Society for Creative Anachronism

College of Arms

16308 SE 165th St

Renton, WA 98058-8221

+1-425-277-0763

herald@sca.org

For the June 2007 meetings, printed 21 September, 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.

Items listed below in square brackets have not been scheduled yet. For information about future scheduling, please review the status table located on the Web at http://oscar.sca.org/index.php?action=137.

The June Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican and Wreath meetings held Sunday June 10, 2007 and at the KWHSS roadshow on Sunday, June 17, 2007. These meetings considered 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 have been in the College's hands no later than April 30, 2007. Responses and rebuttals to commentary should have been in the College's hands no later than May 31, 2007.

The July Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held Saturday, July 21, 2007 and the Wreath meeting held Sunday, July 15, 2007. These meetings considered the following Letters of Intent: East (6 Mar 2007), Middle (11 Mar 2007), Artemisia (20 Mar 2007), Lochac (20 Mar 2007), Laurel (23 Mar 2007), Caid (24 Mar 2007), [Drachenwald (24 Mar 2007)], Æthelmearc (25 Mar 2007), Atenveldt (26 Mar 2007), Calontir (26 Mar 2007), Meridies (26 Mar 2007), Atlantia (27 Mar 2007), Outlands (27 Mar 2007), Ansteorra (27 Mar 2007), Ealdormere (29 Mar 2007), West (30 Mar 2007), and An Tir (31 Mar 2007). Original commentary on these letters should have been in the College's hands no later than May 31, 2007. Responses and rebuttals to commentary should have been in the College's hands no later than June 30, 2007.

The August Laurel decisions were made at the Pennsic roadshow held on Monday, August 6, 2007, at the Pelican meeting held at Pennsic, and at the Wreath meeting held on August 19, 2007. These meetings considered the following Letters of Intent: East (3 Apr 2007), Northshield (6 Apr 2007), Æthelmearc (15 Apr 2007), Middle (15 Apr 2007), [Drachenwald (21 Apr 2007)], Caid (25 Apr 2007), Meridies (25 Apr 2007), West (25 Apr 2007), Ansteorra (27 Apr 2007), Atenveldt (25 Apr 2007), Laurel LoPaD (27 Apr 2007), Outlands (27 Apr 2007), Atlantia (29 Apr 2007), An Tir (30 Apr 2007), and [Trimaris (30 Apr 2007)]. Original commentary on these letters should have been in the College's hands no later than June 30, 2007. Responses and rebuttals to commentary should have been in the College's hands no later than July 31, 2007.

The September Laurel decisions will be made at the Pelican meeting held Sunday, September 23, 2007 and at the Wreath Meeting held on Sunday, September 30, 2007. These meetings will consider the following letters of intent: Calontir (06 May 2007), Lochac (13 May 2007), Æthelmearc (15 May 2007), [Drachenwald (20 May 2007)], Laurel LoPaD (21 May 2007), East (21 May 2007), [Artemisia (22 May 2007)], An Tir (23 May 2007), Lochac (27 May 2007), Atlantia (28 May 2007), Ansteorra (29 May 2007), Atenveldt (29 May 2007), and West (31 May 2007). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should be entered into OSCAR by August 31, 2007.

The October Laurel decisions will be made at the Pelican and Wreath meetings held in October 2007. These meetings will consider the following letters of intent: Middle (03 Jun 2007), Outlands (03 Jun 2007), Laurel LoPaD (14 Jun, 2007), West (19 Jun 2007), [Gleann Abhann (20 Jun 2007)], Calontir (20 Jun 2007), East (24 Jun 2007), [Drachenwald (25 Jun 2007)], Lochac (25 Jun 2007), Outlands (27 Jun 2007), [Æthelmearc (28 Jun 2007)], An Tir (28 Jun 2007), [Atlantia (28 Jun 2007)], [Meridies (28 Jun 2007)], [Trimaris(28 Jun 2007)], [Atenveldt (29 Jun 2007)], Palimpsest Rules Letter (29 Jun 2007), [Ansteorra (30 Jun 2007)], [Caid (30 Jun 2007)], Ealdormere (30 Jun 2007), and Northshield (30 Jun 2007). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should be entered into OSCAR by September 30, 2007.

The November Laurel decisions will be made at the Pelican and Wreath meetings held in November 2007. These meetings will consider the following Letters of Intent: [East (03 Jul, 2007)], [Gleann Abhann (05 Jul, 2007)], Loyall (10 Jul, 2007), Laurel (15 Jul, 2007), [Drachenwald (20 Jul, 2007)], [West (27 Jul, 2007)], [Meridies (25 Jul, 2007)], Calontir (26 Jul, 2007), [Atlantia (26 Jul, 2007)], Atenveldt (28 Jul, 2007), Outlands (30 Jul, 2007), Lochac (30 Jul, 2007), [Ansteorra (31 Jul, 2007)], Siren (31 Jul, 2007), [An Tir (31 Jul, 2007)], and [Artemisia (31 Jul, 2007)]. All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should be entered into OSCAR by October 31, 2007.

The December Laurel decisions will be made at the Pelican and Wreath meetings held in December 2007. These meetings will consider the following letters of intent: [Middle (04 Aug, 2007)], [Northshield (09 Aug, 2007)], [East (10 Aug, 2007)], [East (16 Aug, 2007)], [Æthelmearc (17 Aug, 2007)], [Drachenwald (20 Aug, 2007)], Laurel LoPaD (22 Aug, 2007), [Calontir (25 Aug, 2007)], Siren LoItUP (26 Aug, 2007), [Outlands (27 Aug, 2007)], [Atlantia (28 Aug, 2007)], [An Tir (30 Aug, 2007)], [Lochac (30 Aug, 2007)], [Meridies (30 Aug, 2007)], [Caid (31 Aug, 2007)]. All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should be entered into OSCAR by Friday, November 30, 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: Please Advise

The heading of the Administrative Handbook's Appendix H, aka the No Photocopy List, reads as follows: "This is a list of "standard books" that do not require photocopies to be sent to Laurel. The Laurel office and several kingdom heraldic offices have copies of all of these books, and urges the Kingdom Colleges to acquire copies of any they do not have. Note: The LoI must contain the header name and page number and edition of the book in which the reference name is found. In addition, all articles found on www.sca.org/heraldry do not require photocopies."

It has been repeatedly suggested to and around me that the articles found at the Medieval Names Archives be added to this list. Inquiry has revealed that since we began using OSCAR, approximately 25% of all name submissions have had St. Gabriel citations. Obviously this is a readily available source.

Before I make this decision, I would ask the opinion of the College of Arms - should the articles found at http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/ be added to Appendix H? Please respond to Laurel at herald@sca.org.

From Wreath: Catching Up With Palimpsest

In September 2006 Palimpsest put out a rules letter suggesting, among other things, changing the examples in the Rules for Submission, section X.1. The explanatory text of this section is replaced with:

Most cadency systems did not involve addition or deletion of the primary charge group, so this automatically creates an independent design. For example, Argent, in fess an escallop and a mullet gules does not conflict with Argent, a pale between an escallop and a mullet gules, and Vert, a lion rampant Or and a chief indented argent does not conflict with Vert, a chief indented argent.

From Wreath: Steps from Period Practice

I would like to thank all those who took the time to comment on this issue. There was a significant amount of commentary, which is appreciated. It seems that it is still much easier to determine what should not be considered a step from period practice than what should be considered a step from period practice.

While the use of some individual charges have been ruled a step from period practice - in earlier precedents a weirdness - there has been no easy way to determine beforehand the likelihood that a charge will fall in this category. And without doing extensive precedent research, this is true even with charges that have been ruled on before. The purpose of these changes to the rules is to make it easier for consulting heralds and their clients to make a reasonable determination of whether or not a submitted charge will be registerable. Therefore, the Rules for Submission, section VII - Compatible Armorial Content, will be modified to address steps from period practice. The wording to be added will appear like this. Explanations of the changes will be proceeded by [NOTE and will appear in square brackets like these]. Such notes are not to be considered part of the Rules for Submissions.

PART VII - COMPATIBLE ARMORIAL CONTENT

Every element in a piece of Society armory must be compatible with period armorial practices, as is required by General Principle I.1.a of these rules. This section defines the categories of elements that the College of Arms has generally found to be compatible , those which have been ruled not compatible, and those generally found to be a step from period practice. Armory that is one step from period practice is registerable; armory that is two steps from period practice is not registerable.

[NOTE: Based on the commentary received, the use of SFPP to mean step from period practice will not be included in the rules. This does not mean that the abbreviation cannot be used in commentary or discussions among heralds, but at this point in time we are recommending that it not be used when communicating with clients as its meaning can be obscure to non-heralds.]

VII.1. Period Charges. - Ordinaries and other charges used in period armory may be registered.

No charge that is documented as having been used in period European heraldry, including as an element of a crest or badge, will be considered a step from period practice.

Use of a charge in heraldry after 1600 does not guarantee its acceptability. Thus, even though they appear in modern British heraldry, DNA molecules and hydrogen atoms may not be used.

VII.2. Period Armorial Elements. - Lines of division, lines of partition, field treatments, and other elements used in period armory may be registered.

Use of an element in period art does not guarantee its acceptability for armory. Use of the Greek key design, which was common in period decorative art, never carried over into armory. If an element of period art not used as a heraldic charge in period is determined to be registerable, it will be considered a step from period practice.

VII.3. Period Artifacts. - Artifacts that were known in the period and domain of the Society may be registered in armory, provided they are depicted in their period forms.

A pen, for instance, must be depicted as a quill pen or other period form, not a fountain pen. A wheel must be depicted as a wagon wheel, not a rubber tire from an automobile.

The use of artifacts that, though not found in period armory, follow a pattern of charges found in period armory, will not be considered a step from period practice. For instance, there are so many examples of tools used by European craftsmen being used as charges in period armory, that any tool documented as in use in Europe prior to 1600 is generally acceptable without being a step from period practice. Artifacts that do not follow a pattern of charges found in period armory, such as an aeolipile, will be considered a step from period practice.

VII.4. Period Flora and Fauna. - Flora and fauna that were known in the period and domain of the Society may be registered in armory.

Flora and fauna documented as having been used as charges in period heraldry, including crests and badges, will not be considered a step from period practice. This includes New World and sub-Saharan African flora and fauna.

The use of flora and fauna native to Europe, including coastal waters, that cannot otherwise be documented as heraldic charges will not be considered a step from period practice. While some flora (such as roses and lilies) and fauna (such as lions and dogs) are much more common than others, there is still a wide practice of using a variety of flora and fauna in period armory.

The use of flora and fauna native to the New World, Africa, Asia, and other non-European locales will be registerable if it is reasonable to believe that Europeans knew them in period. Their use will be considered a step from period practice, unless they were used as charges in period heraldry, including crests and badges, in which case their use is not a weirdness.

Consider a turkey and a manatee: they are both New World fauna, but the turkey is documented as part of a crest in period armory. The use of a turkey, therefore, is not a step from period practice. The use of a manatee as a charge, pending evidence that it was used in period armory, is a step from period practice.

Hybrids or mutations of period forms known to have been developed after 1600 generally may not be used as charges. For example, the English Sheepdog may not be used in Society armory because it was developed after 1600.

VII.5. Compatible Monsters. - Monsters compatible with period armorial practice may be registered in armory.

Monsters described in period sources may be used in the Society, even if they were not used in period heraldry. New monsters may be formed for Society use on the analogy of period monsters, so long as all components remain sufficiently identifiable in the compound monster. For example, the Society has created the sea fox parallel to the sea lion and sea horse. Adding wings to a non-winged creature is another common period method of creating heraldic monsters. Monsters described in period sources or created in a manner that follow period practice will not be considered a step from period practice.

[NOTE: The example in the above section was originally a sea-unicorn; however, that charge was not created by the Society, it is found in the arms of Niemptscher, 1605 (Siebmacher 58).]

VII.6. Compatible Armorial Elements. - Any charge, line of division, line of partition, field treatment, or other armorial element that has been ruled compatible with period heraldic style may be registered in armory.

[NOTE: The section above originally contained examples. Palimpsest's September 2006 letter proposed changes to the examples with a decision to be made in January 2007. The changes did not appear on that Cover Letter. The examples included mailly and honeycomb; neither are currently registerable. It also included dovetailed, but we have examples of emblazons showing a dovetailed line of division in period. This is treated as a blazonable variant of embattled that is worth no difference. Examples of SCA-compatible charges are in the new section VII.6.a.]

VII.6.a. Compatible Charges - Charges that have not been documented to period may be ruled SCA-compatible; the use of an SCA-compatible charge is a step from period practice.

A ruling that a charge is SCA-compatible can change with new evidence. Charges that were in the past ruled a step from period practice may later be ruled unregisterable. Charges that were in the past ruled SCA-compatible because they were rare in period, or that have since been documented as period heraldic charges, are not a step from period practice. Examples of charges that are a step from period practice include compass stars, lightning bolts, pawprints, and valknuts.

[NOTE: The consensus of the commentary was that the wording of the proposed addition of section VII.6.b Compatible Usages needed to be reconsidered. This will be done at a later date.]

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 herald@sca.org. The electronic copy is available free of charge.

For all administrative matters, please contact Laurel.

Pray know that I remain,

In service,

Elisabeth de Rossignol

Laurel Principal Queen of Arms