Society for Creative Anachronism
College of Arms

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

For the November 2007 meetings, printed March 19, 2008

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 November Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting on Saturday, November 17 and the Wreath meeting held on Sunday, November 4, 2007. These meetings considered 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 have been entered into OSCAR by October 31, 2007.

The December Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held on Saturday, December 15, 2007 and the Wreath meeting held on Sunday, December 16, 2007. These meetings considered 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), and Caid (31 Aug, 2007). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Friday, November 30, 2007.

The January Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held on Saturday, January 19, 2008 and the Wreath meeting held on Saturday, January 12 2008. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: Atenveldt (01 Sep, 2007), East (06 Sep, 2007), Caid (20 Sep, 2007), Gleann Abhann (20 Sep, 2007), Drachenwald (24 Sep, 2007), Northshield (27 Sep, 2007), West (27 Sep, 2007), Ansteorra (29 Sep, 2007), Calontir (29 Sep, 2007), Outlands (29 Sep, 2007), An Tir (30 Sep, 2007), Atlantia (30 Sep, 2007), Æthelmearc (30 Sep, 2007), Calontir (30 Sep, 2007), Meridies (30 Sep, 2007), and Siren LoItP (30 Sep, 2007). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Monday, December 31, 2007.

The February Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting on Saturday, February 16, 2008 and the Wreath meeting held on Sunday, March 9, 2008. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: Laurel LoPaD (08 Oct, 2007), Middle (14 Oct, 2007), Atenveldt (15 Oct, 2007), Drachenwald (20 Oct, 2007), Caid (26 Oct, 2007), Laurel LoPaD (28 Oct, 2007), Atlantia (29 Oct, 2007), An Tir (30 Oct, 2007), Ansteorra (30 Oct, 2007), Lochac (30 Oct, 2007), Meridies (30 Oct, 2007), Artemisia (31 Oct, 2007), Caid (31 Oct, 2007), Calontir (31 Oct, 2007), East (31 Oct, 2007), Northshield (31 Oct, 2007), Outlands (31 Oct, 2007), and West (31 Oct, 2007). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Thursday, January 31, 2008.

The March Laurel decisions will be made at the Pelican meeting held on Saturday, March 22, 2008 and the Wreath meeting held on Sunday, March 30, 2008. These meetings will consider the following letters of intent: [Trimaris (31 Oct, 2007)] (delayed for administrative reasons), Atenveldt (20 Nov, 2007), Outlands (21 Nov, 2007), East (23 Nov, 2007), [An Tir (26 Nov, 2007)], Northshield (26 Nov, 2007), Atlantia (27 Nov, 2007), Ansteorra (28 Nov, 2007), Lochac (28 Nov, 2007), Meridies (29 Nov, 2007), West (29 Nov, 2007), [Artemisia (30 Nov, 2007)], Æthelmearc (30 Nov, 2007), and [Trimaris (30 Nov, 2007)]. All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Friday, February 29, 2008.

The April Laurel decisions will be made at the Pelican and Wreath meetings held in April 2008. These meetings will consider the following letters of intent: Gleann Abhann (03 Dec, 2007), [Ealdormere (12 Dec, 2007)], East (16 Dec, 2007), Lochac (17 Dec, 2007), [An Tir (22 Dec, 2007)], [Drachenwald (23 Dec, 2007)], Ansteorra (24 Dec, 2007), Outlands (24 Dec, 2007), Atlantia (29 Dec, 2007), Calontir (30 Dec, 2007), [Meridies (30 Dec, 2007)], [Artemisia (31 Dec, 2007)], [Atenveldt (31 Dec, 2007)], Caid (31 Dec, 2007), [Northshield (31 Dec, 2007)], and the Palimpsest Rules Letter (31 Dec, 2007). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should be entered into OSCAR by Monday, March 31, 2008.

The May Laurel decisions will be made at the Pelican and Wreath meetings held in May 2008. These meetings will consider the following Letters of Intent: [An Tir (26 Jan, 2008)], [Artemisia (29 Jan, 2008)], [Atenveldt (30 Jan, 2008)], Atlantia (29 Jan, 2008), [Caid (30 Jan, 2008)], [Calontir (26 Jan, 2008)], [Drachenwald (20 Jan, 2008)], [Ealdormere (10 Jan, 2008)], East (19 Jan, 2008), [Gleann Abhann (30 Jan, 2008)], Laurel LoPaD (03 Jan, 2008), [Lochac (29 Jan, 2008)], [Meridies (30 Jan, 2008)], Palimpsest Rules Letter (31 Jan, 2008), [Trimaris (30 Jan, 2008)], [West (31 Jan, 2008)]. All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should be entered into OSCAR by Wednesday, April 30, 2008.

The June Laurel decisions will be made at the Pelican and Wreath meetings held in June 2008. These meetings will consider the following letters of intent: Laurel LoPaD (02 Feb, 2008), [Outlands (02 Feb, 2008)] (Redated from 31 January based on OSCAR posting date), [East (18 Feb, 2008)], [Drachenwald (20 Feb, 2008)], [An Tir (22 Feb, 2008)], [Calontir (23 Feb, 2008)], [Atenveldt (25 Feb, 2008)], [Æthelmearc (25 Feb, 2008)], [Atlantia (26 Feb, 2008)], [Lochac (28 Feb, 2008)], [Ansteorra (29 Feb, 2008)], [Outlands (29 Feb, 2008)], [West (29 Feb, 2008)]. All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should be entered into OSCAR by Saturday, May 31, 2008.

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: Final Applicants For Laurel Staff

The deadline for applications for upcoming vacancies on the Laurel staff was March 1, 2008. The following persons have applied for the positions of Laurel, Pelican, or Wreath:

The new Laurel is due to be selected at the April 19, 2008 meeting of the Board of Directors in Grapevine, Texas. I will be attending.

From Laurel: Society Chronicler Policy

In the President's Report of the January 2008 Board meeting there appeared an amended policy regarding publication of personal information on the Internet. This reads, in part, "Personal information will not be published on any SCA-recognized Internet site without first gaining permission from the individuals involved. The single exception for the use of the correlation of modern name to society name would be in the reporting of corporate documents, such as the board minutes. Permission must be received in writing - email is acceptable.

For the purposes of this policy, personal information includes the following. Permission to electronically publish the contact information of an individual is in effect until the same individual revokes permission.

Correlation of modern name to Society name

Home or work address

Phone numbers

Personal email address"

Since the submission process involves a lot of personal information appearing on web sites, I inquired of the President of the SCA how this (not new, but a restatement of existing policy) affects us. His response was, in part, "my interpretation is that use of the submission process constitutes permission to allow your name and personal information to be filed as all others are. Further, again, with OSCAR, use of the system can constitute permission."

However, occasionally modern names will appear in a Letter of Intent that are not the names of current submitters, especially (though not exclusively) in letters of permission to conflict. Unlike a submission dealing with a legal name allowance, someone granting permission to conflict is unlikely to assume that their legal name will be connected publicly with their SCA name. The roster and comments are password protected, but the LoIs are not. Submissions heralds should therefore make sure that such connections of legal and SCA names do not appear on LoIs. A reminder to this effect has already been posted on OSCAR.

Principal Heralds and others should be aware of this regarding any personal information displayed or referenced on their Kingdom College of Heralds web sites, and talk to their Kingdom Chronicler if any questions arise.

From Pelican - Turkish Alternative Titles

In November 2007, Ursula Georges, Loyall Herald, submitted Letters of Intent to change the Turkish alternative titles for Duke, Count, and Viscount.

In light of the arguments presented in these letters (which, in each case, are that the current title is either not found in period, or there is no evidence that it was used as a honorific with a given name -- the style in which most SCA titles are used), these titles are no longer approved alternative Turkish titles: Duk, Serdar (Duke), Kont, Beylerbey (Count), Vikont (Viscount).

Loyall argues that the title Pasha is used by men of rank across the spectrum we would equate with Dukes, Counts, and Viscounts. While in most languages, a separate title is approved for these ranks, there is no requirement that this be the case, especially if period practice suggests a single title is appropriate. For example, Eorl is the approved alternative Old English title for both Duke and Count. Pasha is now the approved Turkish title for Duke, Count, and Viscount. Loyall notes that the title Pasha typically follows the given name.

From Wreath: Wolf's Heads vs. Talbot's Heads

This month, commentary on the submission of Clarissima della Chiesa's device, Azure, a talbot's head erased argent between three plates, brought up the subject of whether we should grant difference between wolf's and talbot's heads. Please see the discussion on the LoPaD for further details. The submission has been pended, and we strongly encourage commentary on this issue.

From Wreath: Eyes Proper

Human eyes are period heraldic charges: they're found in armory, in the arms of di Belugi, mid-15th Century (Stemmario Trivulziano, p.80), and in badges, the famous rebus of Islip being a well-known example (St. John-Hope, Heraldry for Craftsmen and Designers, p.189). The Society has gone so far as to define tinctures for an eye proper - which have not been widely understood or used. (In fact, the original definition of an eye proper, back in Jan 1973, used the wrong terminology for the ocular portions, mislabeling the iris as the pupil.) In the past, we've registered four armories with eyes proper - which didn't match one another, let alone the putative definition.

We hereby rule that that there is no proper tincture for eyes. We will no longer worry about tiny details such as the eyelashes (if present) or the pupil: those are considered unblazoned artistic details. The tinctures of the sclera (the "white" of the eye) and the iris may be specified in blazon; contrast against the field will be judged by the sclera's tincture.

The four prior registrations of eyes proper have been reblazoned in this LoAR.

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.

For all administrative matters, please contact Laurel.

Pray know that I remain,

In service,

Elisabeth de Rossignol
Laurel Principal Queen of Arms


Created at 2008-03-18T16:16:00