Copyright © 1995 - Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.
The first edition of this volume was compiled by Karina of the Far West, and published in October 1976 as Precedents from Laurel's Letters of Acceptance, Ordinaries, Minutes, References, and Other Sources.
Second edition, June XIX (1984).
Volume one of Precedents of the SCA College of Arms deals with the tenures of Master Harold Breakstone, the first Laurel King of Arms, who held office from the early years of the Society until November 1972, and Master Ioseph of Locksley, his successor, who resigned in August 1975.
Harold Breakstone was originally Lord Herald of the Kingdom of the West; Randall of Hightower and Karina of the Far West were both pursuivants. The National College of Heralds was formed in 1968, to serve as a Society-wide heraldic registry. Harold Breakstone became King of Arms of the Society, and Randall of Hightower became Lord Herald of the West. By January of 1970, they had adopted the titles Laurel and Clarion for their offices, and Karina of the Far West had become Banner. At this time, the business of the National College of Heralds was conducted as part of the West Kingdom meetings.
In March of 1971, at the behest of the Board of Directors, the West Kingdom and National colleges were formally separated. Laurel King of Arms became head of the newly-formed College of Arms. A few months later, Clarion was made a King of Arms (deputy to Laurel), and Karina of the Far West became principal herald of the West -- first with the title Banner, then Sequoia, and finally as Vesper, which office she held until she succeeded Ioseph of Locksley as Laurel in 1975.
When Mistress Karina compiled the first edition of this document, she drew material from the correspondence of the West Kingdom College of Heralds (much of it her own) and from articles in Tournaments Illuminated, as well from the correspondence of the Laurel office. I have used these same sources in preparing the second edition -- partly out of a sense of responsibility to the first edition, but chiefly to provide access to the material and insight into the opinions of the people who were responsible for defining SCA heraldry. I have attempted to follow up on all of the post-NCoH West Kingdom comments, noting or omitting those from which the Laurel ruling differed.
Some of the quotations in this volume (particularly those drawn from the West Kingdom minutes) refer by name or by title to people whom the reader may have difficulty identifying: Sarkanyi Gero (Banner, Seraphim), Frederick of Holland (Greencloak), Alfgar the Sententious (Brigantia), and Ioseph of Locksley (Aten). Johanna von Griffenhurst served as artist for the College of Arms, and Boncueur acted as clerk. There are also a couple of references to Stefan de Lorraine, who was West Kingdom Seneschal at the time.
As I worked my way back through the material that comprises this volume, I found myself becoming more and more conservative in my editorial practices. Volumes II and III in this series contain numerous unremarked corrections, usually of spelling and typography. Virtually all of the changes I made to the present text were bracketed as such. If this has made the quotations more difficult to read, I apologize; given the inaccessibility of some of the sources, I thought it better to err on the side of explicitness.
The irreverent footnotes require some explanation. The original irreverent footnotes were a feature of the West Kingdom minutes. Instead of recording editorial asides in the body of the minutes, as is commonly done today, the privy clerk used actual numbered footnotes. The footnotes themselves were printed on a separate page, and were not included in copies of the minutes that were sent to non-heralds.
Most of the irreverent footnotes have been omitted from this volume. In the few cases where I have thought it desirable to include a footnote as part of a quotation, I have set the text off with the words "irreverent footnote," enclosed the whole in square brackets, and inserted it at the appropriate point in the quotation. None of the comments so marked are my own. I have also carried over a number of editorial notes from the first edition; these have been marked, wherever feasible, with Karina's initials.
I'd like to thank a number of people who helped me with Precedents I. Master Wilhelm von Schlüssel ransacked the Laurel files for source material, much of which I could not otherwise have obtained. Duke Siegfried von Höflichkeit supplied me with copies of numerous back issues of Tournaments Illuminated. Baron Hrorek Halfdane of Faulconwood and Mistress Aelfwynn Gyrthesdohtor (assisted by Lord Garin de Gramercy) read the manuscript in draft and offered myriad comments, many of which found their way, in one form or another, into the footnotes. Without their help, I would never have finished this project.