Unto the members of the College of Arms,
from Baldwin of Erebor, Laurel King of Arms.
My lords and ladies,
Enclosed herewith is the letter of acceptances
and returns for the College of Arms meeting held August 10th at
the Known World Heraldic Symposium in the March of Tirnewydd.
The Calontir letter of 5/12 was processed at this meeting. There
were 32 items approved and 6 returned.
Schedule
The September meeting has been scheduled
for the 15th. We will be reviewing letters of intent from Ansteorra
(6/10), Calontir (6/11), Meridies (6/15), the West (6/16), Caid
(6/20), and East (6/27).
The October meeting has been scheduled for
the 20th. Letters to be processed at this meeting are Middle
(7/4) [heraldic titles], Atenveldt (7/5) [two letters], West (7/10)
[appeal), Caid (7/11), Middle (7/15), Atlantia (7/26), East (7/27),
East (7/28), West (7/28), and East (7/29). Letters of comment
for this meeting should arrive not later than October 12.
The November meeting has been scheduled
for the 10th. Letters of intent will be reviewed from Ansteorra
(8/1), Ansteorra (8/5), Caid (8/7), West (8/18), and Ansteorra
(8/31). Letters of comment for this meeting should arrive
no later than November 2.
The tentative date for the December meeting
is the 15th. This is subject to change depending on local event
and work schedules.
Personnel
Lord Gawaine of Miskbridge (Wayne Patton)
has a new address: 729 7th Avenue, Iowa City, IA 52240. Mistress
Lucie de Villebruyant Boniface has resigned as Corona Herald.
Her successor is Lord Serlo of Litchfield (Stephen R. Slaton),
2025 Iowa Circle, Green River, WY 82935. He is not presently
commenting on letters of intent.
Symposium
The 1985 Heraldry Symposium was held in the March of Tirnewydd (Columbus, Ohio) on the 10th and 11th of August. The classes and meetings were held on the campus of Ohio State University, with accomodations being provided in the dormitories for outofarea attendees. Those with time to browse had the happy opportunity to wander through a substantial display of calligraphy and illumination, organized by Master Johannes von Nurenstein.
Saturday's schedule provided classes in
the history of the SCA College of Arms, Court and field heraldry
(how not to do it), and Differencing and cadency. This was followed
by a leisurely lunch break, and (in parallel) a College of Arms
meeting, a calligraphers and illuminators round table, and a workshop
in war banners and flags. That evening, we were treated to what
has to be the best feast I have ever attended; the food was outstanding.
This was followed by revelry and the usual talking into the wee
hours of the morning.
I must confess that my perception of Sunday's
events was somewhat blurred, through a combination of jet lag
and the effects of Eastcoast humidity on someone who grew
up in the semiarid parts of the country. I spent the morning
in meetings, while my lady wife went on Master Johannes's guided
tour of the scroll display (which she says was very informative).
Classes were scheduled in How to run a consultation table, Period
naming practices, Care and feeding of scrolls, and Period heraldic
style, with an heraldic garb workshop and a continuation of the
calligraphers' round table thrown in for good measure.
The afternoon also saw a "transfer
of information" (bull) session on College of Arms procedures
and policies. This was adjourned early, so a mass pilgrimage
could be made to the wondrous establishment of a local bookseller.
A postrevel at Mistress Graidhne's followed.
I can't speak for anyone else, but I had
a ball. I'd like to thank Mistress Graidhne and her crew for
organizing and conducting the affair, and to extend the gratitude
of my palate to the preparers of Saturday night's feast.
The proceedings from the symposium (Analecta
Aspilogica) were published in two volumes. The first volume
consists of an ordinary to Woodward's A Treatise on Heraldry,
prepared by Migel Gneuvle de Normandie. The second volume contains
half a dozen essays on heraldry and nomenclature, including Marten
Bröker's paper on the Nesselblatt (mentioned in the 8 June
85 cover letter), and a paper on period use of semé
by Eowyn Amberdrake. The proceedings are published by Free Trumpet
Press. Mistress Alisoun told me at the symposium that they were
preparing to send a list of available publications to the various
newsletters; I assume that price and ordering information for
the proceedings will be contained therein.
Bull session
The Sunday afternoon session at the symposium
ranged back and forth over a number of topics. I gave a progress
report on the review of the Rules of Submissions, and discussed
some of the radical suggestions ("boatrockers")
that had been made by people commenting on the present Rules.
A considerable part of the session was given
over (predictably) to a discussion of the demotion of points of
difference, and of the problems that have arisen because of differences
between my interpretation and the way things have been done previously.
I will be acting on the issue at the September meeting, in conjunction
with Brigantia's appeal of the arms of Igraine Torr de Valere.
I expressed concern at the lack of documentation
of statements being made in letters of comment, especially ones
about period heraldic and naming practices; and I suggested that
we, as heralds, should be setting a better example for the people
from whom we require documentation.
Several members of the College of Arms expressed
their uncertainty about the direction the College is taking, and
of the job of the Principal Heralds; and they asked that I include
more philosophical discussion in my letters.
All in all, I think it was a productive
session, and I hope it will lead to better understanding all around.
Blazonry
I have decided to allow the term contourné
(contourny) to be used in blazons, to indicate that an
animate charge has been turned to face the sinister. I find it
more euphonious than to sinister, and there are some cases
in which it is less ambiguous. ("A newt's head couped to
sinister" sounds as if the left side of its face has been
chopped off.) The expressions to sinister and facing
sinister may still be used, if you prefer.
I have also decided, somewhat reluctantly,
not to reintroduce the prefix counter to indicate
that a single animate charge is turned to the sinister. We are
currently using the term in its conventional sense when applied
to two charges (i.e., two lions counterpassant are moving
in opposite directions, not both moving to the sinister). I'm
afraid there's too much chance that people will find the two slightly
different definitions one when applied to a single
charge, and one when applied to multiple charges confusing.
In the name of simplicity, I'm going to stick to a single, nonambiguous
usage.
I received an indirect query last month
regarding the special names for gouttes (goutty de larmes, de
poix, etc.) and roundels (plate, bezant, etc.). The use of these
names is discretionary if you wish blazon a roundel
argent as "a roundel argent," you may certainly do so.
Et cetera
The published proceedings of the 1984 (Fasachian)
heraldry symposium have finally been unearthed. If you ordered
a copy and never received it, please get in touch with the Aten
Principal Herald: Mistress Keridwen of Montrose (M. A. Foster),
P.O. Box 864, Los Alamos, NM 87544.
Bonanza Books has just reprinted the 1969
edition of Fox Davies' Complete Guide to Heraldry,
with revisions by Charles A. Franklyn and a considerable number
of footnotes by J. P. BrookeLittle. This edition is in
a larger format than the reprint of the 1909 edition, and is on
betterquality paper. The publication price is $12.98. I
picked up my copy at Deseret Books in Salt Lake City; it is also
available (at full price) from Publisher's Central Bureau.
I pray you believe me to be, my lords and
ladies,
Your servant,
Baldwin of Erebor
Laurel King of Arms
enclosures
A BRIEF ESSAY ON SCHOLARSHIP
The word scholarship has enjoyed
a considerable vogue in the College of Arms in the last several
years. Unfortunately, its usage has not always been consistent
with its meaning. If I may be permitted to venture a definition
of my own: Scholarship is characterized by careful research
and a scrupulous crediting of one's sources.
Within the context of the College of Arms,
this means two things. Before you use an unfamiliar term in a
blazon, before you correct the grammar in someone's name, before
you assert that something is Not Period Style, you look it
up. Assume from the beginning that your memory is faulty,
that your teachers were basing their lessons on outdated material,
and that although you love the people on your staff dearly, you're
damned if you're going to stake your reputation on their unsubstantiated
opinions. Look it up.
Now let us suppose that your memory, or
your teachers, or your advisors were right you looked it
up, and the book said so, too. The next step is to write down
where you found it. You must record enough information to
enable you to go back and find the item again. If the source
is a familiar one, the name of the book (or, in many cases, the
author we all know who Papworth is) plus the page
number or subject heading will suffice. If it's not your book,
though, or if this is the first time you've used it, you'd better
record all the necessary bibliographic information author,
title, publisher, and edition, plus volume and issue (or whole
number) if it's a periodical. Then, when you write your letter
of intent or comment, say where your information came
from.
The idea is, whenever possible, never to
claim authorship of an important fact. "Parker says, on
pp. 541542, that the 'proper' color of a skeewompus is puce."
"Snookums is a perfectly lovely name, especially when the
submitter is bearing two baby's rattles in saltire within an orle
of pacifiers, but I'm afraid it's out of period first
attested 1923. (Withycombe 271)."
This makes it possible for someone else
(for instance, Laurel) to verify your statement. If some future
herald ever needs to find out why a decision was made, he can
reconstruct it from your sources; if you've done your job well,
he should arrive at the same conclusion you did. In other words,
good documen-tation (in the correspondence, not just on the submission
forms) is the key to consistency in our rulings. Without these
two elements the insistence on looking things up,
and the equally important requirement of noting where we found
them the knowledge we are exchanging is better classified
as lore or tradition, not as scholarship.
If anyone is interested in the mechanics
of scholarly writing, I'd like to recommend A Handbook for
Scholars, by MaryClaire van Leunen (Alfred A. Knopf,
1979), which is available in both hardcover and trade paperback.
Although much of the book is more applicable to research papers
than to College of Arms correspondence, the underlving principles
are the same, and van Leunen's clear, interesting, and witty prose
is a delight to read.
-- Baldwin of Erebor