Society for Creative Anachronism
College of Arms
1194 Firwood Dr.
 Pittsburgh, PA 15243
 412-306-0416
 kvs+@cs.cmu.edu

August 5, 2001
Unto the members of the College of Arms and all others who may read this missive do Dame Elsbeth Anne Roth, Laurel Queen of Arms, and Master Pietari Pentipoika, Pelican King of Arms, send greetings. 
The July Laurel meeting was held Saturday, July 14, 2001, and Sunday, July 15, 2001, and considered the following letters of intent: Ansteorra (February 22) (redated to March based on postmark), Atenveldt (March 1), Middle (March 4), Drachenwald (March 12), Outlands (March 15), Lochac (March 18), Atlantia (March 21), Calontir (March 24), West (March 27), An Tir (March 28), Calontir (March 29), Artemisia (March 30), and Meridies (March 31). The Pelican meeting was held Sunday, July 8, 2001, and Sunday, July 15, 2001.
The August meetings are scheduled for Saturday, August 11, 2001 (both names and armory), and will consider the following letters of intent: Atenveldt (April 1), Caid (April 4), Lochac (April 8), Drachenwald (April 9), Middle (April 11), Ansteorra (April 20), West (April 20), Atlantia (April 21), An Tir (April 27), Trimaris (April 28), and Meridies (April 30).  There will also be a Pelican Roadshow held at Pennsic on Thursday, August 16, 2001. 
The September meetings are scheduled for Saturday, September 15, 2001 (Pelican) and Saturday, September 22, 2001 (armory), and will consider the following letters of intent: Atenveldt (May 1), Middle (May 5), Ansteorra (May 10), Caid (May 11), Drachenwald (May 14), Æthelmearc (May 15), Caid (May 15), Lochac (May 16), Atlantia (May 20), Calontir (May 25), and An Tir (May 30). Responses and rebuttals to commentary must be in the College's hands no later than August 31, 2001.
The October meetings are scheduled for Saturday, October 13 (names and armory), and will consider the following letters of intent: Atenveldt (June 1), Æthelmearc (June 10), Ansteorra (June 14), Artemisia (June 14), Drachenwald (June 14), Middle (June 14), Atlantia (June 16), Lochac (June 17), Outlands (June 21), Trimaris (June 28), and Meridies (June 30). Original commentary on these LoIs must be in the College's hands no later than August 31, 2001. Responses and rebuttals to commentary must be in the College's hands no later than September 30, 2001.
The November meetings are tentatively scheduled for Saturday, November 10 (names) and Sunday, November 11 (armory) and will consider the Letters of Intent dated July 2001.
Not all letters of intent may be considered when they are originally scheduled on this cover letter. The date of mailing 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, etc.) have not yet been met.
REMINDER: Until the packet containing the paperwork is received, the letter may not be scheduled.
Please Watch for LoI Corrections
There were a couple of items considered this month which had errors in the original Letter of Intent.  Although a correction appeared promptly on the next letter, there was no evidence that any of the commenters saw the correction  A correction made in such a timely manner should be enough to prevent an item from being pended. In order for this to work, commenters need to make some effort to check the next month's LoI (when available) to see if there are any relevant corrections. Therefore I request for my successor that whenever possible please check for timely corrections. Also, as with pended items, it is helpful to know that corrections were seen even if the only comment is “No conflicts found” or “the corrected name is fine,” so do not be afraid to make such comments with corrected items.  
Farewells and Thanks
Nothing like going out with a bang. As several of you know, this letter is almost twice as big as a standard letter (and larger than May and June combined).  My thanks to all those who were willing to put in the extra time to make certain that Pelican and I had enough commentary to make reasoned decisions, and to those of my and Pelican's staff who were willing to come to two days of meetings (each) so that we could rule on the letters while we could still think (at least somewhat).
At Pennsic we will be formally investing Master Francois la Flamme as the new Laurel King of Arms (currently scheduled for Great Court). His duties as Laurel, however, have already started and Mari Elspeth nic Bryan and Zenobia Naphtali will be ruling on the August submissions the weekend before the investiture. I would like to thank them for stepping in and taking over this tremendous responsibility.  I have learned a lot from being Laurel and while I cannot say that all of it was fun, enough of it was and I certainly enjoyed all the people I met and friends I made because of the office.
There is no way I could have done this job without the support of the College and my staff. At this time I would like to thank the rather large staff who came almost every week to help with the paperwork: Ailis Linne (files manager), Brandubh Ó Donnghaile, Cadell Blaidd Du, Daimhín Sinna, Hilderun Hügelmann, Juliana de Luna (staff manager), Margaret Makafee (errata deputy), Myfanwy ferch Rhiannon, Richenda du Jardin, Roana d'Evreux, and Thomas Ouswood.  I would also like to thank all of my proofreaders who have, at various times throughout my tenure, helped keep the errors in the LoARs to a minimum: Alanna Volchevo Lesa, Cadell Blaidd Du, Herveus d'Ormonde, Hrorek Halfdane of Faulconwood, Jaelle of Armida, Juliana de Luna, Margaret Makafee, Richenda du Jardin, and Zenobia Naphtali. I would also like to particularly thank my husband and financial deputy, Alaric MacConall. Without his willingness for me to take the job, it would not have been possible, and between his work on the finances and in scanning old files, he contributed greatly beyond what is expected of the spouse of a corporate officer.
Also, thanks to Marta as-tu Mika-Mysliwy and Symond Bayard le Gris for keeping the roster and mailing out the LoARs every month. They have been mailing the LoARs since Bruce's tenure and are still willing to do so for my successors.
Lastly, thanks to all of the College of Arms members who have made my tenure easier with your hard work.
I will not be going away; Francois has agreed to keep me on the mailing list as a staff commenter.  Expect to hear from me in that venue this fall; until then, farewell.
From the outgoing Pelican King of Arms
Standing on the shoulders of giants is scary. While it allows one to see far, like Sir Isaac Newton, it also makes it quite easy to fall on one's face in a spectacular way. If I have managed to avoid this it is because the giants in question have been inordinately helpful. Thank you, name commenters.
I would like to thank my local support staff as well. I am especially indebted to Mistress Jaelle of Armida, Argent Snail Herald, for allowing me the use of her extensive onomastic library and research skills; for her and Master Johan Magnusson, Albion Herald, for the use of their home; and for Lady Johanna af Hucka, Susi Herald, for her help with Scandinavian names. I am also grateful to the Laurel support staff I've been sharing with Dame Elsbeth: the logistics of having her and myself 7000 kilometres apart has caused more problems than they deserve.
Finally, I'd like to thank my wife Lady Kerttu Katariinantytär Roisko and our daughter (who, hopefully, will come up with a registerable name one of these years) for their patience. I would also like to recommend to anyone interested in this office that they should try to select the term so that they will not have a newborn baby around. It is easier for everyone concerned.
As it is the duty and privilege of a King of Arms to correct mistakes in prior letters, I'll conclude my term by correcting the final words of Baron Talan Gwynek as Pelican. 
So long, and thanks for all the fish.
From the incoming Pelican Queen of Arms
Greetings!  I will be hosting a roadshow at Pennsic.  It is currently planned to be held at Herald's Point on Thursday August 16th at 1 PM.  I have not yet finalized which letters will be addressed at the roadshow.  I will make that information available at Herald's Point well ahead of time.
My current plan regarding decision meetings is to host roadshows whenever my schedule allows.  I am hoping to attend Gulf Wars and host a roadshow there.  Otherwise, nothing is firm yet.  Regular decision meetings will normally be held at my house.  I would like to try making them open to anyone who wants to attend.  Due to the workload, regular decision meetings will proceed much faster than the normal roadshow pace.  If you happen to be in the Austin area and would like to attend a decision meeting, please contact me so I can give you directions.
I would like to thank the CoA for all great commentary they have provided and will continue providing in the months and years to come.  It is your name commentary which is critical to my being able to make informed and fair decisions.  Thank you for all your work!
From the incoming [Armory] Sovereign of Arms
The last few folk in the armory rulings business have had an admirable record of teaching across the Known World.  While the idea of a road show from an Armory Deputy is no doubt less compelling than that of the previous road shows from Laurel, the chief heraldic officer, I am willing to travel, teach, and do armory road shows.  Because my real-world job doesn't have a travel/frequent flier mile component, this is subject to budgetary constraints. But I will do my best to arrange travel if requested to do so.
I will be at the Known World Arts and Sciences Symposium being held in Seattle WA on October 26-28, and hope to see some of you there.  I'll be staying at the main hotel.
Because of commitments which were finalized before this bid was even a gleam in an Ansteorran's eye, I will be unable to attend to College of Arms business for a large part of September.  If all goes well, the August letter will be out, proofread, and the proofreading comments responded to before the busy period hits. However, since this will be our very first LoAR, I am not sure if this will be possible. So please be tolerant if August slips a bit. Thanks.
Lastly, thanks to those who have sent comments on the Armory Sovereign of Arms title. Because of the September busy period, I hope to have my recommendations to Laurel at the very beginning of September. Because of this, please email me your comments on this topic to ensure that I get them in a timely fashion.  I often receive mail with timely postmark as late as the 7th of the month. My email is las@lschweitz.com.
Roster changes
Time for all the Laurel level title changes:  Francois la Flamme is now Laurel King of Arms.  Mari Elspeth nic Bryan is now Pelican Queen of Arms.  Zenobia Naphtali should be listed as “Armory” Queen of Arms for now. Elsbeth Anne Roth is retained on the roster and mailing list as Clarion Herald (commenter).  Pietari Pentipoika is retained on the roster and mailing list as Koira Herald (commenter).  Daniel de Lincoln is now Laurel Clerk and has been added to the roster but not the mailing list: Tim McDaniel, 6805 Wood Hollow Dr Apt 212, Austin, TX, 78731-3104, 512-795-9668, tmcd@jump.net, submissions@sca.org, work: tmcd@us.ibm.com, (512) 838-2408).
Morsulus Herald (Laurel staff) has a new e-mail address: morsulus@sca.org.
Electrum Herald (An Tir) has a new address: David Hunter of Montlaw, 1703 Crosby Court SW,Tumwater, WA, 98512, 360-705-0550, HUNTERD@co.thurston.wa.us
Sable Sable Herald (An Tir), is removed from the roster.
Bordure Herald (Ansteorra) has changed. The new Bordure is Alden Drake, Paul Haines, 11111 Saathoff Dr. #1404, Cypress, TX, 77429, 832-237-7080, wyrmclaw@ev1.net. He should be on the roster and the mailing list. The former Bordure Herald, Griffin ap Rhys, is retained on the roster, but not on the mailing list, as Asterisk Herald.
Ghislaine d'Auxerre, formerly Aurum Pursuivant of Caid, is now Dolphin Herald.  Jeanne Marie Lacroix is now Sommelier Herald (Caid).
Brigantia Principal Herald (East) has a new phone number: 401-737-4244.
Tanczos Istvan, Mural Herald (East), has been added to the roster and mailing list. His address is Lewis Tanzos, 701 Pennsylvania Ave., Bethlehem, PA, 18018-3230, 610-868-7119, lewis@browser.
SEND WHAT TO WHOM (or “The Herald Done Wrote Me A Letter”)
Send Laurel office copies of all submissions-related paper, including
• Letters of Intent, Comment, Response, Correction, &c
• Submission packets
• Cheques or money orders for submissions, payable to “SCA Inc. – College of Arms”
to Kathleen M. O'Brien, 7323 Potters Trl, Austin, TX 78729-7777.
Also send paper copies of Letters of Intent, Comment, Response, and Correction to Francois la Flamme and Zenobia Naphtali, as you would anyone else on the mailing list.
Send Laurel office copies of all submissions-related electronic files to submissions@sca.org.  This includes electronic copies of LoIs, LoCs, LoRs, &c. 
Send roster changes and corrections to Lord Symond Bayard le Gris, Bruce R. Nevins, 2527 E. 3rd St., Tucson, AZ, 85716-4114, (520) 795-6000, (520) 795-0158 (fax), bnevins@nexiliscom.com.  College of Arms members can also request a copy of the current roster from Symond. 
For subscriptions to the paper copy of the LoAR, please contact Symond, above.  The cost for an LoAR subscription is $25.00 a year. Please make all checks or money orders payable to “SCA Inc. – College of Arms.”  For subscriptions to the electronic copy of the LoAR, please contact Laurel at herald@sca.org.  The electronic copy is available free of charge.
For all administrative matters, or for questions about whom to send to, please contact the Laurel King of Arms, Master Francois la Flamme, c/o Wendel Bordelon, 15910 Val Verde Drive, Houston TX, 77083, 713-918-2947, wendel_bordelon@bmc.com.

Until then, I remain
In service,

Elsbeth Anne Roth
formerly Laurel Queen of Arms