Society for Creative Anachronism
College of Arms
For the May 2014 meetings, printed July 9, 2014
To all the College of Arms and all others who may read this missive, from Gabriel Laurel, Lillia Pelican, and Emma Wreath, greetings.
Items listed below in square brackets have not been scheduled yet. For information about future scheduling, please review the status table located on the Web at http://oscar.sca.org/index.php?action=137.
The May Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, May 18, 2014 and the Wreath meeting held on Saturday, May 10, 2014. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: West (30 Jan, 2014) (pushed due to lack of packet overdue) , Laurel LoPaD (05 Feb, 2014), Caid (07 Feb, 2014), Northshield (08 Feb, 2014), Lochac (12 Feb, 2014), Ansteorra (20 Feb, 2014), Atenveldt (20 Feb, 2014), Atlantia (20 Feb, 2014), Artemisia (23 Feb, 2014), East (23 Feb, 2014), Middle (23 Feb, 2014), Ealdormere (26 Feb, 2014), Drachenwald (27 Feb, 2014), Ęthelmearc (28 Feb, 2014), Gleann Abhann (28 Feb, 2014), Meridies (28 Feb, 2014), and Outlands (28 Feb, 2014). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Wednesday, April 30, 2014.
The June Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, June 8, 2014 and the Wreath meeting held on Saturday, June 7, 2014 and Laurel Roadshow June 15. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: Trimaris (28 Feb, 2014) (pushed due to lack of packet overdue) , Calontir (02 Mar, 2014), An Tir (04 Mar, 2014), Northshield (04 Mar, 2014), Lochac (16 Mar, 2014), Outlands (21 Mar, 2014), Ealdormere (23 Mar, 2014), Atenveldt (25 Mar, 2014), Drachenwald (26 Mar, 2014), East (27 Mar, 2014), Laurel Other Letter (27 Mar, 2014), Middle (29 Mar, 2014), Ansteorra (30 Mar, 2014), West (30 Mar, 2014), Atenveldt (31 Mar, 2014), Atlantia (31 Mar, 2014), Caid (31 Mar, 2014), Laurel LoPaD (31 Mar, 2014), and Meridies (31 Mar, 2014). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Saturday, May 31, 2014.
The July Laurel decisions will be made at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, July 13, 2014 and the Wreath meeting held on Saturday, July 19, 2014. These meetings will consider the following letters of intent: Calontir (04 Apr, 2014), Northshield (05 Apr, 2014), Northshield (06 Apr, 2014), Laurel LoPaD (07 Apr, 2014), Middle (12 Apr, 2014), An Tir Other Letter (15 Apr, 2014), Atlantia (24 Apr, 2014), Drachenwald (24 Apr, 2014), Ealdormere Other Letter (27 Apr, 2014), Ealdormere (27 Apr, 2014), East (28 Apr, 2014), Ęthelmearc (30 Apr, 2014), Ansteorra (30 Apr, 2014), Atenveldt (30 Apr, 2014), Caid (30 Apr, 2014), Lochac (30 Apr, 2014), Meridies (30 Apr, 2014), Meridies Other Letter (30 Apr, 2014), and Outlands (30 Apr, 2014). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Monday, June 30, 2014.
The August Laurel decisions will be made at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, August 24, 2014 and the Wreath meeting held on Saturday, August 16, 2014. These meetings will consider the following letters of intent: Laurel LoPaD (04 May, 2014), [Trimaris (05 May, 2014)], [Northshield Other Letter (06 May, 2014)], East (07 May, 2014), [Middle Other Letter (11 May, 2014)], [Calontir (13 May, 2014)], [Caid (14 May, 2014)], Middle (17 May, 2014), Northshield (17 May, 2014), [Palimpsest Rules Letter (22 May, 2014)], Atenveldt (27 May, 2014), [Ealdormere (28 May, 2014)], [An Tir (29 May, 2014)], Atlantia (29 May, 2014), Drachenwald (29 May, 2014), [Ęthelmearc (31 May, 2014)], [Ansteorra (31 May, 2014)], [Artemisia (31 May, 2014)], [Meridies (31 May, 2014)], [Outlands (31 May, 2014)], and [West (31 May, 2014)]. All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should be entered into OSCAR by Thursday, July 31, 2014.
Not all letters of intent may be considered when they are originally scheduled on this cover letter. The date of posting 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.
On June 13 to 15, the Known World Heralds and Scribes Symposium was held in the Barony of Starkhafn in the Kingdom of Caid. I thank the autocrats and staff for a fantastic event, which was attended by approximately 200 people. In addition, thank you to the many teachers who helped make the event a success, and for everyone who traveled to attend.
The 2015 KWHSS will be held June 26 through 28, 2015 in the Canton of Eoforwic, Kingdom of Ealdormere (Toronto).
The College of Arms has a rank of Herald Extraordinary that has a long and honored history. The rank was formally created and defined in the July 1981 cover letter by Wilhelm Laurel. The intent of the rank is to recognize and reward "... those heralds who have greatly served the College of Heralds and/or the College of Arms and have achieved the highest level of competence in heraldry." Further, each Herald Extraordinary shall have a personal title.
Emma de Fetherstan has given long and extraordinary service to the College of Arms in many capacities, including her work as the quondam Wreath Queen of Arms. As such, I hereby grant Emma de Fetherstan the rank of Herald Extraordinary. She may at her convenience choose and submit a personal heraldic title to be registered to her.
This month we ruled that a bird volant had substantially different posture from a bird close. SENA A5E5a does not currently list the volant posture in one of its groups of postures that receive substantial difference from other groups of postures. Look for a Palimpsest rules letter to further discuss whether or not volant should be added in general to SENA A5E5a, and if so, under what circumstances.
On the December 2013 Cover Letter, we asked commenters to discuss and consider our complexity count rules, as stated in SENA A3E2. In specific, we asked whether we should explicitly count complexity from the emblazon or the blazon, whether or not we should continue to count maintained charges, how to handle other artistic details, and whether or not to change the complexity count limit. For reference, SENA A3E2 currently states:
Complexity Count: We require that any submission not exceed a certain "complexity count," measured by adding the number of types of charges to the number of tinctures. Items with a complexity count of eight or less receive no penalty for complexity from this rule. Furs, such as ermine and vair, count as a single tincture rather than their component tinctures. Charges that have different names in different tinctures or orientations (roundels, crescents, gouttes) are considered one type regardless of the term used for them. All charges, including maintained charges, are counted, though objects worn by an animal or person do not. All tinctures are counted except those used only for normally unblazoned artistic details like teeth, claws, and eyes. Proper is not a tincture, but a description of a group of tinctures, each of which is counted separately.
Based on the commentary, we are making the following explicit rulings:
We will not count the type or tincture of maintained charges.
We will not count the tincture of purely artistic details, whether they are blazoned or not. This means a rose proper has only one tincture, gules, as the tincture of the barbing and seeding are considered artistic. However, a ford proper has two tinctures, azure and argent, as both are considered significant.
The question of counting complexity from the blazon or emblazon is moot, due to the above changes.
We will not change the complexity count limit.
Look for a Palimpsest rules letter with proposed new wording for SENA A3E2.
Also on the December 2013 Cover Letter, we asked commenters to discuss the registerability of gores, gussets, and tierces. In November 1991, Laurel banned the use of charged gores and gussets, matching the already-existing ban on charged tierces, but continued to allow the registration of uncharged gores, gussets, and tierces. In October 2012, we declared a step from period practice for the use of any other charge with a tierce.
Much of the discussion centered around our standards for armorial elements. SENA A2B1 addresses this directly:
Attested Elements: Armorial elements are registerable if they are attested in period European armory. Designs found in a period roll of arms or a treatise on armory meet this standard, even if it is unclear from the treatise if the element was used in actual heraldry. Elements used in arms, in badges, and in crests all meet this standard. Elements must be used and combined in the same ways they were used in period armory.
Under current SENA rules, gores, gussets, and tierces are all registerable charges as they are elements found in period heraldic treatises. However, SENA also requires that elements "must be used and combined in the same ways they were used in period armory," and we have no examples of these charges used in actual period armory.
After much discussion and research, for which we heartily thank all of the commenters involved, and with some thought towards both period heraldry and the leeway allowed in Society armory, we are making the following rulings:
The use of a tierce with any other charge on the field remains a step from period practice.
The use of gores or gussets with other charges is now a step from period practice.
On Saturday, June 7, Their Majesties Agrippa and Bridget of Caid made Paul fitz Denis, Dolphin Herald, a companion of the Order of the Dolphin. The Dolphin is Caid's AoA level award for service.
At KWHSS on Saturday, June 13, Their Majesties of Caid bestowed Marie de Blois, Honnesteté Plus Que Tout Herault, with a Royal Recognition of Excellence for her work on Caid's online Order of Precedence. They also made Cormac Mór, Crescent Principal Herald, a companion of the Order of the Lux Caidis for his heraldic endeavors. The Lux Caidis is the kingdom's grant-level award for Arts & Sciences.
Please send information about happenings to major heralds and major happenings to all heralds to Laurel, so that it can be published here.
Letters of Intent, Comment, Response, Correction, et cetera are to be posted to the OSCAR online system. No paper copies need be sent. All submission forms plus documentation, including petitions, must be posted to the OSCAR online system.
Cheques or money orders for submissions, payable to "SCA Inc.-College of Arms" are to be sent to John C. Sandstrom, New Mexico State University, PO Box 30006/MSC 3475, Las Cruces, NM 88003.
Send roster changes and corrections to Laurel. College of Arms members may also request a copy of the current roster from Laurel.
For a paper copy of a LoAR, please contact Laurel, at the address above. The cost for one LoAR is $3. Please make all checks or money orders payable to "SCA Inc.-College of Arms". The electronic copy of the LoAR is available free of charge. To subscribe to the mailings of the electronic copy, please see the bottom of http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/lists.html#lists for more instructions.
For all administrative matters, please contact Laurel.
Pray know that I remain,
In service,
Gabriel Kjotvason
Laurel Principal King of Arms
Created at 2014-07-09T23:45:49