Society for Creative Anachronism
College of Arms
For the August 2025 meetings, printed October 9, 2025
To all the College of Arms and all others who may read this missive, from Birgitta Laurel, Sara Pelican, and Iago Wreath, greetings.
We are pleased to announce that there will be a Wreath King of Arms even after Iago's term. Autrou Ollivier Le Floch from the Kingdom of Lochac will be taking over in early 2026, with the exact schedule for the office handover being announced later. He is currently working as Ragged Staff Herald, for which position see below.
After the office change we will truly cover the world, as each of the three Sovereigns of Arms will live on a different continent.
As Ollivier Le Floch needs to step down early, we need someone to take over. Ragged Staff Herald is the file clerk for the Laurel office. Their job is to ensure that all submission paperwork from each kingdom's submissions herald is present in OSCAR, follow up with kingdom submissions heralds for omissions or discrepancies, check forms for consistency with LoIs, assist with uploading additional material, summarise forms for Pelican and Wreath and attend Wreath and Pelican meetings as needed or have a deputy attend.
Job Requirements: Computer with reliable internet access, reliable phone.
The successful candidate will possess the following qualities:
Organised, with the ability to recall detail.
Understanding of the publishing timetable for LoARs.
Understanding of the administrative rules for the CoA.
This is an unpaid position requiring around 10-15 hours of work a month.
Applications should be sent by e-mail to [email protected] by November 15.
We have seen an increase in the number of submissions where the emblazon appearing on the submission form is not on our standard escutcheon. When the new forms were announced on the February 2023 Cover Letter, Laurel noted:
Please note that in order to use the new fillable areas on the device and badge forms, you must use the new "emblazon-device.png" and "emblazon-badge.png" blank images that include the form's proper outline and are sized to fit exactly. Any modifications may result in an administrative return.
We have been flagging these for correction by kingdom when possible, and correcting the remainder through the Pend for Redraw process. This is not the intended function of this process, nor is it a good use of Quarterstaff's time; so as of the December decision meeting submissions with the emblazon on a non-standard escutcheon may be administratively returned.
Kingdoms are reminded that the "emblazon-device.png" and "emblazon-badge.png" blank images should be available on your websites with the submission forms.
As the question has come up a few times recently, we wish to clarify: all coronets, aside from embattled coronets and coronets with strawberry leaves, can be used in armory by all Royal Peers and the Court Baronage. Embattled coronets are reserved for those of county rank, and coronets with strawberry leaves are reserved for those of ducal rank, but no other style is reserved to a specific rank among those entitled to bear one. This means, for example, that a Viscount may use a pearled coronet, and a Court Baroness may use an ancient coronet.
A review of emblazons shows that we have been inconsistent in how we blazon ladles and skimmers. A ladle is a period heraldic charge while a skimmer is a period artifact that is registerable under SENA A2B2, Constructed Elements. In 2019 it was noted that a skimmer has a handle that is perpendicular to the cups mouth (Monkey Makgee, 12/2019, A-East) while in 2023 it was noted that a ladle is defined as have the rim of the cup parallel to the handle. These definitions have not been consistently applied, nor do they address what to call the charge when the handle is attached to the cup at an angle. Additionally, while the Glossary of Terms defines the default orientation of a ladle Palewise, bowl to base and facing dexter, we have sometimes assumed that the default is affronty when blazoning ladles. After reviewing period heraldry and the registered armory, we are modifying precedent:
A ladle is palewise, bowl to base and affronty by default. The handle is parallel to rim of the bowl, or attached at a slight angle.
A skimmer is palewise, bowl to base and facing to dexter by default. The handle is perpendicular to the rim of the bowl
Palimpsest is directed to updated Table 5 of the Glossary of Terms with this information. Registered armory has been reblazoned as necessary to match these definitions.
A few submissions this month led us to consider how we treat the motif of a charge within another charge. The most recent precedent on the issue is found on the March 2009 Cover Letter:
A widget within an annulet will continue to be considered a primary widget and a secondary annulet, or a primary annulet and secondary widget, when those charges are the only charges on the field. Which of the two charges is primary depends, as always, on the emblazon.
Though this precedent is focused on annulets specifically, it also notes "These answers do not depend on the types of charges in question", and it aligns with how we've been handling all examples of this sort of motif.
This still leaves us with the question of what to do when the emblazon shows two charges that are roughly equal in visual weight. It's also not an objective measure, which means that two emblazons that are nearly identical could end up being blazoned differently at different times.
We would like to gather both data on period practice and opinions about how we should handle these motifs, and will include this request on a forthcoming Letter of Pends and Discussion.
Some submissions this month caused us to consider whether points pointed could be used as independent displays of armory for the purposes of augmentations. Augmentations being rare in period means there isn't a lot of data, but there is enough evidence in Iberian armory to convince us that this is a plausible style of augmentation:
Queen Isabella I of Castille augmented her own arms with the arms of the Kingdom of Granada on a point pointed.
One variation of the arms of Christopher Columbus are effectively entirely augmentation, with his previous arms, Or, a bend azure and a chief gules, displayed on a point pointed.
Independent displays of armory on points pointed only need to be checked for conflict in certain situations, discussed in the next item.
Related to the item above, we had to consider when augmentations that appear to be independent displays of armory need to be checked for conflict. Along with the points pointed discussed above, we also had to consider roundels. Both of these charges will be treated similarly to how we currently treat chiefs under SENA A6C:
Unless they are part of an augmentation and contain either a peripheral ordinary or an ordinary terminating at the edge, we do not consider chiefs or points pointed to be displays of independent armory nor their use to be presumptuous.
Unless they are part of an augmentation and contain either a peripheral ordinary or an ordinary terminating at the edge, we do not consider the charges treated as forms of display, such as those listed in SENA A3A2 (excluding charges discussed elsewhere in SENA A6C), in fielded armory to be displays of independent armory nor their use to be presumptuous. These charges in fieldless designs are still governed by the restrictions in SENA A3A2.
We direct Palimpsest to prepare a Rules Letter proposing to add this information to SENA A6C.
We also note that fimbriating a charge that is a form of independent display being used as an augmentation is effectively adding a bordure to that display, and will be blazoned and checked for style and conflict as such. We direct Palimpsest to prepare a Rules Letter proposing to add this information as SENA A3A3b.
There are a number of charges that fall under the umbrella of independent display. Different subsets of these have restricted use under some conditions; and different subsets need to be conflict checked as independent armory under other conditions. Currently, the information about what charges are considered independent displays of armory, and when the different types of independent display can be used, are scattered throughout SENA: A3A2, A3A3, A5C4, A6F, and A6C. We will be opening a Letter of Pends and Discussion to discuss ways this information could be presented more coherently in SENA.
This month, I want to give a shout-out to Drasma Blue Tiger, Submissions Herald for the East Kingdom. Her summaries of documentation and in-Kingdom commentary are concise, easy to read, and well-written. Well done!
In this letter [Outlands-A Hadassah bat Oro], we have registered a matronymic byname using a vernacular/secular given name, Oro, back transliterated into Hebrew. There is sufficient evidence to support the use of matronymics in a Jewish context, and we generally allow matronymics for a language where we allow patronymics. The broader question is whether we can use vernacular/secular given names for a Jewish matronymic. Given that usually Jewish women only had one given name, versus a secular and a religious name, and it would be very difficult to determine whether a particular name is Jewish or vernacular and back-transliterated in origin, we are, at this time, stating that all names used by Jewish women can be used in a Jewish matronymic byname formation.
Over the past several months, we have seen an uptick in names being changed in response to issues raised at kingdom, without documenting the change or the reason for the change. Submission heralds are reminded to document all changes that happen from the initial submission in the LoI.
On 14 June 2025 at Lyondemere Anniversary, the Crown of Caid elevated Sir Jamal Damien Marcus, Exchequer for the Caid College of Heralds, to the Order of the Pelican.
On 6 September 2025 at Heroes and Heroines, their Majesties Lochlainn and Paraskova of Meridies bestowed Fiora Valori, former Beacon Principal Herald, with a Court Barony.
On 27 September 2025 at Trial by Fire in the Barony of Bright Hills, King Abran and Queen Anya of Atlantia elevated Master Kryss Kostarev to the Order of the Mark. Master Kryss is well known to the College for his many years of service at Pennsic Heralds' Point.
On 4 October 2025 at Huntsman's Harvest in the Barony of Ben Dunfirth, Their Majesties Tristham and Anneke of Ealdormere elevated Nika Dmitrieva doch' Zvezdina, Rouge Estoile Herald Extraordinary and Trillium Herald Emerita, to the Order of the Mark.
And in sadder news, on 20 September 2025, Mistress Graçia Esperança de Sevilla, Thane (Baroness) of Storvik passed away unexpectedly. She had been an at-large herald in Atlantia in the past.
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 uploaded to the OSCAR packet for that letter. For armory, only colored forms are required.
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.
To subscribe to the mailings of the LoAR, please see the bottom of https://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 https://oscar.sca.org/index.php?action=137.
The August Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, August 17, 2025 and the Wreath meeting held on Saturday, August 16, 2025. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: An Tir (01 May, 2025), Ansteorra (02 May, 2025), Calontir (04 May, 2025), Avacal (05 May, 2025), An Tir (06 May, 2025), Atlantia (06 May, 2025), Meridies (09 May, 2025), Ĉthelmearc (21 May, 2025), Laurel (25 May, 2025), Lochac (26 May, 2025), Avacal (27 May, 2025), Ealdormere (27 May, 2025), Artemisia (30 May, 2025), East (30 May, 2025), Outlands (30 May, 2025), Ansteorra (31 May, 2025), Atenveldt (31 May, 2025), Drachenwald (31 May, 2025), Middle (31 May, 2025), West (31 May, 2025), Laurel LoPfR (29 Jun, 2025). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Thursday, July 31, 2025.
The September Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, September 7, 2025 and the Wreath meeting held on Saturday, September 6, 2025. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: Gleann Abhann (31 May, 2025) (pushed due to lack of packet issues) , Trimaris (02 Jun, 2025), Caid (03 Jun, 2025), Calontir (04 Jun, 2025), Laurel LoPaD (04 Jun, 2025), Palimpsest Rules Letter (04 Jun, 2025), Palimpsest Rules Letter (06 Jun, 2025), An Tir (07 Jun, 2025), Meridies (10 Jun, 2025), An Tir (19 Jun, 2025), Avacal (22 Jun, 2025), Ealdormere (24 Jun, 2025), East (27 Jun, 2025), Artemisia (28 Jun, 2025), Atenveldt (29 Jun, 2025), Lochac (29 Jun, 2025), Ansteorra (30 Jun, 2025), Drachenwald (30 Jun, 2025), Middle (30 Jun, 2025), Palimpsest Rules Letter (30 Jun, 2025). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Sunday, August 31, 2025.
The October Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, October 5, 2025 and will be made at the Wreath meeting held on Saturday, October 18, 2025. These meetings consider the following letters of intent: Palimpsest Rules Letter (02 Jul, 2025), Gleann Abhann (05 Jul, 2025), Caid (07 Jul, 2025), Calontir (07 Jul, 2025), Atlantia (09 Jul, 2025), Meridies (12 Jul, 2025), An Tir (14 Jul, 2025), East (24 Jul, 2025), Lochac (28 Jul, 2025), Middle (28 Jul, 2025), Drachenwald (29 Jul, 2025), Ealdormere (29 Jul, 2025), West (29 Jul, 2025), Artemisia (30 Jul, 2025), Atenveldt (30 Jul, 2025), Avacal (30 Jul, 2025), Caid (30 Jul, 2025), Ansteorra (31 Jul, 2025), Outlands (31 Jul, 2025), Meridies (01 Aug, 2025), Laurel LoPfR (18 Aug, 2025). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Tuesday, September 30, 2025.
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.
Be assured that I remain
In service
Birgitta Lulli
Laurel Queen of Arms
Created at 2025-10-09T16:26:43