camel picture

Lochac arms CoH Arms

Crux Australis Principal Herald


Wakeline de Foxley
PO Box 91 Sandy Bay, Tasmania 7006
phone: +61 3 6225 4334
herald at sca dot org dot au

Warmest greetings unto the College of Heralds of the Kingdom of Lochac, and unto any others who may read this missive from Wakeline de Foxley, Crux Australis Principal Herald

Contents of this issue

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From Crux Australis - Let the games begin!

Greetings gentle cousins,
It is a thrill to be writing this letter to you all. I have spent the last few days poring over the Crux files so I am appropriately terrified at what the next two years have to bring. But I am looking forward to them too. I am not so foolish as to lay out a grand plan for what I hope to achieve during my tenure; I know that any progress we make will be a group effort and depend on the hard work of us all. I also know that, collectively, we are capable of great things.
Apologies to those of you who prefer the paper version of the CAMeL, I do not yet have the mailing list from Sabine, so for now the electronic copy will have to do. Those of you with CAMeL subscriptions will have to wait until next month, when you will receive two letters. I will keep my rant mercifully short this month, but there are a number of matters that require special mention:

Gift from the East Kingdom College of Heralds

At the recent Pennsic war, Eldrich, Eastern Crown Herald, presented Their Majesties with a basket. This basket contained sixty packets of Crayola Classic markers, a gift from the East Kingdom College of Heralds that is to be distributed amongst the Lochac college. There were forty packets of broad tipped and twenty of fine tipped markers. Lord Eldrich was aided in this presentation by Gisela, Mural Herald, and Shauna Laurel Queen of Arms also appeared to express her support for the gesture and wishing the markers safely into our hands.

As many of would know, Crayola Classic markers are deemed the markers most suitable for heraldic submissions. They are long lasting and have vivid colours which don't bleach too much in the sun or run too much in the rain (unless you accidentally buy the washable variety!). They have the additional virtue of being very cheap in the US, but the significant disadvantage of being very difficult to find in Australia, and I assume New Zealand too.

As you can no doubt imagine, these markers were somewhat difficult to carry back to Lochac; Their Majesties wisely distributed them among Their subjects for the journey home. I have asked that the various couriers pass the markers to group heralds, so be prepared. If you get some please let me know so that we can coordinate distribution throughout the kingdom. When you receive markers please thank the couriers profusely! I am sure that they would all have preferred to carry home extra Pennsic purchases than markers. Please also let me know who carried them so that I can add my thanks for their efforts on our behalf.

I would like to thank the East Kingdom College of Heralds for their most generous and unexpected gift. Truly such behaviour exemplifies the best of our Society.

Commenting

This month saw the resumption of internal commenting on submissions. My current plan is to run commenting on a trial basis until the end of the year. I will probably throw in a few twists over the coming months to see what works and what doesn't. At the start of next year I propose that we have a discussion and see what worked for who and why. We can then make an informed decision about an optimal process for the future. Please don't feel that you need to wait till the end of the year to tell me what you think. I would love to hear any ideas on how the process could be improved.

My only other request in this matter is that you comment! It is both helpful to me and (hopefully) educational for you. You will find that you learn heraldry much faster by doing than by watching. If you don't feel like posting to the web site for whatever reason, feel free to send your comments directly to me.

Late Submissions

It has come to my attention that some of you may have failed to forward submissions to Crux. I remind you that you are obliged to pass on all submissions within thirty days of receipt. If you have any submissions mouldering away in drawers, get them out and send them to me now. For the next month I will not be paying attention to dates written on forms - after that I will be. Enough said!

Thank you Sabine!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Lady Sabine du Bourbonnais for the heroic effort she has made since February. While we are all aware of the immense efforts that Sabine has made, you would have to see the files to appreciated the amount of work she has done behind the scenes. Our debt to Sabine for her efforts during this time is considerable. I would also like to thank those of you who helped Sabine during her brief tenure. I know that your efforts were most appreciated.
I would like to add my personal thanks for the incredible help Sabine has been in this time of transition. On behalf of us all, thank you Sabine!

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A Request on behalf of Laurel Queen of Arms

In order to save Laurel some effort in filing Lochac submissions, I have agreed to trim all paperwork going to her so that it conforms with the length of standard US paper (11 inches). I am not asking you to trim forms before sending them to me (indeed it is probably better if you don't), but if you could bear the fact in mind when making photocopies that would be great.

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Reminder - Branch/Group Reports due 10th of September 2004.

As the local herald for an SCA group, you must provide a written report four times a year. They are due around the 10th of every third month. (i.e. March, June, September and October). Emailed reports may be in word, text, pdf or postscript formats (if you have some other preference let me know and I will see what we can arrange). Ideally, your report should include as much information as possible. If nothing much has happened, you can just write and say "nothing much has happened". Don't do this too often. Include:

In your reports this time, I would like you to pay particular attention to the extraordinary heralds in your groups. The roster has grown very large and I would like to get an overview on who is still active. Extraordinary heraldic officers are of course welcome to contact me directly to let me know that you are still going.

List the heraldic submissions you've sent since your previous report.

This gives us a cross reference to make sure nothing has been lost in transit. Include information relating to whether people with returned submissions are working on a resubmission.

Mention the events at which any Court, Field or Duty heraldry was done.

Basically - Who did what, when and how well?

List all the awards that were granted to people from your group.

Include the date of the award and the names of the Royalty who gave it. This is a useful cross-check of both the Crux and Canon files. Please be sure to include the legal names of recipients if at all possible.

Mention each of the "Extraordinary" heralds in your group.

List of all those rostered freelance heralds. Let us know what they're doing, and whether you think they need training or promoting.

Brilliant Ideas

Please include your brilliant ideas on how we can improve heraldry in Lochac.

Remember to date your report (and everything else you send, for that matter), and include your mundane name, address, phone and email details.

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Roster Changes

I strongly suspect that I have missed some officer changeovers, please forgive me for that (and let me know!). I will announce them next month.
As you are all probably aware, the web roster is horribly out of date. Sabine has done all the hard work in reviewing the roster, so the web roster should be updated very soon.

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Important Addresses

Crux Australis Principal Herald:

Wakeline de Foxley
PO Box 91, Sandy Bay TAS, 7006
(03) 6225 4334

Email: herald at sca dot org dot au

Baryl Herald:

Massaria da Cortona
PO Box 91, Sandy Bay TAS, 7006
(03) 6225 4334

Email: massaria at hotmail dot com

Bombard Herald (Ceremonies and Protocol):

Uberto Renaldi

Email: bombard at sca dot org dot au

Canon Herald (OP and Gentry list):

Karl Faustus von Aachen (Paul Sleigh )
PO Box 1269, Belconnen ACT 2616
(02) 6271-1534 0407-468-244.

Email: canon at sca do org do au

Astrolabe Herald (New Zealand Regional Deputy):

Alys de Wilton (Jennifer Geard)

Email: geard at verso dot org

Rocket Pursuivant (Special Projects):

Giles de Roet (Mark Calderwood)
PO Box 247
Jesmond NSW 2299

Hund Herald (External Commentary):

Thorfinn Hrolfsson (Steven Roylance)
1592 Malvern Road, Glen Iris, VIC 3146.

Email: roylance at corplink dot com dot au

Mortar Pursuivant

Vacant

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Submission Requirements

Cost: $20 per new submission (name, device or badge). No cost for resubmissions (within the permitted time limit) or branch submissions. Note: a new name and device costs a total of $40. Make cheques or money orders payable to "SCA Inc. College of Heralds". Do not send cash through the post!

Copies required:

NAMES - two (2) copies of both the form and ALL documentation, including title page of each book NB: The title page is not the same as the book cover! Essays about a submitter's persona may be entertaining, but do NOT constitute documentation. When citing web sites as documentation, you must include a printout of the pages used. Please don't staple your forms, paperclips are fine and loose is ok too.

DEVICES AND BADGES - four (4) colour copies and one (1) black & white OUTLINE copy. The colour copies should be accurately coloured, preferably in felt tip pen (eg Crayola Classic Colours). Colour printers or faint coloured pencil is not acceptable. The colours must be visible across a crowded Herald's meeting. Laurel has requested that gold pen NOT be used, as it deteriorates in files and turns to glue. Please don't staple your forms, assuming that all goes well at kingdom level they are separated and go to four different homes. Paperclips are fine and loose is ok too. 

Please include ALL necessary documentation to support each submission. It is the responsibility of the submitter to present their submission in a way that makes registration easy. Name documentation should be as accurate as possible. Failure to provide sufficient documentation is a cause for return of your submission. If you are having trouble with your documentation then speak to your local herald. If they can't answer your specific question, consider writing to Blazons, or contacting me. If I don't know the answer but I will at least be able to point you in the direction of someone who will.

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Meeting Schedule

The August meeting was held on Wednesday 11th August 2004. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, 7th of September. Further meetings may be expected on the first Tuesday of each month.

Commentary on August submissions was received from the following people Massaria Baryl; Alys Astrolabe; Aryanhwy Boke; Karl Cannon; Uberto Bombard; Eleyne; Thomasina; Pedair and Giles. Present at the meeting were Wakeline de Foxley, Crux Australis Herald; Massaria da Cortona, Baryl Herald; Francis of Hexham, Drommond Pursuivant and Rhodri ap Tewdwr Awenydd, herald in training. Thank you all for your time and efforts.

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August 2004 Submissions Forwarded to Laurel

1. B{e'}o{a'}n Freborn

New name and device submission

Ermine, a fret purpure on a chief embattled vert a roundel between two crescents argent.

The submitter wants a name suitable for a 12th to 14th century Irish male. He wishes for his name to be temporally authentic and has allowed minor changes. In the event of a change the submitter cares most about preserving the sound.

B{e'}o{a'}n apparently appears in Ó Corrain, Donnchadh & Maguire on page 31 (I couldn't check this). A Beoan is also mentioned in Lives of the Saints from the book of Lismore", folio 42ra, p 14, line 476 reads "ann .i. Cuirche & Loscan, Caileach & Beoan". A second occurrence of the spelling Beoan occurs in the entry "Donnghal m. Beoan airchinnech Tuama Grene" dated 1003 and listed in "Index of Names in Irish Annals: Donngal" by Mari Elspeth nic Bryan.

The name was submitted with the surname of Freeborn. Although Freeborn is found as a header spelling in Reaney and Wilson, "A dictionary of English surnames" 3rd edition, no dated citation of the spelling Freeborn is provided. Dated spellings include Frebern (c1095 and 1163), Freborn (1256) and ffreborn (1327). In accordance with the submitter's desire to preserve the sound of the I changed the spelling of the surname to Freborn.

B{e'}o{a'}n's device

2. Bordescros, Shire of

Device resubmission

Per chevron purpure fretty and Or, a laurel wreath vert

The group's name was registered in March 2002 via Lochac. The groups original device submission to Laurel Per chevron purpure fretty Or and Or, in base a bunch of grapes purpure leaved within a laurel wreath vert was returned at that time for having three types of charge in the primary charge group [fret(ty), grapes and wreath]. A second submission was made without the grapes to resolve the slot machine problem. This submission was returned in July 2003 as no mini-emblazon was included in the LoI. The group wishes to resubmit that device unchanged

The provided letter of support shows both blazon and emblazon and is signed by the majority of both the populace and officers of the group. It therefore meets the requirements for supporting documentation (Admin Handbook IV.C.5)

Bordescros device

3. Thomasina Freborn

New name (see Returns for device)

The submitter desires a name suitable for a 13th to 15th century English woman. She has allowed minor changes and in the event of changes cares most about sound.

Withycombe "Oxford Dictionary of Christian Names" provides a dated spelling of Thomasina (1346) on page 280. The name was submitted with the surname of Freeborn. Although Freeborn is found as a header spelling in Reaney and Wilson, "A dictionary of English surnames" 3rd edition, no dated citation of the spelling Freeborn is provided. Dated spellings include Frebern (c1095 and 1163), Freborn (1256) and ffreborn (1327). In accordance with the submitter's desire to preserve the sound of the name we have changed the spelling to Freborn

4. William Castille

New badge

Gules, a griffin segreant and a chief Or

The submitter's name was registered in January 1995 via the West Kingdom.

William's badge

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August 2004 Submissions Returned by Crux

1. Arnfinn Akison Alfsjabani

New name and device submission

Quarterly gules and azure, a doe's head cabossed argent

The submitter sought a tenth century Danish name and cared most about language/culture. He was willing to accept minor changes and in the event of a change cares most about the meaning of the final name element; "Elf's bane".

The last element of the submitted name Alfsjabani had several problems. The submitted documentation sought to document Alfsjabani by taking a documented compound name Beserkjabani (beserk's bane) and replacing the first element with the Danish word for Elf. The submitted documentation provided no evidence for the for "Alf" being Danish for Elf, nor for compound names including mythological creatures.

The submitted device must be returned due to unidentifiability of the doe's head. The submitter has been advised to draw a longer narrower head in any resubmission. The device appears to be clear at this time; a properly drawn doe's head should be worth a CD from a bull's head clearing this submission of Ehrenfried Schertenleib, Per pale gules and sable, a bull's head caboshed argent.

Arnfinn's device

2. Aulay Leod

Device resubmission

Gules, an angel maintaining two swords argent

This device must be returned for violating RfS VIII.2 "All armory must have sufficient contrast to allow each element of the design to be clearly identifiable at a distance". The swords do not have sufficient contrast against the angel.

The submission is also in conflict with the following registrations;
Angels, Barony of the Gules, a standing seraph affronty proper winged Or, haloed of a laurel wreath proper.
There is one CD for the change of tincture of half of the charge (the wings) but nothing for the halo of laurel or swords.
Erik the Relentless Purpure chap{e'} ploy{e'}, a standing seraph argent
There is one CD for the change to the field, but nothing for the maintained swords.

Aulay's device

3. Eirik Thorolfsson

Name and device submission

Per pale argent and gules, two fish hauriant respectant and embowed

This submission must be returned because the form was filled out incorrectly, the submitter's commonly used name Eirik the Eager having been entered into the "Name being submitted" part of the form and Eirik Thorolfsson in the "Society Name" space. This problem was compounded by the fact that Eirik the Eager appeared on the device submission form. Sadly I did not catch the mistake in time and mistook the registration as being for Eirik the Eager.
The submission must be returned for lack of documentation of the  element "Thorolfsson".

The wonderful device must also be returned at this time as all device submissions must be accompanied or preceded to Laurel by a name submission. The device is appears to be clear at this time.

Eirik's device

4. Thomasina Freborn

Device submission

Ermine, a wyvern statant purpure a bordure vert semy of cinquefoils argent

This device was returned due to the non-period depiction of the ermine spots. The spots could easily be confused with pheons or pine trees. The cinquefoils are also of some concern. While Astrolabe found similar cinquefoils in Foster, the redrawing contained there may not reflect accurate period style. The submitter has been advised to use more conventional representations of both the ermine spots and the cinquefoils in any resubmission.

Thomasina's device

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Submissions Pended by Crux

None this month.


News from Laurel LoARs

No news this month. The April LoAR will be out soon and should contain decisions on the Lochac LoI from November 2003. A quick look at the Nov 2003 CAMeL suggest that this section of next months CAMeL will be very full indeed!



Crux Seal Wakeline's Signature

Wakeline de Foxley,
Crux Australis Principal Herald


SPQR