Society for Creative Anachronism
College of Arms

427 W Ave
Spokane, WA 99203
+1 509 570 4189
[email protected]

For the October 2019 meetings, printed December 31, 2019

To all the College of Arms and all others who may read this missive, from Juliana Laurel, Alys Pelican, and Cormac Wreath, greetings.

* Commendations to Commenters

From Pelican: This month we are registering for the first time a name from 3rd century B.C.E. Egypt that was originally recorded in hieroglyphs (as well as in demotic Egyptian script and Greek). The recent expansion in registerability of Egyptian names is due entirely to the hard work and research of Sneferu sa Djedi mewtif Merit. Commendations to Sneferu for expanding the scope of available cultures and time periods and serving a previously unserved community within the Society.

* From Pelican: Attestation of Legal Names

Questions have been raised recently about the attestation of legal name elements in cases where the names of the persons witnessing the legal document were provided in the Letter of Intent but the witnesses did not physically sign the paperwork. The June 2015 Cover Letter states:

Where photocopies cannot easily be made, heralds may attest that they have seen the identification. Such attestation must include the following: the type of identification, the complete name exactly as it appears on the identification (for example noting that the name is rendered completely in capital letters), the names and titles of two heralds who have seen the identification (herald/pursuivant at large is a title), and the signature or initials of those heralds. If signatures cannot be obtained, the herald may confirm that he or she has seen the documentation in commentary (internal or external - in the case of internal commentary the Letter of Intent should note that it was confirmed). At a local event where only a single herald is available, another officer (seneschal, for example) can serve as a second witness.

Increasingly, when it is not possible to make photocopies at an event, it also is not possible for heralds or other witnesses of legal documents to sign the submitter's name form. For example, the electronic submissions management program used at Pennsic Herald's Point does not provide the opportunity for physical signatures on the forms.

We hereby modify the requirements of the June 2015 Cover Letter to take these and similar circumstances into account. Where two witnesses (heralds or other officers) attest to having seen the legal documentation for a legal name element, the names of those witnesses and their relevant titles must be provided and stated in the Letter of Intent. While having the witnesses also sign the submission form is preferred, the lack of signatures is not a ground for return as long as the other information is provided.

* From Pelican: Names from Pharaonic Egypt

Over the last two years or so, a great deal of new research has been done relating to names from Pharaonic Egypt. As a result of this research, our previous precedents concerning such require revisiting. This Cover Letter item summarizes in one place all of the current rulings on names from Pharaonic Egypt. For the purposes of these rulings, we consider "Pharaonic Egypt" to be the period prior to the death of Cleopatra VII Philopator in 10 B.C.E.

Recent archeological work (in particular, work by the British Museum) establishes that Egypt and Greece were in direct contact from approximately the 2nd millennium B.C.E. onwards. Active sea-based trade between Greece and Egypt seems to have been established by at least 600 B.C.E., and Greek authors of the 5th-4th centuries were writing extensively about Egyptian culture. Herodotus talks about Greek traders visiting Egyptian towns. Egyptian armies sometimes used Greek mercenaries -- in or about 593 B.C.E., Greek mercenaries left Greek-language graffiti on the legs of the statutes of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel.

Archeological evidence also shows a substantial number of Greeks living permanently in, and intermingling with, Pharaonic Egypt. A Greek settlement called Naukratis was established in Egypt in or about the 7th century B.C.E. and was occupied continuously through at least the 7th century C.E.

Sneferu sa Djedi mewetif Merit also recently provided evidence of stelae where names were simultaneously recorded in Egyptian hieroglyphs, demotic Egyptian, and Greek. Other archeological evidence shows inscriptions (particularly funerary inscriptions) incorporating both hieratic Egyptian script and Greek script. The British Museum has evidence of 6th century B.C.E. grave stelae that employ Egyptian motifs alongside Greek language and motifs. For example, in the late 7th century B.C.E., a man named Wah-ib-Re-em-akhet (an Egyptian name), the son of Alexikles and Zonodote (clearly Greeks), was buried in an Egyptian sarcophagus.

Based on this evidence, Egyptian name elements dated to the 7th century B.C.E. and later can be registered, regardless of how they were originally recorded (i.e., whether originally in hieroglyphs, demotic or hieratic Egyptian). Egyptian name elements must be transliterated into Latin characters as required by PN2D. Even though Egyptian names were often transcribed in period without vowels, vowels must be included for a transliterated Egyptian name to be registerable. This is consistent with how we treat other languages that were transcribed in period without vowels, such as Hebrew and Arabic. Egyptian transliterations may be registered without capitalization, as such transliterations are used in academic settings.

Name elements from Pharaonic Egypt can be combined with Greek name elements dated within 300 years. Additional research may demonstrate other possible lingual mixes. Where the dating of a particular Greek element is unclear, the submitter will get the benefit of the doubt.

We direct Palimpsest to propose appropriate changes to SENA GP3A consistent with these rulings.

* From Pelican and Morsulus: Two new characters: {ae-} and {ae'}

This month we registered the Old English name {AE}lfgifu ęt S{ae'}m. The discussion of this name required the creation of Da'ud notation for two new Old English characters.

{ae-} is a lower case ash (a-e ligature) with a macron. {AE-} is the capital letter version of the same character.

{ae'} is a lower case ash with an acute accent. {AE'} is the capital letter version of the same character.

As with other letters that are not in Latin-1, the fully Da'ud encoded form will be shown in the Ordinary and Armorial.

* From Wreath: Maintained Charges and Marshalled Armory Revisited

On the December 2007 Cover Letter Wreath ruled:

In commentary this month (Giles Green, Atlantia), Albion cited the precedent:

Anne Gyldensleve. Device Quarterly azure and sable, in bend two arms embowed fesswise reversed Or gloved argent each maintaining a falcon close Or. As noted by al-Jamal, "RfS XI.3.b [Marshalling] notes that 'No section of the field may contain an ordinary that terminates at the edge of that section, or more than one charge unless those charges are part of a group over the whole field.' The charged sections here contain multiple, though conjoined, charges which are not part of a group over the whole field." [LoAR 03/2004]

The paragraph from the Rules for Submission quoted in the above precedent concludes: "Charged sections must all contain charges of the same type to avoid the appearance of being different from each other." It's true that maintained charges contribute to the complexity of a submission; on the other hand, they don't contribute to heraldic difference. The question is whether they contribute to the appearance of independent coats, which is what RfS XI.3.b is intended to prevent.

The deciding point for us is the fact that many heraldic charges include a maintained charge, if not as part of the definition, then as part of the default method of display. Squirrels are shown maintaining nuts, and may do so even if the fact is not explicitly blazoned. Cranes in their vigilance must maintain a stone. Ostriches are almost always shown with a bit of iron (e.g., a horseshoe) in their mouths. And so on. These are the expected, and period, depictions of these charges; it would make no sense to penalize a submitter for using them in a per pale or quarterly design, merely because they include a maintained charge. Therefore the maintained charge, of itself, cannot create the appearance of marshalling.

We hereby partially overturn the 2004 precedent, to this extent: if a divided field contains the same type of charge in each portion, and those charges maintain the same of charge, then the maintained charges do not contribute to the appearance of marshalling. To take a concrete example, Quarterly sable and argent, in bend two lions Or each maintaining a sword argent will no longer be considered marshalled arms: each charged quarter has the same type of charge (lion), and their maintained charges (swords) are also the same. The maintained charges are not, in this case, considered significant enough to cause the two quarters to appear to be independent armories.

Note, however, that Quarterly sable and argent, in bend a lion Or maintaining a sword argent and a lion Or maintaining a halberd argent would be returned for the appearance of marshalling. The different maintained charges aren't worth a CD, but they're enough to establish non-identity (just as they would in cases requiring a letter of permission to conflict); and since the two quarters aren't identical, they appear to be separate - and hence quartered - coats. Also note that using sustained charges instead of maintained charges - held charges large enough to be worth heraldic difference - will definitely cause the appearance of marshalling, identical or not (emphasis added).

SENA contains a similar clause, A6F2d, which states that "When any section of such a field contains...multiple charges of different types..., it creates the appearance of marshalling." In August 2015 it was ruled "effective immediately, we are adopting the following definition: a charge, held or conjoined, which is clearly not a co-primary charge is equivalent to the former definition of sustained if it is identifiable, no matter what its size. Sustained charges grant a cadency difference - currently referred to as a 'DC'."

As maintained charges now count for difference, they do contribute to the appearance of marshalled armory, as sustained charges did under the 2007 precedent. This means that Quarterly sable and argent, in bend two lions Or each maintaining a sword argent is considered marshalled arms as the charged sections each contain two charges - a lion and a sword.

We decline to rule at this time whether or not the rare case of a maintained charge which is part of the definition of a charge (e.g. the rock maintained by a crane in its vigilance) contributes to the appearance of marshalled arms.

* Society Pages

Please send information about happenings to major heralds and major happenings to all heralds to Laurel, so that it can be published here.

* 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. All submission forms plus documentation, including petitions, must be posted to the OSCAR online system. While black-and-white emblazons must be included in the Letter of Intent, only colored armory forms need to be posted in the forms area.

Cheques or money orders for submissions, payable to "SCA Inc.-College of Arms" are to be sent to Trent Le Clair, 928 Frazier Dr, Walla Walla WA 99362

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.

* Scheduling

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 October Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, October 13, 2019 and the Wreath meeting held on Sunday, October 6, 2019. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: Lochac (13 Jun, 2019) (pushed due to lack of packet) , Palimpsest Other Letter (02 Jul, 2019), Calontir (05 Jul, 2019), Trimaris (10 Jul, 2019), Atlantia (20 Jul, 2019), An Tir (24 Jul, 2019), Middle (24 Jul, 2019), Ealdormere (25 Jul, 2019), Laurel LoPaD (25 Jul, 2019), East (26 Jul, 2019), Artemisia (27 Jul, 2019), Northshield (29 Jul, 2019), Ansteorra (30 Jul, 2019), Atenveldt (30 Jul, 2019), Avacal (30 Jul, 2019), Drachenwald (30 Jul, 2019), Caid (31 Jul, 2019), Meridies (31 Jul, 2019), Outlands (31 Jul, 2019), West (31 Jul, 2019), and Laurel LoPaD (30 Aug, 2019) (redraws) . All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Monday, September 30, 2019.

The November Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, November 10, 2019 and the Wreath meeting held on Sunday, November 17, 2019. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: Calontir (07 Aug, 2019), Ęthelmearc (12 Aug, 2019), Caid (22 Aug, 2019), Atlantia (24 Aug, 2019), Ealdormere (25 Aug, 2019), Palimpsest LoItUP (27 Aug, 2019), Artemisia (28 Aug, 2019), East (29 Aug, 2019), Drachenwald (30 Aug, 2019), Northshield (30 Aug, 2019), An Tir (31 Aug, 2019), Atenveldt (31 Aug, 2019), Laurel (31 Aug, 2019), Laurel LoPaD (31 Aug, 2019), Meridies (31 Aug, 2019), and Outlands (31 Aug, 2019). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Thursday, October 31, 2019.

The December Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, December 15, 2019 and the Wreath meeting held on Sunday, December 8, 2019. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: Avacal (03 Sep, 2019), Calontir (09 Sep, 2019), West (20 Sep, 2019), Ealdormere (23 Sep, 2019), Ealdormere (25 Sep, 2019), Northshield (27 Sep, 2019), Avacal (28 Sep, 2019), Drachenwald (29 Sep, 2019), An Tir (30 Sep, 2019), Ansteorra (30 Sep, 2019), Atenveldt (30 Sep, 2019), Atlantia (30 Sep, 2019), Caid (30 Sep, 2019), East (30 Sep, 2019), Gleann Abhann (30 Sep, 2019), Meridies (30 Sep, 2019), Outlands (30 Sep, 2019), Trimaris (30 Sep, 2019), Laurel LoPaD (18 Oct, 2019) (redraws) , and Laurel LoPaD (31 Oct, 2019) (redraws). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Saturday, November 30, 2019.

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.

Pray know that I remain,

In service,

Juliana de Luna
Laurel Queen of Arms


Created at 2019-12-31T15:15:43