NK - What an AoA means Was: The Guideing Hand...Peers
Jennifer Carlson
JCarlson at firstchurchtulsa.org
Tue Aug 10 09:32:20 PDT 1999
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
******
Rebecca M. Heydon
University of Tulsa - College of Law Library
ph: 918-631-3557 (voice mail only)
fax: 918-631-2151
rebecca-heydon at utulsa.edu
"Language is the light of the mind."
--John Stuart Mill
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