January 2007 Letter of Acceptances and Returns

Society for Creative Anachronism
College of Arms

16308 SE 165th St
Renton, WA 98058-8221
+1-425-277-0763
[email protected]

For the January 2007 meetings, printed 27 April, 2007

To all the College of Arms and all others who may read this missive, from Elisabeth Laurel, Jeanne Marie Wreath, and Margaret Pelican, greetings.

For information about future scheduling, please review the status table located on the Web at http://www.sca.org/heraldry/status.html.

The January Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held Sunday, January 28, 2007 and the Wreath meeting held on Saturday, January 27, 2007. The meetings considered the following Letters of Intent: Middle (11 Sep 2006), Lochac (12 Sep 2006), East (18 Sep 2006), Drachenwald (19 Sep 2006), Artemisia (20 Sep 2006), Caid (20 Sep 2006), West (20 Sep 2006), Æthelmearc (21 Sep 2006), Ansteorra (21 Sep 2006), Loyall (21 Sep 2006), Trimaris (23 Sep 2006), An Tir (27 Sep 2006), Outlands (27 Sep 2006), Atlantia (28 Sep 2006), Atenveldt (30 Sep 2006), Palimpsest (30 Sep 2006), and Siren (30 Sep 2006).

The February Laurel decisions will be made at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, February 11, 2007 and the Wreath meeting held on Sunday, February 25, 2007. The meetings will consider the following Letters of Intent: Northshield (6 Oct 2006), Laurel LoPaD (15 Oct 2006), Gleann Abhann (16 Oct 2006), Lochac (16 Oct 2006), Artemisia (22 Oct 2006), Drachenwald (22 Oct 2006), East (23 Oct 2006), Ansteorra (24 Oct 2006), West (25 Oct 2006), Æthelmearc (26 Oct 2006), Caid (26 Oct 2006), Loyall (26 Oct 2006), Middle (27 Oct 2006), Outlands (27 Oct 2006), Atlantia (29 Oct 2006), Trimaris (29 Oct 2006), An Tir (30 Oct 2006), Calontir (30 Oct 2006), Meridies (30 Oct 2006), Palimpsest LoItUP (30 Oct 2006), and Atenveldt (31 Oct 2006). Original commentary on these letters should have been in the College's hands no later than December 31, 2006. Responses and rebuttals to commentary should have been in the College's hands no later than January 31, 2007.

The March Laurel decisions will be made at the Pelican held on Saturday, March 24, 2007, at the Wreath meeting held on Sunday, March 18, 2007, at the Gulf Wars Roadshow on Wednesday, March 14, 2007, and at the Northshield Heraldic Symposium Roadshow held Saturday, March 24, 2007. The meetings will consider the following Letters of Intent: Laurel (13 Nov 2006), Lochac (13 Nov 2006), Atenveldt (17 Nov 2006), [Ealdormere (18 Nov 2006)], Drachenwald (20 Nov 2006), Ansteorra (21 Nov 2006), [Æthelmearc (22 Nov 2006)], Caid (22 Nov 2006), East (22 Nov 2006), Atlantia (27 Nov 2006), Meridies (27 Nov 2006), Northshield (27 Nov 2006), Outlands (27 Nov 2006), and An Tir (28 Nov 2006). Original commentary on these letters should have been in the College's hands no later than January 31, 2007. Responses and rebuttals to commentary should have been in the College's hands no later than February 28, 2007.

The April Laurel decisions will be made at the Pelican meeting held Saturday, April 28, 2007 and Wreath meeting held on Sunday, April 29, 2007. The meetings will consider the following Letters of Intent: West (6 Dec 2006), Calontir (11 Dec 2006), Gleann Abhann (14 Dec 2006), Laurel (15 Dec 2006), Middle (16 Dec 2006), Ansteorra (20 Dec 2006), Artemisia (20 Dec 2006), Atenveldt (20 Dec 2006), [Æthelmearc (20 Dec 2006)], Caid (20 Dec 2006), Drachenwald (20 Dec 2006), Atlantia (26 Dec 2006), Middle (26 Dec 2006), Outlands (27 Dec 2006), and Trimaris (30 Dec 2006). Original commentary on these letters should have been be in the College's hands no later than February 28, 2007. Responses and rebuttals to commentary must be in the College's hands no later than March 31, 2007.

The May Laurel decisions will be made at the Pelican meeting held Sunday, May 13, 2007 and the Wreath meeting held Sunday, May 20, 2007. These meetings will consider the following Letters of Intent: West (17 Jan 2007), Atenveldt (19 Jan 2007), [Drachenwald (20 Jan 2007)], [Lochac (22 Jan 2007)], Ansteorra (23 Jan 2007), Calontir (23 Jan 2007), Caid (24 Jan 2007), [Artemisia (24 Jan 2007)], [Æthelmearc (25 Jan 2007)], [Ealdormere (26 Jan 2007)], [Outlands (27 Jan 2007)], Atlantia (28 Jan 2007), Meridies (29 Jan 2007), East (30 Jan 2007), and Laurel (31 Jan 2007). Original commentary on these letters should be in the College's hands no later than March 31, 2007. Responses and rebuttals to commentary must be in the Colleges hands no later than April 30, 2007.

The June Laurel decisions will be made at the Pelican and Wreath meetings held in June 2007. These meetings will consider the following Letters of Intent: [East (6 Feb 2007)], [Drachenwald (19 Feb 2007)], Gleann Abhann (20 Feb 2007), [Lochac (20 Feb 2007)], [Meridies (21 Feb 2007)], West (21 Feb 2007), Calontir (22 Feb 2007), Laurel LoPaD (23 Feb 2007), Laurel LoI (23 Feb 2007), Atlantia (26 Feb 2007), [Ansteorra (27 Feb 2007)], [Atenveldt (27 Feb 2007)], [Outlands (27 Feb 2007)], and [Trimaris (28 Feb 2007)]. Original commentary on these letters should be in the College's hands no later than April 30, 2007. Responses and rebuttals to commentary must be in the Colleges hands no later than May 31, 2007.

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 - KWHSS 2008 in Drachenwald

The bid for Known World Heraldic Symposium 2008 has been awarded to the Shire of Thamesreach in the Kingdom of Drachenwald. The event will be held the weekend of September 5-7, 2008 at University College, London. The entire text of the event bid may be reviewed on OSCAR; you will recall that it is posted as a 'Laurel Other' letter dated January 10, 2007.

September is not the traditional time of year for Symposium, but this date allows us to take advantage of lower costs, fewer crowds and the accommodations at University College. Because of this I am departing from tradition again and making this announcement now, rather than waiting until this year's Symposium to do so. Since this will involve far travel for many members of the College of Arms, it made sense to give everyone had as much time as possible to prepare for it.

I am looking forward to seeing many of you there. This is a tremendous opportunity for us all and I thank the autocrat and her team for making it possible.

FROM LAUREL - Attention Principal Heralds - New Commenters on OSCAR

"Other Commenters nominated by the Principal Herald of their kingdom of residence and ratified by the Laurel Sovereign of Arms after they have met the requirements established by their kingdom's College of Heralds. On a case by case basis, Laurel may waive the requirement for such nomination, such as in the case of former College of Arms commenters."

Before OSCAR, a Kingdom could only maintain at most a handful of CoA commenters. Now we have the potential to easily add many more, which is good-that is one of the reasons OSCAR was established in the first place. But this needs to be done through each Kingdom's Principal Herald, as per the Administrative Handbook, and some kind of traffic control is necessary.

As per the Administrative Handbook VIII.B.8, "Any changes in administrative rules or procedures must be published in a cover letter to the letter of acceptances and returns." Therefore, as of publication of this letter, each individual Principal Herald shall work with his or her College to establish guidelines for new CoA level commenters. These need not be long or elaborate, but they they must outline at least some basic level of skill and experience. They should also be well publicized and periodically reviewed.

I will expect to see each Kingdom's proposed guidelines as part of the Principal Herald's report due the end of May 2007.

FROM LAUREL - New Form Letters

The following are additions to the Administrative Handbook, Appendix D, 'Suggested Standard Form Letters.' Many thanks to Mari Rowel for coordinating this process.

I, [Legal name], known in the SCA as [Society name], do transfer to [Legal name of submitter], known in the SCA as [Society name of submitter], the following [household/personal] name "[Registered name]". I understand that this transfer cannot be withdrawn once made.

I, [Legal name], known in the SCA as [Society name], do transfer to [Legal name of submitter], known in the SCA as [Society name of submitter], the following armory "[Blazon of registered armory]". I understand that this transfer cannot be withdrawn once made.

I, [Legal name], known in the SCA as ([Society name]) do accept the transfer from [Legal name of submitter], known in the SCA as ([Society name of submitter]) the following [household/personal] name "[Registered name]". I understand that this transfer cannot be withdrawn once made.

I, [Legal name], known in the SCA as [Society name], do accept the transfer from [Legal name of submitter], known in the SCA as [Society name of submitter], the following armory "[Blazon of registered armory]". I understand that this transfer cannot be withdrawn once made.

I, [Legal name], known in the SCA as [Society name], do attest that [Legal name of submitter], known in the SCA as [Society name of submitter], is my legal [father/mother/wife/husband/son/daughter/brother/sister]. I understand that this letter cannot be withdrawn once [Legal name of submitter]'s name is registered.

(Background: The "Grandfather Clause", RfS II.5, was extended to include immediate family in the precedent: "[W]e allow the original submitter to register further instances of the problematic element provided that they introduce no new violations of the rules; and secondly, we extend the allowance to the original submitter's nearest kin." (Roxanne Blackfeather, East-R, LoAR December 1995, p. 20). This template provides a method to document the legal immediate family relationship required for use of this extension of the Grandfather Clause. Alternatively, the submitter may provide a photocopy of a legal document(s) that demonstrates the relationship.)

I, [Legal name], known in the SCA as [Society name], give [Legal name of submitter], known in the SCA as [Society name of submitter], permission for my Society name to be used in part of [his/her] Society name in order to indicate a relationship. I understand that this permission cannot be withdrawn once [Legal name of submitter]'s name is registered.

(Note: Permission to Presume may be granted to anyone, not simply legal relatives, and so is often used to indicate SCA relationships, such as those in a household. For example, when Owen ap Aeddan ap Trahaearne registered his name in 12/1998, he needed a letter from Aeddan ap Trahaearn whose name was registered 07/1996, giving Owen permission to presume because Owen's name indicates that he is the son of Aeddan ap Trahaearn.

From Pelican: On Household Name Formation

In recent months, many household names have been submitted without documentation showing that they follow a specific naming pattern for organized groups of people at a specific time in a specific culture. In one instance, the submitter merely noted "the specific allowance for household names composed of a household designator and surname in the Rules for Submissions."

The models are specific models for specific times and places, not models appropriate for every time and place. For example, House of the White Hart is an English sign name. There is ample documentation for household names based on surnames and of surnames based on sign names in England. However, to register a name following this pattern in Italian or Spanish, the submitter would need to demonstrate a pattern in these languages of names derived from inn-signs as well as household names derived from surnames (although the latter of these two should be fairly easy).

Names that are inadequately documented may be returned. Please make sure to provide documentation that the pattern used in a submitted household name is appropriate for the language and culture of that name.

From Wreath: On Fishhooks

While there are very few registrations of fishhooks, we have been inconsistent in how we blazon them. This is one of the few charges that cannot be blazoned unless you assume a default orientation. The question becomes, what is that default?

The defining instance of a fishhook (Mons Draconis's badge, March 2000) was taken from Gelre, f.41v, where it's given as the arms of von Borne or Born. The (modern French) blazon in the index of Gelre is: d'argent au croc de hameçon de gueules (Argent, a fishhook gules). It has the couped end to base, the curved end to chief; the barbed point is on the dexter side, inside the curve of the hook.

Guillim's "Display of Heraldrie", 1632, p.319, gives an example of fishhooks: "He beareth, Sable, a Cheveron between three Fishing Hookes, Argent, by the name of Medvile." The shape is the same as in von Born, but inverted: the couped end is to chief, though the opening with the barb is still to dexter. Note that Medvile's fishhooks aren't blazoned as "inverted": they are in what Guillim considers the default posture.

A similar fishhook is found in Siebmacher's "Wappenbuch", 1605, in the arms of von Angelloch (pl.125). It matches Guillim's depiction of a fishhook in its appearance: a bit slenderer than von Born, but with couped end to chief. The opening is depicted to sinister, but Siebmacher always turned the shields (including the charges, helms and crests) in the first and fourth column of each page to face sinister; its normal depiction would therefore be with the opening to dexter, just as in Guillim's depiction.

Parker also mentions fishhooks (p.330, s.n. hook); he cites Medville, the arms cited in Guillim. Parker's drawing is the skinniest fishhook of any, but it still shows the couped end to chief (though with the barb to sinister, which we'd call reversed).

So, fishhooks were period charges; the form found in Gelre and Guillim are the same, but with opposite default postures. All of the period heraldic fishhooks that we have found have a couped end; they do not terminate in a ring.

We are hereby declaring that the default fishhook matches that shown in Guillim and Siebmacher: the couped end is to chief and the curved end to base, the opening is to dexter with the barb on the inside of the curve. An example, courtesy of Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme, is shown at the end of this letter. A fishhook inverted has the couped end to base. A fishhook reversed has the opening to sinister.

A fishhook may terminate in a ring, rather than having a couped end; this will be considered an unblazonable, artistic detail. Fishhooks with the barb on the outside of the curve will be returned for redraw.

Send What to Whom

Letters of Intent, Comment, Response, Correction, et cetera are to be posted to the OSCAR online system. No paper copies need be sent.

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) to the SCA College of Arms, PO Box 31755, Billings, MT 59107-1755.

Cheques or money orders for submissions, payable to "SCA Inc.-College of Arms" are to: Laurel Chancellor of Exchequer, 4N400 Church Rd, Bensenville, IL 60106-2928.

Send roster changes and corrections to Laurel. College of Arms members may also request a copy of the current roster from Laurel.

For a paper copy of a LoAR, please contact Laurel, at the address above. The cost for one LoAR is $3. 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 [email protected]. The electronic copy is available free of charge.