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[Norrey Acadamie of Armorie] The name ...had been previously returned in 1984 and 1989: the name for presumption and conflict with the Norroy King of Arms ...The submitter has provided a letter from J.P. Brooke-Little, current Norroy & Ulster King of Arms, granting permission to use the title. ...Stipulating, for the sake of argument, that Mr. Brooke-Little has the authority to grant permission, his letter still doesn't remove the problem of presumption --- which lies solely in the axioms of our historical re-creation, and is unaffected by permission. To borrow Lady Harpy's analogy, even if the Queen of England wrote a letter permitting someone to use Elizabeth of England, we wouldn't permit it, because the name is inconsistent with our rules against claiming unearned honors. (And to extend the analogy, even with such a letter, there'd still be a conflict --- not with the current Elizabeth of England, but with the one in period. Mr. Brooke-Little's permission does not automatically prevent infringement against the previous holders of the title Norroy.) ...The LOI alluded to the submitter's heraldic rank and work in heraldic education. These are laudable, but not relevant to the problems of this [submission]. The appearance of a claim of official status in the SCA College of Arms would remain, whether the submitter were a herald or not; this is, after all, a personal [name and] badge for a household, with no official sanction. The infringement on the title of Norroy remains. (Norrey Acadamie of Armorie (Taliesynne Nycheymwrh yr Anyghyfannedd), December, 1992, pg. 21)
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The Norse sun cross had at one time been treated as an alphanumeric symbol (that of the planet Earth), and so unacceptable for use in SCA devices. Under the current Rules, such symbols are now acceptable; indeed, a Norse sun cross was registered to Etain MacDhomhnuill on the LoAR of April 90. (Kenneth MacQuarrie of Tobermory, January, 1993, pg. 12)
We were given no documentation of the zalktis [a squared off `S' shape, set on its side] as an heraldic charge, or even as a religious symbol. It cannot be found in our standard references --- the OED, for instance, has no entry for it. As this would have been the defining instance of the charge in SCA heraldry, documentation becomes even more important; pending such documentation, this must be returned. (Gundras no Dzintara Krasta, January, 1993, pg. 28)
The College does not register monograms, or any armory consisting solely of an alphanumeric symbol. (LoAR of Aug 84, p.5) Anyone has the right to use [that symbol] without regard to conflict; it can't be considered the private property of the [submitter]. (Order of the Bough of Meridies (Kingdom of Meridies), July, 1993, pg. 15)
The use of astrological glyphs heraldically in period can be seen on the crest of Bull, watchmaker to Queen Elizabeth I: On a wreath argent and gules, a cloud proper, thereon a celestial sphere azure, with the circles or; on the zodiac the signs of Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer (Parker, A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry, p. 547). It has long been the College's policy to allow the use of elements from crests and supporters, if period usage is documented, as charges for SCA armory although there is no documentation of their use as charges in period armory (cf. yales). (Cadell ap Hubert, September, 1993, pg. 11)
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