July 15, 1983 A.S. XVIII
TO: The Members of the College of Arms
FROM: Master Wilhelm von Schlüssel, Laurel King of Arms Greetings:
Greetings:
Enclosed is the July LOA&R, with 149 acceptances and 60 submissions
returned, for a total of 209. By August 6 I will need all LoCs on the following
5 Lols: Atlantia (4/28), West (5/16), Atenveldt (5/17), Middle (5/23), and
Ansteorra (5/27), totalling 178 submissions. By September 3 I will need all
LoCs on the following 9 Lols: Atenveldt (5/30), Caid (6/3), Meridies (6/3),
Ansteorra (6/6), West (6/8), Middle (6/9), Caid (6/21), Middle (6/25), and
Atenveldt (6/26), totalling 142 submissions. By October 1 I will need all
LoCs for the Lols dated in July.
There have been changes in the mailing list. Gold Falcon and Asterisk have
resigned. The Aten Principal Herald has moved. Brigantia and Elmet have exchanged
offices. I am adding to the list Gustav Athanasius von Hausenstadt, Crystal
Pursuivant; Regina Romsey, Schwarzdrachen Herald; and Anebairn MacPharlaine,
Star Principal Herald. I enclose a copy of the new mailing list.
I would like to ask everyone who sends out LoCs to, if possible, send copies
not only to those kingdoms on whose LoIs you comment but also to my Staff
Heralds (Batonvert, Virgule, Greenwood, and Monshō) so they can know what
you say and have a chance to comment on your comments. I would also like to
urge that you send a copy to each kingdom, either to the Principal Herald
or his/her College representative, that did not have an LoI you commented
on. In this way, all kingdoms will receive your comments. This will improve
communication and information exchange. I realize that for some of you budgetary
restraints will not allow these extra copies, and thus I do not require them,
but I do strongly encourage them. I ask the Principal Heralds to see if some
means can be worked out to give the major commentors in your kingdom a budget
for mailing out LoCs.
One possibility would be for the commentor to send a copy to me and a copy
to his/her Principal Herald (or representative to the College). I would get
my copy on time and the Principal Herald could then send copies of the LoCs
out with his/her own as a packet. This would save postage, provide for a wider
distribution, allow the postage to come from the kingdom college account,
and provide the Principal Herald with more reports, as the commentor could
also send reports in with the LoCs. For this to work, of course, the Principal
Herald would have to be diligent in sending out monthly packets to the College.
I do not require this sort of arrangement, but I do encourage you all to try
it.
The commentors have been doing a good job, although I haven't been getting
as many LoCs as I would like. I need LoCs from Monshō, Blue Tyger, Dragon,
and Polaris. The quality of submissions has definitely improved. Those who
believe it is not possible to register simple devices anymore should look
at the many excellent simple devices that passed this month. Special congratulations
go to the West, which got a perfect score this month!
I have received a few questions. 1) You may not use somebody else's surname
as a registered household name, but you may use your own if it is not somebody
else's surname. Thus John Blackheart could register House Blackheart as long
as Blackheart was not an existing surname. This is because, while you can
claim to be a member of a mundane family, you cannot claim to be the head
of it. 2) I still discourage the use of initials after one's name to indicate
honors earned. To the best of my knowledge, this practice is definitely out
of period. For who must use them (in particular, in Orders of Precedence)
I allowed the use of M.O.P. instead of M.P. The original abbreviation of
Pel. is still legal for individuals to use but is not appropriate for O.P’s
because it doesn't even follow modern conventions, let alone period practice.
I would like to remind you that the heraldic and symposium questionnaires
I sent out last month are due by August 14, 1983. Please be sure to write
your name at the top of the sheet. I need to be able to separate out regular
members of the College from other responders for some of the questions. So
far every response has been favorable to the idea of using this sort of questionnaire.
Batonvert has suggested that it would be a good idea to have a currently
updated list of rulings, both major and minor, that people could get copies
of, rather than having to look back through the LoA&Rs. Master Baldwin's
Precedents volumes have certainly indicated the usefulness of this sort of
reference. The list could have all changes to the rules and interpretations
of rules since the last set of rules was published, similar to the Supplement
I did a while ago. This sort of job would be expedited by a computer or word
processor. I agree that it would be useful to have such a list, but neither
my Lady nor I have the time to keep it up. Such a list would probably be useful
to Master Baldwin in his periodic compilations of Precedents. Master Baldwin's
Precedents volumes record all precedents, some of which are superseded by
later ones. This new list would be a current list, dropping rulings when new
rulings are made. I therefore announce an opening for a Precedents Clerk to
maintain such a list and make it available to me and the College. Anyone willing
to undertake the position should write to me.
I would like to issue a general request for assistance with the Society
Names Book. I have received a number of comments to the effect that it should
cover as much ground as possible and that it should be checked for accuracy.
It has already surpassed the size where it was practical for it to be issued
in the Pamphlet Series as anything less than three issues, so I will have
to publish it separately as a book. I have received and am editing first drafts
for the following languages: English, Anglo-Saxon, Welsh, Irish & Scots
Gaelic, Old Norse, German, French, Spanish & Portuguese, Italian, Roman
Latin, Medieval Latin, Greek, Russian, Polish Arabic, and Japanese as well
as an article on Jewish names. I have been promised articles on Serbian and
Byzantine Greek. I need articles on Frankish, Gothic, Dutch, Flemish, Mongol,
and all Eastern European languages not mentioned above.*
What I need is a 4- to 8-page article giving a basic overview on how to
construct authentic Society names in a language from the fall of Rome in
AD476 to the SCA cutoff of AD1600. There should be a bibliography, a list
of sample given names and bynames, and rules for the proper construction
of given names and of the four common types of bynames: patronymics (and
other relationships), occupational, place names, and personal descriptives.
There should be a guide to the pronunciation, spelling and grammar of the
language. I would also like a translation of the SCA titles of King/Queen,
Prince/ss, Baron/ess, Duke/Duchess, Count/ess, Earl, Viscount/ess Knight/Sir,
Master/Mistress, Lord/Lady. If any of you are willing, or if you know of
anyone who would be willing, please contact me or have them do so. If any
of you are competent in any of the languages above and would be willing to
review the articles, please let me know. I want this to be as accurate and
complete as possible, given the shortness of space. My free time is severely
limited and so I appeal for assistance. *NOTE: I have name lists for Breton,
Cornish, and Old German, but no idea of their grammars. Thus I need articles
for them (if Breton/Cornish differ from Welsh)
Pray believe, my Lords and my Ladies, that I remain your servant,
Master Wilhelm von Schlüssel
Laurel King of Arms
WvS:CFCvS
Created 122701T14:45:34