June 18, 1982 XVII

TO: The Members of the College of Arms

FROM: Master Wilhelm von Schlüssel, Laurel King of Arms

Greetings:

Enclosed is June letter of Acceptances and Rejections, containing 92 acceptances and 27 rejections. This completes my first term of office, and next month I begin my second term. In the last 3 years, my office has sent out 4,282 acceptances and rejections, which is 1,427/year, or about 120/month.

In answer to various requests and comments, here are the following:

• The Principal Heralds will be receiving from me copies of Morimoto Koryu's Collection of Corporate and Civic Mon. Anyone else may obtain a copy from Koryu for $1.15. If you make a copy for somebody from your copy, Koryu would like to be informed as to who received it.
• The second issue of Vert and Or is out. I recommend that everyone subscribe to it, as it has great potential.
• Someone has written in to say that the badge for the Chirurgeons is the same as one of the major symbols of the Ku Klux Klan (a goutte within a Latin cross voided). I cannot find any reference to the Klan's symbols. Can anyone else either prove or disprove this claim? If this is true, the Chirurgeons may wish to alter their badge.
• If anyone wishes to call me, the easiest way to reach me is at work: (415) 486-5246 (ask for Bill), 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Messages can also be left at my home, (415) 540-7097, either with Cynthia or with our answering machine. Catching me at home is a matter of pure luck, but she works at home most days and is thus easier to find.
• Several people have asked about the matter of the Library of the SCA. What happened is: The Board withdrew Yrjö's right to use the name "SCA," and therefore ordered me to delete the name "Library of the SCA" from his badge. His personal name and his arms and badge were not changed. Since Master Yrjö had been able to register the name "Library of the SCA" only because of the express consent of the Board, this action was quite legal. The Board has no intention of ever ordering the College to delete a person's Society name, arms, device, or badge. This was a special case. Master Yrjö's honors were also untouched. His title of Librarian of the SCA was of his own creation and was not an official title. The Board has now created a Library of the Society and has appointed its own Librarian of the Society. Master Yrjö is now deciding on a new name for his private library, which began as the Library of the Sciences before becoming the Library of the SCA.

A brief history of the problem is as follows: Master Yrjö founded the Library of the Sciences to provide an archive of all sciences papers so that members of the SCA would have a single source from which to request copies of papers. He compiled an index to T.I. articles, articles in newsletters, and articles in outside journals, such as Scientific American, which were of interest to SCA members. He approached the Board about making this library official. This was tentatively agreed to, and he changed its name to Library of the SCA and adopted the title of Librarian of the SCA. He then submitted a badge for the Library. Then there was a dispute over jurisdiction between Master Yrjö and the Chronicler which resulted in the library reverting to unofficial status, with the understanding that, at a future date, it might become official again. As it was unofficial, I registered the badge to Master Yrjö instead of to the SCA. As the Board had not revoked its permission to use the name "Library of the SCA," I also registered that name to the badge and therefore to Master Yrjö. This last winter there was a confrontation between the Board and Master Yrjö over some comments he had made in his monthly library letter to his deputy librarians and which had been printed in some newsletters. The end result was the Board's revocation of the right to the name "Library of the SCA" and the creation of an official Library of the Society with a new Librarian of the Society. Master Yrjö continues to operate his unofficial library as before, although he has had to change its name. No other action was taken against him except for the loss of free advertising rights for the library in newsletters.

OK. As always, there are changes to the mailing list. Due to lack of com-menting, I am removing from the CoA mailing list White Stag, Schwarzdrachen, Pennon and Archive. They will have to send in LoCs to get back onto the list. The following are behind in commenting: Pale Herald, Polaris Herald, and Peregrine Pursuivant. They need to get an LoC to me before my next meeting. My thanks to the rest of you who are sending out your comments. They really help. My next meeting will be on Sunday, July 18, when I will consider the following: Aten (3/23), Caid (4/6), Atlantia (4/8), West (4/12), and Aten (4/30). The subsequent meeting will be on Sunday, August 15, when I will consider: Meridies (5/10), East (5/10), West (5/12), and Caid (5/18). 1 have learned about the following baronial orders for the Barony of the Concordia of the Snows in the East: the Order of the Silver Snowflake, the Order of the Thimble, and the Order of the Manx Cat.

In answer to the question on excessive fimbriation, use of fimbriation becomes excessive when it is used on a complex outline, such as a flower or a bird, or on multiple charges. You should only use fimbriation on a single simple charge. Sometimes you can get away with fimbriating a group of identical simple charges. Fimbriating a number of different charges is excessive fimbriation.

In response to the feedback I have received, I have determined to allow groups which receive a Royal Charter to register a group device. An Award of Arms is automatically a charter and allows a group to register arms. I leave it up to each kingdom to determine the procedures and requirements for receiving a Royal Charter.

I have also decided to allow everybody the option of registering one, AND ONLY ONE, alias. This can be an alternate personals name, a nickname, or an alternate legal name. This alias, like a badge, will be registered under the primary Society name. The Order of Precedence will still list the primary Society name, and all scrolls will use the primary Society name. The alias must satisfy the rules for names. The alias will be listed in the Armorial, with a reference to the primary Society name, and will thus be protected.

On a trial basis I have decided that the rules for household names will be as follows. Household names may not be the names of actual places, as that would imply the head of the household was the ruler of that place. Household names may not be the surnames of actual families or clans, as that would imply that the head of the household was the head of that family or clan. Household names do not have to be registered, but if they are not registered, they are not protected. In order to be registered, a household name must not conflict with any other household names in the SCA or with any SCA Society names. Two household names conflict if they differ only by minor spelling variants or sound essentially the same. Thus House Dawngaard would conflict with House Donguard. House Righthall would conflict with House Ritehaul. House Greentree Wood would conflict with House Greenwood, as they would sound too similar. A household name conflicts with a surname or place name of a Society name only when it is identical or a spelling variant. Thus House Tallwood would conflict with John of Tallwood or John of Tallwoods or John of Tallwode, but not with John of Highwood or John of Talltree. The reverse is true for Society names conflicting with household names. We'll see how this works in practice. The principle is that there should be more difference between two household names than between a household name and somebody's last name.

I am in the process of putting together a pamphlet on names for the T.I. pamphlet series. I will write an article on rules for SCA names and the procedures for registering them. Steven of Westmarch has sent me a chapter on Welsh names. Vesper will be doing one on Anglo-Saxon names. Eriod of Eire will handle Irish names. I need volunteers for other major languages, such as Japanese, Scots Gaelic, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Italian, Arabic, Latin, Norse, Hebrew, etc. These should be 3 to 4 single-spaced typed pages, with advice on the construction, spelling, pronunciation, sources, and grammar of names in that language, plus examples. Please let me know if you are interested in doing one or more of these (and thus getting your name in print) before you actually do the article so I can avoid duplication of effort. (Of course, if you simply can't resist writing it immediately, I won't complain.) I would like to get this pamphlet put together and ready to send to Countess Nige of the Cleftlands (who is in charge of the pamphlet series) by the end of August, so I would like to receive these articles by the end of July. This sort of multi-lingual name reference is a long needed and highly useful reference.

The question of registering regalia and tokens has come up. As you see, I have now registered them for the SCA-wide orders and titles. It is not required for tokens and regalia to be registered unless it is desired that they be reserved. In this case, they should be registered, so that all will know of them and so there will be no conflicts. They should be described as well as possible. It is possible to register a token with the attached statement that it is not reserved. The registration then simply serves to let people know what is being used. They should be registered as a badge to the branch that controls the order.

This leads us to another area, namely, seals and makers' marks and other marks. We are getting more and more tinctureless or non-heraldic emblems or tokens in the SCA which deserve to be recorded but which are not true heraldic devices or badges. There is a need for a different outlook for these on the matter of points of difference. Arms, devices, and household badges are all displayed in the same manner and therefore the possibility of conflict is obvious. These marks, seals, and tokens are used and displayed differently, and thus would seem to have less potential for confusion and therefore require fewer points of difference.

Our system of difference is based upon the degree of difference we desire. Most of the major points of difference were used at one time or another as common marks of cadency or difference to indicate a relationship between one family and another. We didn't want SCA arms and devices to appear to be cadet branches of mundane families, so we declared that no SCA device or arms should look like a cadet branch of a mundane arms, which meant that more than one major point was needed. This resulted in our One Major + One Minor requirement for SCA arms and devices versus outside arms. We decided that we wanted a higher degree of difference between SCA devices, as they would often be borne on the same field. This led to the requirement for two major points of difference. Household badges were not quite as important as personal devices, and so were assigned the same requirement as mundane arms, namely, differ by one major and one minor point from SCA devices and arms. The requirement for difference between our badges and outside arms and badges was less still, and so we settled on one major point of difference. Fieldless badges were common in our period and so we allowed them in the SCA, requiring the same degrees of difference, with the difference of field not counting. As they could be borne on any background, they had to check for conflicts against all backgrounds.

A problem arises with tinctureless badges, such as seals or makers, marks. We haven't really specified the degree of difference we want here. Tinctureless badges are designed for uses other than devices and/or badges. They are for placing on paper or objects as a mark of ownership, authorship, or identity. They are not (or should not be) displayed on banners, surcoats, or shields, and thus you will not see them displayed along with a device at an event. This lessens the chance of confusion with that device. I propose that tinctureless badges of all sorts be required to avoid having identical outlines with other badges, arms, and devices. Color is not involved, save in the case of divided fields and tinctures, where the lines of division count in the outline.

We already have this rule for seals formed from devices by dropping the colors. I propose to extend the rule to all tinctureless badges. In many cases, this would mean that a minor point of difference would suffice. For example, if somebody had submitted the tinctureless badge of A delf embattled, it would not conflict with somebody else's device of Gules, a delf argent, because the outline was different. The actual difference here, since the color of the field and charge don't count is a minor point, namely, the line of division of the delf.

I would like to make clear the fact that just because color is not a consideration does not mean that, by registering a tinctureless badge, you are then able to display it with any color combination you want. All submissions should be registered as they are to be used, and should be used as they are registered. If you want to have your emblem colored, then register it with colors. If you are going to use it as a tinctureless seal, then register it that way. If you have registered a tinctureless badge, then that is how you should use it. A tinctureless badge is used as a seal or a maker's mark or a scribe's mark or a mark of ownership. It should never be displayed on a banner, shield, or armorial surcoat. If you want a badge to go on household surcoats of different colors, then you should register a fieldless, tinctured badge. These were the usual badges in use in period and could be placed on various backgrounds. A tinctureless badge should be used as a stamp, seal, or silk-screen pattern placed on things, not as an armorial device in multiple colors.

A special case is the mon. These are actually tinctured in that they consist of color on metal or metal on color (dark on light or light on dark). The usual usage was light on dark, or metal on color. Only one metal and color were used. Therefore, a device with more than two colors can claim a difference of tincture from a mon, which has only two tinctures. A device which is color on metal has the counterchange difference from a mon that is metal on color. Mon should be registered as argent charges on a sable field, with the understanding that this represents light on dark. They should be clearly identified as mon. Your primary mon is your device or arms. Your secondary mon is your badge. Mon are both displayed on shields and banners as armorial devices and on one's clothing in the standard three places as marks of ownership. Your mon is also your household badge, but only you can display it on your shield or banner. Your household members can display it on their kimono, and it can be on your goods and equipment. (Such is my understanding.)

The above rule for tinctureless badges is designed to make it easier to register and use non-armorial emblems and at the same time make it easier to register devices without conflicting with existing tinctureless badges. As they are used for different purposes and displayed differently, they should need a lesser degree of difference than fieldiess badges and devices.

Several people have complained that our rules on conflict are forcing us to give up the concept of simple arms because only complexity prevents conflict. I have been examining the conflict question and have noted two places where we can ease up a little to allow more simple designs to pass. Not all of the major point situations were commonly used as marks of difference or cadency. The basic rule has to be 1 1/2 points of difference because most were, but we can allow specific exceptions. We already have one such exception. Replacing all of the charges was uncommon as a mark of difference (although it was done early on), and so we have the rule of complete difference of charge being sufficient difference. There are two other possibilities that are similar. Adding a major central charge that becomes the primary charge, thus delegating the former primary charges to the rank of secondary charges, does not seem to have been common; therefore, this change would not normally be considered a mark of difference or cadency.

An example of this would be taking the arms Argent, a bordure gules and adding a lion rampant vert to arrive at Argent, a lion rampant vert within a bordure gules. The bordure has been demoted to a secondary charge and a new tincture has been added. Thus these would not conflict because they would not appear to be cadenced arms. An example arose in this month's submissions, with Ryan of Rickford (Caid) who had Or, a nine-man-morris board chased within an orle azure. Compare this to the mundane family having Or, an orle azure. I could not envision anyone in period adding a playing board this was as a mark of difference. The playing board was now the principal charge, and considering it to conflict with the mundane family seemed rather like considering it to conflict with arms consisting just of the field Or. In both cases, a principal charge had been added and the focus of the arms had moved. Ryan's device was approved as a special exception to illustrate this proposal. If enough of you disagree with this proposal, then his device shall simply be a special case and the old system will stand.

It should be clear that the other case is the opposite of the above, namely, removing the principal charge or charges. If a mundane family has Argent, a cross between four mullets azure, and an SCA member submits Argent, in saltire four mullets azure, it really does not seem like you would consider the second to be a cadet branch of the first. The mundane family is probably using arms differenced from Argent, a cross azure. It seems highly unlikely that a cadet branch of theirs would then remove the cross to show their connection, since that actually removes the connection. Thus both proposals can be combined to state that the addition or removal of the principal charge or charges shall constitute sufficient difference between SCA arms and devices and outside arms., The requirements for difference between two SCA submissions remain unchanged.

Note that the operative word here is "principal." The addition or removal of a secondary charge is simply a point of difference. For the exception to apply, the added charge cannot be any of the standard marks of cadency and it must become the dominant principal charge. The addition of a small central charge is insufficient. Thus, if the mundane arms are Argent, a mascle between three mullets gules, the addition of an estoile inside the mascle would not change the mascle's status as the principal charge, and hence there would be a conflict. If in Ryan's case the mundane family and he both had the orle within three mullets azure, then the addition of the playing board would not have been sufficient because of the extra similarity and because now the orle would still appear to be a principal charge.

We have been saying for some time that we wish to encourage simple arms in the SCA. I believe that these new rules will promote this, while at the same time maintaining our desire to avoid appearing: to register cadenced versions of mundane arms. Particularly well-known or popular mundane arms will continue to be protected to a higher degree. Thus you could not get away with Azure, a Chevron between three fleurs-de-lys Or, as that would still conflict with France, even though you added a principal charge. Think this matter over carefully and let me know what you think about it. I think that, with this change and the change tinctureless badges, we will have completed the codification of sufficient difference. These last three years have been both rewarding and a lot of work. I feel that we are finally getting over the stage of making the system work and that we can now enjoy having a functioning system, settling down into more research into heraldry, and improving the state of heraldic education within the SCA. Thank you all for your efforts in my first term, and I look forward to working with you in my next term.

Pray believe, my Lards and my Ladies, that I remain

Your servant,

Wilhelm von Schlüssel,

Laurel King of Arms,

wvS:CFC