[Ansteorra] Question about motifs in artwork

[Dennis Grace]

Salut cozyns,

Susan's question is not a simple one to answer.

As an Recovering Herald, I must note that some images are expressly 
protected. The laurel in SCA arms is used to designate a group and to 
designate members of the order of the laurel. White belts, gold chains, 
pelicans in their piety, red caps of maintenance, crowns, and coronets are 
also expressly limited to specific peers.

To that short list, add historically and fictionally significant arms (the 
Plantaganet lions, the French fleury, Pendragon's dragon), registered arms, 
and registered badges.

As a Recovering Herald--with the emphasis on "Recovering"--I have to include 
some caveats on badges:

1) Say Snorri Ravensbutt of Lochac has registered the couped tail-end of a 
raven as a badge. Technically, it would be improper to adorn a sideless 
surcoat with raven's tails. In practice, though, you have to ask yourself 
how likely it is that you'll ever come across Snorri.

2) You *can* go check the on-line ordinary and armorial site 
(http://oanda.sca.org/ ) for registered badges for every image on every 
button or bit of embroidery that you think of using, but few non-Heralds are 
this anal.

3) Custom can be more powerful in protecting images than the College of 
Arms. If a local duke decides to use the image of a severed nose as his 
badge and everyone in the area recognizes that image as his, the status of 
that image as a badge is pretty meaningless.

You might also want to check the kingdom laws in your areas. These things 
change. At one time, for example, the sumptuary laws of Atenveldt reserved 
gold roweled spurs to Dukes.

For items like the thistle, the crane, and other similar honors, only the 
registered version of the badge is protected. In theory.

In practice, custom is more powerful. In Artemisia, it was once (don't know 
if this has changed) considered improper to wear a circlet if you weren't 
entitled to wear a coronet. Similarly, in parts of Ansteorra it is 
considered gauche to sport lions on your garb if you are not a Lion of 
Ansteorra.

lo vostre por vos servir
Sir Lyonel Oliver Grace
_________________________________
Micel yfel deth se unwritere.
		--AElfric of York





>From: Susan <catmafia at hughes.net>
>Reply-To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." 
><ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>
>To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>
>Subject: [Ansteorra] Question about motifs in artwork
>Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 10:24:08 -0500
>
>I was contimplaiting a project and it just dawned on me that something
>used in it is also used as a piece of Ansteorran regalia, it is a
>thistle from a Scottish coin and yes my absentmindedness is astounding.
>What exactly is the rule on using things that were used in period, but
>are also used in regalia?  Is it ok to make them with appropriate
>documentation, but they can only be used by someone who has the right to
>bear that thing?  Can you only do it if the person who uses it has the
>rights to wear that piece of regalia?  If so, how about where
>cultures/kingdoms are next to each other?  And people who move from one
>kingdom to another, do they stop wearing pieces they had had in another
>kingdom that wern't attached to any regalia?  How about on people's
>arms?  I make it to things in about equal number in Ansteorra and
>Calontir and this has been perplexing me.  I have always been interested
>in this, expecially in cases such as the proper garb accutraments
>weren't appropriate because of belt color and issues like that.
>
>Looking forward to the discussion,
>Susan the Curious
>
>
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