Box 352

Mount Pleasant, SC 29465

1 August, 1990

Unto the Members of the College of Arms and any others who may read this missive, greetings from Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane, erstwhile Laurel Queen of Arms!

Good friends,

As has been noted elsewhere, the enclosed correspondence will be my last letter to the College of Arms for some time. As many of you know already, unlike a majority of my predecessors, I am suspending my activity in the College of Arms with this letter.

This is not because I am "burned out" after nine years in the College (as Elmet, Brigantia and Laurel). I am not alienated either from the College or from heraldry. Indeed, one of the joys of retirement will be to resume work on several heraldic projects that have been "on hold" due to administrative obligations.

Nor do I disapprove of my successor. Quite the contrary. Rather I feel Master Da'ud deserves the space to do what he wants with the College and with the rules without "Marley's Ghost" about to confront him. I cannot comment in the College without commenting freely and free comments might cause polarization in the College. So I shall do what I did with both Kingdom offices I held: walk away and leave my successor to get on with his job free of my shadow.

As I walk away, I look back with a certain amount of dissatisfaction, most notably over my failure to live up to my own standards for paperwork. From a purely mundane point of view this has been the most stressful four years of my life (and would have been even had I not been Laurel!) and it was inevitable that this should have carried over into the Society sphere.

However, the sense of accomplishment I carry away from the office is far greater than the dissatisfaction. Over the past four year the College has produced new rules which are simpler to use and easer to explain to the layman, being for the first time in Society history more or less logically derived from clear first principles. While the discussion in the College was sometimes painful, it did contribute to far better understanding of the concepts and issues involved than if the rules had simply been issued three and a half years ago by Laurel fiat: the rules would probably not differ greatly from their current appearance, but the College's approach to them would no doubt be quite different.

If I have to look back on a tenure filled with controversy, burn-out of long-time pillars of the College, alienation of skilled heralds from Board and College, and record number of turn-overs in the Principal Heralds of the various Kingdoms, I can also take great satisfaction in the fact that the Laurel Office has been able to issue an Administrative Handbook that for the first time places in one document all the detailed administrative guidelines and standards for performance in the College of Arms. Theoretically, at least, any new Principal Herald or submissions herald now has a source available which outlines the duties expected of them.

And, when I grimace at the defects in my paperwork over the past years, I remind myself that the College has processed more submissions in that time than in any comparable period in its past. That it has done so while engaging in lively (indeed sometimes rabid!) discussion of basic issues and in a period when submissions commentary frequently hit new lows (in more way s than one!) and Laurel staff constantly vanished in the mist only serves to amaze me. (I really should have equipped myself with a significant other before assuming office: that would have guaranteed one reliable person for the Laurel staff!)

No farewell from office is complete without the appropriate thank you's to those who have assisted in the work of the office. Over four years that can mount up to a significant debt. There are literally hundreds of people to whom thanks are owning, but only a few can be singled out.

Graidhne ni Ruaidh, quondam Holus Herald, who served as Drop Dead Successor and unflagging sounding board until reft from the College of Arms by the Board of Directors;

Frederick of Holland, who stepped into the gap to serve as Drop Dead Successor and living reminder of where we have come from;

Wilhelm von Schlüssel, who provided perspective on where we might be going;

Charles Steward O'Connor, who never hesitated to tell Laurel precisely where he thought she should go;

Eilis O'Boirne, who provided floor space, intelligent feedback and lots of scotch at several critical periods (but not an alarm clock!);

Jaelle of Armida, who sent copies of books, and more books, and more books. . . ;

Keridwen o'r Mynydd Gwyndd, who not only commented regularly and copiously, but provided music and intelligent conversation capable of soothing many savage breasts;

Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme, who harangued Laurel in public and patted her hand in private'

Gawaine of Miskbridge, who unfailingly maintained his status as a gentleman and a scholar through four years of commentary (in very small print!);

Yosef Alaric of the Baliset, who took regularly time off from his own corporate office to provide reality checks for the Laurel Office;

Martin Bröker, who kept his head when all about him were losing theirs'

Vasili iz Naitemneshoi Dollina, who not only served as publishing house but father confessor for the Laurel Office;

And, of course,

Da'ud ibn Auda, who is making it all go away. . .

Ave. Vale. It's been real. . .

Alisoun