Society for Creative Anachronism
College of Arms
For the February 2024 meetings, printed April 12, 2024
To all the College of Arms and all others who may read this missive, from Birgitta Laurel, Elisabetta Pelican, and Iago Wreath, greetings.
Pelican is an unpaid position, currently requiring approximately 20 hours a week. Some knowledge of period naming practices and familiarity with the SCA name registration process is essential. The position requires considerable tact and patience, research and reasoning ability, a clear understanding of the Standards for Evaluation of Names and Armory and past Laurel rulings, the ability to write clearly and succinctly, the ability to work within tight deadlines and coordinate closely with Wreath, Laurel, and other staff to produce a Laurel Letter of Acceptances and Returns monthly, computer literacy and word processing skills, reliable e-mail and telephone access, and time and ability to travel. Given the current structure of the office, a high-speed internet connection is required.
Resumes must be sent electronically to Laurel at [email protected]. Resumes must be received by June 1, 2024, with an expected start date in autumn 2024, to be determined with the Laurel staff.
The April 2020 Cover Letter instituted a policy to 'allow submitters to request name and armory changes to address offensiveness concerns free of charge (including both Laurel and kingdom charges)'. This has proved useful, and we have no intention to change the practice. However, a recent case shows that some clarification is needed. Note that this only applies to waiving the fees: changes that do not fulfill these criteria are welcome and will be treated as regular change submissions.
The goal of this allowance is to encourage people to consider whether their names or armory may cause offence, and to enable them to correct such problems. Because of this, two conditions have to be met. First, the change has to address the potential offensiveness: for instance, in Martin von Dachau the main offensiveness comes from the byname, so while a change to Kaspar von Dachau would remove the reference to the last commandant of the camp, the main source of offensiveness, the camp name itself, would not be addressed. Second, the old potentially offensive item has to be released. Retaining the old name as an alternate or the old armory as a badge does not address the offensiveness concerns at all as the entire point of having an alternate name or badge is to be able to use it at will.
When discussing secondary charges SENA Appendix I2b refers to strewn charges around a primary ordinary; however, the same paragraph notes "with or without a central ordinary". We are clarifying that this section applies regardless of the type of primary charge. As the existing examples make clear, this does not change the interpretation of I2b.
b. Semy: This type of secondary charge group consists of charges strewn over all or over one part of a field. Charges semy are almost always in a separate charge group from all other charges. However, when a divided field (with or without a central ordinary) has a semy of charges (or charges semy) on one half of the field and another charge or group of charges on the other, the charges form a single secondary charge group around the primary
charge(s).ordinary
We wish to thank Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin for bringing this issue to our attention.
Two submissions this month led us to consider our rules in irradiation. In the January 2016 return of the badge of Cuthbert Longschankes, (Fieldless) A Celtic cross Or irradiated azure we wrote: "Blazoned as a Celtic cross irradiated, irradiation would surround the entire charge and would leave no gaps between the azure extensions." In the May 2017 return of the badge of Alexandru Morarul, (Fieldless) A rat rampant Or irradiated sable, we wrote: "A proper depiction of irradiated has alternating points and rays issuant perpendicular from the edge of a charge."
However, a review of period armory that includes irradiation shows that neither of the requirements from precedent align with period practice. The armes of all the cheife corporatons of England shows the crest of the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors, a sheep argent irradiated Or, with gaps between the rays around some of the sheep's extremities. Arms, part II, English and Scottish nobility, p. 90, shows the crest of Lord Grey, a unicorn ermine irradiated Or, with gaps between the rays around some of the unicorn's extremities. Insignia Anglica, f. 4r, shows the same crest of Lord Grey, (as the Duke of Suffolk) with all straight rays, and gaps between the rays. Based on this evidence, we overturn the two precedents noted above, and will allow irradiation with all straight rays, and irradiation with some gaps between rays. The irradiation must still surround the entire charge.
We also considered the question of whether tertiary charges could be irradiated. The majority of examples of irradiated charges in period armory are either badges or crests; very few are found in the arms themselves. A search through the Dictionary of British Arms for irradiated tertiaries shows a single example of a rose irradiated on a chief, in the arms of Edmund Bonner, Bishop of Hereford and of London. As the practice is incredibly uncommon, and as irradiation will shrink an already small tertiary charge to the point where recognizability is impaired, we will no longer register irradiated tertiary charges as of the August 2024 Wreath meeting.
This month we considered the name Holta-Bjarki. The given name Bjarki was documented from Geirr Bassi, The Old Norse Name. Commentary on this item revealed that there was a single character in the Icelandic sagas that bears this name, and he is a werebear/shapeshifter in most of the places he is discussed. As a reminder, we will only register names from sagas that are borne by ordinary humans, as they otherwise constitute an impermissible claim to powers per SENA PN4C. As the character Bjarki is not an ordinary human, we will no longer register this given name in an Old Norse context as of the May 2024 LoAR. The name element bjarki, which means 'bear cub', does appear in the sagas as a descriptive byname borne by ordinary humans. Therefore, we will continue to register it as an Old Norse byname since it does not constitute a claim of powers as defined by our rules when used this way. Palimpsest is directed to update the "Standard Source Errata" article as appropriate.
The name element Bjarki does appear as a given name in 15th century Denmark borne by normal humans (Birky/By{ae}rke/Bi{ae}rke), and continues to be registerable in this context compatible with late period Scandinavian names.
The Survey of English Place-Names is a database found at https://epns.nottingham.ac.uk/. As noted on the website, "Since the 1920s, English Place-Name Society scholars have been working on a county-by-county survey of England's place-names, collecting the early forms of names from classical, medieval, and later documents and offering interpretations of their linguistic origins." For our purposes, forms dated directly or indirectly (e.g., OE or Old English) to 1650 or earlier are acceptable. Header forms with at least one period spelling are acceptable as lingua Societatis forms and, as with any lingua Societatis spelling, are considered to have the same date as the underlying form. Palimpsest is directed to add this resource to the Administrative Handbook Appendix H with the short citation [EPNS].
This month we considered the name Demhayr bin Johar. The patronymic marker bin is Turkish, while the given name Johar is Armenian. Normally, combining two languages in the same name phrase is not permitted per SENA PN1B1. However, during the commentary period Lillia Crampette provided ample evidence of this lingual mix actually appearing in names during our period. Therefore, relationship-style bynames combining a Turkish marker and an Armenian given name are permitted as of publication of this letter. Palimpsest is directed to add a note to SENA Appendix A under the Turkish header regarding this type of relationship-style byname construction.
On March 2, 2024, at Kingdom Arts & Sciences and Queen's Rapier Championships, Their Majesties Ulfgar and Juahara of An Tir granted Cormac Mor, Beare Herald Extraordinary, a Goutte de Sang for his continued contributions to heraldry in the Kingdom. The Goutte de Sang is An Tir's grant-level award for service.
Also on March 2, at Winter War in the Shire of Trinovantia Nova, Their Majesties Baldric and Breyla of Ealdormere elevated Dietrich von Sachsen, Red Escutcheon Herald and Herald Extraordinary to the Order of the Pelican.
On March 3, 2024, at the Kingdom Arts & Sciences Champions Competition, Their Majesties of the East inducted Lydia Webbe a/k/a Lydia Katerin of Brus, an active silent herald, into the Order of the Silver Wheel. The Silver Wheel is the East Kingdom's award-of-arms level award for service.
On March 23, 2024, at Defending the Gate in the Canton of Sudentorre, Their Majesties Ragnarr and Mary Isabel of Atlantia elevated Glynis Gwynedd, Herring Herald (webminister), to the Order of the Pelican. Glynis has previously also served terms as Silver Nautilus (royal court) and Finsterwald (clerk of precedence).
At that same event, Their Majesties of Atlantia inducted James of Carinthia, Golden Dolphin Herald (submissions), into Their Order of the Golden Dolphin. The Golden Dolphin is Atlantia's grant-level award for service.
Also at that event, Their Majesties of Atlantia inducted Faílenn Chu ingen uí Fháeláin, Undine Pursuivant (clerk signet), into Their Order of the Golden Dolphin.
Please send information about happenings to major heralds and major happenings to all heralds to Laurel, so that it can be published here.
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. For armory, only colored 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.
To subscribe to the mailings of the LoAR, please see the bottom of https:--heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/lists.html#lists for more instructions.
For all administrative matters, please contact Laurel.
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 https://oscar.sca.org/index.php?action=137.
The February Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, February 11, 2024 and the Wreath meeting held on Saturday, February 17, 2024. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: Calontir (07 Nov, 2023), Gleann Abhann (08 Nov, 2023), Middle (08 Nov, 2023), Meridies (09 Nov, 2023), An Tir (12 Nov, 2023), Artemisia (15 Nov, 2023), Ansteorra (16 Nov, 2023), Middle (20 Nov, 2023), An Tir (22 Nov, 2023), Ealdormere (24 Nov, 2023), Ansteorra (25 Nov, 2023), Atlantia (28 Nov, 2023), Lochac (29 Nov, 2023), Æthelmearc (30 Nov, 2023), Atenveldt (30 Nov, 2023), Avacal (30 Nov, 2023), Caid (30 Nov, 2023), Drachenwald (30 Nov, 2023), East (30 Nov, 2023), West (30 Nov, 2023), Laurel LoPaD (11 Dec, 2023), Laurel LoPaD (06 Jan, 2024) (redraws). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Wednesday, January 31, 2024.
The March Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, March 10, 2024 and the Wreath meeting held on Saturday, March 16, 2024. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: Meridies (07 Dec, 2023), Artemisia (16 Dec, 2023), Calontir (17 Dec, 2023), Palimpsest Rules Letter (18 Dec, 2023), Ansteorra (21 Dec, 2023), An Tir (23 Dec, 2023), Middle (23 Dec, 2023), An Tir (29 Dec, 2023), Atenveldt (30 Dec, 2023), Lochac (30 Dec, 2023), Avacal (31 Dec, 2023), Drachenwald (31 Dec, 2023), East (31 Dec, 2023), Laurel LoPaD (12 Feb, 2024) (redraws). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Thursday, February 29, 2024.
The April Laurel decisions will be made at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, April 14, 2024 and the Wreath meeting held on Saturday, April 13, 2024. These meetings will consider the following letters of intent: Ealdormere (24 Dec, 2023) (pushed due to lack of packet uploaded), Palimpsest Rules Letter (04 Jan, 2024), Palimpsest Rules Letter (05 Jan, 2024), Laurel LoPaD (07 Jan, 2024), Meridies (09 Jan, 2024), Northshield (09 Jan, 2024), Artemisia (19 Jan, 2024), East (21 Jan, 2024), Atenveldt (25 Jan, 2024), West (25 Jan, 2024), Outlands (26 Jan, 2024), An Tir (28 Jan, 2024), Ansteorra (28 Jan, 2024), Ansteorra (29 Jan, 2024), Ealdormere (30 Jan, 2024), Lochac (30 Jan, 2024), Atlantia (31 Jan, 2024), Drachenwald (31 Jan, 2024), Middle (31 Jan, 2024), Palimpsest Rules Letter (31 Jan, 2024), Laurel LoPaD (14 Mar, 2024) (redraws). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Sunday, March 31, 2024.
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.
Be assured that I remain
In service
Birgitta Lulli
Laurel Queen of Arms
Created at 2024-04-12T17:16:24