Laurel Sovereign of Arms and Laurel Staff

by Richenda du Jardin

What is the job of the Laurel Sovereign of Arms? According to the Governing Documents, the Laurel Sovereign of Arms (usually called Laurel) is responsible for fostering the study and practice of heraldry, and for establishing rules and making determinations regarding names and armory, royal and noble titles, and geographical designations to be approved for use in the Society. But what does this mean?

Laurel is the highest ranking herald in the SCA. Laurel supervises and assists the various kingdom colleges of heralds to do all of the things heralds do, including providing voice heraldry services to the Crown and populace, keeping orders of precedence, and dealing with submissions. Not surprisingly, submissions are an important part of Laurel's job, since submissions are processed at the Society level. Laurel determines what name and armory submissions (both for individuals and for groups) are appropriate for the SCA and helps develop heraldic customs throughout the SCA. This is a huge job for just one person, so Laurel has a staff of dedicated heralds to help get it done.

The primary deputies of Laurel are the Pelican Sovereign of Arms (Pelican) and Wreath Sovereign of Arms (Wreath). Other deputies are Palimpsest Herald, Morsulus Herald, Codex Herald, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Ragged Staff Herald, the College of Arms, Precedents Editor, and Education Deputy.

Pelican Sovereign of Arms

The Pelican Sovereign of Arms (Pelican) reviews all name submissions for individuals and groups in the SCA and determines if they should be accepted or returned for further work (though Pelican has had other duties in the past). To make these decisions, Pelican relies on commentary supplied by the College of Arms. Once the decisions are made, they are recorded in a Letter of Acceptances and Returns.

Wreath Sovereign of Arms

The Wreath Sovereign of Arms (Wreath) reviews all armory (device and badge) submissions for individuals and groups in the SCA and determines if they should be accepted or returned for further work. To make these decisions, Wreath relies on commentary supplied by the College of Arms. Once the decisions are made, they are recorded in a Letter of Acceptances and Returns.

Palimpsest Herald

Palimpsest Herald (Palimpsest) is the "rules herald". Palimpsest is responsible for coordinating discussions about changes to the Administrative Handbook, Glossary of Terms, and the Rules for Submission. Changes to these documents are usually proposed by a member of Laurel staff in response to changes in our understanding of period practice or changes in our methods for processing submissions.

Morsulus Herald

Morsulus Herald (Morsulus) is the herald responsible for maintaining and updating the Ordinary and Armorial (O and A). The Ordinary is the listing of all SCA-registered and SCA-protected armory organized by charges and field division. The Armorial is the listing of all SCA-registered and SCA-protected items organized by owner's name. The O and A is kept in a printed document and a searchable online database.

Codex Herald

Codex Herald (Codex) is the herald responsible for updating the Laurel web site.

Chancellor of the Exchequer

The Laurel office has its own exchequer, which reconciles the payments received from each kingdom to the payments due from each kingdom. In addition, this office tracks all expenditures for the Laurel office.

Ragged Staff

Ragged Staff Herald (Ragged Staff) is the file clerk for the Laurel office. Ragged Staff receives all submission paperwork from each kingdom's submissions herald (both paper and electronic), sends electronic copies to Pelican and Wreath, and files the paper copies. Ragged Staff also manages inactive files both to ensure that they are available as necessary as well as to determine which can be scanned and archived.

College of Arms

Members of the College of Arms support Laurel and Laurel's deputies in their duties. This support consists of providing reports on the state of heraldry in each kingdom, forwarding kingdom submissions, and providing commentary about submissions to Laurel, Pelican, and Wreath so that appropriate decisions can be made. Members of the College of Arms include the principal heralds of each kingdom, the submissions herald of each kingdom, and commenting heralds nominated by the principal heralds.

Precedents Editor

The Precedents Editor creates the precedents for Laurel, a listing of important decisions by category for easier use. The editor reviews each Letter of Acceptance and Return for important decisions which provide important interpretations of the Rules for Submission; these decisions are included in the listing of precedents.

Education Deputy

Laurel's education deputies work to create educational materials about heraldry, including soliciting articles and classes to help educate heralds and the populace on period heraldic design, heraldic use, and naming practices and to help educate heralds and the populace on the SCA application of this knowledge. The primary venues for this information is the Laurel web site, though they also work to assist Known World Heralds and Scribes Collegiums, kingdom collegia, and the Known World Heralds and Scribes Proceedings.