Society for Creative Anachronism
College of Arms

601 S Washington #137
Stillwater OK 74074
+1 405 428 3662
[email protected]

For the February 2023 meetings, printed April 5, 2023

To all the College of Arms and all others who may read this missive, from Emma Laurel, Elisabetta Pelican, Oddr Wreath (outgoing), and Iago Wreath (incoming), greetings.

* From Laurel: New Submission Forms!

We're pleased to announce the official release of submission forms v4.0!

There are a number of small changes to the forms, but some highlights are:

Please note that in order to use the new fillable areas on the device and badge forms, you must use the new "emblazon-device.png" and "emblazon-badge.png" blank images that include the form's proper outline and are sized to fit exactly. Any modifications may result in an administrative return.

The current submission forms, v3.0, will be accepted until the end of 2023. Forms received after Dec 31, 2023 must be v4.0. Heralds at all levels are encouraged to make sure you've replaced all 3.0 forms with the newer 4.0 forms well before that date, particularly any paper copies that may be stashed somewhere for consultation tables.

* From Laurel: KWHSS 2024 Bids Requested

It's that time again! (Actually, past that time!) For those considering bidding on the 2024 Known World Heraldic and Scribal Symposium, the deadline to have your bid entered into OSCAR is August 1, 2023. This deadline may be extended as needed, but we would prefer to be able to announce the bid's award sooner than later.

Please remember that bids posted to OSCAR are publicly readable. Because of this, any personal information, such as legal names, addresses, phone numbers, and email, should not be included in these bids without signed written permission. Such information as is necessary for the entire College of Arms to see should be posted as a comment after the bid is finalized; any identifying information that the Sovereigns might need should be included as a Sovereign Note.

Please send a copy of the full unredacted bid to Laurel at [email protected].

As a reminder, there is a KWHSS domain and web hosting space available on the SCA's servers. Please do not register a new domain.

There is some information available at https://heraldry.sca.org/kwhss/, with new pages in the works (thank you, Wu!) but if you have questions before the updates pages happen, please contact Laurel.

* From Outgoing Wreath: So Long, and Thanks

This was a ride with no regrets. That I can state this frankly and honestly may surprise some.

When I applied to succeed in this office, I was well aware of heraldry enthusiasts (myself included) who wanted to see its practice expand outside of the Euro-centric mindset it had spent half a century in. Despite that, I was taken aback by how many like-minded submitters and armorists would make themselves known, and the steady stream of opportunities they would provide. And so, to all those who've worked to change our practice -- whether through research into period armory (or equivalent), or in questioning our practice of it -- and to those proofreaders and advisors who helped firm up some of the more interesting decisions: Many heartfelt thanks. While being a Sovereign of Arms involves a great deal of time thinking and writing (so much thinking, so much writing), being able to say that we are not only able to accept a submission, but that we need not even blink at it, makes it all worthwhile. Please keep doing so.

To my fellow Sovereigns of Arms -- Juliana, Emma, Cormac, Alys, Elisabetta, and now Iago -- whom I was privileged to work with: Your examples were inspiring. To Elisabetta in particular: A decade ago when we were working in An Tir's submissions office, I'd not imagined doing so again in quite this capacity. I guess I was just plain lucky.

To Jeanne Marie: I am fortunate to have had you remembering everything I couldn't, an ability that was nothing short of uncanny. To Reis: Many thanks for your patience as clerk, and my apologies for your need to be patient. To our other clerks, Seraphina and Lilie: You've taken much work off my plate, and allowed me to focus on the rest of the office. To Cormac and Ragna: The ability to pend for redraw has saved me sleepless nights, and the fact that you two -- not me -- were doing the art should save everyone else's.

To Iago: I can only hope to have left the office in half as presentable a shape as Cormac did before me.

And lastly to my beloved Tóki, who supported and counseled me on many of my decisions: 6 puttonyos are calling.

* From Laurel: Extraordinary!

The College of Arms has a rank of Herald Extraordinary that has a long and honored history. The rank was formally created and defined in the July 1981 cover letter by Wilhelm Laurel. The intent of the rank is to recognize and reward "... those heralds who have greatly served the College of Heralds and/or the College of Arms and have achieved the highest level of competence in heraldry."

Oddr Þiálfason has offered considerable effort and service to the College of Arms and the Society, particularly in the realm of expanding our armorial view. This is no small thing; it takes much thought and attention to detail to ensure SENA remains consistent as it grows and changes. It is my pleasure to confer upon him the rank and style of Herald Extraordinary, and charge him to register a title of his choosing with the College of Arms.

* From Wreath: Office Transition

This month marks the second of a two-month transition in Wreath decisions. This month's armory decisions for the kingdoms of Æthelmearc, An Tir, Ansteorra, Artemisia, and Atlantia were made by Oddr. Decisions for other kingdoms were made by Iago.

* From Pelican: Legal Names and Differences

In a submission this month the question was raised about the required minimum difference between a submitter's legal and SCA name and whether removing a terminal -s was sufficient to meet that minimum. Under SENA this change would not be sufficient to clear conflict, but that is not the standard used when determining if a submitted name is sufficiently different from a legal or use name. The Administrative Handbook III.A.10 simply requires a change of pronunciation. Adding or removing a terminal -s generally meets that lower threshold. To clarify this, AH III.A.10 is modified as shown below:

A small change in the name is sufficient for registration, such as the addition of a syllable or a spelling change that changes the pronunciation. However, a change to spelling without a change in pronunciation is not sufficient. For example, Alan Miller could not register the name Alan Miller or Allan Miller but he could register the name Alan the Miller. He could also register the name Alan Millers as the terminal -s changes the pronunciation of the byname, though that difference is insufficient to clear conflict under SENA PN3. Further, submitters may register either a name or armory which is a close variant of a name or insignia they use outside the Society, but not both.

The online version of the Administrative Handbook will be updated about a week after the July 2023 Board of Directors meeting.

* From Wreath: Orientation of Keys

Table 5 of the Glossary of Terms currently defines the default orientation for keys as "Fesswise, wards to dexter and facing downwards; when palewise, must be specified (wards to chief or wards to base)." However, in May 2013 it was ruled "By default, keys are palewise, wards to chief. When placed on a chief, they would ordinarily therefore be fesswise, wards to dexter..." [Marcus MacAndrew, 05/2013, A-Trimaris]. This is the orientation that has generally been followed since then. We also have not granted difference for the direction that the wards face (to chief/base when fesswise or sinister/dexter when palewise). Table 5 is hereby updated to reflect these facts. The new wording:

Palewise, wards to chief and bow to base, the facing of the wards (to dexter/sinister) is an optionally blazonable detail worth no difference. When blazoned fesswise the wards are to dexter and when fesswise reversed the wards are to sinister; the facing of the wards (to chief/base) is an optionally blazonable detail worth no difference. A key inverted is palewise, wards to base and bow to chief. A key reversed is fesswise with the wards to sinister and the bow to dexter.

* From Wreath and Pelican: Hydra Returns

A submission this month caused us to revisit the discussion on the August 2019 Cover Letter regarding submissions which reference the phrase "Hail Hydrate":

Recently we have had a series of submissions from waterbearing enthusiasts who ... have taken it upon themselves to register badges which feature references to the logo of Hydra, a villainous organization within the Marvel comic and cinematic universes[.] The badges frequently feature bottles, gouttes, or other water-based emblems as a visual representation of the phrase "Hail Hydrate!" currently making its way through the SCA.

While the prior decision merely discouraged submitters from making this joke, it also made a clear case for why invoking fascist names and imagery, real or imagined, falls well into the domain of offense as found in SENA:

[S]everal in the SCA, especially Jews, persons of color, and members of the LGBTQ+ community, have expressed concerns about large groups of people chanting ersatz Hitlerian salutes at SCA events. Apart from the issue of being obtrusively modern, the normalization of fascist symbols as "jokes" feels both tone-deaf and a flag to white supremacists that their views are welcome.

We concur with this statement, and find invocations of the Hydra organization or its logo (including, but not limited to, a polypus holding drinking vessels, in any tincture combination), in either names or armory, in either straightforward or oblique "Hail Hydrate" references, to be demonstrably offensive to a significant percentage of the organization and thus returnable under SENA PN4B4, NPN5B4, or A7B4.

* Society Pages

On January 7, at West Kingdom 12th Night, in the first court of King Kenric and Queen Dagmar, Antonio Vesper Principal Herald announced Edith of Swanesvale, Matins Herald (Submissions) and Na'arah bat Avraham, Pinnacle Pursuivant for the Barony of Darkwood, as Heralds Extraordinary.

On January 21, at the Feast of Saint Sebastian in the Barony of Caer Mear in the Kingdom of Atlantia, Their Majesties Abran and Anya elevated Fergus of Hanna, formerly Compass Star Herald (baronial herald), to the Order of the Pelican.

On February 11, at Bright Hills Baronial Birthday and Investiture also in the Kingdom of Atlantia, Their Majesties invited Alexandria Wright, Finsterwald Herald (Clerk of Precedence), into Their Order of the Pearl, Atlantia's grant-level arts and sciences award, for her contributions to the scribal arts.

On March 16, at Calontir Royal Court at Gulf Wars, Their Majesties Duncan and Ylva did elevate Sofya la Rus, Habicht Herald (Education), to the Order of the Pelican for her long dedication to heraldry.

On March 19, Antonio Vesper, Principal Herald of the Kingdom of the West, elevated Aasa Thorvaldsdottir, Vesper Principal Herald Emerita among others, to the rank of Herald Extraordinary.

On the subject of recent Principal Herald changeovers, we neglected to announce earlier that in January in Calontir, Zaneta Baseggio was succeeded by Rhodri ap Ieuan ap Hywel as Gold Falcon Principal Herald. Many thanks to Zaneta for her service over the past couple of years, and welcome to Rhodri!

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.

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 February Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, February 12, 2023 and the Wreath meeting held on Saturday, February 11, 2023. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: Meridies (02 Nov, 2022), Calontir (08 Nov, 2022), An Tir (11 Nov, 2022), Laurel LoPaD (13 Nov, 2022), Artemisia (15 Nov, 2022), Atlantia (16 Nov, 2022), Ealdormere (25 Nov, 2022), Lochac (25 Nov, 2022), Meridies (25 Nov, 2022), Ansteorra (27 Nov, 2022), Outlands (27 Nov, 2022), Middle (28 Nov, 2022), Caid (29 Nov, 2022), Middle (29 Nov, 2022), Æthelmearc (30 Nov, 2022), Ansteorra (30 Nov, 2022), Atenveldt (30 Nov, 2022), Avacal (30 Nov, 2022), Drachenwald (30 Nov, 2022), East (30 Nov, 2022), Northshield (30 Nov, 2022), West (30 Nov, 2022), Laurel LoPaD (12 Jan, 2023) (redraws). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Tuesday, January 31, 2023.

The March Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, March 12, 2023 and the Wreath meeting held on Saturday, March 4, 2023. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: Northshield (06 Dec, 2022), Calontir (08 Dec, 2022), An Tir (09 Dec, 2022), Gleann Abhann (17 Dec, 2022), Palimpsest Rules Letter (17 Dec, 2022), Ealdormere (26 Dec, 2022), Lochac (26 Dec, 2022), Æthelmearc (27 Dec, 2022), Trimaris (27 Dec, 2022), Atenveldt (30 Dec, 2022), Avacal (30 Dec, 2022), Outlands (30 Dec, 2022), Caid (31 Dec, 2022), Drachenwald (31 Dec, 2022), East (31 Dec, 2022), Northshield (31 Dec, 2022), Laurel LoPaD (08 Feb, 2023) (redraws). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Tuesday, February 28, 2023.

The April Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, April 2, 2023 and the Wreath meeting held on Saturday, April 8, 2023. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: Calontir (03 Jan, 2023), Atlantia (06 Jan, 2023), Meridies (09 Jan, 2023), Gleann Abhann (12 Jan, 2023), An Tir (13 Jan, 2023), Laurel LoPaD (13 Jan, 2023), Artemisia (16 Jan, 2023), Middle (16 Jan, 2023), Laurel Rules Letter (17 Jan, 2023), Ansteorra (21 Jan, 2023), Ansteorra (24 Jan, 2023), Atenveldt (24 Jan, 2023), Lochac (24 Jan, 2023), Ealdormere (25 Jan, 2023), Outlands (27 Jan, 2023), West (27 Jan, 2023), Caid (29 Jan, 2023), East (29 Jan, 2023), Æthelmearc (31 Jan, 2023), Avacal (31 Jan, 2023), Drachenwald (31 Jan, 2023). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Friday, March 31, 2023.

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,

Emma de Fetherstan
Laurel Queen of Arms


Created at 2023-04-05T19:47:02