Unto the members of the College of Arms,
from Baldwin of Erebor, Laurel King of Arms.
My lords and ladies,
Enclosed herewith is the letter of acceptances
and returns for the Laurel meeting of July 14th somewhat
later than I had hoped, but by the time preparation and cleanup
were added in, my two weeks' vacation turned into four weeks away
from the word processor. Submissions were processed at this meeting
for An Tir (3/26), East (4/1), East (4/5), Caid (4/11), West (4/19),
Atenveldt (4/20), Middle (4/20), and Ansteorra (4/25). There
were 221 items approved, 36 returned, and 1 pending, for an 86%
approval rate.
Schedule
The September meeting has been scheduled
for the 15th. We will be reviewing letters of intent from Ansteorra
(6/10), Calontir (6/11), Meridies (6/15), the West (6/16), Caid
(6/20), and East (6/27). Letters of comment for this meeting
should arrive not later than September 7.
The October meeting has been moved from
the 13th to the 20th, to avoid conflict with the second day of
Collegium Caidis. Letters to be processed at this meeting are
Middle (7/4) [heraldic titles], Atenveldt (7/5) [two letters],
West (7/10) [appeal], Caid (7/11), Middle (7/15), Atlantia (7/26),
East (7/27), East (7/28), West (7/28), and East (7/29). Letters
of comment for this meeting should arrive not later than October
12.
Tentative meeting dates for the remainder
of the year are November 10 and December 15. These are subject
to change depending on local event and work schedules.
Personnel
I am pleased to announce the appointment
of Mistress Eowyn Amberdrake (Melinda Sherbring) to the office
of Clarion Queen of Arms. Mistress Eowyn will be serving as my
general deputy, working on special projects, doing research, and
helping formulate policy.
I would also like to announce the appointment
of Lord Alban St. Albans (Ted Eisenstein), of the Kingdom of Calontir,
to the post of Morsulus Herald. Lord Alban will be responsible
for the maintenance and production of the SCA Armorial and Ordinary.
Dave Thewlis (Duke Siegfried von Höflichkeit)
has retired from the Board of Directors (and is now Marshal of
the Society). His successor as Laurel Ombudsman is Steve Muhlberger
(Duke Finnvarr de Taahe).
There are a considerable number of changes
to the mailing list this month. An updated College of Arms roster
is enclosed. Please note in particular the addition of Minowara
KiritsubonoInazuma (Elaine Koogler), Lord Henry of
Linlithgow (Henry Troup), and Lady AElfhaelen Dracasidth (G.
Dee Redman) to the list of commenting heralds.
Mistress Eilis O'Boirne has retired as Brachet
Herald. Her successor is Mistress Alison von Markheim (Alison
Lowe). Please note that neither of the addresses given for Mistress
Alison in the West's July mailing is correct. Mistress Eilis
is now Latimer Herald. The West has asked that copies of letters
of intent and comment be sent to Latimer, for the Vesper files,
in addition to the copy sent to Brachet.
In addition, please note that Lanner Herald
has a new address, and that Stellanordica's ZIP code is 99508,
not 99509.
Procedures
Corrections to the armorial and ordinary,
or to the LoARs, should be sent to Laurel. Unless they are likely
to be controversial, corrections do not need to appear on a letter
of intent. I've been checking corrections against the files,
partly to avoid introducing new errors, and partly so I can make
a record of the correction in the folder.
Dancetty vs. indented
If vou consult the average heraldry book,
you will be advised that the difference between indented
and dancetty is the number of teeth. A line indented
looks like the blade of a crosscut saw, with an indeterminate
number of low peaks and shallow valleys, while the same line dancetty
has but three peaks, and these are pronounced.
According to Roger F. Pye [1,2], the medieval
definitions were somewhat different. A line of partition, or
a singlesided ordinary (such as a chief), would always be
blazoned as indented, and the zigzag line would be
vigorously emblazoned with "great bold bites"
much like modern dancetty. If a twosided ordinary
(such as a fess or bend) was indented, "the bites from either
side almost met (or did meet) in the middle ... this caused diamondshaped
segments to be formed between the bites, and these segments came
to be called fusils."
Dancetty, on the other hand, was a treatment of a twosided ordinary.
"Whereas in indented ordinaries the
indentations were opposite one another, in the case of 'dancetty'
the indentations on the two sides were made to fit into one another,
so that the whole ordinary danced up and down (whence its name)."
A fess dancetty was often referred to in medieval heraldry as
a dance. [3]
Master Wilhelm adopted the medieval definitions
of indented and dancetty in his cover letter of
27 Aug 80. Unfortunately, he interchanged the two terms in the
text and on the illustrations, which has led to a certain amount
of confusion. This error was corrected in the 20 Oct 80 cover
letter. I authorized use of the term dance in my LoAR of 31 Oct
84.
To summarize, then: in SCA heraldry, indented
should be drawn boldly. Singlesided ordinaries, such as chiefs
and bordures, are always said to be indented, never dancetty.
If a twosided ordinary is indented, the peaks and the valleys
should oppose one another. If drawn in the medieval fashion,
the zigzag lines should come close to meeting in the middle,
giving the appearance of an ordinary made up of fusils. Dancetty
is a treatment of a twosided ordinary. The peaks and valleys
parallel each other, causing the whole ordinary to zigzag or "dance"
across the field. A fess dancetty may also be blazoned as a dance.
The above illustrations show (1) a modern
line indented, (2) a modern line dancetty, (3) a medieval fess
indented, and (4) a medieval fess dancetty.
I pray you believe me to be, my lords and
ladies,
Your servant,
Baldwin of Erebor
Laurel King of Arms
enclosures
_____________________________________
[1] Roger F. Pye. A return to first principles: II - lozenge and fusil. Coat of Arms VII(50):6062.
[2] Roger F. Pye. A return to first principles: IV - some confused partition lines. Coat of Arms VII(55):293295.
[3] J. P. BrookeLittle. An Heraldic
Alphabet, page 81. Arco Publishing Com-pany, revised edition
1975.