NK - What an AoA means Was: The Guideing Hand...Peers

[Jennifer Carlson]

Whoops, let's back up a second here.

An Award of Arms grants you the privilege of being addressed as Lord or 
Lady, and entitles you to bear arms.

ANYONE can "officially" register a name and device.

The difference between "arms" and "device" is a little slippery, so bear 
with me here.

"Arms" refers to an "achievement of arms", which is your coat of arms 
(i.e., device) and all the frou-frou associated with various ranks.  For an 
award of arms, this means a shield with your arms (device) on it (remember, 
anyone can register a device), with an appropriate helmet on top.  If you 
have registered a device but don't have an armigerous award, that design on 
your shield is just your device.  Once you get your AoA (or an AoA-bearing 
award), it magically becomes your "arms."  Confused yet?

For Grant and Peerage awards, there's all sorts of other neato goodies you 
get to add - but that's the Honorable Lord Robert Fitzmorgan's bailiwick as 
the Stellar Scroll Pursuivant of the College of Heralds, so I'll leave it 
to him to explain it.

As for when you get them:  it really all depends.  I never received an 
Award of Arms.  I have a handful of arts and service awards that carry an 
AoA with them automatically.  I received the first one of those, my first 
Sable Thistle, after I had been in the SCA five years.  Friends told me 
this was because I kept moving about the kingdom (ah, those peripatetic 
college days!), and as soon as I got myself good and established in one 
group, I would move to another.

The husband, on the other hand, dodged the bullet for fourteen years.  I do 
believe there is one in Northkeep who went even longer than that before 
getting an AoA.  This does not mean they weren't active, or unappreciated. 
 It was more that everyone assumed they already had one, or they had asked 
not to be recommended for an award.

There is a legend of one gentle who received his AoA at his first event: He 
single-handedly cleaned out the filthy latrines at a war.

Talana


-----Original Message-----
From:	Rebecca M. Heydon [SMTP:rebecca-heydon at utulsa.edu]
Sent:	Tuesday, August 10, 1999 10:01 AM
To:	Northkeep at Ansteorra.ORG
Subject:	Re: NK - The Guideing Hand...Peers

At 09:37 AM 8/10/1999 -0500, Maidenhair wrote:
I also understand
>that there are AoA's, GoA's and PoA's.  But those are supposedly the 
hardest
>&/or longest to get.

Um..well..sort of.  The AoA, Award of Arms, is the entry level award which
allows you to officially register your name and your device.  It also means
that you have been noticed for your participation, learning and service.
In some kingdoms, this is granted quickly, in others, it takes a year or
more.  It took me about a year before I was awarded an AoA in Ansteorra
though I know many people who earned theirs in less time.  (You are correct
in your assumption that the other 2 (Grant and Patent of Arms) take much
longer to achieve).

It's good that you're in to the learning and experiencing of things in the
SCA.  Once the event season gets going and you've gotten your sea legs, so
to speak, you'll probably find that getting involved in the thick of things
proves to be an immense amount of fun.

And here's a question:  are you into cooking?

Rowan

end
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Rebecca M. Heydon			
University of Tulsa - College of Law Library	
ph:  918-631-3557 (voice mail only)	
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rebecca-heydon at utulsa.edu
"Language is the light of the mind."
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