Heraldry:Consultation and Research

The first step is registering a name and/or armory is research and documentation for names (and sometimes devices), and design of the armory.  For this, we recommend consulting with a herald, as heralds can help with documentation and sources, with design, and with checking for conflict and with the rules.  If you need help contacting a herald, please reach out to Parhelium Herald for assistance.

Before getting started, please keep a few things in mind:

• Be responsive - Be respectful of the time of the herald(s) you are working with and respond to communications in a timely manner.  This is your submission, so it is in your interest to follow up.  Communication and questions can come at any time in the process, until the decision is issued and you are notified.
• Be open minded - We use our current understanding of historical plausibility of names and armory based on the attested names and armorial practices of the middle ages in Europe.  Period documentation for names and construction, and period style and composition for armory are required, and these may not align to modern practices or aesthetics.  
• Documentation - All names and some armory require documentation.  Lack of documentation where required will result in a return. In the end, the submitter is responsible for documentation in a form that is usable for submission and commentary.  The consulting herald can offer assistance and resources that might not be available, but in the end the submitter must provide the documentation.
• Consulting heralds - Again, you are encouraged to consult with one or more heralds through this process.  Contact your branch herald (listed on your branch web site), request help on the Kingdom Facbook group, attend a consult table at your local practice or at an event, or contact Parhelium Herald for assistance.

Below you will find two sections, one on Name Consultation and below that on Armory Consultation.

Name Consultation

You must have a name registered with the SCA College of Arms (Laurel) to register armory or household names.  The name you provided when you joined the SCA or renewed your membership is NOT a registered name.  A few things to note about names:

• You may have up to ten registered names, including your primary name, alternate names, and household names, including jointly owned households.
• Well known and documented patterns for name construction for many cultures and languages within language groups is documented in the Standards for the Evaluation of Names and Armory (SENA) Appendix A.  In this category, name elements must be dated within 500 years of each other.
• Cross-culture names can also be registered, and well-known and documented linguistic mixes are documented in SENA Appendix C.  Names in this category require elements to be documented within 300 years of each other.
• Names and name patterns not covered in the previous items require documentation.
• SCA heralds have compiled well-researched lists of names from period sources, and these are all acceptable as documentation.  There are additional sources that have been reviewed and vetted but that may be more complicated to use.  Other sources can be used, but they may need evaluation and will require copies when submitting.

Documentation Format

When submitting a name, one section of the form is for documentation. Space in the form is limited, so we have some requirements and recommendations when documenting any name.

• All elements of the name must be documented
  • The usage of the element (given name, byname, locative, patronymic, etc)
  • In the spelling you are requesting
  • Dated to within our period (pre-1600, with a 50-year "gray period" after that)
  • For languages in non-Latin alphabets (eg Arabic, Greek, Russian, Chinese), all elements use the same transliteration system
  • Include the source document reference with URL and photocopies (for sources not on the no-photocopy list - see References)
• Construction of the name must be documented
  • Correct for the language and period
  • Grammatically correct, including gender for most languages
  • All elements dated within 500 years of each other for the same language group (or 300 years if mixing allowed language)
• Do's
  • Summarize the documentation - essay-style documentation is harder to read and interpret.
  • Document your assumptions or interpretaions
  • Document if and where you got stuck and need help
• Don't
  • Include your persona's backstory
  • Use modern naming sites or books for documentation

Some names or languages may require more and/or more detailed documentation, including transliteration documentation and photocopies.

More information on documenting names can be found at How to Document a Personal Name Submission.

Example Documentation

Here are a couple of examples of good documentation from recent submissions:

#1 - Don the Cartmaker

Don - an Anglicized Irish name found as Don O Hogan (sn Don) dated 1601 in "Names Found in Anglicized Irish Documents" by Mari ingen Briain meic Donnchada - https://medievalscotland.org/kmo/AnglicizedIrish/Masculine.shtml

Cartmaker - An occupational byname referring to the maker of carts found dated 1579 in the OED - https://www.oed.com/dictionary/cart-maker_n?tab=factsheet#9998666100

Construction - <given> + the + <occupation> is an allowed construction for English names per SENA App A. The submitter prefers the article in the name.

#2 - Gabriel Orsini

Gabriel - an Italian masculine given name found dated 1527 in this spelling in DMNES - https://dmnes.org/cite/Gabriel/1527/Rome1527

Orsini - an Italian masculine surname name, dated to 16th century, found on OR, BSB Cod.icon. 273, folio 65r (Image#1 is from the Orsini link in this source) - https://www.coblaith.net/Names/ItSur/OR.html

Sources to Start with

Laurel Articles, Names Section - includes a few references on selecting and documenting a name, as well as language-specific references. Also includes a few references for household names, order/award names, and heraldic titles.

Saint Gabriel Name Articles - A super-set of the Laurel article list, it also includes a few references on selecting and documenting a name, as well as a broader selections of language-specific references. Also includes a few references for household names, order/award names, and heraldic titles.

Admin Handbook - No-photocopy sources (also see Admin Handbook - Sources to Avoid) - sources that do not require

Armory Consultation

In the SCA, armory consists of devices (coat of arms) and badges.  At a high level, in usage a device represents you individually, whereas a badge represents something that is your.

* You can register one device and up to nine additional pieces of armory, including jointly owned badges.

* A few rules define what is called "Core Style", which is based on our sense of typical armorial practice in 13th century England and France.  These summary of Core Style is:

**Simple - We limit the complexity of armorial design.

** Contrast - Charges (items on the device) must have good contrast with the field (the base layer of the design) or anything they may lay across.

* Going outside the bounds of Core Style requires research and documentation of both the elements and the whole of the design based on period examples.  This is called an Individually Attested Pattern (IAP), and it is not an "easy mode" button to get out of Core Style rules.  If you are interested in an IAP, please realize this process is intended for those who are truly interested in period armory and is a non-trivial effort.  

* All armory must be blazonable.  Blazon is, in essence, a language for describing in words the emblazon, or design, of a piece of armory in a way that scribes or heralds can reliably reproduce the design.  If the design cannot be reliably blazoned, it cannot be registerd.

Sources to Start With

Laurel website, Armory Section

Academy of St Gabriel, Heraldry Archive

Pictorial Dictionary of Heraldry

Book of Traceable Heraldic Art (large collection of heraldic charges from period and SCA artists, in various formats including SVG) - Note: A charge or posture or other item in this collection does not imply registerability

Laurel Website, Heraldry for Beginners section