To all the College of Arms and all others who may read this missive, from François Laurel King of Arms, Evan Wreath, and Margaret Pelican, greetings.

From Laurel: Introducing the Applicants

The office of Laurel Sovereign of Arms have been open for applications for a couple of months. The deadline for submitting an application is the end of March.

At this late date in March I have received two letters of application. One is from Thorvald Redhair of the Middle Kingdom and the other is from Elizabeth de Rossignol of An Tir. The letters of application have been included with this LoAR.

From Pelican: Thoughts on Beyond the Encyclodedia

The College and I are working our way through what makes some historical people important enough to protect under the "Beyond the Encyclopedia" statement issued in August 2003. In the past few months, I have found myself using these guidelines when trying to decide whether the name of a historical figure is important or famous enough to protect. They are not an inclusive set, nor are they a formal part of the rules. However, these are the questions I ask myself when doing case-by-case conflict and presumption considerations:

• Was the person a sovereign ruler? Sovereigns of nations and empires (Kings, Queens, Khans) are always important enough to protect.

• Do a significant number of Society folks (in this case represented by the internal and external commenters) recognize the name without having to look it up in an encyclopedia? Since a large purpose of this rule is to prevent participants from being "pulled out of the game" by either a misappropriated medieval name or a name with heavy modern historical associations, the recognizability of the name is an extremely important factor. For example, although the sobriquet Jack the Ripper is a well known name, his main contribution to today's society was the notoriety he gained through his crimes. We would probably return the name Jack Ripper for conflict against the historical figure, not because the historical figure is important, but because the name is extremely familiar with specific associations to a large portion of SCA participants.

• Did the person flourish within the places and times on which our Society concentrates? While this is not an automatic key for protection, it is a strong factor in favor of protection. One of the taboos of our Society is that we don't recreate actual historical figures such as you might find as the main characters in a Renfaire. Therefore, it makes sense that we should be more sensitive to important medieval people. There is also the idea that the longer someone is remembered and explored, the more likely it is that they were important.

• If the person flourished outside the places and times on which the Society concentrates, is the impact of their work/life still influential in modern society or uniquely and sharply shape the course of world history, science, or the arts?

• How ordinary is the name? If the standard encyclopedia lists several individuals with a particular name, and if the name is one that would be common in period, then it is less likely to pull hearers out of the medieval frame of mind, and is also less likely to be firmly associated with a single individual unless that individual is truly important.

• What did the commenters say about the name? Comments from submitters about recognizability, knowledge of the historical person and their importance or lack thereof is a useful and necessary gauge for deciding whether someone is important enough to protect. I strongly encourage submissions heralds and commenters to check the Encyclopedia Britannica for possible conflicts and discuss them using the guidelines above.

Roster Changes

Colm Dubh ... is leaving the office of Lambent Herald (Meridies) and is removed from the roster and mailing list. Colm wishes all to know that he and his library remain available to the College. The new Lambert Herald is Bronwen o Gydweli ... email: mistressbronwen@solhaven.com. Lambent is a CoA commenting office for Meridies.

Alban St. Albans ... has left the office of Lanner Herald (Calontir) and is removed from the roster.

Send What to Whom

For all Letters of Intent, Comment, Response, Correction, et cetera, send one paper copy directly to each of the Sovereigns of Arms, Laurel, Pelican and Wreath at their mailing addresses as shown on the College of Arms mailing List.

Send Laurel office copies of all submissions-related paper, including

• Letters of Intent, Comment, Response, Correction, et cetera (note: such paper copies are in addition to the personal copies for Laurel and Wreath mentioned above)

• Submission packets (one copy of each name form plus documentation, including petitions; two colored copies of each armory form plus two copies of any associated documentation, including petitions)

to the SCA College of Arms, PO Box 31755, Billings, MT 59107-1755.

Send the required electronic copies of all submissions-related files to submissions@sca.org. This applies to all LoIs, LoCs, LoRs, et cetera.

Cheques or money orders for submissions, payable to "SCA Inc.-College of Arms" are to be sent directly to the Society Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is temporarily acting as Laurel's chancellor of the exchequer.

Send roster changes and corrections to Laurel. College of Arms members may also request a copy of the current roster from Laurel.

For subscriptions to the paper copy of the LoAR, please contact Laurel, above. The cost for an LoAR subscription is $25 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 Laurel.

Scheduling and Status Information

The November Wreath meeting was held on November 13, and completed on November 26 and 28.

The December Wreath meeting was held December 18 and completed December 27.

The following is a table showing the status of Letters of Intent, Laurel Letters of Pend and Discussion, and Letters of Intent to Protect. The header rows are the dates of the meetings that will consider them, the dates when primary commentary is due, and the dates when responses to primary commentary are due. The key follows.

Month day: the date on the Letter of Intent, Letter of Pend and Discussion, or Letter of Intent to Protect.
(Month day): for administrative reasons, this LoI has not yet been scheduled.
[P Month day]: postmarked on that bracketed date, so the LoI is redated or postponed.
"-": no LoI is scheduled for that meeting from that kingdom.
?: tentative.

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, et cetera) have not yet been met.

REMINDER: Until all administrative requirements are met, the letter may not be scheduled.

Pray know that I remain

In service

François la Flamme
Laurel Principal King of Arms

Created at 2005-04-17T22:08:12