Society for Creative Anachronism
College of Arms
For the July 2019 meetings, printed October 7, 2019
To all the College of Arms and all others who may read this missive, from Juliana Laurel, Alys Pelican, and Cormac Wreath, greetings.
We want to thank Genevieve Marie Etiennette de Montagne for her years of service as the Laurel Exchequer. She's done great things and we look forward to seeing what she does next. She's helped us to update our policies and set the standard for how we will move forward.
Her successor is Þorkell Palsson, also of An Tir. He's a great exchequer who will help us to finish updating our policies and practice. His contact information can be found on the website and in each Cover Letter (see below).
From Pelican: Commendations are extended to Gunnvor silfraharr, Orle Herald, for her valuable commentary in the field of Scandinavian names. Given the popularity of such names, Gunnvor's expertise and contributions make my job vastly easier.
There has been some discussion lately on whether and how one may display the badge for the College of Arms of the Society for Creative Anachronism: "Vert, two straight trumpets in saltire, bells in chief, Or."
Like any officer's badge, use of the herald's badge as a personal accessory such as a medallion or baldric marks the bearer as an officer of the Society for Creative Anachronism, and specifically a representative of the College of Arms. Determination for who may wear the badge is delegated by Laurel to the Principal Heralds of each kingdom, but if a person is a branch herald, a member of the kingdom heraldic staff, or is acting by appointment of any of the people named above, they may wear the trumpets as an indicator of their role and authority as a herald. Appropriate situations for wearing the herald's badge include duty shifts as field or cry heralds, consultation tables, and official correspondence.
Unlike the anachronistic use of officer's badges, heralds' tabards are a historical garment with a long and proud tradition. When wearing a tabard, a herald is not a representative of the College of Arms, but is instead an officer of the person whose arms appear on the tabard. As such, the tabard should only bear the arms of the noble for whom the herald is speaking, and should only be used in contexts when the herald speaks for their Noble (e.g., court, important ceremonial moments such as the final round of Crown Tournament, etc.) The crossed trumpets badge should not appear on any herald's tabard, nor should any badge; tabards should bear one set of arms alone, and they should be consistent on the front, back, and sides of the tabard.
For more information on the proper design and construction of a herald's tabard, please see the class handout made by Bruce Batonvert and Magistra Astra Christiana Benedict: http://mistholme.com/miscellany/heraldic-tabard-construction-2014/
This month, we received a submission for a badge for the office of silent herald for a principality. The badge had previously been returned administratively in November 2018, due to the long-standing prohibition on registration for subsidiary officer positions under the auspices of a Society-level officer by anyone except said Society-level officer. The badge was resubmitted with no statement addressing the previous return, and it's clear that there's still some confusion on the issue.
To reiterate: Badges already exist for both the office of Herald and the office of Silent Herald. With the exception of a tinctureless seal for the principal herald of a kingdom, no territory may register a badge for a heraldic office. Existing badges for subsidiary heraldic offices, especially ones registered without association after the ban was put in place, should be either repurposed for other use by the territory or quietly released.
This month we considered a device change to replace a device that had been redrawn by kingdom without submitter approval prior to its registration. The redrawn device was identical in blazon to what had been originally submitted, but with a very different style of charge depicted, and the submitter did not care for it. Commenters asked if a device change could be used to modify an emblazon when there is no blazonable difference between the two.
Beyond correcting an egregious error, there are several reasons one might wish to change their official emblazon. Perhaps the artwork was done at an event with few heraldic artists, and was identifiable but not particularly artistic. Perhaps the artwork is being used by scribes who are using the official record of the emblazon to depict the submitter's arms or badge on a scroll. Perhaps the submitter has taken an artist's note from Wreath to heart and wishes to have a more correct form of their emblazon on file. Perhaps the submitter has an outdated depiction of flames proper (i.e. gules fimbriated Or or Or fimbriated gules) and wishes to have a more period-appropriate depiction on their official record.
For whatever reason (beyond a clerical error by the College of Arms), a submitter may submit a new emblazon as a device or badge change, with all of the requisite paperwork and submission fees expected of such an action. Please note that if the blazons are identical, only one registration may be held; one may not have multiple active registrations of the same armory.
Two years ago, I stood in front of the College at KWHSS and promised that within a few months I would have a definitive ruling on Unity of Posture and Orientation that would be comprehensive, easy to understand, and more permissive than previous rulings had been. I wrote my draft that month. And then a submission came through that required me to revisit the draft. This continued pretty much every month since that fateful Road Show. So I thank you all for your patience, and want to assure you that I've not been negligent in this goal.
SENA A3D2c reads, in part: "c. Unity of Posture and Orientation: The charges within a charge group should be in either identical postures/orientations or an arrangement that includes posture/orientation (in cross, combatant, or in pall points outward, for example). A charge group in which postures for different charges must be blazoned individually will not be allowed without period examples of that combination of postures."
While the language seems simple, it makes a lot of assumptions about which types of charges will be in the charge group. The examples given in the rule have three lions in different postures, three pheons in different orientations, and a note about crescents, increscents, decrescents, and crescents pendant. The rule does not address how to compare the posture and/or orientation of dissimilar charges within the same charge group. So the question arises: What should be compared? My predecessors and I each struggled with the nuances of this question, but the consistent principle of all of our rulings has been the same:
If the charges in the charge group can be in the same posture, orientation, or arrangement that includes posture or orientation, they must all be in the same posture, orientation, or arrangement.
There are some basic categories of charge that have comparable postures and orientations. They are:
Animate Charges (Posture)
Standard quadrupeds
Quadrupeds that can be tergiant (reptiles, amphibians, moles)
Birds
Insects, arthropods, and other crawling critters with too many legs
Fish and other non-limbed aquatic life
Humanoids (including mer-folk)
Tailed non-humanoid bipeds (sea-creatures, wyverns, cockatrices, etc.)
Serpents
Inanimate Charges
Compact, non-orientable charges (suns, roses, roundels, annulets, etc.)
Compact, orientable charges (crescents, fleurs-de-lys, compass roses)
Long charges
Generally, charges in each of these categories are not comparable. Serpents cannot be rampant because they haven't the requisite limbs, while bears cannot be nowed because they are not long or flexible enough, so a bear rampant and a serpent nowed may be in the same charge group despite requiring different terms to describe their relative postures. A sun is a radially symmetrical charge that has no orientable top or bottom, while a spear is a long charge that has a definitive top, bottom, and angular orientation. Thus, a spear bendwise and a sun may be in the same charge group despite requiring a specified orientation for only one of the charges.
Within each category, charges are comparable, and so must be in comparable postures or orientations. For purposes of this rule, defaults are disregarded; while the default postures of a lamb and lion are passant and rampant respectively, if they appear in the same charge group they must be in the same posture. For orientation, this is a bit more permissive; the default orientation of a sword is point up while the default orientation of an arrow is point down, but the assumptions of top and bottom are a default-based concept; as long as they are both in the same orientation (palewise, bendwise, fesswise, etc.) or in an arrangement that involves their orientation (in cross, in saltire, in chevron, etc.) then whether they are point-up or point-down is immaterial. If, however, there are two swords in the same charge group, they must both be oriented with the point either to chief or to base, to dexter or sinister, because they are identical charges.
There are two major exceptions to these categories. The first is if one charge in the category is in an orientation or posture that another charge in the same category cannot take on. For example, there are quadrupeds which are almost exclusively found as tergiant in period, such as lizards, tortoises, and frogs. If these charges appear in a charge group with another quadruped which is not found as tergiant in period (e.g., a lion) then they must either be tergiant (and thus not comparable) or in an identical posture to the other quadruped. In other words, a lion rampant and a tortoise tergiant is acceptable, but a lion rampant and a tortoise statant is not. As another example, a stag's attire is usually found straight (and thus a long, orientable charge) but is also found in annulo in period. However, a sword (a long, orientable charge) cannot be in annulo. If a stag's attire and a sword are in the same charge group, they must either be in comparable orientations, or the attire must be in annulo (effectively rendering it a compact, non-orientable charge and thus in a different category).
The second major exception is when an orientation of an animate charge is modified from the posture which is inherent to its orientation. Humanoids, sea-creatures, and most quadrupeds have postures with an inherent and immutable orientation (e.g., rampant or statant erect have the body palewise, passant and statant have the body fesswise). But some postures have orientations that are found to be flexible in period. We see, for example, eagles displayed fesswise and both tortoises and frogs tergiant fesswise. If two charges in orientation-flexible postures appear in the same charge group, they must be in the same orientation for purposes of SENA A3D2c.
On July 20th, at Baron's War, Sioniann Padriug Cambieul, Golden Wing Emeritus, was elevated to the Order of the Pelican.
On August 6th, at Pennsic War, Their Majestics of Æthelmearc Gareth and Juliana did make Michael Langley of Riversmeet, former Onyx Pursuivant for the Barony of Blackstone Mountain and longstanding consulting herald at Pennsic Heralds Point, a baron of the court.
On August 24th, at Raptor War, Dame Varia Goffe, long time herald and scribe, was invested as Baroness of Arn Hold. She was also made the Premier of Artemisia's new award for diversity and inclusivity, le Ordre de la Tête de Mort et la Fleur de Lys.
Also on August 24th, at Raptor War, Mistress Kelwin Ratslayer, Golden Wing Emeritus, was elevated to the Order of the Chivalry as a Knight, becoming Sir Kelwin.
On September 7, 2019, at Ducal Challenge, Yehuda ben Moshe, formerly Blue Tyger Herald and Elmet Herald of the East, was elevated to the Order of the Pelican by Ozurr and Fortune, King and Queen of the East.
On September 7, 2019, at Battle on the Bay, Alexandria Wright, Silver Nautilus Herald, was elevated to the Order of the Pelican by Christophe and Adelheit, King and Queen of Atlantia.
On September 14, 2019, at the William Marshall Memorial Tourney and Ball, held in Stormhold Their Lochacian Majesties Niall and Sabine granted Mistress ffride uulfsdotter the rank of Herald Extraordinary (the fourth in Lochac).
On September 21, 2019, at Steirbach's Baronial Birthday in the Kingdom of Atlantia, Their Majesties Christoph and Adelhait elevated Deirdre O'Bardon, Opal Pursuivant (Notifications), to the Order of the Laurel.
And lastly, some of the best news of all: Fiona Joy Asimina Sidlauskas was born on September 24, 2019, to Rhieinwylydd verch Einion Llanaelhaearn, Lily Pernicious Herald and Lions Blood Emeritus. Congratulations!
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. While black-and-white emblazons must be included in the Letter of Intent, only colored armory forms need to be posted in the forms area.
Cheques or money orders for submissions, payable to "SCA Inc.-College of Arms" are to be sent to Trent Le Clair, 928 Frazier Dr, Walla Walla WA 99362
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.
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 July Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, July 21, 2019 and the Wreath meeting held on Sunday, July 14, 2019. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: Laurel LoPaD (01 Apr, 2019), Middle (03 Apr, 2019), Calontir (05 Apr, 2019), Lochac (05 Apr, 2019), An Tir (14 Apr, 2019), Caid (15 Apr, 2019), Æthelmearc (22 Apr, 2019), Ansteorra (22 Apr, 2019), Ealdormere (24 Apr, 2019), Northshield (24 Apr, 2019), Atenveldt (25 Apr, 2019), Artemisia (27 Apr, 2019), Avacal (28 Apr, 2019), Laurel LoPaD (29 Apr, 2019), Outlands (29 Apr, 2019), Atlantia (30 Apr, 2019), Drachenwald (30 Apr, 2019), East (30 Apr, 2019), Gleann Abhann (30 Apr, 2019), Meridies (30 Apr, 2019). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Sunday, June 30, 2019.
The August Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, August 18, 2019 and the Wreath meeting held on Sunday, August 11, 2019. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: Trimaris (02 May, 2019), Calontir (04 May, 2019), Laurel LoPaD (04 May, 2019), Lochac (04 May, 2019), Middle (10 May, 2019), An Tir (17 May, 2019), Ealdormere (24 May, 2019), Avacal (29 May, 2019), Artemisia (30 May, 2019), Atenveldt (30 May, 2019), Ansteorra (31 May, 2019), Artemisia (31 May, 2019), Atlantia (31 May, 2019), Caid (31 May, 2019), Drachenwald (31 May, 2019), East (31 May, 2019), Gleann Abhann (31 May, 2019), Laurel LoPaD (31 May, 2019), Meridies (31 May, 2019), Northshield (31 May, 2019), Outlands (31 May, 2019), West (31 May, 2019). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Wednesday, July 31, 2019.
The September Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, September 22, 2019 and the Wreath meeting held on Sunday, September 15, 2019. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: Trimaris (03 Jun, 2019), Calontir (06 Jun, 2019), Caid (20 Jun, 2019), Ealdormere (24 Jun, 2019), Atenveldt (25 Jun, 2019), Middle (26 Jun, 2019), Atlantia (27 Jun, 2019), Laurel LoPaD (27 Jun, 2019), An Tir (30 Jun, 2019), Ansteorra (30 Jun, 2019), Artemisia (30 Jun, 2019), Avacal (30 Jun, 2019), Drachenwald (30 Jun, 2019), East (30 Jun, 2019), Gleann Abhann (30 Jun, 2019), Meridies (30 Jun, 2019), Northshield (30 Jun, 2019), Outlands (30 Jun, 2019). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Saturday, August 31, 2019.
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.
Pray know that I remain,
In service,
Juliana de Luna
Laurel Queen of Arms
Created at 2019-10-07T20:48:19