ANSTHRLD - Re: [SCAHRLDS] Heraldic titles (fwd)

Tim McDaniel tmcd at crl.com
Sun Mar 1 12:58:15 PST 1998


- ---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 1 Mar 1998 11:24:10 -0500
From: Richard R. Hershberger <rrhersh at op.net>
To: SCAHRLDS at LISTSERV.AOL.COM
Subject: Re: [SCAHRLDS] Heraldic titles

Quoth Daniel:

>I'm afraid I'm not following the distinctions here or seeing
>the problem.
>
>By "bureaucratic title", you mean title X is associated with
>doing job Y specifically?  Like in Ansteorra, Bordure does
>external LoIs, and Wakeforest is the deputy for voice
>education, and Tressure is education in general, and
>Zodiacus is the precedence herald, and Retiarius is for
>internal collated commentary, and ...?
>
>Is the problem that period heraldic titles were specific
>not to a job, but to geography (Norroy and Ulster) or an
>order (the herald for an order)?

Yes, this is what I'm pissing and moaning about.  It is itself not period
(or modern for that matter, based on my understanding of the English
College).  It produces the side effect of individuals holding multiple
benefices, I mean offices...   So far as I know this has no period
precedent. (For heralds, that is:  I don't want to hear the old saw about
heralds are the clergy of the SCA!)

It also produces a bureaucratic side effect of Parkinsonian expansion.  This
happens in two ways.

One is that there is a natural urge to have a full slate of deputies.  My
usual example is of a kingdom herald in charge of education.  This is
undoubtedly a Good Thing if executed well.  Suppose, however, that at the
moment there is no qualified candidate with the available time and energy.
The tendency is to fill the office with _somebody_, if only to avoid the
collective self image that the College of Heralds is in trouble.  Whomever
then fills the office may or may not be harmless.  Worse, however, is the
possibility that six months later someone who _is_ qualified and has the
time and energy might come along, but never volunteer because the office is
"filled".  The organization would have been better served by holding the
position vacant.

The second way this leads to bureaucratic expansion is that gradually every
task gets a title.  If a herald assists the kingdom court herald by picking
the papers he drops, before you know it the kingdom is registering "Detritus
Pursuivant".  At that point see expansion method number one.

This is not, however, intended as a serious proposal for change.  I know
better.  At most it is meant as food for thought, and more likely it is
merely the incoherant mutterings of an old fart...

In terra pax,
Rolland Carr


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