Society for Creative Anachronism
College of Arms
16308 SE 165th St
Renton, WA 98058-8221
+1-425-277-0763
laurel@heraldry.sca.org
For the February 2011 meetings, printed Saturday, April 23, 2011
To all the College of Arms and all others who may read this missive, from Elisabeth Laurel, Istvan Wreath, and Juliana 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 February Laurel decisions were made at the Wreath meeting held on Sunday, February 6, 2011 and the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, February 13, 2011. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: Middle (12 Nov, 2010), Æthelmearc (16 Nov, 2010), Laurel LoItP (16 Nov, 2010), West (17 Nov, 2010), Atenveldt (20 Nov, 2010), Ansteorra (21 Nov, 2010), Caid (21 Nov, 2010), Artemisia (25 Nov, 2010), Outlands (27 Nov, 2010), Lochac (28 Nov, 2010), Atlantia (29 Nov, 2010), Gleann Abhann (29 Nov, 2010), Meridies (29 Nov, 2010), Northshield (29 Nov, 2010), Trimaris (29 Nov, 2010), Drachenwald (30 Nov, 2010), East (30 Nov, 2010), and the Laurel LoPaD (30 Nov, 2010). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Monday, January 31, 2011.
The March Laurel decisions were made at the Wreath meeting held on Saturday, March 5, 2011, the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, March 13, 2011, and at the Gulf Wars roadshow on Wednesday, March 16, 2011. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: An Tir (30 Nov, 2010) (pushed due to date finalized) , Calontir (02 Dec, 2010), Æthelmearc (15 Dec, 2010), Atenveldt (15 Dec, 2010), An Tir (18 Dec, 2010), Ansteorra (19 Dec, 2010), Gleann Abhann (19 Dec, 2010), Lochac (19 Dec, 2010), Æthelmearc (21 Dec, 2010), West (21 Dec, 2010), Middle (22 Dec, 2010), Caid (26 Dec, 2010), Meridies (30 Dec, 2010), Atlantia (31 Dec, 2010), Drachenwald (31 Dec, 2010), East (31 Dec, 2010), Laurel LoPaD (31 Dec, 2010), Lochac (31 Dec, 2010), Outlands (31 Dec, 2010), and Trimaris (31 Dec, 2010). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Monday, February 28, 2011.
The April Laurel decisions will be made at the Wreath Roadshow at Æthelmearc Heralds & Scribes on Saturday, April 2, 2011, at the Wreath meeting on Saturday, April 9, 2010, and at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, April 10, 2011. These meetings will consider the following letters of intent: Middle (16 Jan, 2011), Middle (17 Jan, 2011), Æthelmearc (19 Jan, 2011), Atenveldt (20 Jan, 2011), Calontir (21 Jan, 2011), Æthelmearc (27 Jan, 2011), Ansteorra (28 Jan, 2011), Drachenwald (28 Jan, 2011), Lochac (28 Jan, 2011), An Tir (31 Jan, 2011), Artemisia (31 Jan, 2011), Ealdormere (31 Jan, 2011), Gleann Abhann (31 Jan, 2011), Meridies (31 Jan, 2011), Northshield (31 Jan, 2011), and West (31 Jan, 2011). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Thursday, March 31, 2011.
The May Laurel decisions will be made at the Wreath meeting held on Saturday, May 14, 2011 and at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, May 22, 2011. These meetings will consider the following letters of intent: Caid (27 Jan, 2011) (pushed due to lack of packet) , Laurel LoPaD (08 Feb, 2011), East (09 Feb, 2011), Atenveldt (15 Feb, 2011), Middle (22 Feb, 2011), Caid (27 Feb, 2011), Lochac (27 Feb, 2011), An Tir (28 Feb, 2011), Ansteorra (28 Feb, 2011), Drachenwald (28 Feb, 2011), Gleann Abhann (28 Feb, 2011), Outlands (28 Feb, 2011), Trimaris (28 Feb, 2011), and West (28 Feb, 2011). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should be entered into OSCAR by Saturday, April 30, 2011.
The June Laurel decisions will be made at the Pelican and Wreath meetings held in June 2010, and at the Known World Heraldic & Scribal Symposium Roadshow on Sunday, June 26, 2011. These meetings will consider the following letters of intent: [Meridies (28 Feb, 2011)] (pushed due to lack of packet), Laurel LoPaD (10 Mar, 2011), West (15 Mar, 2011), [Atenveldt (20 Mar, 2011)], Æthelmearc (21 Mar, 2011), Atlantia (23 Mar, 2011), Atlantia (24 Mar, 2011), East (24 Mar, 2011), Ansteorra (26 Mar, 2011), [Calontir (27 Mar, 2011)], Lochac (28 Mar, 2011), [Caid (29 Mar, 2011)], [An Tir (31 Mar, 2011)], [Artemisia (31 Mar, 2011)], and Outlands (31 Mar, 2011). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should be entered into OSCAR by Tuesday, May 31, 2011.
Not all letters of intent may be considered when they are originally scheduled on this cover letter. The date of posting 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: Applications for Laurel
The Board has extended the deadline for applications for the Position of Laurel Sovereign of Arms. Interested parties should see the August 2010 Cover Letter for details on how to apply.
From Olwyn, the retiring Laurel
Since the Board wanted to take more time in making the decision of who they wanted for the next Laurel, and my life has exploded, Countess Elisabeth de Rossignol has graciously volunteered to step in until the transfer can be made and allow me to deal with (another) move. I am eternally grateful to her! I am planning on being at Known World to hand over the crown and regalia to her gentle care. Please treat her once again with all the graciousness and generosity that you have shown to me.
First of all I want to thank all the people who have made the last three years such a pleasure. Istvan Wreath, Juliana Pelican, Aryanhwy Pelican, Shauna Ragged Staff, Juliana Palimpsest, Marie Palimpsest... I could have never done this job without such an outstanding staff. You, and my proofreaders, made it all possible. We have accomplished a lot in the last three years including the approval of the new Administration Handbook, and getting the new rules through to the (almost) final draft. Bravo to all of you for your hard work and dedication.
Over the last three years, Istvan Wreath has gone above and beyond the call of duty. In addition to his duties as Wreath, he has continued work on OSCAR, worked with various kingdoms on setting up OSCAR style systems for internal use, traveled extensively attending Heralds symposiums around the Known World that I could not make due to the Army and a small child, done the work of post-meeting clerk, and generally been not only my right hand, but often my brain. Because of his dedication I would like to take this opportunity to grant him the title of Herald Extraordinaire with all the honors inherent in that title.
Once again, thank you all for a fantastic experience. I have met wonderful people while doing this job, and have made friends that I will cherish for the rest of my life. 
From Elisabeth, the incoming Laurel
As my highly esteemed predecessor says, the decision has not yet been made regarding a new Laurel so I will be filling in on an interim basis for six months. With such an outstanding staff to work with I trust I can get up to speed again very quickly.
Mistress Olwyn has a lot to be proud of in the achievements of her tenure as Laurel. I am very pleased to follow in her footsteps and grateful for the good order the office is in. Because of her hard work this transitional phase will be relatively simple and we all benefit. Thank you, Olwyn. Very, very much.
Rather to my own surprise, I am looking forward to the next few months. Although it was tiring and had its moments, my previous tenure was also wonderfully rewarding and the people I met and worked with are some of the most intelligent and interesting I have ever known. I appreciate the opportunity to work with you all again for a while, after which I will cheerfully, nay gleefully, resume my retirement.
From Laurel: The Wreath Transition (and Continuing Pelican)
We are pleased to announce that Emma de Fetherstan will be the next Wreath Queen of Arms. She will step up at the Known World Heralds and Scribes Symposium in June as scheduled. We are also pleased to announce that Juliana de Luna will continue to serve as Pelican Queen of Arms.
From Pelican: Some Name Resources (A Series)
In Irish Gaelic, there is often confusion between literal bynames and inherited family names. While literal bynames dominate in the early part of our period, family names begin to appear by the 10th century. The first kind of family names were clan affiliation bynames, which for men take the form Ó followed by the name of clan founder in the genitive (possessive) case, like Ó Conchobhair or Ó hAodha.
The most typical kind of literal byname describes a man as his father's son (again using the father's given name in the genitive case): mac Conchobhair or mac Aodha. As time went on, family names that use Mac begin to appear; this are sometimes indistinguishable in form from literal bynames. The difference from our point of view is whether the name after mac is the father of the person in question or some ancestor further back in time.
By the time we get to the 16th century, an awful lot of the names that are recorded are inherited family names rather than literal bynames. Therefore, we have to be careful in looking at the names in Woulfe and other sources for late period names; only some of them allow the construction of literal bynames, while others are only registerable as family names. One tip in recognizing the difference: family names are often written, especially by modern scholars, with the relationship terms (like Mac) in capital letters, while literal byname are almost always in lowercase. So if you're looking at a source that has both Mac and mac, that's probably why.
This distinction matters a great deal when we get to women's names, because the constructions for women's literal bynames and women's family names are different. The literal byname form for a woman, used when the name in question is her father's given name, is inghean followed by the father's given name in the genitive case, like inghean Chonchobhair or inghean Aodha. Additionally, the first letter of the father's name often has to be lenited, a softening of the sound often written by adding an h after the letter in question. But a literal byname can only exist when the name is constructed from a given name still in use or a handful of special bynames that were used to create literal bynames. Other kinds of constructions can only be used to create family names.
Women's names take different forms; a woman can never be known in Gaelic as mac X or Ó X. Instead, family names for women generally take the form inghean followed by the masculine form of the family name in the possessive form, meaning "daugher of the X family." The forms are inghean Uí or inghean Mhic; the second words are the possessive forms of the masculine Ó and mac. Examples include inghean Uí Chonchobhair, inghean Uí hAodha, inghean Mhic Conchobhair, or inghean Mhic Aodha. Don't forget that the rules for lenition are based on context, so that C is not lenited after a word that ends with -c like mhic. A woman's name in Gaelic always must have the inghean.
So, when you're constructing women's names in Gaelic, you need to be careful. If you're using a source for given names, like Mari Elspeth nic Bryan's "Index of Names in Irish Annals," you can construct either literal bynames (using inghean) or family names (using inghean Uí or inghean Mhic). If you're using a source with family names, like Woulfe, you need to figure out if the family name can be used to construct a literal byname, or else stick to the appropriate family name form (using inghean Uí when the masculine Ó is documented and inghean Mhic when the masculine Mac is documented).
From Pelican: Reminder to Submissions Heralds
It's critical that submissions heralds transcribe all the information from forms to OSCAR. That includes requests that submitters made, even if you don't think they can be met. That includes the criteria that submitters give for the changes they would accept and the changes they'd prefer. That includes changes made at kingdom, even minor ones. I'm not just asking this because it's required by the Administrative Handbook; I'm asking because every time we find this information at the meeting, it adds to my workload of after-meeting research.
This month, I'm pending several items for further research to allow commenters to comment on missing requests for authenticity, changes made at kingdom, and the like. I've been letting this slide, because I'm willing to do some extra work. But that means giving submitters something less than the best work of the College of Arms.
I'd also remind submissions heralds that omitted information can be added as a correction at a later time. As long as the corrections are done in a timely manner, submissions will not be penalized. One important part of the submissions herald's job is to respond to questions asked by commenters and the issues they raise. Please make a point of taking a look at the comments on your letters of intent at least a couple of times during the commentary period (about halfway through the commentary period is a good time) and respond to the questions that commenters ask.
From Wreath: Commenting on Conflicts
A note to commenters: If you mention that the tincture in a blazon does not match that in the emblazon, and you also mention that you conflict checked the design, it would be nice if you could be explicit that you checked using the corrected tincture. This need not be lots of text; a simple "checked under the proper tincture..." should suffice.
From Laurel: Society Pages
We are saddened to have to announce that Minowara Kiritsubo-sensei, former Triton Principal Herald, passed from this life in late March at Georgetown University Hospital. She had lately been keeping busy as editor of the Society's Compleat Anachronist. Our thoughts are with her family.
Wenyeva atte grene, Blue Anchor Herald, received a Jambe de Lion (An Tir's GoA level arts award) last month, in part for heraldry.
Lillia de Vaux, Eastern Crown Herald, was awarded a Silver Crescent (The East's AoA service award) on March 26, primarily for her work as Eastern Crown Herald.
Master Alexander Ravenscroft, formerly Beacon Principal Herald of Meridies, was granted a personal heraldic title at the last court of Max and Lethrenn, on Saturday April 9, as their last item of business before crowning their successors.
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 be sent to David Duggar, Attn: Laurel Chancellor of Exchequer, 1705 Holiday Pl, Bossier City, LA 71112-3706.
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". The electronic copy of the LoAR is available free of charge. To subscribe to the mailings of the electronic copy, please see the bottom of http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/lists.html#lists for more instructions.
For all administrative matters, please contact Laurel.
Pray know that I remain,
In service,
Elisabeth de Rossignol
Laurel Principal Queen of Arms