Heraldic Submissions

What does it cost?

Seven dollars ($7) per action with proof of current SCA membership. Otherwise, twelve dollars per action. For example, a name and a device for a member = fourteen dollars). You MUST have documentation of the client's current membership number for each submission to obtain the discount. Make the check or money order payable to "SCA, Kingdom of Meridies".

 

Getting started

1. Please be sure to read the specific instructions for each type of form and about name documentation. These points are CRITICAL to the progress of a submission.
2. Please write as neatly as possible. It is a lot of paperwork, and wanting to get through it quickly is understandable, but please take your time when you fill out the information: we must be able to read your writing! Use an additional sheet of paper if necessary or write in the margin. It is especially important that we be able to read the contact information – ESPECIALLY the email address. This is how Cypher will contact someone when there is a need for more information. Please print clearly, using both upper and lowercase letters, there are many names that use unusual capitalization. Also be very clear when you use accent marks and other punctuation.
3. Please communicate your information thoroughly. Cover letters win major kudos! If a submission has a story behind it (such as "this is a resubmission, it was originally submitted three months ago and was returned for..."), please include this information in a cover letter with the submission. This is a tremendous help when it goes to Pennon and to Laurel for review.

Documentation for a Name

Before discussing what to include for documentation, please let me emphasize some points about strong documentation:

 

1. Please be aware of the SCA's official list of name sources to avoid. Equally helpful is the list of books that require no photocopies – these are solid sources.
2. When gathering documentation, consider whether it qualifies as a primary source. If you are submitting a map, is the map in period? Are the spellings historically accurate to period? If you are submitting a town name (for a locative byname, for instance), do you have documentation that the town was spelled that way in period? Genealogies work the same way. Genealogy and history books will often have anglicized names or spelling changes for modern readers and you must go back farther to document the actual period spelling.
3. Above all, make sure that you read the documentation that you submit! Look beyond the header name – read the full article in the name book – to ensure that your desired spelling is in period. The same goes for web sites. Whether from a book, an online list or a name generator, make sure that the spelling is documented to period. If the form is marked to not accept any changes, but there is no documentation for the specific spelling submitted, the submission will be returned because the heralds will be prevented from changing it to a spelling that the documentation does support.

If the source is on the official list of books that do not require photocopies, you may simply cite it on the form (author, title, page, and/or name header). If the source is not on this list, please include photocopies or printouts of the source, showing the documentation.

 

Regarding The Academy of Saint Gabriel

If a name is found in a letter from this site, you may include a printout of the full letter (including the cited references at the end of the letter) as your documentation.

 

For all other web sources, please include more than just a URL. Please include a print-out of the page where you found your documentation. When citing URL's, please quote the entire URL of the actual page where you found your documentation. We must be able to access your documentation from the URL provided without having to guess at where you clicked next to find what you found. Including the full URL and a printout is the best way to go.

 

The best way to double-check submissions is to have a good understanding of the Rules for Submission and know how to use the Armorial and Ordinary to check submissions for conflicts. As well, the Meridies Heralds email list is an excellent place for SCA heralds to get help on specific questions about the rules.

 

What about all of those checkboxes on the Name form?

Please be sure that you thoroughly understand the options on the name form. Otherwise, you may inadvertently create a scenario where the only result possible is that the name submission is returned when it might otherwise have been registerable. Ask Cypher if you have any questions.

 

Major and Minor Changes: If quick registration is your client's goal, it is best to leave both of those blank – allowing all necessary changes. If you do this, the next section should definitely indicate what your client cares most about. Please be sure that the form has a *description* of what that is – do not simply mark meaning, sound, culture, etc. without writing *what* sound, culture, etc. By including specifics of what your client is looking for, you are guiding any changes which must be made. Also, if the form is marked to *not* allow major changes to the name, but there is not adequate documentation for the particular spelling of the name, you have backed yourself into a corner.

 

Be specific when it comes to sound, meaning and culture. Write out the pronunciation - not just the name. Be very explicit when it comes to language and culture; give a location and date. Naming practices changed over time. Say “9th c. Irish” rather than “Irish/Celtic”, as later period Irish naming is dramatically different from early Irish naming.

 

Request for Authenticity: The checkbox to pay especially close attention to is the "[optional] Please change my name to be authentic for...." checkbox. Please make this choice ever so carefully! If this box is checked, you are requesting that the heralds do further research and make changes so that the name is authentic. And we do mean *authentic*... In some cases, but not all, the registered name could be too different from what your client wanted. Also in many cases, the name you originally submitted might have been registerable without the change. Registerable and truly authentic are not the same thing. Certain "weirdnesses" are permitted in name submissions (up to a point – see the Rules for Submission) which would not be allowed under a request for authenticity.

 

Asking for the name to be changed for authenticity is great – if your client is willing to allow whatever changes are necessary to accomplish this. Make sure that you know what your client's expectations are and communicate clearly the specifics of what your client is looking for. Again on this one, if the form is marked to *not* allow major changes to the name, you have effectively cancelled out your request for authenticity. Checking the authenticity box is permission for the name to be changed. Remember to be explicit regarding language and culture.

 

Submitting a Badge

There are two different forms - one for "fielded" badges and one for fieldless badges. Otherwise, treat them just like device forms.

 

Device/Badge forms: the color version

Each color device form should be colored with Crayola® markers (Classic, non-washable). Please do not use color copies or ink-jet printers. Yes, hand-coloring is far less convenient. However, the higher-ups who diligently check our work and keep records of everything ever submitted REQUIRE that the colors be represented in Crayola Classic markers.

 

Why? These markers consistently represent heraldic colors very well and retain the color for years and years. Many inkjet printer colors (and copier toner) change under heat conditions normally found on car dashboards, postal carrier vehicles, etc. This means that the color you print out might not be the color that shows up on your form by the time it gets to Laurel. For the approval process and archive, the colors need to be visually correct.

 

Device/Badge forms: the black and white version

It is important that the black and white form be LINE ART – like for a coloring book. It must not be a photocopy of the color form, and it must have NO solid fills, not even black solids. This line art is the most critical part of your submission. Please make sure that you prepare a line-only version. Double-check that no black areas have been left solid inadvertently. This is a very common mistake. It makes your art unusable and your submission will require a redraw before it can be processed.

 

What about submitting a Name or Device for a local group?

The SCA, Inc. calls a local group a "branch". There is a submission form for a branch name. To submit a device for a branch, please use the standard device form, with the group's information in place of the personal information. You'll also need to include a signed Letter of Petition. The link here goes to the suggested standard form letter for a "Petition for Registration of Group Name and Device".

 

How many copies of the Name form do I need to send?

Please send two (2) copies of the name form and the supporting documentation. Make sure that the required signatures are on each both copies of the form. Keep any extra copies for your own records and your client.

 

How many copies of the Device/Badge form do I need to send?

Please send three (3) color forms PLUS two (2) black and white forms. Keep any extra copies for your own records and your client.

 

Preparing to mail the submission packet

Please make sure that you everything together for each submission. Name form, name documentation, device form, badge form – all with the correct number of copies – and the payment. When you do, clip all of the paperwork for one submission together. Then put all of the submissions in one big envelope. DO NOT FOLD OR STAPLE any part of the submission paperwork.

 

Where do I mail the submissions?

Local heralds, please mail all submissions to:

 

 

Domenica Zorzi
mka Jacquelyn Lee
P.O. Box 481
Hermitage, TN 37076

 

How does the submissions process work?

1. After the client has provided everything required, the local herald mails the submission paperwork to Cypher.
2. Each month, Cypher collects certain information from the submissions and prepares an ILOI. Anything I receive after the 21st will be processed the following month.
3. Heralds from Meridies and other kingdoms go through the entries in the ILOI, reviewing the documentation and checking the submissions for conflicts.
4. For each submission, Pennon either approves it or returns it for rework. For a return, Pennon contacts the local herald. Pennon also sends a summary of the approvals and returns to the Kingdom Chronicler for publication in the kingdom newsletter.
5. Pennon sends the approved submissions to the College of Arms where heralds from all over the SCA have three months to review the submissions from all of the SCA kingdoms.
6. In the following month, the Laurel Sovereign of Arms and his or her team review the submission and either register it, return it, or hold it as "pending" for additional review.

All told, a submission can be registered in about six to nine months. 

 

What if a submission is returned?

If this happens, the client has up to one year to resubmit at no additional charge. Pennon typically informs the local herald about returned submissions within 60-90 days.

 

What if the Device/Badge passes but the Name does not?

If the device is passable but the name is not, the name submission will be returned and a "holding name" will be created so that the device can be registered at that time.

 

So, for instance, let us say that your client's mundane name is John, he is from the Shire of Silver Moon, and you submitted the name Gunther MacIntyre for him. Let us say that Laurel wants to register the device but return the name. Laurel would create a holding name of John of Silver Moon and register John's device under the holding name. When a resubmitted name is registered, the new name replaces the holding name and any devices or badges registered to the holding name are switched to the new name.

 

How do I handle a resubmission?

When resubmitting a name or device, please include a cover letter explaining when the original submission was made and include a copy of the return letter. Any other information you wish to provide about the return and the resubmission is also welcomed. We will include it in the processing of your resubmission. Proof of membership is required to get the membership discount.

 

SCA College of Arms official web sites

 

• Rules for Submission
• Administrative Handbook
• Glossary of Heraldic Terms