Copyright © 1995 - Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.
First edition, June XV (1980).
Second edition, January XVII (1983).
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less."
The greater part of the problem lay, however, in the quality of the material itself. Master Wilhelm's letters tended to be wordy without being enlightening; his rulings were often ambiguous, sometimes contradictory, and all too frequently contrary to fact. I would caution the user of this volume to be wary of subsequent rulings on a given topic, and not to rely solely on the content of the first quotation he finds.
Precedents III was drawn primarily from comments on submissions. Almost nothing was included from the various editions of the "Rules for Heraldic Submissions," nor did I quote any of the proclamations on purely administrative matters (such as heralds' regalia). In these cases, current policy, as expressed in the separate documents on these subjects, is of far more use to the working herald than any exposition of what has been said before.
The notation [EoE], which follows several of the entries in this volume, indicates a comment made by Mistress Eriod of Eire, Master Wilhelm's consultant on Irish names, whom he quoted directly in a couple of his rulings.
I was fortunate to have had the assistance of a number of people in preparing the revised edition of Precedents III. Lady Adelaide de Beaumont helped me draft editorial policy, and researched the fine points of citation. Master Hrorek Halfdane of Faulconwood reviewed the manuscript in draft, and returned his comments in jig time. Mistress Alison von Markheim suggested a number of cross-references, and made sense of twelve pages of quotations on names. Lord Iathus of Scara rescued Mistress Alison's comments from oblivion. To all of these people go my sincere thanks.