[Ansteorra-announce] [Announcements] Request for comment from the Laurel and Wreath Sovereigns of Arms

Sat Mar 7 11:46:49 PST 2009

Please note that the below comes from the Laurel and Wreath Sovereigns  
of Arms.  Please DO NOT hit respond to this letter as it will send  
comments that will NOT reach the their offices. Please make sure you  
change the address to wreath at heraldry.sca.org.

Disregard the automatic comments at the end, and do NOT send email to  
the comments email address responding to this.

Thank you,
Patrick
President

Greetings unto the members of the Society for Creative Anachronism
from Tanczos Istvan, Wreath Sovereign of Arms.

First, I would like to thank everyone for the immense amounts of input
that I received from members of the SCA regarding the question of
whether or not Laurel Wreaths should continue to be required for SCA
group armory and, at the same time, whether or not members of the
Order of the Laurel could use Laurel Wreaths in their personal
heraldry.

The answer to those questions, based on consensus of the commentary
received, was "yes" and "no" respectively.  Further details can be
found in the section "From Wreath: On Wreaths" in the cover letter to
the November 2008 Letter of Acceptance and Return ("LoAR"), which can
be found at http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/loar/2008/11/08-11cl.html

The discussion of those questions prompted further questions, and we
again find it appropriate that all members of the SCA be asked for
their input.  These are the new questions that are being asked. They
are items #2 and #3 from the "Letter of Pends and Discussion", which
can be found at http://oscar.sca.org/index.php?action=100&loi=528:

    2. From Wreath: Unrestricting Chains and Pelicans

    In the discussion of Laurel Wreaths for Laurels, many commenters
and several Companions of the Order of the Laurel mentioned that
restricting charges in the shield for the use of members of a
particular order is not a period heraldic practice. This is correct.

    It is not a common SCA practice, either. There are roughly 2000
members of the Order of Chivalry. Approximately 30 of them have
registered a closed loop of chain in their armory. There are probably
a like number of members of the Order of the Pelican. Exactly one of
them has registered a pelican in its piety as part of his armory.

    Period practice would have the charge indicating membership in the
order depicted as part of the achievement around the shield, not as a
charge on the shield. A chain, or a laurel wreath, would be placed
around the outside of the shield, as is seen in achievements of
members of the Order of the Garter throughout its whole history. This
can be seen in the modern display, as well:
http://www.royalinsight.gov.uk/files/images/MTnew_public_honours_garterii.jpg
depicts former British Prime Minister Sir John Major, processing in
the Garter service at Windsor Castle;
http://www.familynamesonline.com/imgs/shields/queeneaoa.jpg depicts
the achievement of the sovereign of the UK. Note that the garter is
around the shield, not part of it.

    With this in mind, we ask what the populace and the members of the
peerage orders would think of removing the restriction on closed loops
of chain and pelicans in their piety? We note that the use of these
items as regalia would still be reserved, and we are not minded to
release the tinctureless registrations of the badges. The only
difference is that any member of the SCA could use these charges in
their arms.

    We note that some kingdoms also register and record full
achievements. The SCA College of Arms does not register or restrict
achievements at this time: restrictions on achievements are left to
the individual kingdoms. We would expect that those kingdoms would
continue to restrict closed loops of chain and pelicans in their piety
in achievements to the members of those Orders.

3. From Wreath: Charges for Laurels

SCA Corpora states that all of the peerages are and must remain equal.
We note that this policy is intended to mean in rank, but we feel that
keeping them equivalent in privilege is also important. Royal peers,
Pelicans, and Chivalry all may register symbols of their rank in their
armory. Since Laurels can not use laurel wreaths, there is nothing for
Laurels to incorporate into their armory. If this situation is to be
remedied by the addition of a reserved charge for Laurels, as opposed
to removing restricted charges for individuals of the other peerages
(as discussed above), we need to have something to represent the
members of the Order in armory.

In the previous discussion, several people suggested a "laurel
chaplet", the same as a wreath, but closed at the top. This suggestion
shows a misunderstanding of the terms 'wreath' and 'chaplet'. The
presence or absence of a gap at the top is not the difference.

In mundane blazon, a wreath is what we most commonly think of as a
torse - Parker, in A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry, says it is
the "twisted band composed of two strips of gold or silver lace and
silk by which the crest is joined to the helmet; though some wreaths
of the fifteenth century were of four tinctures. It is sometimes, but
improperly, called a roll, at others a torse." Chaplets are, by the
same source, "a garland of leaves with four flowers amongst them, at
equal distances...it is more usual to designate the material of which
the chaplet is composed. It may be of roses (and this, perhaps, is the
most frequent) or of flowers generally, or it may be of leaves, and
often of laurel leaves."

In Society blazon, the twisted band of cloth is blazoned a torse,
while wreath refers to a full circle or near-circle of foliage;
chaplet is frequently a synonym for wreath, though we note early
precedents (oft-disregarded), ruling that chaplet of roses refers to
the garland with four roses in cross, as described by Parker.

We request suggestions as to what charge could be used to represent
Laurels if charges continue to be reserved for the peerages. The
limitations are that it must be a period charge, and it must be a
charge that has never been registered in the SCA. While this second
requirement may seem insurmountable, Baron Bruce Draconarius has been
making a study of just this subject, and we have asked him to provide
the fruits of his labors for these suggestions.

One thing I do feel the need to apologize for:  I neglected to ask
members of the Order of the Laurel if they truly wanted a reserved
charge for their personal armory, usable only by the members of the
Order.  Many members who have commented in the two weeks since the
LoAR was published have expressed a strong sentiment towards leaving
things the way they are: let the Knights and Pelicans have their
symbols, don't bother creating one for the Laurel.  If this is your
viewpoint, please express your support for it; that  option is still
open.

Once again, our questions are:
  1. What is your opinion on of removing the restriction on closed
loops of chain and pelicans in their piety, or should they be entirely
restricted so that they can no longer be registered by anyone?

  2. Should another charge be added that would be restricted to the
Order of the Laurel?

  3. If you think there should be a charge restricted to the Order of
the Laurel, what do you think that charge should be?

Please forward this call for discussion to any groups you feel may be
interested, especially the Peerage lists.  All replies intended for
formal consideration should be sent to wreath at heraldry.sca.org by
Thursday, April 30, 2009. Any email sent to that address will be
posted as commentary on the OSCAR system, where readership is limited
to the College of Arms.

NOTE: DO NOT hit respond to this letter as it will send comments
to comments at sca.org and will NOT reach the Laurel Office. Please make  
sure you change the address to wreath at heraldry.sca.org.

Thank you all once again for your input,

  - Istvan Wreath
--
Patrick Anderson
President
Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.
president at sca.org
952-412-4112

Comments are strongly encouraged and can be sent to:
SCA Inc.
Box 360789
Milpitas,  CA 95036

You may also email comments at lists.sca.org.

This announcement is an official informational release by the Society for Creative Anachronism , Inc.  Permission is granted to reproduce this announcement in its entirety in newsletters, websites and electronic mailing lists.

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