Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Two Modest Proposals to Improve SCA Heraldry

1: Make one clear difference sufficient for simple arms to avoid conflict. If it was good enough for the Earl Marshal's Court of England in 1389, it's good enough for us.

2: Make one clear difference sufficient to avoid conflict with arms registered by individuals in other kingdoms. Except for very famous and important arms, medieval kingdoms did not try to prevent conflicts with arms born by families in other kingdoms, even though a significant number of people actually did move to other kingdoms. Sir Walter de Manny, Sir Otto de Grandson, and Christine de Pizan are three examples.

Excessive requirements to avoid conflict greatly impoverish the available repertoire of simple arms.

2 comments:

Fridrikr inn gamli Tomasson said...

Sounds like my "immodest proposal" writ small - to make the Kingdom Colleges independent, and use the Laurel office as a central registry only.

I like your ideas, by the way. Good luck with them.

Anonymous said...

Most people in the Middle Ages did not change kingdoms; I wonder how true that is of the SCA. I started in Caid, moved to Meridies, became part of Gleann Abhann, then was washed to Trimaris-all with one employer. I turned down two promotions because they would have required my moving to the Middle or to Atlantia--and I am not fond of moving.