text. The Herald's Roll (Fitzwilliam version) contains roughly 700 coats of arms. Anglo-Norman Armory Two is an ordinary to twenty-five rolls of arms compiled from 1250 to 1315, covering 3000 coats of arms. The artwork in the second volume is modern. The volumes are Cecil Humphery-Smith, Anglo-Norman Armory (Family History, Canterbury, 1973, ISBN 0-9504879-2-9), and Cecil Humphery-Smith, Anglo-Norman Armory Two (Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies, Canterbury, 1984, ISBN 0-9504879-8-8).
	-	Armorial Bellenville is a late 14th C armorial with about 1700 coats of arms and some crests. It covers much of Europe, and it has a high degree of overlap with the armory in Armorial Gelre. The older edition (still apparently in print) is a black and white tricked redrawing that includes French explanatory text and an ordinary: Léon Jéquier, Armorial Bellenville (Cahiers d'Heraldique V) (Le Leopard d'Or, Paris, 1983, ISBN 2-86377-029-2). The newer (limited) edition will include a color photograph volume and an accompanying explanatory volume in French. It is forthcoming from Editions du Gui in February 2004, with a pre-publication price available through October 31, 2003.
	-	Grand Armorial Equestre de la Toison d'Or is a 15th C armorial covering most of Europe, with a concentration on the continent. It contains over 1000 coats of arms and some fine heraldic equestrian figures. The quality of the heraldic art in this roll is very high. There are two editions that are readily available. The older edition is a black and white redrawing with explanatory text in English: Rosemary Pinches and Anthony Wood, A European Armorial (Heraldry Today, London, 1971, ISBN 0 900455 13 6). The newer (limited) edition has a color photograph volume with an accompanying explanatory volume in French: M. Pastoureau and M. Popoff, Grand armorial equestre de la Toison d'Or (Editions du Gui, Paris, 2001).
	-	Libro de Armeria del Reino de Navarra is a 16th C Navarrese roll containing over 700 coats of arms. It includes a color reproduction of the roll with explanatory text in Spanish. One edition is from 1974: Faustino Menendez Pidal, Libro de Armería del Reino de Navarra (Editorial La Gran Enciclopedia Vasca, Bilbao, 1974, ISBN 84-248-0119-9). A new edition of the book appears to be on sale from the government of Navarre, according to their Web site, with a new second editor: Faustino Menendez Pidal and Juan José Martinena Ruiz, Libro de Armería del Reino de Navarra (Gobierno de Navarra. Dpto. de Educación y Cultura, 2002, ISBN 84-235-2166-4).
	-	Stemmi depicts heraldic art, which performs a function similar to that of a roll of arms. This book describes 176 armorial bas relief plaques in the courtyard of the Bargello museum in Florence, Italy. The arms belonged to the individuals holding the position of Podesta at the Bargello between 1313 and 1557. The heraldic art is excellent, and often includes crests and supporters. For each plaque, the book provides a black and white photograph, some information about the Podesta, and the name of the artist (in Italian). The book also has a scholarly introduction. The blazons are accurate when describing the charges but may not be accurate for tincture, as the pigments have mostly worn off the plaques. (In some cases, the blazon in the book gives the same tincture for a charge and the field or other charge on which it lies.) Unlike a roll of arms, where all the artwork was done in a short period of time, these plaques were roughly contemporary with the arms that they depict, and thus they survey over 200 years of Tuscan heraldic art: Francesca Fumi Cambi Gado, Stemmi (Firenze, 1993, no ISBN). The museum's publication Web site is http://www.sbas.firenze.it/musei/bargello/barg04.html.
	-	The Balliol Roll is a 14th C roll containing 36 Scottish coats of arms, which was probably compiled by (or for) an Englishman. A color photograph of the one-page roll is included. The explanatory text is in English and also includes historical and genealogical information about the people in the roll: Bruce A. McAndrew, The Balliol Roll (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 2002, no ISBN).
	-	Traité d'Heraldique is not a facsimile roll of arms, but an excellent discussion of heraldry (in French), with a particular focus on heraldry from the 13th to 15th C. It addresses some questions about frequency of use of charges and tinctures in various countries by providing statistics. The illustrations include good black and white photos and redrawings of period heraldry. This book appears to have recently gone out of print but was widely available in bookstores through 2001 and is still available new or used in some bookstores: Michel Pastoureau, Traité d'Héraldique (second edition, Picard, Paris 1993, ISBN 2-7084-0413-X; ISSN 0242-7249).
Where can you find period rolls of arms and armorials?
Libraries: Most heraldic books can be obtained via inter-library loan if you have their publication information. You may also consider seeing whether your local librarian or academic librarian would be willing to order books on rolls of arms for their library. It may be helpful to remind your librarian that these books are both of historical and artistic interest.
Web Sites: Most Web sites are poor sources for period rolls of arms. As noted above, most Web sites do not use period heraldic art. For example, http://www.heraldique-europeenne.org/Armoriaux/index.html uses modern heraldic clip art and geometric stylizations in its depictions of period rolls of arms, giving a very modern appearance to these coats of arms. Other Web sites include some period artwork but are not always clear about the date of the artwork. For example, the International Civic Arms site (http://www.ngw.nl/indexgb.htm) gives dates for when the civic heraldry was originally granted, and will sometimes date an illustration. However, the International Civic Arms site does not always date its illustrations, and the illustrations may significantly post-date the date of the grant. This observation is not a criticism of the site; it just reflects the purpose of the site. If a city has used the same coat of arms since they were granted in the 14th C, and the Web site designer chooses to illustrate that coat of arms with a 19th C drawing, the illustration is still an accurate depiction of that city's arms. But it doesn't help an SCA artist gain an understanding of 14th C heraldic art.
Stores and Publishers: No formal endorsement of these stores or publishers is implied by the following list. Neither the SCA Sovereigns of Arms nor Laurel Clerk are employed in any capacity by these stores or publishers.
	-	Used Book Web sites: Some used book Web sites are http://www.abebooks.com/ and Amazon's used books (was http://www.bibliofind.com/).
	-	The Amazon empire: Amazon has a good selection of heraldry books in print, even from smaller publishers like Leopard d'Or. Don't forget to check all the countries, particularly http://www.amazon.co.uk/ (Great Britain), http://www.amazon.fr/ (France) and http://www.amazon.de/ (Germany).
	-	Heraldry Today: This is an English new and used bookstore with a huge selection. They will maintain a "want list" for books that are not currently in stock and will notify you when the book is in stock. Their Web site only shows a small selection of their stock; if you want to know if they have a book in stock, you should send them a letter or e-mail and inquire: http://www.heraldrytoday.co.uk/, heraldry@heraldrytoday.co.uk, or Heraldry Today, Parliament Piece, Ramsbury, Wiltshire, SN8 2QH, U.K.
	-	Auction Websites: Ebay and similar sites have both new and used books.
	-	Publishers: Sometimes it is desirable to order books directly from the publisher, rather than going through a bookstore. Some noteworthy small specialty publishers are:
	-	Leopard d'Or: These are French publishers of facsimile documents and heraldic articles. Their publications include a number of small rolls of arms with black and white redrawn artwork and French explanatory text, such as the Armorial Lalaing and the Armorial des Rois de l'épinette de Lille. They also have some blazon-only editions of period rolls of arms. Their works are readily available in French bookstores. Their contact information is: 8 rue Ducoüedic - 75014 PARIS France - Tél. : 01 43 27 57 98, Fax: 01 43 21 40 03.
	-	Heraldry Society of Scotland: The Society publishes some good sources on period heraldry, including the Scots Roll and a good pamphlet on medieval flags: http://www.heraldry-scotland.co.uk/Homepage.htm, or Mrs E. Sharp, THE HERALDRY SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND, 44 Seaview Terrace, EDINBURGH, EH15 2HE, Great Britain.
	-	Editions du Gui: These are French publishers of high-quality limited edition facsimile documents: http://www.editions-du-gui.fr/ or Editions du Gui, Z.A. les marais-1079, route d'Annecy, 74410 SAINT-JORIOZ, FRANCE.
	-	Casa Editrice Orsini de Marzo: These are Italian publishers of high-quality limited edition facsimile documents: http://www.orsinidemarzo.com/index.asp or Casa Editrice Orsini de Marzo, Via Cernaia 11-I-20210 Milano MI, Italy.
From Laurel Clerk: Society Pages
Rosalia O Brogan, Star Principal Herald (Ansteorra), was inducted into the Order of the Pelican at Steppes Warlord on May 24. Vivat!
Send What to Whom
For all Letters of Intent, Comment, Response, Correction, et cetera, send one paper copy to each of Laurel PKoA and Wreath QoA at their mailing addresses as shown on the College of Arms Mailing List.
Send Laurel office copies of all submissions-related paper, including
	-	Letters of Intent, Comment, Response, Correction, et cetera (note: such paper copies are in addition to the personal copies for Laurel and Wreath mentioned above)
	-	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)
	-	Cheques or money orders for submissions, payable to "SCA Inc.-College of Arms"
to Pelican QoA at her roster address: ....
Send Laurel office copies of all submissions-related electronic files to submissions@sca.org. In particular, the Laurel Clerk would very much appreciate e-mailed copies of all LoIs, LoCs, LoRs, et cetera.
Send roster changes and corrections to Lord Symond Bayard le Gris, Bruce R. Nevins, 2527 E. 3rd St., Tucson, AZ, 85716-4114, 520-795-6000, 520-795-0158 (fax), bnevins@nexiliscom.com. College of Arms members can also request a copy of the current roster from Symond. 
For subscriptions to the paper copy of the LoAR, please contact Symond, above. The cost for an LoAR subscription is $25 a year. Please make all checks or money orders payable to "SCA Inc.-College of Arms". For subscriptions to the electronic copy of the LoAR, please contact Laurel at herald@sca.org. The electronic copy is available free of charge.
For all administrative matters, or for questions about whom to send to, please contact Laurel Principal King of Arms, whose contact information heads this letter.
Pray know that I remain
In service
François la Flamme
Laurel Principal King of Arms