To all the College of Arms and all others who may read this missive, from François Laurel, Zenobia Wreath, and Mari Pelican, greetings.

The following is a table showing the status of Letters of Intent, Laurel Letters of Pend and Discussion, and Letters of Intent to Protect. The header rows are the dates of the meetings that will consider them, the dates when primary commentary is due, and the dates when responses to primary commentary are due. The key follows.

Month day: the date on the Letter of Intent, Letter of Pend and Discussion, or Letter of Intent to Protect.
(Month day): for administrative reasons, this LoI has not yet been scheduled.
[P Month day]: postmarked on that bracketed date, so the LoI is redated or postponed.
"-": no LoI is scheduled for that meeting from that kingdom.
?: tentative.

October: Wreath's meeting is tentatively scheduled for October 18. Pelican's meeting is tentatively scheduled for October 11.

November: Wreath's meeting is tentatively scheduled for November 22. Pelican's meeting is tentatively scheduled for November 15.

December: Wreath's meeting is very tentatively scheduled for December 27. Pelican's meeting is tentatively scheduled for December 20.

Not all letters of intent may be considered when they are originally scheduled on this cover letter. The date of mailing of the LoI, date of receipt of the Laurel packet, or other factors may delay consideration of certain letters of intent. Additionally, some letters of intent received may not have been scheduled because the administrative requirements (receipt of the forms packet, receipt of the necessary fees, et cetera) have not yet been met.

REMINDER: Until all administrative requirements are met, the letter may not be scheduled.

From Laurel: Rules letter in the mail soon.

Juliana Siren will be issuing a letter concerning the ongoing discussion of RfS X.4.j near the end of August. Please keep an eye out for it, and comment in a timely fashion. Please note that while rules discussions may begin in the Cover Letter to an LoAR, the discussions will ensue in correspondence sent directly from the designated moderator. Thank you!

From Laurel: Renewed Call for Applications

At the July 2003 meeting the Board of Directors reopened the call for applications for the office of Laurel Sovereign of Arms. A new call is being made because, in the weeks between the close of applications and the Board meeting, all three applications were withdrawn from consideration.

The decision about the new Laurel and staff will be made by the Board of Directors at the October 2003 Board meeting, with the new team to take office and start ruling on submissions in April 2004. Application must be made in writing to Laurel Resume, SCA Inc., PO Box 360789, Milpitas, CA 95036-0789, or to resumes@sca.org. Resumes must be received by September 30, 2003. Applicants are encouraged to forward their resumes to the College of Arms to allow the College to provide informed commentary to the Board.

Laurel is responsible for overseeing all heraldry in the SCA, including the processing of heraldic submissions. A detailed job description is found in section IX of the Administrative Handbook of the College of Arms at http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/admin.html#IX.

The current structure of the Laurel office splits the submissions work between three main deputies: Pelican Sovereign of Arms (decisions on name submissions), Wreath Sovereign of Arms (decisions on armory submissions), and Laurel Clerk (handling the hundreds of submissions processed each month and the College of Arms correspondence for those submissions). Other structures for the office are acceptable.

Laurel will be taking a more active role in helping develop team applications this time. It is often hard to find the staff needed to do the entire Laurel office in one place. The current office setup shows that the staff can be located in multiple cities. To that end, people who might be interested in taking the responsibility for a portion of the Laurel job are encouraged to write to Laurel, who may be able to help them become part of a Laurel team bid.

Laurel would like to commend the three teams that previously applied. They all wished to serve the Society and the College of Arms. The reasons for making the hard decision to withdraw their applications were as varied as the teams that applied. One common concern I heard from each applicant was the volume of work and the time required for the office. I respect each of the teams that applied for the office. It is Laurel's hope that each of these teams will continue to work with the CoA and apply again in the future.

From Laurel: Legacy Order of the Laurel Medallion Looking for Good Heraldic Home

The Laurel office is currently in possession of a very ancient and honorable medallion for a member of the Order of the Laurel. The medallion belonged to the late Baron Harold Breakstone. Baron Harold was both the first Laurel King of Arms (June 1971 - August 1972) and a member of the Order of the Laurel. The medallion was made by Master Beverly.

His Lady, Baroness Janet Breakstone, and his chatelaine/governess of estate, Sarah bat-Ehezshkal, have asked that "[the medallion] reside with the College of Arms until such time as there is a new Laurel made, whose expertise is in matters heraldic. We trust that the combined Old Laurels Network and Old Herald's Network can cause this to happen ... if possible [we] would love to learn of the future history of this piece as it unfolds."

We ask that any members of the Order of the Laurel keep their eyes out for a candidate who will be elevated primarily for heraldic skills: heraldic or onomastic research, construction of items of heraldic display, or vocal heraldic performance. If such a candidate is found, we hope that you will consider honoring the request of these fine ladies, and contact Laurel to procure the medallion. Laurel is in possession of both the medallion and the contact information for the fine people who donated it, and will pass the information and medallion on to someone making the appropriate request.

Roster Changes

Lymphad Herald (Trimaris) Griffin de Mohun has arrived at a new port. Please update Lymphad's address to .... The currently listed phone number is no longer valid. Lymphad remains on the roster and mailing list.

Ferrule (Meridies), Dunstan Dangar of Shaddowe Woode ... has asked to be and is now removed from the roster and mailing list.

Golden Wing Principal Herald of Artemisia has a new e-mail address to be used for heraldic correspondence. The new address is sageherald@yahoo.com.

Please add to the roster Alys de Wilton, Pursivant (Lochac) ..., e-mail: geard@verso.org. Alys is deputy to Crux Australis for the New Zealand area.

Society Pages

Senhora Rafaella d'Allemtejo is on vigil for entry to the Order of the Laurel, and will be elevated to that estate at the Acorn War on September 6th. Rafaella, in addition to her other art, science and research endeavors, has been An Tir's Black Stag Herald (education) and Lion's Blood Herald (external submissions), and she is currently Blue Anchor Pursuivant (title in submission for heraldic Web pages).

Send What to Whom

For all Letters of Intent, Comment, Response, Correction, et cetera, send one paper copy to each of Laurel PKoA and Wreath QoA at their mailing addresses as shown on the College of Arms Mailing List.

Send Laurel office copies of all submissions-related paper, including

• Letters of Intent, Comment, Response, Correction, et cetera (note: such paper copies are in addition to the personal copies for Laurel and Wreath mentioned above)

• Submission packets (one copy of each name form plus documentation, including petitions; two colored copies of each armory form plus two copies of any associated documentation, including petitions)

• Cheques or money orders for submissions, payable to "SCA Inc.-College of Arms"

to Pelican QoA at her roster address: ....

Send Laurel office copies of all submissions-related electronic files to submissions@sca.org. In particular, the Laurel Clerk would very much appreciate e-mailed copies of all LoIs, LoCs, LoRs, et cetera.

Send roster changes and corrections to Lord Symond Bayard le Gris, Bruce R. Nevins, 2527 E. 3rd St., Tucson, AZ, 85716-4114, 520-795-6000, 520-795-0158 (fax), bnevins@nexiliscom.com. Please also send them to Laurel Clerk, preferably by e-mail to submissions@sca.org, or by mail to Tim McDaniel, 6805 Wood Hollow Dr Apt 212, Austin, TX 78731-3104. College of Arms members can also request a copy of the current roster from Symond.

For subscriptions to the paper copy of the LoAR, please contact Symond, above. The cost for an LoAR subscription is $25 a year. Please make all checks or money orders payable to "SCA Inc.-College of Arms". For subscriptions to the electronic copy of the LoAR, please contact Laurel at herald@sca.org. The electronic copy is available free of charge.

For all administrative matters, or for questions about whom to send to, please contact Laurel Principal King of Arms, whose contact information heads this letter.

Pray know that I remain

In service

François la Flamme
Laurel Principal King of Arms

Created at 2003-09-14T20:09:31