Guild Guide
Royal Charter
After being established and active for a minimum period of one year and a day, some guilds may decide to seek the prestige of special patronage from the King or Queen,to become a Livery Guild. Note that Patronage may be sought from either of the Royal couple, and that Royal patronage does not preclude other patronage from a Peer or Royal Peer.
Once the petition is received by the KMoAS, he/she will review it to ensure that the petition and the Guild meets the requirements, and shall forward the petition to Crown for Their consideration. If the Crown approves the petition, They shall instruct the Livery Warden (Guild Deputy) to mediate a suitable date for the petition to be formally presented in Court.
This proposal should include:
- Ordinances of the
guild, preferably modeled on period charters to demonstrate the
guild's commitment to promoting historical authenticity. The
ordinances should cover such details as the name, scope and aims
of the guild, as well as daily operations of the guild, appointing
of officers, means of amending the ordinances etc. The members of
the guild should show their support for these ordinances by
affixing their signature or seal.
- List of current
membership and officers. There is no specific minimum membership
for a guild seeking royal recognition, but it is recommended that
the guild be of sufficient size and activity to ensure the
continued viability of the guild (King's/ Queen's discretion).
- Statement of
activities, preferably including summaries of previous reports to
the Kingdom Arts and Sciences Officer. This demonstrates the
guild's ongoing activity and contribution to the Arts and life of
the Kingdom.
- In return for Royal
assent, a guild may offer or the King/Queen may ask for certain
boons. Such boons could include the presentation of gifts once per
reign or per year, as some guilds already do. The boon could also
be a request to teach or support the Arts and Sciences in some
concrete way (such as teaching collegia, or sponsoring a
competition or prize), the desire for the guild to present livery
and pageantry, or some other activity.
- Guilds seeking Royal recognition must report to the Crown as requested, and the Kingdom Arts and Sciences Officer at least once per year. Continued failure to report may, at the King's/Queen's discretion, be grounds for withdrawing Royal favour with the loss of all privilege
The petition may be granted at the discretion of the King or Queen, with the advice of the Kingdom Arts and Sciences Officer and if desired the Masters of the Livery Companies of Lochac.
Once Royal patronage and the Charter is granted, in addition to previous benefits a guild may:
- Organise to formally
present the Charter and receive Royal recognition in Court.
- May register the
name, device and badges, free of charge, following current College
of Heralds policy.
- Be given the right to
bear Arms in the form of an Award or Grant of Arms bestowed upon
the guild, or other badges, colours etc at the discretion of the
Sovereign.
- Use the styles
"King's/Queen's Guild", "King's/Queen's Company", "Livery Company
of Lochac" etc as appropriate.
- Be encouraged to develop and use such livery, regalia, pageantry and display as appropriate
| 1. | Introduction |
| 2. | About Guilds & Guidelines |
| 3. | Reports |
| 4. | Combined Guilds Day |
| 5. | Guilds in History and the SCA |
| 6. | Establishing a Guild |
| 7. | Royal Charter |
| 8. | Appendix A: Arras Charter of the Shearers |
| 9. | Appendix B: Royal Guilds & Companies, Companies & Guilds, Colleges (non-guild) |
| 10. | Further Reading |
