LoAR

of the College of Arms
of the
Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.

January 1991


P.O. Box 1646

Dallas, TX 75221-1646

Unto the members of the College of Arms and all others who may read this missive does Da'ud ibn Auda, Laurel King of Arms, send Greetings!

The attached Letter of Acceptances and Returns covers the following Letters of Intent considered at the Laurel meeting held Saturday, January 19, 1991, which considered the following letters of intent dated in October, 1990: Trimaris (10/1), An Tir (10/1), Caid (10/6), Middle (10/10), Laurel (10/16), Ansteorra (10/20), Meridies (10/23), Atenveldt (10/25), East (10/28), and Calontir (10/31).

The February Laurel meeting is scheduled for Saturday, February 23, 1991, and will consider the following letters of intent dated in 1990: Outlands (10/3), Caid (11/10), Outlands (11/12), An Tir (11/12), Middle (11/12), Meridies (11/17), Caid (11/19), Atlantia (11/20), Ansteorra (11/20), and Calontir (11/30).

The March Laurel meeting is scheduled for Saturday, March 16, 1991, and will consider the following letters of intent dated in December, 1990: Meridies (12/15), Ansteorra (12/20), Middle (12/20), West (12/21) and Calontir (12/31).

The April Laurel meeting is scheduled for Saturday, April 27, 1991, and will consider letters of intent dated in January, 1991 and the An Tir LoI dated December 6 but mailed in January.

ROSTER CHANGES AND CORRECTIONS

Please change Sionyn Muirgen ni Dhomnall from Pennon Herald to Lambent Herald, and change Brenna Lowri o Ruthin from Pennon designate to Pennon Herald and add her to your mailing list. Lady Lambent will still be commenting, so please retain her on your mailing list.

Lord White Stag asks that you add to your mailing lists the new Palmer Herald for the Outlands, Lord Walter Kempe of Falconhold (Walter Kaleikini-Wolfe), 18156 East Atlantic Drive, Aurora, CO 80013; (303) 752-3392

Lord Star has moved. His new address is: Tadhg Liath of Duncairn (Tiomoid M. of Angle), 740 West Spring Valley #221, Richardson, TX 75080.

Mistress Keridwen ferch Morgan Glasfryn has moved. Her new address is: c/o Heather Rose Jones, 5838 Fremont Street, #2, Oakland, CA 94608 (she just moved downstairs).

Lord Black Lion asks that you add the following commenters to your mailing lists effective immediately:

Lion's Blood Herald: Christopher Sigismund Olaffson (Chris Wilker), 2625 Cedar Hill Road, Victoria, BC V8T 3H1, CANADA

Aldreda of the Lakes (Delores Booker), P.O. Box 1827, Hay River, NWT X0E 0R0, CANADA

And after all that effort last month, wouldn't you know, I still got Lord Black Lion's address wrong. The correct address is 2234 N.E. Ainsworth, Portland, OR 97211 (without the final "0" in the house number). My apologies to all.

CLAIM TO HUMAN STATUS (or, If It Walks Like a Duck....)

There has been some late-breaking information (very late-breaking. It came after the LoAR had already been sent to the printer's) regarding a Trimarian submission. The name Medeni ferch Tanarian, listed under Acceptances, should have been crossed out in the attached LoAR. (If it wasn't, please do so. Those of you who also receive the LoARs on diskette have received a corrected version on that diskette.) This information indicates that the "submitter" in this case is a Welsh corgi -- in short, a dog. This is a situation which Lord Laurel had hoped (wished? fondly dreamed? fooled himself into believing?) no longer existed in the Society. Yes, I know that some silly things have been done in the past. (Lord Laurel knows personally of instances of names and armory registered to animals. If the Board of Directors ever grants Laurel permission to un-register items in the Armorial, you wouldn't believe how fast a few things are going to come out!) But the Society has grown a lot since then, and it is hoped, has grown up a little. For a submitter to knowingly take up the time of dozens of members of the College of Arms (not to mention that of members of the College of Heralds of the submitter's kingdom) is not the kind of courtesy which should be shown to members (in this case, hard-working heralds) of a Society whose goals include the highest ideals of chivalric conduct. For a local (or kingdom) herald to knowingly forward such a submission, being fully aware of the time and effort which will be taken by those same heralds, is an act of discourtesy. The College will not register names or armory which appear to claim for the submitter powers or status he or she does not have. In this case, the submitter is claiming human status. If the submitter can prove such, we will reconsider this name. Until such time, this name submission is RETURNED. (If the submitter can prove such, and those -- yes, there were more than one -- who called regarding this submitter gave me incorrect information, then I will apologize profusely and abjectly. But until such time, I reserve the right to be P.O.'d that anyone would waste the College's time in this manner. This sort of thing isn't funny anymore.)

CARTHAGO DELENDA EST! (or, "Down With the Linnaean Heresy!")

A number of members of the College have been calling for some time now about eliminating the term "proper" from SCA heraldry except where it deals with heraldically defined "proper" tinctures: swords, roses, trees, etc. In other words, "proper" tinctures for natural birds, beasts and plants would no longer be allowed. How does the rest of the College feel? Is this the time to ban "Linnaean proper" from SCA heraldry? Or do the benefits in our relationship with our clients outweigh the negative effects of this particular brand of post-period practice? I'd like your opinions on this issue before the April Laurel meeting, at which time we will consider the arguments and make a decision as to whether or not to discontinue this practice in the SCA.

NAMES OF FAMOUS FAMILIES (or, Presumption Is Sometimes in the Eye of the Beholder)

To respond to a commenter who called for the "return with prejudice" of the name change for Armand de Montfort Lyons because of the presumputousness of anyone in the SCA who has both an award of arms and a registered name which includes the name of a mundane noble family: SCA practice for those with awards of arms is to style them as "Lord/Lady [Given]" or "Lord/Lady [Entire registered name]". It is Laurel's opinion that such usage is not presumptuous. The form of usage, using this specific instance as an example, of "Armand, Lord de Montfort" or "Armand, Lord de Montfort Lyons" would be presumptuous; that form is not what we use in the SCA nor is it appropriate for SCA use. "Lord Armand" and "Lord Armand de Montfort Lyons" do not have this problem, and are appropriate for SCA use.

MISCELLANY

A matter of protocol not heretofore addressed by the College of Arms:

When witches and warlocks are driven to the stake they should be made to ride in the cart seated, with a rope around their neck and wrists. Standing up in tumbrils is reserved for Aristocrats, and chains are proper only at Autos-da-Fe.

The Book of the Weird, by Barbara Ninde Byfield, p. 147

Until next month, I remain, as ever,

Your servant,


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